Sneak Peek of Strip #3
Being a natural at stripping wasn’t the compliment Bryce thought it was, but Sage chose not to comment. She had long since resigned herself to do whatever was necessary to help Rosemary.
Once the paperwork was complete and Sage was rattling down Columbus Boulevard in her ten-year-old, dinged-up Mazda 6, she fumbled open the glove compartment and traded Olivia’s license for her own.
Her taillight was out. Getting pulled over with a fake ID would be a crappy end to a pretty good night.
She stopped her car on the narrow South Philly street in front of the cozy rowhouse she and Rosemary rented.
It was a steal at $1,200 a month. The kitchen was dated, but the paint was fresh and the carpets were clean.
A year ago, she’d never have put up with the owner’s refusal to provide a written lease and demand for cash-only payments.
What would have once made her suspicious was now a blessing.
Anything that helped them fly under the radar was a plus.
Sage hopped out of her car, threw the two neon-orange safety cones that had been reserving her parking spot into her trunk, then parallel parked.
She rubbed her goose-bumped arms as she dashed up the cement stairs to her front door.
The icy door handle numbed her already frozen fingers as she jiggled her key in the finicky lock.
You never knew what you’d get in January in Philly.
It could be fifty degrees one day and ten degrees the next.
Tonight, the temperature was hovering in the twenties.
The heavy door creaked with her hard shove, and Sage rushed inside, grateful for the dry radiator heat that rushed over her. Rosemary sat on the couch, huddled in a blanket, watching TV.
“It’s nearly midnight. Why aren’t you in bed?” Sage asked.
“Why aren’t you wearing a coat?” Rosemary snapped back.
Because I didn’t want it to get stolen.
At the Horny Toad, she locked her coat in her locker. A locker wasn’t an option during amateur night at the Black Cat.
“I forgot it. I was late for work.”
Sage grabbed sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and white cotton panties from the basket of folded laundry on the floor and changed her clothes in the middle of the living room. The warm, soft cotton was heaven.
Rosemary lifted an eyebrow. “It’s a good thing the blinds are closed. And you’re a bad liar.”
“Am not.” Sage flopped onto the oversized, slip-covered couch next to her sister and tugged half the knit afghan over her legs.
Rosemary clicked off the TV. “Stop before you really make me mad. I know you’re lying. You didn’t go to work tonight. Justin told me you were auditioning at the Black Cat club. Why didn’t you tell me? Why are you leaving the Horny Toad? You said you liked it there.”
“Justin needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.”
“No, Sage. You need to learn to open yours. I shouldn’t have to rely on whisper down the lane from Justin to get information about my own sister.
You should’ve told me about the audition yourself.
You don’t have to keep protecting me. If changing jobs is about money, I can go back to work.
” Rosemary’s face turned wistful. “I liked working.”
Sage’s stomach twisted. She’d rather run a marathon through a briar patch than do any kind of math, but her sister had loved her job at the accounting firm.
“I know you miss your job. I hate that we have to live like this. I know it makes you unhappy. I’m not happy. I feel horrible about it. It’s all my fault.”
Rosemary huffed. “Explain to me how this is your fault.”
“I should’ve said something to Mom about Davis. She was too sweet to see him for what he really is, but I knew he was a liar and a cheat. If I’d told her he was having an affair, maybe things would be different. Maybe she would have left him.” Sage hesitated. “Maybe she’d still be alive.”
“That’s crazy talk! The earth calls us home when it’s our time.
It was Mom’s time. There was nothing any of us could have done to stop it.
And it’s not your fault we’re living like this.
Davis is the one who kicked us out. He’s the one who threatened and attacked you.
He’s the one who cut us off from what’s rightfully ours. That is definitely not your fault!”
“Of course it is.” Sage twisted the blanket with white-knuckled hands.
“I should never have confronted him. I should have pretended everything was fine. I could have said it was too traumatizing to stay in the house. We could have moved out quietly, and he never would have known I went to the police.”
“That’s bull crap. The police would’ve questioned me at some point anyway. I’m the one who can’t remember seeing him at the club. I’m the one who couldn’t give him an alibi. Davis is just as angry with me as he is with you, probably more.”
“I’m not so sure about that. It was my accusations that set him off.”
Rosemary shivered and hugged herself. “Let’s not talk about him. I don’t even want to think about him. It’s not worth our energy, and it’s bad karma. We need to concentrate on what lies ahead. Now, tell me why you’re leaving the Horny Toad.”
Sage didn’t buy the whole fate and karma thing, but Rosemary, despite her affinity for numbers, lived by it.
In Sage’s mind, thinking and talking about Davis wasn’t going to make things any worse.
They couldn’t get much worse. Well, unless he found thembut that wouldn’t happen.
She’d made sure of it. They’d cut all ties, except Justin.
Sage only had a few close friends, and since she’d lost her mom last year and her dad and brother, Thyme, when she was eight, there hadn’t been that many ties to cut.
Snap. Snap.
Rosemary’s snapping fingers filled her vision.
“Yoo-hoo! Earth to Sage.”
“What?”
“I asked you to tell me why you’re leaving the Horny Toad. Like I said, if we need more money, I can get a job.”
Sage fought for patience. “We discussed this. You’re not going back to work right now. We need to lay low until Davis gets arrested or we have enough money to move and start over.”
“We could save money faster if I was working,” Rosemary said. “I could find something local and under the table. I could waitress. There are tons of restaurants nearby.”
“That’s not an option. I’m not letting you work, not with your fevers coming back.” Sage pressed her palm to her sister’s face and forehead. “You have a fever now.”
“It’s just a virus.”
“When you have Doctor in front of your name, you can self-diagnose. Until then, you’ll stay home and rest until your test results come back.”
“I’m sure they’ll be negative. I feel fine. You worry too much.”
Sage prayed her sister was right, because if Rosemary was sick again, in order to get her well, she might have to do more than strip.
* * *
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