Page 42 of How to Date a Rockstar

“A chance to eat my fingers like sausages? No thanks.”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t exaggerate.”

“She left you another present this morning. A baby bird with its head cut off.”

I gasp. “Not a baby bird.” I refuse to believe it. He’s winding me up. “It was probably already dead. Baby birds fall out of their nests all the time. It’s sad but it happens.”

“You believe whatever you need to believe. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when Satan shows up for your soul.”

“Now, I’ve sold my soul to Satan via my cat? Katy Purry would never steal my soul.”

“Sure, she wouldn’t.” He stands with the box in his hand. “Where do you want this?”

“In the hallway.”

I fill the next box while he carries the full one away. “Grandma. Grandma. Grandma,” I tsk at the amount of books she had with Fabio on the front cover.

Grandma always did have a thing for men with long hair. She even tried to get Grandpa to grow his hair long. He refused and then when he went bald, she bought him a wig for ‘play time’. I stopped paying attention to her love of long-haired men after those words were uttered.

Grandma and Grandpa did not have sex. Mom was born via immaculate conception or was adopted or brought by the stork. Anything but the result of s-e-x between my sweet elderly grandparents.

“Where are you taking all of these books?” Cash asks as he pulls books off the shelves.

“They’re going to the library. I contactedFall Into A Good Book,the bookstore Grandma used to own, but the new owner didn’t want them. She only sells new books and doesn’t have the shelf room for these old paperbacks.”

“I didn’t know your grandma used to own a bookstore.”

“Grandma loved the bookstore but after she broke her hip a few years ago, she couldn’t keep up with it and sold it.”

I can’t believe I didn’t come visit Grandma when she broke her hip. I chose a stupid summer course in my master’s program over my grandma. If only I had known how little time she had left. How little time we had left together.

“Did your mom come to Winter Falls to help your grandma?”

I sigh. “Mom and Grandma haven’t spoken for years. Don’t ask me what they fought over. I don’t know. Neither one of them would tell me.”

Silence falls as we finish emptying the bookshelf.

“That’s the last one,” I say as I close the final box.

I stand but my legs are half-asleep from sitting for such a long time and I sway as my knees buckle. Cash catches me before I can crumble to the floor.

“Careful, Indy. You don’t want to fall and knock yourself out and give Devil Cat the opportunity to eat your face.”

I shove him away. “Be nice or I’ll train Katy Purry to pee all over your favorite Chucks.”

He gasps and clutches his chest. “You wouldn’t.”

I mock glare at him. “Try me.”

He sighs. “I guess I better behave.”

“You? Behave? That’ll be the day.”

“Hey! I can behave. I prefer not to. But I can do it.”

“Whatever.” I check the time on my watch. “It’s too late to deliver the boxes to the library today. It’ll be closed by now. I guess I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“I’ll help.”

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