Kiss Me Hello by L. K. Rigel Page A

the nook by her shoulders. The flowers were cheerful, and morning sunshine poured in through the window. She sat down across from his laptop.
    This was Bram being romantic. Set a pretty table. Cook a great breakfast. Share the murder mechanism for the story he was working on. He moved his laptop aside and slid into the nook across from her, diving into his potatoes and onions.
    “By the way, there’s no internet here.” He winked. “How did Amelia live like that?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “The cell signal is sporadic too.”
    “So I noticed. Seriously, I need to get on line to check my stats.”
    “There’s wireless in the village. I know Peekie has it at The Book Beak, and people were using laptops at The Coffee Spot across the street. Watch out for Spot’s coffee though. It deserves its reputation.” She crossed her eyes and made a face.
    “Sure thing.” Bram said. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I checked the mailbox before I came. Looks like you got a RIF notice after all.”
    “Oh.”
    “The envelope’s in your bag.”
    “Well, crap.”
    “What do you care now?” Bram said, scraping up the last of his omelet. Sheesh, he ate fast.
    “I don’t know.”
    Sara found the letter from the district and brought it back to the nook to open. Somewhere inside, she’d believed she was too good a teacher, too valued to RIF. She’d fantasized that when her name appeared on the list, some administrator would say. Oh, no! Not Ms. Blakemore. The parents will raise an outcry if we let her go.
    “It still doesn’t feel good.”
    Well, she could let her hair grow now. No need to blow-dry it at 5:30 every fricken freezing winter morning.
    “No, babe. It doesn’t feel good.” Bram took his plate to the sink and rinsed it, put it in the dishwasher, then washed out the pan. Sara couldn’t fault his housekeeping habits. Compared to her, he was a neat freak. “You want to come?” he said. “I’m going to Pelican Chase to find a hot spot.”
    “No, I want to take a shower and explore a little.”
    He came back to the nook and kissed her forehead. “Maybe later we can find each other’s hot spots.” Not quite the same as connecting body and soul.
    Anyway, she realized painfully, she still wasn’t sure she wanted to.
    He scooped up his laptop and was out the door, waving at her through the window. He jumped into his truck, and roared out of the courtyard.
    No telling how long he’d be gone. Ever since he published Hot Heat , once he got online it was hard for him to log off. He was always checking sales and ranks and promotions and whether his Facebook fan page had any more likes. For one crazy minute, Sara fantasized not bringing internet access to the house.
    But Bram was right. Who could live like that these days?
    She took her satchel of stuff upstairs. Bram had cleared away Aunt Amelia’s things in the master bath. His razor and deodorant and toothbrush were neatly arranged on one side of the old-fashioned basin. There was room for Sara on the other side of the sink, but it felt wrong. She wasn’t ready to move into Aunt Amelia’s space.
    On her way to the bathroom down the hall, she stopped outside the guest bedroom. Sunshine streamed in through the window over the unmade bed, too cheerful a mess for a ghost. She poked her head through the door for a look at the chair in the corner. No one there. Mostly relieved, she continued down the hall.
    Bram was thorough. He packed her toothbrush and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant. Even her birth control pills, which she’d quit taking months ago. Why screw up her body for no reason? Uh-oh. What about last night? They’d used no protection whatsoever. She hadn’t even thought about it.
    The pills were still on the sink when she stepped out of the shower. She dried her hair, considering. Last night she was sure they’d kick-started their sex life, but this morning Bram was as withholding as he’d been all year, affair or not. A tease. She didn’t