by Rivi Jacks
“Me too,” Emma Rae adds with a knowing smile. Reenie just giggles.
With a nod to Benny and Gary, I pick up my new Murphy’s T-shirts, wave bye to everyone, and head to Diane’s. She’s been busy going through her closet, finding dresses she thinks I might consider for my date Saturday night.
“You’re going shopping with us tomorrow, right?” I ask.
“Yes, I can’t wait. I need a few things, too. It should be fun with Jordy and Lucy. We haven’t done this in ages.”
Diane’s mom comes in from the barn. She gives me a rib-squeezing hug. I love Diane’s parents, and I’ve spent lots of time in their home through the years. “Just here getting your dad some duct tape,” her mom says.
Diane rolls her eyes. “Dad thinks duct tape holds the universe together.” I smile. Diane’s dad is a character.
Her mom continues to rummage through one of the kitchen drawers. “For your father, it does.” She triumphantly holds up a roll of tape.
“Sofie,” she pauses by the door on her way out, “I’ll expect you for supper real soon.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I agree, giving her a smile. She leaves, headed to the barn with hope for the universe.
“Want another piece of cake?” Diane asks as she pours coffee.
“No, thanks.”
“Um... Sofe...”
“Hey, I want to tell you about something kind of weird that happened last night.”
“What?”
“I had a bad dream—”
“The same as what you used to have?” Diane never knew exactly what my nightmares were about, no one did, but she was aware they were always—similar.
“No, not one of those, but what’s strange is Nick came over to check if we were okay.”
“What?”
“He was worried there might be trouble over at our place. His banging on the door was what woke me.”
“He sensed something was wrong with you?”
“Well, he didn’t say that, but... isn’t it odd?” I ask.
“Hmmm.”
Hmmm? “Diane, what’s up?”
“Sofe... I...”
My cell phone ringing cuts her off. I dig it out of my coat pocket. “Hold that thought.” I smile an apology. “Hey, Sawyer.”
“Where are you?” he asks.
“I’m at Diane’s.”
“First of all, he’s okay.”
“Who?” I demand. At once, I have a sick feeling. Alerted by the sound of my voice, Diane becomes still, listening.
“Jake.”
I glance at Diane. “What’s happened to Jake?” The air leaves my lungs, and I don’t seem able to catch a breath.
“A minor crash on the four-wheeler. He’s okay.”
I stand, shrugging into my coat. “Where is he?” Diane rushes to get her jacket as I head out the door.
“He’s here, at our place... out at the barn.”
“What!” Diane and I get in the Jeep, and I back toward the road.
“He’s okay, scratched and banged up a bit. Nothing’s broke, and he isn’t bleeding. Since he didn’t want to go to the doctor, we brought him over here.”
“We’re on our way.” As I pull out of the driveway, I glance at Diane. She doesn’t look too good.
“Is he okay?” she whispers.
“Yeah, the fools hauled him to the Shotgun Shack. Sawyer told me he’s not hurt, just banged around a little. Diane, are you okay?” I glance at her again.
She turns to me with wide eyes. “Sofie…” She busts out crying.
I slow the Jeep, and reaching over, I lay my hand on her shoulder. “Honey, Sawyer assured me that Jake’s okay. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
With tears streaming down her face, she says, “We’ve been seeing each other... and... I love him.” Then the floodgates truly open.
My mouth drops open, but I don’t say anything right off. “You have?” I shoot her a quick glance. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’ve been trying.” She sniffs.
I think about what else she’s said. “How long have you been seeing each other?”
“About six months.” She blows her nose on the tissue I hand her. “We’ve been real careful that no one find out. We didn’t want someone else telling you.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I’m downright puzzled here.
“Because you told me, years ago, to stay away from him,” she wails.
I slow the Jeep to turn onto the lane leading to the barn. “When you were sixteen years old, and he was a crazy wild-ass!”
She sniffs. “So, you’re not mad?”
“No, I’m shocked you kept something from me this long.” I drive the Jeep to the barn and cut the engine. Sam meets us at the door.
