ZOEY
“Hello!”I call out, bending at a strange angle to stick my head into the hardware shop while leaving the rest of my body outside.
“Hello?”A middle-aged white woman with thick, dark hair, pulled back from a beautifully angular face, steps out from behind the register, approaching me with a tilt to her brow.
The expression looks familiar, but I don’t remember ever meeting her before.She’s not one of the Sip ’N’ Stitch gals, but maybe she was in The Wild Rabbit last night.
“Hi there.I would love to come in your store and spend more money than I probably should, but I need to ask you a question.”
That smirking curve to her lips also tickles at my memory.“And what’s that?”
I shift to the side so she can see who’s lingering behind me.Bruce sits on the sidewalk, looking like the well-behaved mammoth he is.“Does your store allow dogs inside?”
The woman grins wide.“Seeing as how I’m the owner and I make all the rules, I say yes.We have dogs in here all the time.As long as he doesn’t chew on anything important, we’ll get along just fine.”
What a relief.Bruce doesnotdo well with being left alone in the car.Alone in the house?Perfectly fine.Someone in the car with him?No problem.But the minute I shut the driver’s door and walk away, he sets to howling.
I’m not sure I’ve heard a more pathetic sound.Passersby always think he’s wounded or one step away from dying.
But no.He’s just dramatic.
“Thank you.”I smile at the woman as I open the door wider and pull my overgrown puppy in after me.
He trundles into the store, sniffing the tiles with mild curiosity.
If I had planned on visiting the hardware store today, I would’ve left Bruce at home.This was just supposed to be a get-out-of-the-house outing, where we could wander around the town and see what there was to see.Map out places where I could utilize Wi-Fi and get back to work for my website design clients.
But then I saw the sign for Sawdust and Supplies, and I couldn’t resist its siren call.
“That’s a big boy you have there.”The store owner hooks her thumbs in her pockets, grinning at the two of us.“I’m sure I would’ve remembered seeing him around town.You two new?”
I nod.“We’ve been here just over a week.”I pat Bruce’s head, which is conveniently as high as my waist.
Then, I rummage in my bag for the list of supplies I wrote up a couple of days ago.I’m not done cleaning out all the odds and ends in the cabin, but I’ve already got ideas for refurbishing some of the furniture.
“I’m looking for a few things, if you wouldn’t mind helping me out?”
“Of course.”She accepts the list, her eyes scanning the items.“So, where are you all staying?Bought a place?”
“We’re in a cabin about twenty minutes north of town.Off Birch Road.”
“Birch Road?You mean the Gunner place?”Up until this moment, the woman’s questions all had a tone of mild curiosity, but these carry a sharp note of interest.
Is Grandma Minnie’s cabin really that fascinating?
“That’s the one.”
The woman’s golden gaze traces over me rather than my list.“You renting?”
“No.My family owns it.I’m Zoey Gunner.The woman who lived there was my grandmother.”
The shop owner’s eyes go wide, and I get the feeling I’m missing something.
“Selena’s your mother?”
Ah, sometimes, I forget that despite never visiting Pine Falls before, these people still have a shared history with my family.
“She is.Do you know her?”
