Harvest Moon (4 page)

“What do you think about this baseball player
nonsense?” he asked while they both munched on their food.

Dawn laughed, thinking about Courtney’s reaction to
even the idea that some famous player was in town. “That I’ll believe when I
see it. I mean, why would some baseball player move to Goosemont?”

“Privacy,” Gabe offered. “I mean, why did you move
here?”

That stopped Dawn mid-bite as she forced herself to
swallow. It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked that question, but she hated
answering it every time.

“Just tired of city living, if you can call Cleveland
that,” she lied as usual. “I knew college wasn’t for me, and my parents refused
to listen. I guess I wanted to prove to them that I could make it on my own,
and what better place than Goosemont?”

“I guess,” Gabe said. “But don’t people go to New York
City when they want to ‘make it on their own?’ ”

Dawn immediately shot the idea down. “New York isn’t
for me. Too big, too many phonies, too much corruption. Goosemont barely even
has cellphone service. Can’t expect a town this size to be too corrupt.”

“I guess not,” Gabe relented. “I mean, Mayor Higgins
is ninety-two years old, and there are only about three hundred folks of voting
age. Doesn’t seem like there would be much point in back alley dealing.”

“Exactly,” Dawn agreed. “Plus, I figured the mountain
air would be good for me.”

“No denying that,” Gabe said.

Dawn was about to change the subject toward anything
that wasn’t about why people moved to Goosemont, or worse, where she’d lived
before, when Courtney burst through the galley door separating the kitchen from
the bar.

“Oh my God,” she half whispered, half hissed. “Oh my
God!
”

“Courtney,” Dawn said as she pulled her away from the
door so their few customers wouldn’t hear her outburst. “What? Spit it out!”

“He’s here,” she panted as she squeezed Dawn’s hands
in her own. “Oh my God, Dawn, he’s here!”

“Who’s here?” Dawn asked, though she was pretty
certain of the answer.

“Gavin Mosley. He’s here right now sitting at a
table!”

“So go take his order,” Dawn instructed, finding it hard
to share her friend’s enthusiasm for the situation.

“I can’t!” Courtney said. “Come on, come with me. I
can’t go alone.”

Dawn couldn’t hide the roll of her eyes at that.
Courtney did have a bit of a flare for the dramatic, but this was bordering on
ridiculous. The girl was dancing in place like some kid who had to pee.

“He’s just a guy,” Dawn said, trying to calm her down.
“Just like any other guy who walks in through those doors. Take his order,
bring it back here, and that’s it. Easy.”

“Please,” Courtney begged. “Just come out there with
me. Please, please, please!”

“Fine,” Dawn relented. “But take a breath first and
calm down.”

In truth, helping Courtney wasn’t the only reason that
Dawn let her friend lead her back out to the bar. She also wanted to see what
all the fuss was about. She was curious whether or not Gavin Mosley was as
impressive as Courtney was insisting he was.

The bar was still mostly deserted when Dawn walked
back out. There were a couple regulars sitting at their usual tables, but at a
table in the center of the room sat a man Dawn had never seen before.

It had to be him. Even sitting down, he was taller
than anyone else in at Jim’s and he had broad, square shoulders. His brown hair
fell to his ears in silky waves, and even from across the room, Dawn could make
out his big brown eyes.

There was no denying he was attractive, and Dawn could
finally understand why Courtney was making such a fuss over him. There was an
easy confidence about him as he leaned back in his chair and let his long legs
spill out from under the table. It was obvious he’d taken the time to dress
like he belonged in town, but rather than a Costco jacket and second-hand
jeans, his clothes were well made, high-end versions of the styles seen around
the small town she was calling home.

“Come on,” Courtney whispered to her as she gave
Dawn’s hand a tug.

“No,” Dawn said as she watched Gavin play with the
condiments sitting on the table. “You go, do your thing. Maybe he’s single.”

Courtney’s eyes lit up at that, and she began to strut
for the table where the baseball player sat. He might have been handsome, but
he’d attract more attention than he was worth. Courtney could have him, if he
wanted her, of course. Dawn was better off avoiding someone that recognizable.

From the safety of the bar, she watched Courtney
strike up a conversation with the famous player. She was content to watch as
her friend flashed a winning smile at him, and Dawn was about to make her exit
for the kitchen again when the door swung open once more.

