Page 11 of Feverburn

“Insight I didn’t ask for. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“I would never dream of it. Plus, I get the slight suspicion you don’t let anyone do that anyway.”

“I don’t!”I scoffed.

“That’s what I like about you. Look, I can see how you might feel pressured to date him. But I don’t think you realize all the shit he will say about hooking up with you. He’ll tell everyone and brag about it. People will think you’re flighty like all the tourists who warm his bed.”

I snorted.“Oh, so you’re swooping in as Mr. Knight and Shining Armor saving me from the big bad manwhore?”

“This is beyond purity culturebullshit. This is about guarding yourprivacy. You moved here for a new chapter, and dating Dane is the fastest way to ruin it.”

I walked past him, unlocking the back door to the hardware store.

“Rosie, as a newcomer, the first couple days in Pine Bluff will make or break your reputation. Ihateto say it, but it’s true. You’re not in Boston anymore.”

“Yeah, no shit!”I flung the door open, causing Kiszka to howl.

I grimaced, fleeing to my loft. I didn’t like that he offered unsolicited advice and doubted my judgment. I might be new, but I’m not stupid.

I got ready for bed and texted my mom to see if she was still up. We were super close. Her conservative Irish Catholic family disowned her when she had me at 16. My dad was arichboy she met at Catholic high school who lied about hooking up with her. After the Tyler thing, I realized he was like my dad—fickle, selfish, and an outrightsnob.

While pregnant with me, she fled to Vermont, where this friendly Wiccan high priestess let her stay on her farm. She gave birth to me in a tub with a midwife after two days of active labor. She never let me forget that part. She had dreams of roses the entire time she was pregnant, hence my namesake. I loved that awild, witchy woman raised me. Times like this, I realized howluckyI was.

“Hey, sweetie!”She propped her phone against the screen of her enclosed porch filled with plants.

“Hey, Mom.”

I looked like her with my pear-shaped body and auburn hair. She kept it long and layered, like me. Tonight, she had it up in an unruly bun and a tattered Queensrÿche band T-shirt underneath a slouchy charcoal cardigan. She was in her‘comfies,’ as she would say.

“I saw the text about the door. I’m glad it’s fixed. So the guy who barged in is Carson, like we thought?”

“Yep, he is…hmm.”I looked up to the ceiling, trying to find words.

“Handsome?”she offered with a grin. Damn, she was too good at reading me.

“Yeah, all brawny and broody. His voice is so low. I catch myself holding my breath so I can hear him better. He has this outdoorsy lumberjack vibe about him. And a cute dog.”I sighed, suddenly disgusted. My life would be so much simpler if men weren’t a factor.

My mom went on cheerily, “How fun! That's a nice change. You’ve always dated tatted-up punks or suit types.”

I wrinkled my nose, thinking of my exes and what had just happened with Carson. “I just feel like the idiot new girl here.”

“You’ll find your groove, don’tworry. And if you don’t like this whole coffee shop owner thing, you can always go back to what you were doing before becoming a barista—”

“Not an option, Mom,” I interrupted, shifting my shoulders. “I sank my savings into Silver Springs. I want to hide out and heal. This has to work for me. You know I can’t…I can’t do that…”

“Oh, you know what you need to do!”She wrapped her cardigan around her body,excitedby her idea.“You need to befriend an old lady. Old ladiesloveto gossip, and they always know thebestshit, like who lets their cat sit on their kitchen counter so you avoid their cookies at a bake sale. Pull up to a Gladys and let that granny go! Take notes.”

I chuckled, amused at her quick suggestion.“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”

“Would I give you a bad idea?”she teased.

“So eavesdrop, but ethically, with an elder?”

“Consider itresearchto help you turn over a new leaf.”

The next afternoon, Kaylee and I were working together when her phone dinged with a text. Staring at it, she asked,“Will you come with me tonight? The Kouris family has these dinners now that I’ve un-hermited Harley from the forest.”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude on a family thing.”

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