Jake sits at one of the tables by the bar with his left leg propped and an ice bag on his knee. He has numerous scratches across his face and arms. Nick and Sawyer sit with him, and Taylor leans against the bar. They’re talking quietly as we hurry in.
I hug Jake, asking him, “Are you sure you shouldn’t go to the doctor?”
As Nick stands, Jake reaches over and pulls Nick’s vacated chair next to his. He smiles at Diane, patting the chair for her. Sawyer pushes me into the one he’s been sitting in.
“Thanks, Sawyer.” I give Nick and Taylor a smile in greeting. Jake drapes his arm over Diane’s shoulders and pulls her close. I smile at them. “Diane told me.”
“Good,” he replies. “I knew you’d be okay with us, but Diane didn’t think so. Something about you telling her to stay away from me?” He raises an eyebrow.
“I’ll... tell you later.” No one else seems surprised by Jake and Diane sitting together. “What happened, Jake?”
“That’s what we were discussing when you came in,” Sawyer says.
Jake takes a long drink from a beer bottle, which I think is not such a good idea. “I rode the four-wheeler up to the second hayfield to check on the herd.” He pauses, recalling his actions. “Across the field, at the edge of the woods, I saw a cow down and something else kinda humped up by it. Whatever the thing was... it looked up as I started across the field.” His face reflects what he remembers. “I’m not clear on what the face looked like because it ran off into the woods so fast.”
What? “Was it a bear?” I ask.
“No.” Jake glances at Nick. “I followed it right up the hill, on that trail leading up to the old Walker homestead. I caught a glimpse as it ran through the trees, but there was no way to keep up, and it was... gone. I rode on up to the meadow, shut off the engine, and sat, listening and watching.” He takes another drink.
I’ve gotten goose bumps, thinking of him up there with—who knows what. However, I’m not altogether sure it wasn’t a bear. Old Percy Walker, who lives over by Panther Creek, had trouble last summer with a black bear around his place. Lucy told me the whole story.
“I headed back down the hill. When I reached the remains of that old gnarly tree, you know the one hit by lightning?”
“Yeah,” I answer, knowing where he means. We’d covered every inch of that farm as kids.
“I went on that path the cows and critters take to the creek, and halfway down, I caught sight of it again. Gave chase, and that’s how I got most of these scratches. I decided to head across the holler, where all those blackberries used to grow, but the hill was too steep and brushy. As I came back out of the holler... I lost control and rolled.”
Diane gasps.
Sawyer hands me his beer, and I take a long drink.
“You’re lucky you didn’t break something,” Nick told him.
“Yeah, your neck,” I add.
“Luckily I had my phone with me.” Jake repositions the ice bag.
“Not a bear—are you sure, Jake?” I think I’m hoping it was just a bear.
“All I know is it was the size of a large man and didn’t have fur.”
“Maybe it was a man,” I suggest.
“No human can move that fast, Sofie.”
“Taylor and I checked,” Nick answers. I raise my eyebrows in question. “More than one had fed.”
I shudder. “Does Ben know?”
“Not yet,” Jake says.
“What the hell, Jake?”
“What am I going to tell him, Sofe?”
“Uh—you wrecked the four-wheeler, but you’re not seriously hurt!”
“He’ll see tonight I’m okay.”
“I’ll call and tell him you’re okay now,” I decide.
“Thanks.” Jake hands me his cell.
“You big weenie,” I retort as I take the phone. Jake grins. I’m certain he just set me up so I’d be the one breaking the news to Ben, and I give him a disgruntled look. After I end the call, I hear Taylor say he’ll call someone called Santiago, and Sawyer’s asking questions about the meeting that night.
“Jake, you think Sofie and I should take you to the doctor so he can check you out?” Diane asks, looking worried.
“Nah, I’m okay, baby.”
I go behind the bar and open the fridge.
“What you need isn’t in there,” Taylor informs me.
“No?” I turn to look at him.
