Rough Around the Hedges Snippet (Patreon)

I turned in my next YA book to my editor on Monday and I'm still playing catch up. My brain, it is the pudding. 

In the mean time, I thought I'd share a short Rough Around the Hedges Snippet! This one is from Van's POV. Enjoy!

-Lish

We had dinner that night with my dad. Juliet drove all of us—that way if we needed a convenient excuse to bolt, we’d claim Savannah needed to go home, and hey, we’re carpooling so…

I’m told that some people don’t have to plan exit strategies for family dinners. I wondered what that was like. My ferrets chittered at me from inside the carrier that sat on my lap. It was a worried chitter. They could feel how tense I was. I reassured them absently, making a tsktsk sound.

Juliet and I were both quiet, staring at our dad’s house as the car cooled. Neither of us had moved when she turned the car off, both of us deep in our own heads. Will sat in the back, entertaining Savannah. She looked super cute in a summer dress print dress of smiling strawberries. We’d all dressed up. You didn’t show up scruffy to a dinner at my dad’s house. Not if you wanted it to go well. Even that wasn’t a guarantee, but showing up in tattered jeans and scuffed shoes would definitely start things off on a bad note.

Will had shaved, slicked back his blond hair, and put on a short sleeved button up, the first button undone. He’d put on dressier, slim fitting shorts that looked good on his long legs. Altogether, was rather swoon-worthy, and I couldn’t even enjoy it because I was two seconds from stress vomiting in my father’s driveway.

My dad lived in this gorgeous stained wood house that sat on a small lake. The yard and landscaping were immaculate. Like something out of a magazine. It was the kind of place where you could imagine elegant, spontaneous, and yet somehow catered garden parties to break out at any moment.

And I wanted to burn it all down. You know, after I stress vomited all over it.

Savannah started fussing and Will took her out of her carseat. “Just keep in mind, you two. It gets to be too much? We leave.” He let Savannah stand on his legs, making faces at her so she’d giggle. “We can come up with a secret signal.”

“Like what?” Juliet asked. “Like a code word?”

“I’m thinking bird calls,” Will said. “If things get dire, just shriek like an eagle. Flap your arms. Ca-caw! Ca-caw! You know, something birdy.”

“You don’t think my dad would notice that?” Juliet asked dryly.

Will scoffed. “It will confuse him. By the time he’s figured out what’s going on, we’ll be long gone.”

“Caw! Caw!” Savannah clapped her little hands.

“That’s right, Savvy,” Will, said, tickling her. “Caw-caw.”