Read Online South River Incident by Ann Mullen - Free Book Online

Cole’s house got rougheras we got closer. The road hadn’t been
plowed by the Virginia Department of Transportation as of yet, and according to
Billy, they probably wouldn’t go this far up the mountain. Tire indentations in
the snow were the only clue we had as to where the road lay. We chugged and
bumped our way up and down the hilly road until we reached the turn-off to
Cole’s house. 
    “He’s probably in bed
asleep.”
    “We’ll just have to wake
him.” Billy stopped short when he pulled up in front of the house. Cole was
standing on the front porch dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, holding a can of
beer.
    The overhead panel in the
truck registered the outside temperature as 39 degrees and the time of day as 11:15 .
    “What’s he doing outside in
a T-shirt?” I asked. “It’s freezing, and he’s drinking a beer. It’s not even noon .”
    “Perhaps his conscience is
bothering him.”
    From the look on Cole’s
face, I thought perhaps Billy might be right.
    I had wrestled with my
feelings all the way to Cole’s house. After what he said to me earlier, I was
afraid that if I saw him so soon, it would be the beginning of the end of our
relationship. I wanted to hold onto that last little bit of hope I had that
this would all work out in the end, and he would be there for me. I couldn’t
understand why he was withdrawing when I would probably need him now more than
ever. Did he not really love me as much as he claimed? Why wouldn’t he stand up
to Sheriff Hudson and tell him that I was his woman and I needed him? If this
was happening to him, I would be right there every step of the way. His actions
or lack thereof, tore at my heart. I couldn’t understand why he would let me
down when I loved him so much. Didn’t he love me?
    “A little early in the day
to be having a beer, isn’t it my friend?” Billy asked Cole as he slammed the
truck door. “That’s a sure sign of an alcohol problem. Do I need to find you a
sponsor? Your heart must be carrying a heavy burden.”
    Cole threw his hands in the
air and shook his head. “What can I say? It’s been a rough couple of days. I do
have a heavy heart, but it’s not what you think. I just buried River.”
    “Oh, no,” I said as I
walked up the porch steps to him. “I’m so sorry. What happened?”
    “Somebody shot him,” Cole
replied. The pain of the loss of his dog was heavy on his face. “I guess he got
into somebody’s business once too often so they took matters into their own
hands. He dragged himself home to die. There’s a faint trail of blood back
there.” He motioned to the woods behind the house. “I buried him by the big
cedar tree in the side yard.”
    I glanced over in the
direction of the tree. A small mound of dirt was visible in the snow,
surrounded by tracks made from the tiny bulldozer that sat off to the side. My
heart sunk.
    “How could anyone do that
to an animal? Why didn’t they just run him off? They didn’t have to shoot him.
People can be so mean.”
    Cole stared at me in
disbelief as he said, “That’s not the way people do things here. You either
control your dog or he winds up dead. People around here have a short fuse when
it comes to dealing with intruders, especially the four-legged kind. That’s
just the way it is.”
    I wanted to put my arms
around Cole and help him through his pain, but I knew I could not bring myself
to do that. He had rejected me. My pride wouldn’t allow me to touch him or show
anything other than remorse for the loss of his dog. Instead, I stood in
silence.
    Billy sloshed through the
snow up to the porch.
    “I’m sorry about River.
That’s a terrible thing to happen.” He patted Cole on the back. “Got anymore
beer? We need to have a talk, buddy.”
    I was surprised at Billy. I
thought for sure he was going to tear into Cole once we got here, but instead
he remained calm and in complete control. Then it dawned on me—how could you
bite a man’s head off when he has just