He sets two shot glasses down and searches through the bottles behind the bar. Sam steps up and reaches over the bar top, pulling out a bottle. “Here’s what we need,” Sam says.
Taylor sets another glass out. “Just what I was looking for.” He pours a shot in each glass, sliding one over to Sam and one to me.
I sit down on the stool by Sam, taking a deep breath. Drinking tequila at this time of day can’t be a good idea. I turn the shot glass up. Taylor promptly refills our glasses. I glance at the table where the others sit, talking. Diane’s listening to everything; I’ll have to pump her for info later.
“What do you two think Jake saw today?” I ask my drinking partners.
Sam glances where Jake sits. “Exactly what he told us.”
Taylor turns up his shot and sets the glass down. “I agree.”
“You don’t think it might have been a bear?”
“Do you?” Taylor asks.
“Maybe, but Jake says for sure it wasn’t so...” I shrug, and then grin at Sam. “Maybe it was Momo.” He chuckles, and Taylor’s eyebrows come together. “There have been sightings through the years of a hairy creature that walks upright on two feet.”
Sam takes up the story when I pause to drink my shot. “In the last twenty years, people have seen such a creature, off and on up north on the Mississippi River, mostly in the little town of Louisiana. But years before that, we had several sightings in this area of the Ozarks.”
“The old Jesse James Museum in Branson once had a stuffed one on display,” I add. “Someone trapped a similar Momo in late 1800s, sold it to a circus, and it lived in captivity for twenty-some years. When the creature died, they stuffed the poor thing, and it ended up in that old museum. It had dark brown hair all over its body and brown, human-looking eyes. The museum’s long gone now, along with the Momo.”
“What are you three doing, getting drunk?” Nick sits on the stool beside me.
“Sofie’s telling monster stories,” Taylor teases with a smile.
“Oh, that’s not a monster story. If you want a monster story, I can tell you one.” I catch the surprise on Taylor’s face as I turn away. Sometimes things slip out, and I’m sure drinking tequila makes for loose lips.
Taylor’s still looking at me when I glance back at him. He pours us another shot, which I slide over to Nick.
“Taylor and I think the story of what happened with Jake should not leave this room,” Nick tells Sam and me.
“I agree. No one would believe this unless they see it for themselves anyway,” I answer. I watch Nick and Taylor exchange a look. “You think more sightings, more incidents such as this one, will happen, don’t you?” I look back and forth between them. “What are those things?”
“Let’s wait before getting excited,” Nick suggests. “We’re waiting for word from... a friend of ours. I’m going to visit Estella and Lucian tonight to find out what they can tell me.” Nick takes my hand and gives a gentle squeeze.
“Do you think we’re in danger of these—things attacking humans?” Sam asks a good question. I glance at Nick. Again, he and Taylor exchange looks.
“As I said, let’s wait until we know more,” Nick answers.
The Sweetwater community building has stood at the edge of town since the late fifties. All types of Sweetwater activities happen here. People rent the facility for family get-togethers, school functions, and fundraisers. A group plays bluegrass every Friday night, and area residents attend for a little pickin’ ’n’ grinnin’. Tonight, the turnout for the meeting is surprising—and not in a good way. We only have a show of about twenty concerned citizens.
Jake decided not to attend. He’s starting to feel his hurts, and Diane is staying with him at the house. When I called earlier, she said he was doing a lot of moaning and groaning. I do not envy her his company.
So only Sawyer, Nick, Taylor, and I attend the meeting. Nick thinks it’s a good idea for Sam to stay with Jake and Diane. For some reason, this worries me.
The representative from the sheriff’s office, Deputy Harvey Graves, reveals they’ve had dozens of calls from area residents wanting to know what the sheriff’s department intends to do about the situation. I wonder what their response would be if they’d seen what Jake had. Most of the information discussed at the meeting pertains to cattle rustling. The officer suggests a neighborhood watch program, but people who live in the country pretty much do that anyway.
Terry Joe Wooten, Jerome’s cousin, speaks up and asks just what the sheriff’s plans are.
