Page 32 of Southern Storms

“Well, that’s good, right? Not hearing from him is a good thing.”

Maybe. Still, a part of me felt odd about not hearing from him at all. I tried my best not to think about it. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about my past, and that was hard for me. I wasn’t good at dealing with my past. It was too hard for me to face.

“Yeah, it’s good. Side note,” I said, shifting the conversation, “if you are interested in knowing, my neighbors are the most nosy people in the world.”

“Oh gosh, that’s great to know. I bet they are having a field day with you.”

“The biggest of field days. I’m kind of surprised a fruit pie or loaf of bread hasn’t shown up today.”

“It’s still early—I’m sure it’s on its way,” she joked. “What else is the town like? Is it the Southern Stars Hollow of our dreams?” Yoana asked, her voice filled with hope. “Are there bake sales and town parades because it’s Tuesday? Is there a Luke’s Diner? Oh my gosh, please tell me there’s a Luke’s Diner.”

I laughed. “I still haven’t walked around the town, actually, but you do have the cutest quirky neighbor. Oh, and fair warning—the town asshole owns the woods behind your property. I wouldn’t wander them if I were you. He’s the opposite of a people person.”

“Ohhh, interesting. Is he a Luke type of antisocial or a Jess antisocial?”

If there was anything Yoana and I were professionals at, it was talking inGilmore Girlsreferences.

“Jess. Totally a Jess.”

“Is he hot? Oh gosh, please tell me he’s hot.”

Oh, was Mr. Personality a fine specimen of an asshole. If grumpy smolders could kill, I would’ve been dead ten times over by now. It was as if someone took Damon fromThe Vampire Diaries, tossed in a little Hook fromOnce Upon A Time, and voila! Mr. Personality was born. If brooding was an Olympic sport, he’d take gold.

“That’s not the point,” I said, trying my hardest to shake off his obvious sex appeal because I was still on a mission to hate him—even if he did hang out with the elderly in his free time and save me from people like Lars. That didn’t cancel out his shortness with me or his moody personality.

“It is the point, Kennedy. It’s okay to find the town asshole sexy.”

And I did. It was just that Yoana didn’t need to know that fact—nor did anyone else—because it had no relevance to anything. Was Mr. Personality drop-dead gorgeous with locks of dark brown hair that fell in front of his face in the sexiest of ways? Yes. Had his deep eyes of mystery entranced me for a moment in time? Sure, yeah, whatever. Time stood still, blah blah, blah. That didn’t change the fact that he was lacking people skills. No amount of full lips or chiseled jawlines could change that fact.

His good looks and mysterious nature simply made looking away a bit more difficult.

“If you keep talking, I’m going to hang up the phone,” I joked, standing to walk into the bathroom.

“Fine, fine, but what do you mean you haven’t been into town yet? Don’t tell me you’ve been antisocial. You have to get out! Explore. Meet new people.”

“Trust me, I don’t have to meet new people. They have a way of coming straight to my front porch.”

“You need to get out, Kennedy. It will be good for you.”

“But your house is so big and comfy,” I playfully teased, trying to shift the direction the conversation was going. I could tell by Yoana’s sigh that she was worried. I knew it was because she was concerned about my mental health, which had been suffering majorly throughout the past few months. She wanted me to be okay, which I understood completely. I wanted that, too. These things just took time. I had to heal on my own terms—even when the rest of the world wanted me to get over it sooner than later.

That didn’t seem fair to me, though. It was my trauma, after all, not theirs.

But my husband had already left me because of my inability to move forward with my life. I couldn’t also lose my sister for the very same reasons.

“I just worry about you, Kenny,” she said, using the nickname Mama used to call me. My stomach fluttered with nerves as it fell from her lips. “You’ve been through so much. After losing Mama and Daddy and Da—”

“I’ll explore today,” I offered, cutting her off before she could go into mentioning the accident that had burned my soul. “I’ll see what’s going on in this place,” I said, trying to sound hopeful so Yoana’s worries could evaporate.

The sigh that slipped through the phone speaker was much more relaxed this time. “Oh, Kennedy, you’re going to love it! Nathan talked me into flipping the house out there by offering me a few highlights of Havenbarrow. There’s an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater that only plays black and white movies, and every other Friday night is a romantic movie,” she urged, piquing my interest.

“Oh? Do go on.”

“There’s a coffee shop that has a stray cat named Marshmallow that wanders around.”

Okay, she was now tickling my fancy.

“And, and, and!” she exclaimed, her excitement coming through loud and clear. “The library has a secret bookshelf! At least that’s the urban legend. The bookshelf leads to a hidden reading nook, and you have to find the right book to unlock it. Rumor has it no one has found it yet, but it’s supposed to be there.”

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