The Hunter

Chapter Eleven

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately... and see if I could not learn what it had to teach." - Henry David Thoreau

“A shop? What are we selling ice cream?” I joke.

“No, actually, we’re going to sell out door equipment.” My father says.

“Seriously?” I’m surprised by how prepared my father is for this. He must’ve been pretty busy.

We pull up to a small log cabin with a porch, hidden amongst the tall trees. We park the car on the gravel driveway and get out. The sound of humming cicadas and chirping frogs fills the air. Just hearing a cicada makes me start to feel hot. We grab our bags from the trunk and walk up wooden steps of the porch. The worn stairs creek under the weight of our feet.

“How old is this place?” I ask. My father just opens the door and walks inside. The cabin is well furnished, but it’s definitely been a few years since someone last lived here.

“Your room is over there.” Dad points to a door. I open it and see a bed, a night stand, and a dresser. The room isn’t much, but i’m only here for a month so I guess it’ll work. I walk over and place my bag in the bed. A poof of dust flies up into the air from the force of my bag landing on the blanket. The whole cabin needs a good dusting. I unzip my bag and remember that I need to wash all of my clothes. I poke my head out of the room.

“Is there a washing machine?” I ask.

“There’s a door that leads to the laundry room over there.” My father points.

Okay, now to see how old these machines are. I open the door and to my amazement the washer and dryer look pretty new. Yup, the old man is definitely up to something. I grab all my clothes and the sheets and blankets from my bed and toss them in the machine with some soap and turn it on. After that I head to the kitchen area, which is pretty tiny, and look around for some cleaning supplies. This house needs a good old fashioned cleaning. I find some rags, an almost empty bottle of cleaning solution, and an old scrub brush.

“Maybe I’ll head into town and get some more supplies and some food.” I say. My father walks over and takes a look.

“Sure, but don’t just get any greasy food.” My father says. I grab the keys and head out.

Warm Springs is a pretty small town. It’s mostly houses and neighborhoods with a small town center. The town center is where all the shops and stores are. I drive up to a general store and pull into a space right out front. There are some people walking around, and they are all looking at me. I have never felt so many eyes on me before. I walk inside and see a teenager behind the counter. He has short brown hair, that looks pretty unkept. A few pimples here and there and he looks bored out of his mind. He glances over to me for a second and then he goes back to the magazine he was reading.

So much for small town hospitality. I grab a basket and walk through the store. I pick up some toilet paper, paper towels, a duster, a new scrub brush and some more cleaning solution. I take everything up to the counter, and the unimpressed teen looking at me. His name tag reads Gilbert.

Poor kid.

I unload my basket and Gilbert huffs as he puts his magazine down and starts lazily ringing me up. I hear the door open and I look up. A woman with long wavy brown hair, denim shorts and a white shirt with a unbuttoned blue flannel over top walks in.

“Hey Lexie!” The teen shouts from the counter. He waves her over. He’s definitely awake now.

“Oh hey Eddie. How’s is going?” The girl from the door asks.

Wait.. Eddie?

I wouldn’t normally be eavesdropping, but Eddie Gilbert has stopped ringing me up. So I’m forced to stand here.

“I’m good. Mom’s good too. Thanks for coming around and looking at her.” The boy who’s name is an enigma says.

“Of course. Bring her around the clinic soon for a follow up.” The girl starts walking to the back of the store, finally.

“Sorry about that.” He says.

“No problem.” I say. “So is it Eddie or Gilbert?” I gesture to his name tag.

He looks down confused.

“Oh! Ha. It’s Eddie, yeah Ive been borrowing my coworker’s name tag, since I lost mine. Most people already know my name so they never bothered to look.”

“Ahh that explains it.” I say.

“So are you new in town or just visiting?” Eddie asks trying to make small talk. I don’t know who that girl was, but Eddie’s gone through a complete transformation just by seeing her.

“My dad and I just got a place off Mountain Valley Rd. We are planning on opening an outdoor equipment shop.”

“The Hensens’ old shop. So you must be Rodney?” The voice from behind me draws my attention. I turn around to the most beautiful set of hazel eyes I’ve ever seen. It’s the girl from earlier, what was her name again? Lexie?

“Oh no, Rodney is my father. My name’s Cole, the one who will be doing all the heavy lifting.” I say. She smiles politely. How did she know my fathers name?

“I’m Alexis, Mr. Hensen told me about selling the shop. He’s my patient. I’m glad he found a buyer so soon.”

Damn this girl is gorgeous. She has a beautiful mouth. Oh that sounded creepy even in my head. I hear the boy behind me clear his throat. I glance over and he’s waiting for me to pay.

“I guess I’ll see you around.” I say. I smile and turn to pay.

Did she say patient? What is she a nurse? I grab my things from Eddie and head to the car. I load it up and glance around the small town.

“Need help finding something?” Alexis asks from the sidewalk.

“A grocery store?” I admit guiltily. She smiles at me again.

“Alright well you have a few options. There is the Valley Supermarket or Milk House Market, both are in Hot Springs which is the next town over. It’s not far. Just go down this road a few miles and you’ll hit Hot Springs in no time.” She says.

“Thanks.” I say. She walks away and I get into my car. Her hair is a beautiful chocolate brown. She has a nice ass.

I drive down the road and eventually get to Hot Springs. I see Milk House market first, so that’s where I decide to go. I get a few essentials and head back to our cabin in the woods. Great, now I’m going to imagine being murdered in the woods. I walk inside.

“I got the supplies.” I announce.

“Good, unload the groceries and start dusting.” My father says. You’re welcome, sheesh. After a few hours of cleaning the cabin looks much better. Dad and I have sandwiches for dinner, then finally, it’s time for sleep.

“We’re waking up early to go check out the shop.” My father says.

“Mr. Hansens’ place.” My father looks surprised that I know the name.

“How did you know that?” He asks.

“It’s a small town, everyone knows everyone.”

“Don’t get too close to the locals, we don’t know who is a wolf and who isn’t.”

“It was a woman. I think she’s a nurse, but I’m not completely sure.”

“Of course it was a woman, don’t go sleeping around the town either. She could still be related to a wolf. Just keep a healthy distance.” He warns me.

“Don’t worry. It was just small talk.” I say. He heads off to his room and I get into bed. It’s nice not having to share a room with him. But he is really getting into this under cover. Heading to the shop early? Not even going to check out the surrounding area yet. He’s definitely up to something.