The Northwoods Chronicles by Elizabeth Engstrom Read Free Book Online

to Closed and went about straightening the shop and doing the
cash report. Just as she was ready to leave, there came a knock on
the front door.
    Sheriff Withens.
    Panic welled up in her, but she smiled and
waved, and gave him the “just a minute” hand sign. Then she made
herself look busy for ten seconds while she got her breathing under
control.
    Relax. Relax.
    She unlocked the front door and let the sheriff
in, an old, rugged man with a face she had grown to love over the
years. She didn’t like the fact that he was suddenly the enemy.
“Hi, Sheriff.”
    “Kimberly,” he said gravely, and closed the door
behind him. “How you doing?”
    “Fine.”
    “Had a good day?”
    “Not bad. Why? What’s up?”
    “You know Cousins has been paroled?”
    Kimberly felt the blood drain from her face. She
felt the sheriff’s warm hand on her arm. She felt the floor rock
gently beneath her feet.
    “Come on, now, let’s sit down.” He led her to
the chair designated for bored husbands.
    “I guess I knew it was coming up,” Kimberly
said. “Is he here?”
    “The prison notified me that he was released
yesterday. You haven’t heard from him?”
    “No. But I suppose I shall.”
    “You two haven’t been in communication?”
    “He writes to me, but I don’t write back. I
don’t want to have anything to do with him.”
    “Is it his intention to come back here?”
    “I think it is.”
    “Well, I’ll be looking out after you, Kimberly.
Don’t you worry about that. If you see him, you let me know, so I
can keep an eye on him, okay?”
    “I’m so sorry, Sheriff. I feel like I’ve brought
bad blood to White Pines Junction.”
    “Things happen, Kimberly. You were young then,
very young. You were what, nineteen?”
    Kimberly nodded.
    “Nobody begrudges you a bad decision in your
youth. Especially since you’ve turned out so good. Just keep in
touch with me, okay?”
    Kimberly nodded, feeling herself back on
somewhat solid ground. “Thanks for coming by.”
    She saw the sheriff out, locked the door, and
decided to put the cash report off for another day. She went out
the back way, locked it up and went home to the last of the Jack
Daniel’s and a hard, dreamless sleep.
    The morning dawned with a low dark ceiling of
clouds and the scent of storm on the air. Kimberly had to turn
extra lights on at the shop to make it look pleasant, but business
was brisk, as it always was on a stormy day. Thoughts of Cousins
were far away, as if it were all a dark fantasy. Life returned
almost to normal, with few thoughts of him, and those that came
were benign, like when he had been safely locked away.
    The rain that had threatened all day began just
as she totaled the day’s receipts. By the time she locked the door,
she had to run to her car. The sky darkened to midnight
prematurely, with a strange greenish cast to the horizon where the
sun ought to be setting. Big storm. She went home, laid out the
candles, made a fire in the wood stove and put the teakettle on it,
then put on a sweatshirt and sweatpants and waited for the
maelstrom. She wished she still had the dog. Someone to cuddle with
on the couch.
    Natasha.
    Nope. Don’t even think about it.
    She sipped her tea and listened to the wind
beginning. The rain was blasting the north side of the house, and
the wind was coming up hard.
    The truth was, she would have left the
northwoods years ago, right after Cousins went to prison, if it
hadn’t been for Natasha, and the friendship she offered. Kimberly
was in love with Natasha, enough so that she would never declare
her feelings. Natasha would be horrified. And besides, Natasha was
a married woman. Kimberly tried to like men, but they just weren’t
her passion. Natasha was her passion, and if she couldn’t have her,
then she would be content to be near her. Nothing thrilled Kimberly
more than Natasha stopping in at the store, buying some
outrageously New York item that Kimberly had ordered, knowing it
would achieve