6. Frannie
“It’s going to be fine.”If I said those words enough times, maybe I’d start to believe them. I picked up the slobbery tennis ball and threw it as far as I could. Pete the Dog chased after it, letting it bounce a few times before he snagged it out of the air and carried it back to me. It was Thursday afternoon, and I hadn’t talked to Evan since he dropped off coffee at school on Tuesday morning.
Charice rolled her eyes. She’d asked me to go to hot yoga with her tonight, but Pete the Dog needed the exercise, so I’d convinced her to come to the dog park with me instead. “We’re still talking about Evan, right?”
“Yes. I think I need to come clean with him when we meet up tomorrow night.” Guilt over keeping a secret from my best friend had plagued me all week. I needed to tell him I’d gone out with Andrew, especially since Andrew had invited me to Cole and Danica’s wedding on the phone last night. With less than twenty-four hours until we were supposed to meet up at Pappy’s, I wasn’t sure I could go through with it.
“At some point you need to tell him.” Charice nodded as she toed at the tennis ball. “Sooner rather than later if you’re going to be Andrew’s date to the wedding. Evan’s going to need some time to get used to that idea.”
She was right. Evan wouldn’t have any issue with me dating someone—we were just friends, and he wanted me to be happy—but when he found out I’d been seeing a Stewart, I wasn’t sure how he’d react.
Cole and Danica were trying to mend fences between the two families by inviting members from each to their wedding. It would be the first time I could ever remember where the Bishops and Stewarts might willingly participate in an event together outside of the distillery.
Both families always took part in festivals and events around town, but that was more of an obligation since Devil’s Dance was the town’s largest employer. Most people I knew had either worked at the distillery or were related to someone who’d worked there.
I picked up the ball again and tried to brush it off. Leaves stuck to the sides thanks to the slimy slobber. “Someone needs to invent balls that don’t get slimy when you play with them.”
“Excuse me?” Charice let out a laugh. “What kind of balls have you been handling lately?”
“Tennis balls. Pete the Dog mashes it around in his mouth in between throws. It gets all slippery and wet and it’s hard to get a grip on it.” Her mind lived in the gutter. I was surprised she hadn’t pounced on what I’d said with one of her “that’s what she said—”
“That’s what she said!” Charice’s lips split so wide I could probably count all her teeth if I wanted to.
Something halfway between a groan and a growl bubbled up inside me. “You must be getting rusty. You were a little slow on the uptake on that one.”
“I’m just tired.” She took in a deep breath. “Molding the minds of today’s youth is hard work.”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Pete the Dog stopped at my feet and ground his teeth against the tennis ball before letting it drop to the ground.
“Hey, did the guys come to check your shower today?” Charice asked.
“Well, they came, but they didn’t fix anything yet. It’s worse than they initially thought. Sounds like it could be a pipe leaking under the foundation, so they might have to dig up the front yard.” I’d figured something was wrong earlier this week when I turned on the shower and the water came out in a trickle. Things could always be worse, I kept reminding myself. At least I had a roof over my head. My shower might not be working that great, but my roof had been replaced a couple of years ago, so I had that going for me.
“When will they do that?”
“I’m not sure. The big boss guy is coming to take a look at it tomorrow.” A medium-sized terrier mix ran over with Pete the Dog’s ball in his mouth. I’d been distracted by my conversation with Charice and hadn’t been keeping an eye on Pete the Dog. “Hey there, bud. Want me to throw that for you?”
The dog’s tail wagged back and forth, then it gently dropped the ball at my feet. I picked it up and lobbed it past the tall trees and into the open area beyond. The dog disappeared in a flash.
“Hey, have you seen Pete the Dog?” I asked, scanning the busy dog park.
“Isn’t that him over there?” Charice pointed to a corner of the fenced-in dog park where a couple of dogs appeared to be sizing each other up.
“Yes, that’s him. Come on, we can’t let him get caught up in a dogfight.” I hated running, but I forced my legs into a jog and reached the dogs just as the bulky pittie mix got into position to start humping Pete the Dog.
“Whoa! Hey, Beastmode, cut it out.” Silas Stewart, one of Andrew’s cousins who worked at the distillery, grabbed hold of the other dog’s collar and pulled him away. “Sorry about that. He tries to hump everything, but we’re working on it.”
“So you’re saying your dog is a horndog,” Charice said. Sarcasm laced her sugary-sweet tone.
“He’s a handful, that’s for sure. He’s a rescue, and I’ve only had him for a few weeks.” Silas shifted his blue-eyed gaze to me. “Hey, Frannie. I hear you’ve been seeing my cousin, Andrew.”
Shock stole my voice. Andrew had been telling people we were dating? I tried to say something, but I couldn’t force words past my lips.
Charice’s brows knit together in concern. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Sorry, you caught me off guard a little, Silas. Where did you hear that?”
His grin faded like he’d just realized maybe he shouldn’t have said anything. “Uh, Andrew just said the two of you hung out earlier this week.”
“That’s right. We did.” I pulled Pete the Dog’s leash out of my pocket and clipped it on his collar. “We need to get going, but it was nice seeing you.”
Charice tilted her head and tried to get a read on me. “Yeah, it was great meeting your little humping hound. See you around.”
