Clucking Crazy (Weird Shifters #4)

Chapter One

Daisy

Life sucks.

Okay, maybe that’s not true. It doesn’t suck. It’s actually kind of awesome—well, it can be—but why does living have to be such a struggle?

Sure, I chose the roads that led me to where I am today, but my goodness… I thought I was doing the right thing.

I’d heard how crazy college debt can get, but I didn’t think it would be so bad that I would have to pick and choose the days I get to eat. Now, I’m skipping a semester entirely because I owe too much, and unless I pay it off, they won’t allow me back at all.

Who wants to be a veterinarian anyway?

Well… me, that’s who. It’s what I’ve wanted my whole life. I guess growing up on a farm will do that to you. Maybe it’ll happen one day… in ten years or so, when I’m in a better place financially.

I sigh, picking up the hairbrush on my bathroom sink and running it through my wet hair.

The bristles glide through easily—except when it reaches the end.

They’re split, dry, and in need of chopping.

I lift a chunk of my hair and stare at it, then storm out of my bathroom and into the kitchen.

I snip it off without thinking, then grab other pieces and do the same.

When I get back to the bathroom, I see how much of a mess I made, but who the hell cares?

No one sees my hair—it’s always up. I don’t go anywhere.

You need money for that. At least now it’s soft, even if it’s uneven.

I twist my hair up and put the clip in it before going into my bedroom to get dressed.

My apartment is a one-bedroom, open-concept unit on the third floor. I don’t hate it and I save on heat since it’s always warm here. It’s enough for me. The best part is it’s cheap, because it’s not on the best side of town and further away from campus than most prefer.

My cell rings, and I hurry to it, thinking it could be the school. I’ve put in so many requests for assistance on paying so I can continue attending, but no one has gotten back to me yet.

I don’t recognize the number, but something tells me I should answer it, anyway.

What if it’s someone from the college telling me the number they quoted for my debt was a mistake?

Or they’re willing to work with me to pay it off?

Or what if it’s someone telling me that I hit the jackpot and I’m now a millionaire?

You never know. So, with a smile on my face, I answer the phone in a cheery tone, because being in a bad mood doesn’t help a damn thing.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, I’m looking for Daisy Collins.”

“This is her,” I say, perking up.

The person on the other end sounds official.

This has to be the school!

They can’t possibly give me worse news, so that means it has to be good.

“My name is Edward Tomlinson with JP&T Law firm—” Crap, a law firm?! I’m so screwed. “I finally had some time to go over your grandmother’s will, and—”

“My grandmother?” I blurt out. “Grannie?”

It’s silent for a moment, then he says, “You are the granddaughter of Agnes Merrimack, are you not?”

“I am, but I don’t understand why you’re talking to me about her will. Shouldn’t you be talking to her?”

Silence.

Then more silence.

“Hello?” I say.

“Miss Collins, did no one reach out to you about your grandmother?”

“No, sir. I haven’t talked to Grannie since Christmas. She lives on a farm in Bakersville and doesn’t have a phone.”

He sighs, then adds, “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she passed away.”

My blood turns to ice, and I fall into the nearest recliner.

“What?” The word comes out a raspy whisper.

Grannie is all I have. The only family I have left…

“She passed away almost two months ago.”

“Two months?”

My chest gets tight, and it’s hard to breathe. I want to be angry, sad, but I’m just… blank. Empty. I can’t find the words.

“Yes, Miss. The hospital was supposed to reach out to you.”

They didn’t. No one did.

“This can’t be right. You must have the wrong person. Grannie was in good shape. She was healthy. She could run circles around me, for crying out loud.”

“I don’t know much about the situation, so you’ll have to reach out to Hannah Memorial Hospital.” There’s another pause, and he adds, “Would you like to call me back after you do that? We can discuss the will then.”

“Okay…”

He gives me his number, which is the one he called from, so I don’t write it down. We get off the phone, and I sit there and stare at the ground.

Grannie is dead? How can this be? She was as healthy as the horses in her barn. Never had a thing wrong with her.

Every Christmas I spent with her, she was up early, taking care of everything around the farm, and even had breakfast done before I woke up.

Same as it was when I lived with her. I would help her out on the farm, but I never lasted as long as she did.

It was hard work. And she wasn’t even that old!

This October would have been her sixty-fifth birthday.

This is crazy… it makes no sense. It can’t be right! Was it an accident on the farm? Machinery or something? Was she sick and didn’t tell me? Why didn’t Charlie get a hold of me? Is he even okay?

How dare that lawyer call me and give me this news? He’s wrong! Grannie isn’t dead! She can’t be.

But there’s only one way to find out. I have to call the hospital.