She expected to see another regular, but the man who
walked in wasn’t someone from town. In an instant, Dawn recognized their latest
diner as the FBI agent from before, the one with striking green eyes and an
ill-fitting suit.

And he was looking right at her.

It didn’t take long for Courtney to forget that she’d
begged Dawn for backup when it came time to take the former pro-baseball
player’s order. She’d instantly dropped the shy and timid act the moment Gavin
Mosley locked eyes with her. Courtney flipped the switch and now she was acting
like the vivacious redhead that everyone in town knew she was.

Dawn was more than fine with the fact that Courtney
was just about in Gavin Mosley’s lap as she took his order, but that meant that
it was up to her to approach the FBI agent to see what he wanted to drink. She
almost would have preferred to take on Mosley.

Cops had never been Dawn’s forte. Even though the few
in town were more Barney Fife than they were Vic Mackey, they still gave her
cause for concern. One wrong move, and the next thing she knew, someone could
be looking into who Dawn Garrett really was.

Even though the agent had changed out of his
ill-fitting suit, he was still instantly recognizable. That same dirty blond
hair, those same green eyes, and that same five o’clock shadow he’d yet to
shave.

Instead of the suit, he had changed into something
that seemed to fit him better. The man was more at ease as he sat at the table,
his long legs outstretched as he picked at the pretzels in a bowl in front of
him. With his faded plaid shirt, scuffed jeans, and an olive green jacket, he
looked like any other lumberjack or hunter that came through town over the
fall. If Dawn hadn’t have seen him earlier, she would have never guessed he was
FBI, a cop, or anything more than someone looking for work or game.

Come on
, she pushed herself.
Just get it
done and over with. The longer you stand here staring, the more suspicious you
look
.

That was when it hit her. She’d been staring at him
for at least a minute, and he was looking right back at her. There was no way
to deny it, and now she had to scramble to come up with an excuse that didn’t
sound suspicious.

“Hi, sorry,” she finally forced herself to stutter as
she approached the table where the federal agent sat. He’d picked a spot along
the wall, far enough from the other diners to go unnoticed by almost everyone
except for Dawn.

“It’s fine,” the man said as he picked up the placemat
that doubled as a menu. The look he was giving her didn’t agree with his sentiment,
but he didn’t seem angry, either. More than anything, he appeared to be curious
as his eyes met Dawn’s again.

“It’s just…” Dawn struggled, looking for something to
say. “Didn’t I see you earlier today? Down at, well, whatever that was up the street?”

In the end, honesty was her best bet. There was
nothing inherently suspicious about a young woman walking by a crowd of people
on her way to work. She was no one but a face in the crowd that just so
happened to catch the eye of one of the officers. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I think so, yeah,” he said. A smile began to touch
the corners of his full lips.

“Bit of a mess, I guess,” Dawn said, trying to keep
the conversation on what had happened in town so that he didn’t direct any of
his interest toward her.

“I’d say,” the agent replied with a soft shake of his
head.

“People are saying it was a bear attack,” Dawn said,
suddenly realizing she was just as curious about what had happened as the rest
of town. Despite her internal arguments to the contrary, there was no denying
that a vicious animal attack just off Main Street was interesting.

“Could be,” the man said with a thoughtful look.
“We’re looking in to it.” That was when he stuck out his right hand for her,
and on some ingrained instinct, Dawn offered her own. “Kevin Nash, FBI,” he
said as he gave her hand a firm shake.

“Dawn Garrett,” she introduced herself, the name so
familiar that it was more her own than any of the ones she’d gone by before.
“Wait,” she said as he released her hand. “Really, Kevin Nash? Like the
wrestler?”

“You watch wrestling?” Agent Nash asked with an
impressed smile. “You don’t really look like the type.”

“Well,” she said, feeling just a little more
comfortable now, “my dad and I watched it when I was a kid. Kevin Nash was one
of his favorites from the nineties.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Agent Nash said as he smiled at
her, a real smile this time, and it sent a jolt of electricity through Dawn as
they locked eyes again. “Your dad the owner of this place?”

“Nah,” Dawn said, forcing herself to stay casual even
when being asked about her family life. “My dad passed away when I was little.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Agent Nash said. “Mine did, too.
I know that pain too well.”