“Y’all have a good night, and sorry again about—”
“Not a problem. Good luck.” With a final awkward wave, I turned to head toward the exit.
Charice caught up to me within seconds, thanks to her long stride. “What the hell was that? Don’t you want to pump him for info on what Andrew might have said about you? We could have double-teamed him. He wouldn’t even know he’d been played until it was over.”
“Andrew’s telling people we’re seeing each other.” I looked over at her, but kept moving toward the parking lot. “Don’t you get it? I need to be the one to tell Evan. What if he hears it from someone else?”
Charice wrapped her fingers around my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Are you sure there’s not some other reason you’re hesitant to tell Evan you’re seeing someone?”
“What do you mean? Andrew’s a Stewart. That’s reason enough to worry. I don’t think you understand the feud that’s been going on between the two families. It’s lasted through generations.” Charice grew up outside of Asheville, so she hadn’t lived under the shadow of the feud. The generations-long fight between the Bishops and the Stewarts affected everyone in town, and it had been that way for as long as everyone could remember.
“But it seems like the two families are trying to work on things. The anniversary celebration went well and with Cole and Danica’s wedding coming up, maybe having both families there will be the start to a new kind of relationship between them. From what I’ve heard, no one can even remember what started the dumb feud in the first place.” Charice reached down to scratch Pete the Dog behind the ears. “I wonder if Silas will be at the wedding.”
“No, no, no. Don’t you go making heart eyes at Silas Stewart. He’s bad news.” He’d been a year behind me in high school and there were rumors about him hooking up with the drama teacher. He might have gorgeous blue eyes and be built like Henry Cavill, but I wouldn’t let my work bestie get mixed up in his kind of trouble.
“He’s cute though.”
“The ones who cause the most trouble usually are. Can you hold Pete the Dog’s leash for a sec? I want to get him some water before we leave.” Charice held out her hand, and I gave her the end of the leash. Then I picked up one of the water bowls they kept on hand at the dog park and took it over to the water fountain to fill it. I’d had enough fresh air for one night. It was time to get home and figure out what I was going to say to Evan tomorrow.
As I walked back to Charice, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I wasn’t up for handling a call from Evan or Andrew at the moment, but I had to check the caller ID to make sure my dad didn’t need anything. The name of my landlord flashed across the screen.
I set the water down and held up a finger, signaling Charice that I’d just be a second. “Hello?”
“Hey, Frannie. I’ve got an update on the plumbing situation if now’s a good time to talk?” he said.
I was more than a little eager to find out when the plumber would be able to get out and fix my weak water pressure. “Yes, now’s a good time. I thought I wouldn’t hear more until tomorrow. When do they think they’ll be able to make the repair?”
“I was able to meet the owner of the company out there today. It’s not good news. Turns out the pipe under the foundation is leaking. They’re going to have to do a total replumb.”
Total replumb. I didn’t know what that meant, but it sounded like I wouldn’t be taking any high-pressured showers in the near future. “Um, okay. So how do they fix that?”
“I don’t really know how to tell you this, so I’ll just say it. You’re going to need to move out for a little while—”
“Move out? For how long?” My heart pounded. Where was I supposed to go?
“Shouldn’t take more than a month.” He kept talking, but I didn’t hear him. I was too busy fighting off a panic attack.
“Frannie?” Charice came closer. “You okay?”
I stared up at her while my landlord continued to jabber. Something about galvanized pipes and corrosion. “I’ll know more in a day or two, but I think you ought to start looking for somewhere else to stay,” he said.
“For a month.” I dug my nails into my palm. “Well, thanks for the update.”
He apologized again before I disconnected. I stood there, surrounded by the chorus of yips, yaps, and barks, wondering where in the world I was going to go for a solid month.
“Why do you look like someone just died?” Charice asked.
We left the dog park, being careful not to let any of the pups through the double set of gates. “I have to move out for a month so they can do a total replumb on my house.”
“A total replumb… like replace all the pipes?” She got to the car first and opened the door for Pete the Dog to hop in. His feet were covered in mud thanks to him spilling the bowl of water I’d filled for him. “Oh no. I didn’t notice his muddy feet. I’ll wipe out your car when we get back to your place.”
My place… the place I’d be leaving soon with nowhere else to go. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with it later.”
“Where are you going to go for a month?” Charice asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet.”
Staying with my dad wasn’t an option. He had a one-bedroom apartment at a senior living center. As close as we were and as much as I loved spending time with him, sharing a bathroom and camping out in his recliner would be too close for comfort. Plus, I had Pete the Dog to consider.
“What about your place?” I turned toward my friend. She had a two-bedroom apartment in a historic building right in downtown Beaver Bluff.
“They don’t allow pets.” She frowned just as Pete the Dog set a muddy paw on her shoulder.
“Stay back,” I warned him.
He tilted his head, then turned around in a circle and lay down on the back seat.
“There’s got to be somewhere you can go. What about that long-term motel on the way to Bordent? You could probably get a decent rate there. Isn’t your landlord going to pitch in to get you resettled? It’s not your fault the house needs new plumbing.” Charice tried to brush the mud off her shoulder but just ended up spreading it around.
“I’ll figure something out.” I pulled out of the parking lot, my mind already churning, trying to come up with a solution that wouldn’t leave me homeless for the next thirty days.