Page 4 of Feverburn

“The help has arrived!” he said, outstretching his arms while walking towards us.

He pulled Kaylee in one arm, and with the other, he did a weird one-armed bro-hug thing with Harley. Seeing all three in a clusterfuck of an embrace made me suddenly nervous.

Releasing them, he turned his baseball hat backward, revealing smoky green eyes that scanned me up and down. “Moosekiller! You brought a new friend?”

“Dane, this is Rosie,” Kaylee offered.

“Welcome to town.” He stepped forward to fist-bump me with a blackened hand. I imagined it was from being a mechanic.

“Moosekiller?” I asked in confusion.

Kaylee rolled her eyes. “Dane calls me that because I might have accidentally, almost, killed the town moose when I first crashed here.”

Harley chuckled. “Poor Hagrid, he was just looking for food.” He smiled adoringly at Kaylee as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her hip. I turned my head so I didn’t have to see it.

Dane added, “Legend has it, the moose still stalks her to this day…waiting…wanting…”

“That humped-back forest whore has it out for me! Who knew a moose could be so mean? I saw him the other day, and I swear he grunted at me. Grunted!” she said in outrage.

“Avoid the murderous moose. Got it,” I quipped the mental note, earning a smile from all three people.

It took us only ten minutes to unload the rest of my U-Haul. I offered to buy everyone pizza, but they politely refused and assured me it was nothing. I was indebted to them and didn’t like it. Kaylee offered to stay to help me unpack. I told her I’d get all emo and didn’t want her to see me like that. She squeezed me extra tight before taking Harley’s hand as he opened the door for her to hop into his truck. A burning sensation seeped into my stomach, and I had to look away again.

After several hours of unpacking and cleaning, I decided a steamy hot bath was a lovely idea to help me avoid soreness. I found some wine I had packed and a bath bomb I wanted to try out. The water was running so hot that I had to crack the window before sliding into the steamy water.

It was then that it hit me. Even with Kaylee as a friend, I was alone.

So achingly alone.

Chapter Two

Fishing today sucked. It was spring, and the tourists were already descending upon Maine with their wholesome antics. It made me want to puke. Little did they know, mud season up here lasted well into May. It was irritating watching the light leave their eyes as they hopped out of their cars, only to discover the lake half-frozen. I was weirdly defensive over this land because so much of it shaped me into the man I am today, for better or worse.

The sunrises got my ass out of bed for a run each morning.

The calm lakes gave me sanity while I fished.

The gentle sounds of nature reminded me that it was okay to be quiet.

And the town itself, well, it was complicated. The people of Pine Bluff barely tolerated me, and tourists amplified the feeling of being in the way, making everything worse. Their station in my personal space wasannoyingand constant. As the days got longer, my dread of interacting with them intensified.

Sucking in a deep breath, I tried to center myself. I should stop being such a miserable ass. I wasluckyto live somewhere like Pine Bluff, not in stifling suburbia.

I needed thewild.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror, my eyes squinting between my dark hair and beard as I scowled in disgust. I had a major resting bitch face, or in my case, I guess it was a resting bastard face. The scowl on me could scare a nun, and I knew it.

Gripping the steering wheel tighter, I trailed around the bend in the road, hoping deer didn’t dash out in front of me in the darkness as I made my way back into town. I forgot Kiszka’s leash at the store and wanted to have it for my morning run. I had to tether his spastic ass so he didn’t chase squirrels.

Ablood-curdlingscreampierced my ears as I opened my truck door in the back lot. I rushed in, following the cries to the loft, taking two stairs at a time. I broke down the locked door, ignoring the scraping wood against my shin and shoulder while I followed the noise into the bathroom.

The sight in front of me was almost too bizarre to comprehend. It was agorgeousnakedwoman flailing around in the tub filled with dark water. It would’ve looked like a horror movie if the water wasn’t purple and glittery. Along with her cries, anobnoxiousCeltic Woman song trilled on, creating a chaotic cacophony.

My ears rang as I watched her reel back, splashing water like afranticfish as she covered her chest.“Who are you? Don’t let it get me!” she shrieked.

“It?”I yelled back.

A high-pitched tittering filled the air as I turned, only to see a raccoon launch from thesinkinto the tub, dunking in the water with a loud plop. The woman screeched, swooshing to the other end, splashing out more water, and damn neardrowningit. Still seated, she picked up a shampoo bottle, holding it like a sword.

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