“Thanks,” Dawn said as she awkwardly shifted her
weight from one foot to the other. “So, um,” she struggled, forcing herself
back on track. “What can I get you?”

“Let’s see,” he said as he turned his attention back
to his menu. “I’ll go with one of your cheeseburgers, and some fries, and
whatever you have on tap.”

“We’ve got Bud, Blue, Coors, Molson, and Blue Moon,”
Dawn told him, reading off the draft beer selections from memory.

“Bud’s fine,” Agent Nash said as he offered her
another smile.

For a second, Dawn’s feet were glued to the floor.
There was something about his smile that drew her in. Sure, there was no
denying he was attractive, and he held her gaze better than the famous baseball
player, that was for sure, but his smile, Dawn could lose herself in that smile
and be happy forever.

No.
Her mind snapped free as she forced her
feet to move.
He could be playing you, forcing you to drop your guard. Just
go place his order and stay away
.

She intended to do just that as she made her way
across the bar. As she passed the table where Gavin Mosley sat, she realized that
Courtney wasn’t just practically in his lap, but all the way in it as he fed
her one of the pretzels from the bar. If Dawn hadn’t have known any better, she
would have just assumed they were two lovesick teens, not a waitress and a
customer who had literally just met.

Whatever,
Dawn said as she forced herself not
to laugh at the silly scene.
Good for her
.

Courtney had been, despite her best efforts to hide
it, of course, morose since the end of summer. Her last boyfriend, Chuck, had
left at the end of August to find work in one of the coal mines further south.
Courtney had been heartbroken and spent the first few September shifts taking
orders with tears in her eyes until Jim sat her down and told her she needed to
pull herself together.

Since then, Courtney had done well to pretend she was
fine, but there was always a little bit of pain hiding in the corners of her
eyes, even when Dawn insisted she was better off without Chuck, a lazy,
chronically unemployed slob who had flunked out of college after a couple
months and came back to Goosemont with only tales of sexual conquest and
drinking prowess.

Still, Courtney had loved the big idiot. Dawn was more
than glad to see him go, and she knew that eventually Courtney would get over
him, but she hated him for breaking her heart. He’d promised to write, like
most of the town, Courtney’s family didn’t have a computer—but he never did.
Not even a phone call. Nothing.

After two weeks, Courtney wasn’t able to take it
anymore, and she forced Dawn into her dad’s old SUV and the pair drove the two
hours south to where Chuck had told her he’d gotten a job. It wasn’t that she
was mad, or jealous, but she was scared that her first love had gotten hurt, or
worse.

They’d found Chuck drinking at the local bar with a
woman on his lap. It was obvious from the moment the girls stepped in that
Chuck had forgotten all about Courtney, and Dawn had dragged her best friend
out of the bar before they could make a scene.

Courtney knew exactly what she was doing now, that
much was obvious. As she paid the pair another glance before she stepped back
into the kitchen, it was a pretty spot-on duplication of the scene they’d
walked in on just under two months ago. Courtney was getting her revenge on
Chuck, even if he might never know it.

“Hey, Gabe,” Dawn said as she got back to the kitchen.
“We’ve got one cheeseburger and fries.”

“Coming right up,” he said as he grabbed a patty and
threw it on the flat-top. “Where’s Courtney?” he asked as the patty cracked and
sizzled on the hot stove.

“Still taking that baseball player’s order,” Dawn
laughed. “She’s doing a crap job of it, but he isn’t complaining.”

“I don’t see why he would,” Gabe laughed. “Tell her
not to be too long, though. I want to shut down the grill soon. Place is dead.”

“Will do,” Dawn said as she walked back out to the bar
to pour the FBI agent’s beer.

The old taps at Jim’s weren’t the most reliable, but
she managed to get a full pint of Bud out before the tap started to hiss at
her. They were just another part of the bar that could use some TLC, but there
weren’t enough customers to pay for it.

On her way by the new lovebirds, Dawn was going to
tell Courtney about Gabe’s request, but she decided against it. She hadn’t seen
Courtney this happy in months, and she didn’t want to be the one to ruin it.
Gabe would need to wait a little longer to shut down the grill, Courtney
deserved a little fun.

