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My jaw drops. I’m speechless. She has a freaking pet raccoon, and it’s wearing a t-shirt. She’s even more nuts than I thought.
“It’s okay, Pancake. He just didn’t know you were the baby.” She coos as she tucks it under her chin, rocking it back and forth. It makes noises and curls into her neck. Jesus.
I narrow my eyes. “Does Evan know you have that thing up here?”
Her eyes narrow back. “Tell him, and you’re freaking dead to me.”
“Ha!” I say, shaking my head. “This is going to be good.”
“Fine, what do you want?” She glares, muttering no doubt more insults about me to her raccoon.
I ignore her comment, then ask, “Do you really want a job?”
“With you? Hell no. I was just saying that to be nice to Allie. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings sinceshe’sbeen so welcoming. Unlike you.” She glares at me, frowning.
“Fine, I guess you’re working for me, then. If not, I tell Evan about your trash panda.” I give her a smug, defiant smile.
“Why would you even want to work with me?” she asks, a shadow of annoyance crossing her face.
I sigh and look at the ceiling, realizing I’ll probably regret this. “I really do need an office manager, and if we stay out of each other’s way, I think this could be beneficial for both of us.” I startle as the door hits me, and Theo comes bounding in like he did when we stayed up here before Paige. “Theo, no!” I call as he goes to the raccoon and, to my dismay, nuzzles it.
“He’s fine.” Paige waves her hand like it’s no big deal. “They’ve met, and they’re already friends.” Is everyone friends here besides her and me? What planet am I on right now?
I shake my head in confusion. “Of course they have. This issoweird.” It’s like I’m in the Twilight Zone or something.
“So you’re blackmailing me now? If I don’t work for you, you’ll tell Evan about Pancake?”
“I’m not blackmailing you; I’mpayingyou,” I hedge. I glance over at the raccoon, and I swear it waves at me. I jerk back.Jesus.I turn and look at Paige, and she tries to hide her laugh.
“Did he just...?”
She interrupts, holding up a hand. “You know what? I guess I could work for you until I can get my store up and going. I can start tomorrow.” She shrugs as she sets Pancake down on the floor to play with Theo and reaches over to scratch Theo behind the ears. My dog is playing with a raccoon right now. Who knew this day could get even weirder?
“Fine. Be there at eight. And leave your trash panda at home,” I add, shaking my head and frowning.
She scoffs. “I don’t think you are in any position to be making demands. And call Pancake a trash panda one more time...” Her stare drills into me, making me twitch. Jesus. The way this lady makes me nervous.
“Whatever,” I mutter, trying to play it cool. “Theo, come,” I call as I step out of the loft and eye her again. She’s watching me like I’m still the weirdo here.
“I hate you.” She smiles sweetly.
“I hate you more,” I say, mimicking her tone, and shut the door. I head down the stairs with Theo reluctantly in tow. I can tell he wanted to stay. With a raccoon. What in the world?
But the truth is, I don’t hate her at all. I’m intrigued. And based on the fire in her eyes, she feels the same. This is going to be fun, or it’s going to be hell. Either way, I feel something when I’m around Paige. She makes me want to know her more. I think life just got a little more fun here in Freedom Valley.
4. paige
Rhiannon
I fanmyself and stare at Pancake. “Thatwas interesting. Who knew a man could be so scared of a friendly little domesticated raccoon? He must be a city boy, Pancake. He doesn’t understand how worldly and sophisticated you are.” I lean over to unpack one of the few boxes of possessions I have that’s not in storage.
Pancake and I travel light in Tootsie. I have a box of my beloved Fleetwood Mac vinyl albums that are very important to me, a box of my hand-carved wooden birds that my Grandpa Harry has whittled and painted for me as special gifts over the years, and my binder of letters from my mom. A small vintage record player. A suitcase with clothes spilling out of it, and a soft shell backpack carrier for Pancake to travel in. Not counting the entire pod I have packed with book inventory for the bookshop.
I moved around from place to place with my mom, Rhiannon, when I was a kid. And yes, her first name is also my middle name. I open the record player and carefully slide my favorite album on and gently place the needle on “Rhiannon.” My mom grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac with Harry, her dad. Music has always been a big comfort and joy for my family. So much so that Harry and my grandmother, June, who died before I was born, named their only daughter after this Fleetwood Mac song. When I came along, Mom kept the tradition going.
Fleetwood Mac makes me feel close to her, even though she’s long gone. Some people have comfort television shows that they watch on repeat. I have Stevie Nicks. Certain songs bring back memories so strong I feel like I’m right there with her again. When I was a kid, we didn’t have a lot of money. But we had music and we made fun memories wherever we went. I always felt loved. We moved around a lot, but we always made our way back to Freedom Valley and to Harry. He was our home plate.
So when I saw Preston wearing aRumorst-shirt, I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know very many people who love that band as much as I do. At first, I thought he might be messing with me, but there’s no way he could have known.
