hadn't blinded him by batting her eyelashes or offering him a charming smile. He couldn't pinpoint it beyond an unnatural ability for manipulation.
A heady swirl of pipe smoke let Cooper know he wasn't alone.
"She got you pretty good, didn't she?" Henry Calder stood against the doorframe, his thick arms folded across his chest. He offered a knowing smirk. His cob pipe bobbed as he gnawed on its tip, his teeth clicking along its well-chewed surface.
"I suppose she did, Mr. Calder." Cooper worked the dishrag around, chasing spilled water. "I'm sure if I stay for any length of time, I'll wind up cooking for everyone, too." He tossed the dishrag in the sink, finished with his end of the "deal."
Henry Calder laughed, the gruff tenor sounding uncommon for him, as if his voice had long ago forgotten that facility. "I think my daughter could convince a beggar to give up his last penny, and feel good about it, too. Thea's got a good heart, it's just sometimes hard to see." His expression hardened back to what Cooper expected of him. All scowl and jowl.
"I better get going."
"Before you do, can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Cooper had a suspicious feeling. Whenever someone from Coal Hollow asked him a question, it always seemed to lead him to regret.
"If you're going to stay a while, I was curious if you had any leads on what you're going to do?"
"Actually, I was hoping to find out today."
"Well, I might help you with that. It's not much, but it's something."
"You've piqued my interest." Cooper was relieved at Calder's innocuous line of questioning.
"Then follow me."
Cooper followed Henry through the general store and out the front door. He just now noticed the man's limp, how he favored his right leg, shortening his left stride to compensate.
Henry surprised him by heading toward the icehouse. Inside the first door, Calder noticed his pipe had died, so he tapped it empty against his shoe, stowing the pipe in a pocket. Shy of opening the second door, he grabbed a coat from a hook in the corner. He threw it to Cooper. "It's not the greatest, but once inside, you'll be glad for it."
He smelled sour sweat and sawdust as he pulled it on.
Donning a jacket and leather gloves, Calder opened the inner door. After the outside heat, the cold air felt harsh against his face. Cooper couldn't imagine working in the icehouse or for Henry Calder for that matter. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. They'd taken George Banyon's body into the icehouse.
Henry grabbed a lamp from a hook, lighting it with a long stick match. He waved the match like a magician's wand, extinguishing the flame. "Watch your step. Granddad cut those steps himself. It doesn't embarrass me admitting he was a better businessman than stonemason." Henry took an unsteady downward step, gripping the wall as he went.
Cooper thought back to the sight of George Banyon's face after Jane Fowler pulled him from the swamp. Cooper had touched the boy's skin when righting his leg after it had fallen from the makeshift stretcher. The skin had felt impossibly cold in the muggy July night. The boy's gashed cheek had spread wide like a second set of lips. The dead eyes flickered open--
His eyes never flickered , he corrected. He was dead when I found him. Mud filled his eyes. I never saw them.
They climbed down more stairs than he thought possible. The steps weren't close to level, each one beveling at a different angle, as if they climbed the spine of dead and buried monster.
"It's getting harder for me to move around, you see plainly, and I can't expect Thea to lift all these supplies. We store perishables and block ice down here. If I can't get down these steps, there's no way my business can stay afloat. I'd need you to move stock to the storeroom as needed, and on an odd day, help around the store. Also, the ice needs cutting."
It felt colder as they descended. Cooper never imagined seeing his breath in July, but it gushed from his nostrils, quite visible in the
A heady swirl of pipe smoke let Cooper know he wasn't alone.
"She got you pretty good, didn't she?" Henry Calder stood against the doorframe, his thick arms folded across his chest. He offered a knowing smirk. His cob pipe bobbed as he gnawed on its tip, his teeth clicking along its well-chewed surface.
"I suppose she did, Mr. Calder." Cooper worked the dishrag around, chasing spilled water. "I'm sure if I stay for any length of time, I'll wind up cooking for everyone, too." He tossed the dishrag in the sink, finished with his end of the "deal."
Henry Calder laughed, the gruff tenor sounding uncommon for him, as if his voice had long ago forgotten that facility. "I think my daughter could convince a beggar to give up his last penny, and feel good about it, too. Thea's got a good heart, it's just sometimes hard to see." His expression hardened back to what Cooper expected of him. All scowl and jowl.
"I better get going."
"Before you do, can I ask you something?"
"Sure." Cooper had a suspicious feeling. Whenever someone from Coal Hollow asked him a question, it always seemed to lead him to regret.
"If you're going to stay a while, I was curious if you had any leads on what you're going to do?"
"Actually, I was hoping to find out today."
"Well, I might help you with that. It's not much, but it's something."
"You've piqued my interest." Cooper was relieved at Calder's innocuous line of questioning.
"Then follow me."
Cooper followed Henry through the general store and out the front door. He just now noticed the man's limp, how he favored his right leg, shortening his left stride to compensate.
Henry surprised him by heading toward the icehouse. Inside the first door, Calder noticed his pipe had died, so he tapped it empty against his shoe, stowing the pipe in a pocket. Shy of opening the second door, he grabbed a coat from a hook in the corner. He threw it to Cooper. "It's not the greatest, but once inside, you'll be glad for it."
He smelled sour sweat and sawdust as he pulled it on.
Donning a jacket and leather gloves, Calder opened the inner door. After the outside heat, the cold air felt harsh against his face. Cooper couldn't imagine working in the icehouse or for Henry Calder for that matter. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. They'd taken George Banyon's body into the icehouse.
Henry grabbed a lamp from a hook, lighting it with a long stick match. He waved the match like a magician's wand, extinguishing the flame. "Watch your step. Granddad cut those steps himself. It doesn't embarrass me admitting he was a better businessman than stonemason." Henry took an unsteady downward step, gripping the wall as he went.
Cooper thought back to the sight of George Banyon's face after Jane Fowler pulled him from the swamp. Cooper had touched the boy's skin when righting his leg after it had fallen from the makeshift stretcher. The skin had felt impossibly cold in the muggy July night. The boy's gashed cheek had spread wide like a second set of lips. The dead eyes flickered open--
His eyes never flickered , he corrected. He was dead when I found him. Mud filled his eyes. I never saw them.
They climbed down more stairs than he thought possible. The steps weren't close to level, each one beveling at a different angle, as if they climbed the spine of dead and buried monster.
"It's getting harder for me to move around, you see plainly, and I can't expect Thea to lift all these supplies. We store perishables and block ice down here. If I can't get down these steps, there's no way my business can stay afloat. I'd need you to move stock to the storeroom as needed, and on an odd day, help around the store. Also, the ice needs cutting."
It felt colder as they descended. Cooper never imagined seeing his breath in July, but it gushed from his nostrils, quite visible in the
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