Freaking rain. As I pulled off my hoodie, raised voices emanated from Neill’s studio. I walked quickly toward the front of the shop and the safety of my desk, not wanting to eavesdrop, but my name caught my ear. “Hailey’s a great artist. She’s talented and willing to learn. Why shouldn’t I give her a chance?” Neill was talking about me, but to who? I moved more slowly to my desk, looking over my shoulder as I went, trying to get a glimpse inside the small room. “I’m just saying you don’t know this girl. You’d lived with me for more than six months before I agreed to take you on as my apprentice. Listen, you’ve never done this before, but you know what happens to people who take on somebody without thinking it through. Remember that guy Roger was working with a couple of years ago, at the shop in Tampa, before he moved here?” I set my bag in the cubby beneath my desk. I really shouldn’t be listening, but they weren’t exactly being quiet. And neither Frankie nor Roger was playing music, so the voices were the only sound in the shop.