Dawn turned her attention back to her own patron. She
expected to see him watching her as she brought over his beer, but he seemed
more concerned with Gavin and Courtney’s almost obscene display from across the
bar.

“Yeah, that’s Gavin Mosley,” Dawn said, her voice low
as she put the beer down on a napkin. “I hear he just moved into town.”

“Is that so?” Agent Nash said as he brought his eyes
back to Dawn. “So, a wrestling fan and a baseball fan, eh?”

“Me?” Dawn had to laugh. “Wrestling, yes, well, a long
time ago. Baseball, not so much. If Courtney hadn’t have told me who he was, I
never would have guessed.”

“I take it that Courtney is the lap warmer over
there?” Agent Nash said as he nodded in their direction.

“Yeah,” Dawn confirmed. “She’s just having a little
fun.”

“Well, I certainly can’t blame her for that,” the
agent said, but this time, his smile was different. It was more put on than it
was inviting, and it didn’t make Dawn’s belly flutter. It was just a little too
forced, a little too cold.

“I’ll uh, go check on your food,” Dawn said, unsure
what else to do in the suddenly awkward moment.

Gabe was just putting the finishing touches on the
burger when Dawn returned to the kitchen. She had hoped for a little more of a
break before trips to the dining room, but luck wasn’t on her side as Gabe put
the plate up and rang the silver bell.

“Any word on Courtney?” he asked as Dawn took the
plate.

“Not yet,” Dawn offered. “To be fair, I think he’s
happy with pretzels.”

“Fine,” Gabe grunted. “Oven is off, stove is off. If
he wants anything, it’s celery sticks and carrots.”

“I’m sure that’s fine,” Dawn said as she returned to
the bar.

The agent wasn’t hiding the fact that he kept looking
in Gavin and Courtney’s direction, but both of them were too caught up in each
other to notice. Only Dawn took note of his interest, and she was starting to
wonder if he was more than just some baseball fan.

“One burger and fries,” she announced as she set down
his plate. “Anything else for you?”

“Actually,” Agent Nash said as he picked up a fry, “I
was just wondering what else there is of note in this town. I’m staying at the
Mountain Lodge up the street and thought I might find some hikers to talk to
about what’s happened, but the place is pretty much abandoned.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty awful,” Dawn laughed. “No one stays
there. It’s a dump. I’m surprised you didn’t stay with the other agents.
They’re probably staying in the next town over. Better motel, better bar, you
know how it is.”

“Ah, well, they know the area a little better than I
do,” the agent said. “They’re local from the Charleston office. They sent me in
from Frankfort. I’ve got a little more experience in this sort of case.”

Dawn nodded. “That’ll do it. Most of the hunters stay
over there, too, except the green ones who don’t know the area. We have a lot
of game here, just not a lot of places to stay.”

“You ever do any hunting?” the agent asked as he
picked up a fry.

“Me?” Dawn said, unsure if she should be truthful or
not. “Well, my dad took me shooting a couple times when I was younger. Mostly
just to ranges, but I did shoot a duck once. Dad said I was a natural, but I
cried all the way home.”

“Well, I would recommend not picking it back up right
about now,” the agent advised. “We’re waiting on bite analysis to find out
exactly what’s out in the woods, but whatever it is, you don’t want to go
tangling with it.”

“No, sir,” Dawn said. “Uh, how about I get you another
beer?”

“Please,” the agent said as he grabbed another fry.

Once she was behind the bar, Dawn fought with the Bud
tap to pull another drink, but she finally gave up and went with Coors. Then,
though she knew Jim might not like it, she poured one for herself.

“Dawn,” Jim’s voice rose up behind her. “Who is that
second beer for?”

“Jim,” she started. “Sorry, just... long night.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Pour me one, too. After today,
we could all use one.”

“Except Courtney,” Dawn said as she moved to bring the
agent his beer. “She doesn’t seem too bothered.”

As if on cue, Courtney left Gavin’s lap and came
bounding up to the bar.

“Oh my gosh, Jim, do you mind if I leave early?”

“Is everything okay?” Dawn asked her.

“More than okay!” Courtney gushed. “Gavin offered me a
ride home. Can I go? Please, please, please?”

She sounded more like a schoolgirl asking her mother’s
permission to go on a field trip, but Jim relented.