Deputy Graves’s gaze travels around the room. “I’m sorry. No way can we patrol the county’s back roads all the time.” He glances about. “Any knowledgeable thief can throw a horse, dog, and trailer together, driving away with your cows.”
I look at Sawyer, who sits beside me. I wonder if anyone has clued Deputy Graves in on what’s going on.
“Excuse me, Officer Graves,” Sawyer speaks up as he stands, all eyes focusing on him. “They’re butchering our cows in the field.”
“Yes, Sawyer, they’re probably selling the meat. We suggest following the same protocol—”
“Selling the meat?” Sawyer interrupts. “They’re butchering and eating on the cows, right in the field.”
Nick leans over to me and speaks in a low voice. “Maybe you should remind him not to say too much.” I regard Nick and see the corners of his mouth twitch, his beautiful blue eyes sparkling.
I tug on Sawyer’s jacket. He glances down at me, pausing in the process of telling Deputy Graves and the good people of the community that sometimes several will feed on the slaughtered cow. I have to hand it to him; he doesn’t say several what. Of course, we don’t know what the several are either. I smile and give a slight shake of my head. He takes the hint and sits down.
“Sorry,” he apologizes, giving Nick a brief glance. At least Sawyer has the meeting moving in the right direction. Some of the other farmers are voicing their concerns.
“You did really well,” I whisper, smiling at him. I glance back to assess the reactions of the others behind us, and as I do, I notice a couple of men going out the door. I catch a glimpse of the first man’s profile. He is tall and black-headed. The second man is not nearly as tall, and he’s heavier set, with gray in his dark brown hair. Even with my quick glimpse, he appears older than the other man. I don’t recognize either of them.
Turning around, Nick asks, “What?”
“Did you see those men in the back?” He glances, but of course, they’re already gone. Something about the strangers piques my curiosity.
The town meeting ends about eight-thirty, but most of the farmers present remain, further discussing the cattle cr
isis. Sawyer decides to stay; he reassures Nick and Taylor he won’t say too much.
I walk to Nick’s truck with Taylor while Nick speaks with Sawyer. Taylor holds the door on the passenger side open for me. As I climb in and slide to the middle, I wonder what he thinks about everything. After all, he’s only here for a visit. “You must think this is pretty strange.”
He sits beside me and closes the truck door. He turns his gaze on me, smiling. “In fact, I find it interesting.”
“You do?”
“I do.” He looks out the windshield. His dark brown eyes scan the parking lot, watching the people still present. “There’s something—unusual—going on in your small community.”
I peer at the people standing around, talking amongst themselves. I shiver from the cold and the knowledge all might not be well in the sleepy little backwater town of Sweetwater.
Taylor lays his arm across my shoulders in a purely friendly way. I appreciate the gesture because he’s warm to the extreme. “Seems to be getting colder tonight,” he notes.
The truck door opens, letting in Nick and a blast of cold air. As Nick settles in the seat, he turns to us. “Are you hitting on my girl?”
“She’s cold,” Taylor answers. He also leaves his arm right where it is. I do a slow blink at Nick, and he grins at me. I’m not too sure if I appreciate being called his girl. We haven’t even had our first date yet.
Nick fires up the truck and heads out. Before pulling on to the highway, he states, “I think someone should stay at your house for a day or two until Jake is back on his feet.” He catches my frown. “Just as a precaution, since we’re not sure what we’re dealing with.”
Well, that goes without saying. “That’s why you had Sam stay.”
“Yes.” We turn on Walker Road. “I’m going to drop Taylor off at my place before I head out to Lucian and Estella’s to speak with them. If you want, you could come along.” He looks at me with a raised brow.
I’m pleased at the offer. “Okay.” I’m excited to meet Nick’s friends. I don’t know any witches, and I’ve been curious since I heard about them. It’s not every day a girl gets to meet a witch.
“Good,” he replies. “We’ll all meet up later at your house. By then we may know more. Sawyer’s finding out what the farmers think, and Taylor will have some additional information for us.”