in her eyes. "Of course, I can eat you out of house and home too. I guess I shouldn't be talking." My envy was almost painful. I wasn't blessed with a fast metabolism. My hips and butt could attest to that. I wasn't overweight, but I really hated it when Mom referred to me as
'curvy.' "That's so not fair. I eat a bag of chips and gain five pounds."
"We're lucky." Her easy grin seemed tighter. "Anyway, you must tell me all about Florida. Never been there."
I propped myself up on the porch railing.
"Think nonstop shopping malls and parking lots.
Oh, but the beaches. Yeah, it's worth it for the beaches." I loved the heat of the sun on my skin, my toes squishing in the wet sand.
"Wow," Dee said, her gaze darting next door as if she were waiting for someone. "It's going to take a lot for you to get used to living here. Adapting can be...hard when you're out of your element." I shrugged. "I don't know. It doesn't seem that bad. Of course when I first found out, I was like, you have got to be kidding me. I didn't even know this place existed."
Dee laughed. "Yeah, a lot of people don't.
We were shocked when we came here."
"Oh, so you guys aren't from here either?" Her laugh died off as her gaze flicked away from mine. "No, we're not from here."
"Did your parents move here for work?" Although I had no idea what sort of jobs were around this place.
"Yeah, they work in the city. We don't see them a lot."
I had the distinct impression there was more to it. "That must be hard. But...a lot of freedom, I guess. My mom is rarely here either."
"I guess you understand then." A strange, sad look filled her eyes. "We kind of run our own lives."
"And you'd think our lives would be more exciting than this, right?"
She looked wistful. "Have you ever heard of, be careful what you wish for? I used to think that." She toed the swing back and forth, neither of us rushing to fill the ensuing silence. I knew exactly what she meant. I can't remember how many times I'd lain awake at night and hoped Mom would snap out of it and move on - and welcome West Virginia.
Dark clouds seemed to roll in out of nowhere, casting a shadow across the yard. Dee frowned. "Oh no! It looks like we're going to get one of our famous afternoon rainstorms.
They usually last a couple of hours."
"That's too bad. I guess we better plan to garden tomorrow instead. Are you available?"
"Sure thing." Dee shivered in the suddenly chilly air.
"Wonder where this storm came from. It seemed to come out of nowhere, didn't it?" I asked.
Dee jumped up from the swing, wiping her hands on her pants. "Looks that way. Well, I think your mom is up, and I need to wake Daemon."
"Sleeping? That's a little late."
"He's weird," Dee said. "I'll be back tomorrow, and we can head to the garden shop." Laughing, I slid off the rail. "Sounds good."
"Great!" She skipped down the steps and twirled around. "I'll tell Daemon you said hi!" I felt my cheeks turn a fiery red. "Uh, that won't be necessary."
"Trust me, it is!" She laughed and then sprinted to the house next door. Joy.
Mom was in the kitchen, coffee in hand. As she faced me, steaming brown liquid sloshed over the counter. The innocent look on her face gave it away.
Grabbing a towel, I walked over to the counter. "She lives next door, her name is Dee, and I ran into her while I was at the grocery store." I swiped the towel over the splotches of coffee. "She has a brother. His name is Daemon.
They're twins."
"Twins? Interesting." She smiled. "Is Dee nice, dear?"
I sighed. "Yes, Mom, she's very nice."
"I'm so happy. It's about time you came out of your shell."
I didn't realize I was in a shell.
Mom blew softly and then took a sip, eyeing me over the rim. "Did you make plans to hang out with her tomorrow?"
"You would know. You were listening."
"Of course." She winked. "I'm your mother.
That is what we do."
"Eavesdropping on conversations?"
"Yes. How else am I supposed to know what is going on?" she asked innocently.
I rolled my eyes and turned to go back into the living room. "Privacy, Mom."
"Honey," she called from the kitchen, "there is no such thing as privacy."
Chapter 3
The day my Internet was hooked up was better than having a hot