love the place—and he really probably was going to be
buried here.
"Bye," she called, getting into the car. She
didn’t think he heard her.
* * * *
For Dusty, if there was one place in
Larkspur filled with memories of Nick, it was Cougar's General
Store. The force of the memories was still unbearably painful, but
there just wasn’t anywhere else to get the essentials without
driving all the way out of town. She hadn’t gone into Cougar's
because she didn’t want to remember. She didn’t even like to look
at the store front with its rotting wooden porch, and windows so
filled with handwritten specials it was impossible to see
inside.
She couldn’t avoid it forever. Cougar’s dog,
Sarge, thumped his tail as she approached and she bent to pat his
head before she went in. Cougar's door had never had bells on it to
let him know when someone entered.
"I ain’t deaf," he would say. "What do I
need bells for?"
The store smelled of coffee and the tobacco
Will Cougar used to fill his pipe. It wasn’t a huge store, not like
the Krogers in Westlake, but he kept a good variety.
"Anything you want I got, and if I don't
have it, you don't need it!" he was fond of saying, and when she
was little, Dusty would have sworn it was the truth.
She went down the third aisle and picked up
a box of Tampax. She used to be embarrassed to buy them, especially
in Cougar's, but the awkward shyness passed after she was fifteen
or so.
It had surprised and scared her to find her
period had started. It had happened the morning after her dream and
the sight of blood had made her sick. She’d even stayed in bed with
cramps, something she didn’t often do. It had startled her,
although she knew she was due. Somehow, she still hadn’t expected
it. That—more than the rising and setting sun, her parents’
continuing lives, time ticking away on the grandfather clock in the
living room—hit home for her.
There was life after Nick.
Dusty moved down aisle
toward the back wall where the magazine and book racks were. Cougar
tried to keep up on his shipments. Her eyes scanned the book
titles, drawn to the word Horror written in red letters. Underneath were the
latest. Cougar used to stock the horror section just for them. She
and Nick would split the cost of books and share them when they
were kids, and they never really stopped. He’d buy one and send it
to her and vice versa.
She was about to go up to
the register when a name caught her eye. STEPHEN KING in bold black
letters, and below that, the title The
Dark Tower VII . It was the very last in
the gunslinger series! She had been waiting for this book to come
out forever! A familiar thrill went through her and she
thought, I wonder if Nick
knows —
She bit her tongue,
closing her eyes. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth, but
it cut the thought off. She’d been doing that, having thoughts
about Nick and what he might do in the future, things he would
never do again. It caused a sharp stab of pain slicing through her
middle when she realized she and Nick would never, could never,
because Dominick William Chandler had been made a graveyard meal of
by god-knows-what —someone
knows— yum, yum, wasn't that the most
delicious joke you ever heard?
She felt, for one terrifying moment, that
she was going to be sick. She was going to barf Julia’s special
brown-sugar-and-pecan oatmeal up, right onto old Cougar's
floor...
And then she was okay again.
She took the book off the shelf. It was soft
cover, so it must have been out for a while. She’d been so busy she
hadn’t read much lately. That was before the suspension and the
investigation. Before she found out Nick was dead. Now she had
nothing but time. She tucked the book under her arm, deciding to
buy it. If it took her mind off of the horror—the real horror of
her life—it was worth it.
"I knew I had them, Mike." Dusty looked up
at the sound of Will's voice. He came out of the back room,
followed by Mike White, Sarah's
buried here.
"Bye," she called, getting into the car. She
didn’t think he heard her.
* * * *
For Dusty, if there was one place in
Larkspur filled with memories of Nick, it was Cougar's General
Store. The force of the memories was still unbearably painful, but
there just wasn’t anywhere else to get the essentials without
driving all the way out of town. She hadn’t gone into Cougar's
because she didn’t want to remember. She didn’t even like to look
at the store front with its rotting wooden porch, and windows so
filled with handwritten specials it was impossible to see
inside.
She couldn’t avoid it forever. Cougar’s dog,
Sarge, thumped his tail as she approached and she bent to pat his
head before she went in. Cougar's door had never had bells on it to
let him know when someone entered.
"I ain’t deaf," he would say. "What do I
need bells for?"
The store smelled of coffee and the tobacco
Will Cougar used to fill his pipe. It wasn’t a huge store, not like
the Krogers in Westlake, but he kept a good variety.
"Anything you want I got, and if I don't
have it, you don't need it!" he was fond of saying, and when she
was little, Dusty would have sworn it was the truth.
She went down the third aisle and picked up
a box of Tampax. She used to be embarrassed to buy them, especially
in Cougar's, but the awkward shyness passed after she was fifteen
or so.
It had surprised and scared her to find her
period had started. It had happened the morning after her dream and
the sight of blood had made her sick. She’d even stayed in bed with
cramps, something she didn’t often do. It had startled her,
although she knew she was due. Somehow, she still hadn’t expected
it. That—more than the rising and setting sun, her parents’
continuing lives, time ticking away on the grandfather clock in the
living room—hit home for her.
There was life after Nick.
Dusty moved down aisle
toward the back wall where the magazine and book racks were. Cougar
tried to keep up on his shipments. Her eyes scanned the book
titles, drawn to the word Horror written in red letters. Underneath were the
latest. Cougar used to stock the horror section just for them. She
and Nick would split the cost of books and share them when they
were kids, and they never really stopped. He’d buy one and send it
to her and vice versa.
She was about to go up to
the register when a name caught her eye. STEPHEN KING in bold black
letters, and below that, the title The
Dark Tower VII . It was the very last in
the gunslinger series! She had been waiting for this book to come
out forever! A familiar thrill went through her and she
thought, I wonder if Nick
knows —
She bit her tongue,
closing her eyes. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth, but
it cut the thought off. She’d been doing that, having thoughts
about Nick and what he might do in the future, things he would
never do again. It caused a sharp stab of pain slicing through her
middle when she realized she and Nick would never, could never,
because Dominick William Chandler had been made a graveyard meal of
by god-knows-what —someone
knows— yum, yum, wasn't that the most
delicious joke you ever heard?
She felt, for one terrifying moment, that
she was going to be sick. She was going to barf Julia’s special
brown-sugar-and-pecan oatmeal up, right onto old Cougar's
floor...
And then she was okay again.
She took the book off the shelf. It was soft
cover, so it must have been out for a while. She’d been so busy she
hadn’t read much lately. That was before the suspension and the
investigation. Before she found out Nick was dead. Now she had
nothing but time. She tucked the book under her arm, deciding to
buy it. If it took her mind off of the horror—the real horror of
her life—it was worth it.
"I knew I had them, Mike." Dusty looked up
at the sound of Will's voice. He came out of the back room,
followed by Mike White, Sarah's
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