didn’t seem to mind it at all. Amy was as fair and pretty as she was tiny in
build. She had bright blue eyes and flaxen hued blonde hair that trailed past
her waist. She never dyed it, cut it, or fussed with it and the result was
something straight out of a fairy tale.
“Did you get an infestation of rats in your apartment?”
“Rats?” Romi blinked at her brother.
Jack smirked right back at her. “Yeah. Rats. They nibbled your toes in the
night.”
“That’s enough of that,” Deb warned seriously. “Don’t put that image in
my head!”
“Yeah,” Emily bit out. “That’s disgusting. Everyone can see that she tried
&nbs
p; to unplug her kitchen disposal with her toes.”
Romi groaned, but she had to bite down on a smile. “Mom said it looked
like I stuck them under a running lawn mower. You guys are too awful.”
“Clearly it was hiking boots,” Amy pointed out rationally. She sipped on
the slushy drink. “I had the same experience when I went camping with my
family as a kid. My mom bought me these brand new boots and they
weren’t broken in. I did have socks, but they were way too big and my feet
pretty much looked exactly like that after.”
“You’re right. It was boots,” Romi admitted. “I went on a pick with work.
I had to borrow a pair of boots because I came in sneakers, and apparently
that wasn’t safe, so I kind of brought it on myself.”
“A pick? What’s that?” Romi’s dad, Travis, turned from the barbeque,
tongs in hand. He snapped them a couple times for emphasis.
“Just, like, where you go to someone’s barn or house or whatever and
look for or try to buy their antiques.”
“I hope you didn’t go alone!”
“Of course not.” Romi watched her dad’s face relax. “I had help.”
“Help?” Jack leaned forward.