Page 62 of Stay for Forever

“I understand Mercury is one of the founding hippies of Winter Falls, but the robbery occurred before the town was founded.”

“He’s helped before.”

Color me surprised. “He has?”

I guess I haven’t been paying enough attention to what Ashlyn and Aspen have been up to with this wild goose chase. Speaking of my big sister, “Won’t Aspen be mad at you for not including her?”

She dismisses my comment with a flick of her wrist and the golf cart veers to the side of the road. She hits the grass and I grab hold of the dash to stop myself from flying out of the cart. We bump through the rough ground for a few minutes until she manages to straighten the cart and get us back on the road.

“Oops.”

“Does Rowan know you’re the worst driver in the history of drivers?”

“Geez. Exaggerate much?”

We manage to reach Old Man Mercury’s house without ruining anyone else’s lawn, and she pulls up to his porch. While she bounces out of her seat, I don’t move. There’s a reason Old Man Mercury has the nickname Old Man, although crotchety old man would be more appropriate.

Ashlyn stops when she notices I’m not behind her. “Are you coming?”

“I don’t know.”

She snorts. “You’re okay with snakes slithering around your house, but you’re afraid of an old man? You need to get your priorities straight.”

I step out of the golf cart. “Because I’m not afraid of an animal, I need my priorities straightened?”

“Snakes aren’t animals. They’re the devil incarnate.”

“Are you two going to stand there gabbing on my steps all day or are you coming inside?” Old Man Mercury barks from the doorway, and I squeal in surprise. When did he come outside? He doesn’t wait for us to answer – or my pulse to stop racing – before turning around to march inside his house.

Ashlyn bounces up the stairs and skips along the patio. I sigh before trudging after her. I stand for a moment inside the house allowing my eyes to adjust to the darkness before following her to the kitchen table where Old Man Mercury is waiting for us.

“Where’s Aspen?” he yells, and I jump in my seat. Does the man not have an inside voice?

“She’s working at the bookstore. We agreed Juniper would join me today,” Ashlyn explains as she pours us lemonade.

I wave in greeting.

“How’s the Wildlife Refuge going?”

My mouth falls open at his question. How does he know I manage the refuge? The man is practically a recluse. I don’t think I’ve seen him in town for years.

“I’m an old man. I’m not an idiot. I know what’s going on in my town.”

I clear my throat. “The refuge is going well, thank you. We recently expanded the capybara and fennec fox enclosures. I’m expecting two more llamas this week as well.” Everyone thinks llamas are cool to own, but if you don’t treat them right, they can be downright nasty.

“You have chupacabras? Aren’t you afraid they’ll drink the blood of Phoenix’s goats?”

Phoenix is Lyric’s brother and has a goat farm near the Wildlife Refuge.

“Chupacabras aren’t real.”

Old Man Mercury snorts. “You just said you have some.”

“We have capybaras, giant rodents. Not vampire chupacabras.”

“Here I was worried about your snake and you have vampires at the refuge.” Ashlyn shivers. “Remind me never to go out there again.”

“You haven’t been out to the refuge to help since the entire town discovered you’re an erotic romance narrator.”

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