Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.2 - Rough Broke (4 page)

You've got to hand it to your stepfather, really. If there had been some big scene, yelling and slamming things, maybe your mother crying in the background, then at least you would have gotten an adrenaline burst, gotten enough energy to tear you up off this curb and off to do something. As it is, there's nothing. It's mid-afternoon in early September, and the street is deserted, kids still at school, adults at work or inside. You guess your stepfather must have taken the day off in order to execute his plan. It's hot, the pavement melted and wavy, and the heat is weighing you

From down the street, you hear the tinkling song of an ice cream truck, and you wonder what it's doing here, in this ghost town. There's a school a couple blocks down and it's almost dismissal time, so you guess maybe it's heading over there, but as the truck drives towards you, it's going slow and playing its song, as if the driver expects kids to come rushing out of the houses to greet him. You think of your own unrealistic dreams and can't judge him too harshly, but as he gets closer you put your head down on your knees, avoiding eye contact, not wanting to look at the face of another misplaced loser. You hear the truck move up beside you, and then stop, and you wonder just how crazy this guy is, and have a quick flashing vision of the truck being driven by Pennywise, that monstrous clown from some Stephen King movie, and the clown stepping out of the truck and standing over you, and then stabbing into your hunched shoulders with his razor-sharp fingernails, pulling you open, splitting you apart.

You're not seven years old, you know that's not going to happen, but all the same, you know you need to keep an eye on the damn driver, so you pull your head back up and the driver
is
getting out of the truck, but he's not a killer clown, just a tired-looking guy in a sweatstained white shirt. He doesn't really look at you, just walks over and stands there, and he's holding out a wrapped ice cream sandwich. You're not sure what's going on but you reach out and take it, and then he turns around and walks back to the truck, and he climbs in and puts it in gear and heads off down the street; you're left sitting there staring after him. You're not quite sure what's going on, but you like ice cream and if you don't eat it it’s going to melt all over the place pretty damn fast, so you tear the wrapper off and eat the sandwich in about three bites. It's good, and you think about chasing after him and seeing if you can get some more, but that seems pretty pathetic.
Of course, it's pathetic to stay sitting on the curb, too, so you stand

up and grab the duffle bag and start walking. You're not planning to catch up, but you go in the same direction as the ice cream truck. As directions go, it's as good as any other.

Kate started writing at about the same time she got back on a horse after a twenty-year break. She’d like to think that she’s far too young for it to be a mid-life crisis, but apparently she was ready for a few changes!

Kate’s writing focuses on characters and relationships, people trying to find out how much of themselves they need to keep, and how much they can afford to give away. She tries to find that careful balance between drama and humor – she wants readers to have an intense experience and feel drawn into the book, but she also wants them to enjoy the time they spend reading.

Kate started writing in the m/m area of Romance, and she’s spent some serious time trying to figure out why that is… if you’re interested, her reflections on why m/m fiction appeals to
one
straight woman can be found at her blog (http://kate-sherwood.dreamwidth.org/). Kate definitely plans to continue writing in both sub-genres, and is drawn to YA, as well. And maybe some women’s fiction. And urban fantasy. Possibly sci fi. Thriller? The possibilities are endless!