When seeking information in a small town, I’d often found it most useful to go to the town’s hub of information. In this case, it wouldn’t be the newspaper, but the heart of the gossip network itself, which I had quickly surmised on my previous stop at the visitor’s center to be Karen Lovejoy.
“Are you ready to be your charming self?” I asked Sir Raleigh, who dozed in the sun beside my chair. He opened one eye, then the other, and yawned, which in the language of cats could mean many things. I chose to interpret it as, “If you insist.”
I brought my trash inside and separated what I could into the recycling bins.
“Thank you for keeping The Aerie beautiful!” the barista called and gave me a big grin and a thumbs up.
“You’re welcome.” I smiled at the young man, whose hair was lighter than
