LITMIR.BIZ

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the table.

      Patrick barely glanced at the plastic menu. That was the way it worked in The Burrow. You could tell the tourists from the townsfolk in seconds.

      ‘What’s good here?’ Shane asked.

      ‘Everything,’ Rose and Patrick said at the same time.

      Patrick chuckled as Shane raised his thick eyebrows. ‘That’s helpful.’

      Rose smiled at the joke, but he didn’t. He wasn’t teasing.

      Rose cleared her throat. ‘Can I get some water for the table?’

      ‘Sure,’ Patrick said, smiling up at her with his grayish teeth. ‘And I’ll have a coffee too.’

      ‘I’ll be back to take your order.’ Rose crossed the room to prepare the waters and coffee.

      ‘Patrick,’ Mrs. Miller said from two booths over. She and her husband came into The Siren several times a week. An older couple in their sixties, they ran the antique and used bookstore closer to the town center.

      ‘Good afternoon, Sally,’ Patrick said, nodding toward them.

      ‘Who’s the new guy?’ Mr. Miller asked.

      ‘You know I’m retiring,’ Patrick said. ‘Shane here will be taking my position as chief come the summer.’

      ‘No kidding,’ Mr. Miller said.

      ‘What he means is, we’re happy to have you,’ Mrs. Miller said to Shane.

      His jaw tensed; even Rose could sense his discomfort across the room. Newcomers to The Burrow weren’t used to the level of nosiness around these parts.

      While the Millers went back to their clam chowder, Patrick and Shane continued their conversation.

      Rose approached the table with two glasses of water and their utensils, trying not to make it appear as if she were eavesdropping.

      ‘You’re not in the big city anymore,’ Patrick said to Shane.

      ‘Oh? I had no idea.’ Shane leaned against the back of the booth and grunted. He glared out the window.

      ‘Ready to order?’ Rose asked.

      ‘Yeah,’ Shane said without looking her in the eye. He flipped over the one-page lunch menu. ‘Burger, medium.’

      ‘You want fries with that or a salad?’

      Shane looked at Rose as if she’d sprouted two heads. ‘Fries.’

      Rose leaned toward Patrick. ‘Soup and grilled cheese with bacon?’

      ‘You know me,’ Patrick said, handing over the two menus.

      Rose took them and turned to Patrick. ‘You’re retiring? I had no idea.’

      ‘Yes, but Shane here is a great replacement. His father and I met at the academy. Been good friends ever since.’

      ‘Really?’

      Shane scoffed. ‘We’re all one big happy family.’

      She met Shane’s eyes. They were so brown that the pupils were barely discernable.

      ‘But Shane joins us from New York City. He’s well trained and perfect for The Burrow,’ Patrick said.

      ‘Not sure about perfect,’ Shane said, twirling his sunglasses over the slick wooden surface.

      ‘Let me put your order in,’ Rose said before skittering away. She walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen where Brody, Missy’s younger brother, was cleaning the grill.

      ‘Medium burger with fries and a Patrick special,’ Rose said, writing down the order on her pad and handing it over to him.

      ‘You got it,’ Brody said, turning his ice-blue eyes on Rose. Those who didn’t know the three-year age difference thought Missy and Brody were twins. Because of her friendship with Missy, Rose always felt a sisterly bond with Brody.

      He and Reen had dated for a while in high school, but he was small-town. His family had lived in the same house for generations, a beautiful old colonial near the edge of town. Missy and Brody weren’t going anywhere. Reen couldn’t get out fast enough.

      Rose glanced out the passthrough window at Patrick and Shane. ‘Did you know Patrick was retiring?’

      ‘I heard it around town,’ Brody said, slapping a pre-formed patty on the grill. The sizzling and popping sounds made her stomach growl.

      ‘I can’t imagine it,’ Rose said.

      ‘Times are changing.’

      ‘Yes. Yes they are.’ More than Rose ever wanted to admit.

       Chapter 2

      Rose left the restaurant at around 5 p.m. A spike in customers kept her busy until the end of her shift.

      On the way to her car, she checked her phone for the hundredth time that day. She wondered if she should head back to the Whinding House to see Mom again or save it for tomorrow.

      Even though she’d eaten one of the cast-off sandwiches that Brody had burned, she was still hungry. But her mind was too distracted, making her indecisive.

      She drove to the library, intending to check out a few books to occupy her evening. As her nightly routine, Rose turned to wine and books before bed. Both numbed her mind and dulled her senses so she could escape to another place, far, far away from The Burrow. She loved her home, but with everyone knowing her business and asking about Pearl, by the end of the day she needed a break.

      The rain hadn’t let up much, and she slowly navigated her car through the streets of the town. She leaned forward, peering through the sheets of rain pelting her windshield.

      Those caught outside during the storm hurried across the sidewalks to find cover, huddling under jacket hoods and umbrellas. At least Rose wasn’t the only person annoyed with the weather. As she pulled into the parking lot of the library, a figure appeared in front of her car.

      Rose slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop inches from the person.

      Her heart threatened to beat from her chest as her hands gripped the wheel tight enough to stretch the skin over her knuckles, turning them white. She caught her breath, gulping in as much air as possible.

      Shoving the door open, she stumbled outside. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?’ Rose shivered as the rain soaked her from head to toe within seconds.

      The woman wore little more than a black tank top and jogging shorts. She had long, almost black hair, which clung to her like a python, wrapping around her waist and one of her arms.

      ‘Did I hit you?’ Rose called over the noise of the downpour. ‘If you’re hurt, I can drive you to the hospital.’

      The woman turned, and Rose sucked in a breath. The woman was much younger than Rose had initially thought. She was a teenager. Her lithe body shrunk away from Rose.

      ‘Or I can call someone?’ Rose glanced around, hoping that no one had seen her nearly hitting someone. She feared that everyone might think she was on an early path toward Pearl’s tendencies.

      But when she turned to the girl again, she was gone.

      On the drive home, the sky cleared enough that Rose turned off the rapid speed of the wipers. The familiar streets no longer offered her comfort. She scanned the area, pausing on each person walking through town. She searched for the girl who had appeared and disappeared quicker than Rose could blink. She took the long way home, winding through the streets of town, desperate to see the girl one more time. At the very least, she wanted to be sure she hadn’t hurt the girl, but from the way she left without a trace, Rose didn’t understand

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