AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Bear, too. Although, I’d trust them more than I did a wild moose.” I followed her down the packed path to the aviary. “How are you settling in?”
“Good,” she glanced back with a smile. “Great, actually. I got this gorgeous apartment overlooking the river for a fraction of what I’d pay in the city and everyone’s been surprisingly friendly.”
I raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Surprisingly?”
“I was warned by more than one person that New Englanders were very cloistered and unfriendly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there have been a couple of unfriendly people, but they’re at least helpful. Better than a bunch of smiling idiots. My only real complaint is that the bartender downtown can’t mix a drink to save his life.”
“Cornbread,” I said knowingly. “You should know he does that on purpose. He’d rather you just order a beer.”
“I switched to straight whiskey instead.”
“He can’t mess that up, at least.”
“He can’t, but that also means I can only have a few drinks. Last night, I stood up to use the bathroom and nearly hit the floor.”
“You don’t want to do that either. The floor in that place hasn’t been replaced since the disco era.”
“At least that explains the ball over the ‘dance floor. It’s a weird little town, isn’t it?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never lived anywhere else so it’s hard for me to say.”
Dana smiled. “Let me tell you, there is nothing normal about this place. Other than my classmates, the only person I met while I was at vet school was the lady at the Laundromat who only knew me because I complained about the dryers. I’ve been in Franklin Notch for less than a week and I’ve had people stopping me in the street to introduce themselves.”
“I assume you know about the Singles Social Club, then?”
“Yeah, Thea made sure I knew about that the day I moved in.” Her cheeks, already burned red by the wind, flushed a deeper shade. “Is that invitation still open if you aren’t single?”
“It is,” I drawled, cocking my head.
“I’m just…seeing someone, actually.”
I resisted the urge to prod for more information. Not for me, but Thea would be furious that I hadn’t asked. But Dana’s dating life was none of my business.
“Warren.”
I nodded. “He’s a great guy.”
She exhaled, shoulders relaxing. “You think so? It’s so hard to tell when you meet someone new.”
“You have nothing to worry about with Warren.”
The edge of her lip lifted. “Why is he single then?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say for certain. It’s a small dating pool, and he’s lived here most of his life. Probably, like everyone else who’s still single, he made the rounds and didn’t find anyone.”
“You included?” she asked, pausing at the entrance to the Northern Harrier’s cage.
“Not really. I had a long-term girlfriend for the better part of a decade. We broke up and I haven’t gotten back out there again.”
“Hence the speed dating?”
“Nah, that was Thea’s idea. She broke up with her boyfriend and wanted to jump back into the dating pool.”
Dana nodded. “She’s gorgeous. I’m sure she won’t have any problem finding someone new.”
Her eyes studied me with each word, probing for information I had no intention of giving up.
I shrugged noncommittally.
