“I don’t understand. How can they not charge me rent for the first month?”

“He’s got the flu, peach blossom. You want him to drag his ass out here with a fever of 108 to collect your rent?”

“He’s got a fever of 108? Shouldn’t he be in the hospital?” I ask, not knowing temperatures could even go that high.

“Or the morgue,” Black says and I frown.

“Oh my God, I know this sounds horrible, but what if this friend of yours… What was his name again?”

“I call him C.T. His name’s kind of a tongue twister.”

“What if C.T. dies?!?! I just moved in. I’d hate to lose the house.”

“He’s not going to die,” Ida Sue says, and she really doesn’t seem worried. Still, a temperature of 108 seems… extreme.

“Unless someone kills him,” Black says and I frown at my cousin.

“No one’s going to kill him,” Ida Sue growls at Black. They stare at each other a minute and I’m pretty sure I’m missing some pertinent information to this conversation.

“You never know. He’s not made any friends in this part of the woods. In fact, my brothers and I would like to smash his face in.”

“You and your brothers will do no such thing. I forbid it,” Ida Sue yells. She does this loudly and there’s anger in her words—enough that I take a step back.

“What am I missing here?” I ask, confused.

“C.T. made a few bad decisions,” Ida Sue says with a heartfelt sigh.

“That’s a freaking understatement,” Black says.

“Your cousins are a wee bit upset with some of his recent decisions.”

“Another freaking understatement.”

“Oh. Should I not rent the house? I could still get the apartment above the beauty shop,” I ask, directing my question at Black. I don’t want to jump into a huge mess.

“That’s crazy talk right there. This house is perfect. The master bedroom and bath are so nice and the small nursery will be great for baby Zeus or Eris,” Ida Sue argues. “Plus, Cherry Blossom, look at this yard. Your babies could run and play for days.”

I laugh. For the last few days Ida Sue has tried different “blossom” names for me. She’s asked to adopt me, even though I keep telling her you can’t adopt grown adults. Her response was classic Ida Sue: she said she can adopt me, she just has to find the right name. I don’t know what to say to that, other than I love her—which I do, even if she is crazy as hell.

“I don’t think I need to worry about the yard. I probably won’t be here long enough for the baby to be running—and that’s bay--be, singular, definitely not plural,” I laugh.

“Why wouldn’t you be? I thought you liked it here.”

“Well, I do. It’s a great place for a kid to grow up. But I’m renting. I doubt the owner is really looking for any contract to be long term.”

“Exactly the reason I want to smash his face in,” Black growls.

“What?”

“Nothing. Black forgot to take his fiber medication this morning. It makes him grouchy when he can’t poop correctly.”

I cringe. That’s something I really didn’t want to know about my cousin.

“Well, you’re right about one thing, Mom. Someone around here is sure full of shit.”

“Black Heart Lucas! You need to shut it!”

“I don’t have a middle name, Mom.”

“You do now! I just added it!”

I know they’re arguing, and I’m confused as hell, but I listen to them and giggle.

“I’m going to make sure Faith’s water is turned on and her windows are locked,” Black answers, walking away, and it’s clear he’s still angry.

“Wow. He is really upset with your friend.”

“He is, but he’ll get over it. C.T. just needs to prove himself again, and he will.”

“What did he do?”

“That’s not my story to tell, Ginger Blossom. But I think everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you?”

“I never thought about it. I guess so. Unless maybe, murderers and people who harm children and maybe pets. Really, Ida Sue, I can’t answer since I don’t know what this C.T. did.”

“He just made a mistake, Tater Blossom, but it wasn’t illegal. Everyone makes mistakes, even my damn boy. One day he’ll be eating his words.”

“You have that much confidence in your friend?”

“I do, but then there’s a lot on the line for him and I’ve found when a good man is faced with losing everything, he tends to get his head out of his ass pretty quick.”

“Well I hope he fixes everything, especially since you seem so fond of him.”

“Me too, Turtle Blossom, me too.”

“Aunt Ida Sue?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s just call me Blossom...”

She grins really big and I get the feeling she got what she wanted all along. I’ve agreed to be “adopted” and I didn’t even see it coming.