My truck was dead.
Thank you, golden hammer.
“It’s broken,” Rufus said.
Irritation raced through me. This day had been absolute crap. Growling, I pushed out of the truck and slammed the door. Now I would need a tow.
One glance at my phone told me that it was dead, too. Super awesome. The golden hammer had delivered a double whammy. See? This was why I only used it in extreme circumstances.
Rufus exited the truck. “Any way of calling anyone?”
I shook my head. “We’ll have to walk back into town.”
He picked up Lady and put her on his shoulders. I wanted to argue, to tell him to put my dog down, but I let it go. This day had wrung me out to dry.
We’d only walked a few steps when I felt the first raindrop on the top of my head.
Rufus glanced over at me. “Looks like we’d better hurry before we get drenched.”
I grabbed my tool belt from the back of the pickup and quietly cursed the hammer. “That’s the last time I use you.”
Chapter 14
The first store we came to, Rufus and I ducked inside. Honestly it could have been a museum of the weird and fantastical and I wouldn’t have cared. All that mattered was getting out of the rain.
We stepped into Willard’s Pharmacy, a place straight from the past. On one side of the business stood the practical end, the actual pharmacy part, and on the other sat an old-fashioned soda shop with a dining counter where you could buy not only mixed fountain drinks but also order a cheeseburger and fries. Yep, Willard’s was a unique place.
He spotted us when we entered, looking like drenched rats, I’m sure.
“Clementine,” Willard called from behind the pharmacist counter, “what happened to you?”
“Got caught in the rain,” I said, flinging water off my hands.
Concern lined his face. “Hold on right there and I’ll get you a towel.”
Rufus took Lady gently from his shoulders and placed her on the floor. The dog glanced up at him, her big brown eyes seeming to ask why she’d been removed from her spot of privilege.
A side door opened, and Willard stood with three towels. “What in the world were you doing out in this rain?”
I wiped at my arms, but the towel only appeared to be spreading the water instead of mopping it up. “We got stuck. My truck broke down and my phone died, so we couldn’t call a tow.”
“Where’s the truck?” Willard asked.
“Back at the new Dooley place, the barn I’m working on.”
Willard’s face filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry about Sadie, Clem. I hated to hear it.”
I wrung out my hair and handed Willard the towel. “I hated to hear it, too, especially after what I’ve been discovering today.”
Willard extended his hand to Rufus. “Name’s Willard Gandy, this is my pharmacy and you must be John, the man suffering from amnesia.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Willard crossed his arms and appraised Rufus. “Have you been to a doctor?”
Rufus shook his head. “No, I’m afraid my malady can only be treated a different way.”
Willard cocked his eye at Rufus, studying him. Then a second later he wagged his finger. “Y’all two sit, and I’ll get some burgers and fries made up for you. Oh, and I’ll call a tow and get your truck in, Clem.”
