The Stargazers (25 page)

“The bread smells delicious,” she said. “Do you think I could have some for breakfast before I go?”

Ruby smiled. “I made it for you. And Bryon. Consider it my peace offering to you bot
h after I was such a psycho bitch
. It wasn’t fair for me to try and make
you choose between him and me.”

Aster remembered times throughout her childhood when Oleander would be at her most absolute vile. She would pull Aster’s hair for get
ting a potion ingredient wrong, kick her in the behind for not pulling weeds out of the garden fast enough. One time, she sported a bruise around her arm for three weeks after dropping a bottle of night fairy wings, which dissolved when the light hit them.

After that last time, Oleander came back a couple hours later wearing a smile as sweet as spring rain. She was holding a sweet lavender cream pudding, Aster’s favorite.
Of course, Aster never believed her aunt had acted out of true kindness or regret. No doubt, Dahlia had seen the red marks on her daughter’s arm and completely freaked out. Oleander had done it because she had to. Aster looked at the fresh strawberry bread that Ruby had baked, and her stomach gave an uneasy twist. Suddenly she didn’t want any.

“You didn’t have to do that, Ruby.”

“I did. I wanted to do more, but I hope over time I can make it up to you. Just know that if he ever does hurt
you, I’ll be waiting.” She inverted the loaf of bread out onto a cooling rack.

“Just have more faith in him, Ruby. Not all people are the same.”

“Look, I meant what I said to you last night. About how I felt. I still retain the right to feel a little jealous, even if I’m proven wrong.”

That little bit of acid in Ruby’s words actually made Aster feel a little better. Maybe she was reading too much into things.

Ruby wrapped the loaf in silver foil and went back to her chair to retrieve a backpack that was hanging there. “You didn’t take anything with you yesterday. I packed you a bag with some water and other snacks so you won’t starve or dehydrate while you’re out doing whatever it is you’re doing. Maybe later, you and Bryon can have a picnic and share the bread. Tell him it’s from
me and that he’s a lucky man.”

Unable to find adequate words, Aster
pulled Ruby into a hug. A second later, she felt Ruby’s body soften against hers and the embrace was returned. “Whatever happens, I’m here for you,” she whispered in Aster’s ear.

Aster pulled away and adjusted the backpack over her shoulders. “Can you tell the others I’m sorry?”

“They’ll get over it. I’ll make sure they do. Be careful out there.”

As she approached the door, Aster heard a faint meow from the top of the stairs. Lar
kspur raced down and
rubbed against her shins.  “Wanna go outside?” she asked. He meowed
again and moved to the door
.
It would be nice to have him along.
Closing the door behind them, Aster began her walk into town with Larkspur in step.

Halfway up the block, the cat turned and gave her a quick look before darting off across the street and into some hedges. Probably to hunt. “So much for our day together,” she called after him. Aster wasn’t worried about losing him. He was more resourceful than she was in this world. 

Many of the houses she passed were still sleeping away the early morning hours, the only life stirring among them birds who were intent on bathing or feeding on the little seed containers people put out in their yards. As she ran her hands over some drooping hedges, sending a little of her magic to perk them up again, yellow lights illuminated her from behind.

She turned around to see a large white
motor
carriage pulling up beside her with a blue and red bar across the top. The window rolled down and the driver, a man with a dark brown beard and a blue un
iform with a shiny gold star
on the breast leaned over and peered up at her with eyes the color of his shirt. “Say there, it’s a damn sight early for a young girl such as you to be out walkin’ around
alone
, don’t ya think?”

Aster felt her throat clamp down. Her mother had told her about the peacekeepers from this world and the things she would need to do to avoid encountering one, but she never imagined that walking quietly on the sidewal
k would be among those things.
Her face ran hot and cold as she tried to figure out what she did wrong and whether the peacekeeper would order her to get into the car and take her
to jail, where she would likely rot
.

Considering your other options, t
hat
might be a better fate
.

The big man stepped out of his vehicle
. Aster’s eyes traced upward as
the man seemed to unfurl like a great vine
. He was easily the tallest man she’d ever seen. “You’re from up
at Oasis, aren’t ya? Melba Crenshaw
down at Double Dips mentioned you when I stopped in for a scoop of rum raisin yesterday.
”

Aster forced her lips to unlock themselves. “Um. Yes
, Sir Peacekeeper. I live at Oasis.”

His laugh filled the morning and moved his considerable belly. “That’s a title well above my pay grade, ma’am. Y
ou’re
probably
feelin’ a little hog tied. I know a lot of you girls are more timid than wild rabbits, and for good reas
on too I bet
.
” He stepped forward and held out his hand. “
I’m
the Sheriff here in
this neck of the woods.
Name’s Dale Kennedy.
”

Aster took his hand, which easily swallowed hers whole. But his grip was gentle.

“You ain’t under arrest
. You got to break the law first. But you’re young and pretty and I don’t want your death on my conscience if some pervert should decide to gra
b you when most folks haven’t even rolled out of bed yet
. Miller’s Glenn ain’t l
ike the big city, but we do have
a few of our own registered sex offenders that call this place home. Where are ya headed?”

Aster’s impending panic slowed to a needling anxiety as the sheriff spoke. Especially after he told her he wasn’t going to arrest her. He also had kind enough eyes, at least to her. But she had a feeling those eyes could become
plenty mean for some lucky lawbreaker
. “I’m going to visit Mama Iris. Up by the strawberry stand. She’s family.”

Sheriff
Kennedy’s eyes widened. “Mama Iris family of yours? Aw heck, I didn’t know that hermit had any family left. How come you ain’t stayin
’
with her then?” He appeared to think about that a second and then laughed. “Never mind I said that. She’s as blind as a bat and has a few screws loose, don’t she? Still, a damn nice lady and grows the best strawberries I ever ate. My Missus eats herself sick with ‘em every summer. How about I give you a lift? It’s on my way.”

Aster had been looking forward to passing the extra hours with the long walk, but
she was pretty sure that Sheriff
Kennedy would insist. She stepped toward the car door. He opened it for her from the inside and slid back over.

The cabin of the car was dark and smelled like coffee. A little paper pi
ne tree dangled from the back-seeing mirror, above a square box that looked like so many of the machines people used in this world.
He must
have noticed her looking
, because he patted the top of it. “This here’s my punk catcher. I don’t imagine we’d find your name in here if we typed it in, would we?” His
eyes hadn’t changed much, but they were searching
for something in her face. It was his job after all.

She shook her head. “I don’t think you will, no.”

“Good.”
He
put the car into gear and pulled off. They rode in silence for the next couple minutes and then he began to speak again. “Miss Ivy’s done right by a lot of you girls since that shelter opened here. Brought a number of strays to her myself over the years, and I got a pretty close workin’ relationship with her. I’ll make sure to stop by in a little while and tell her where I dropped ya off so she won’t worry.”

Aster felt an icicle pierce her chest. That would not be good.  She didn’t want Ivy knowing where she was.
And she didn’t want the peacekeeper
endangering himself either. Although he didn’t look like a weak man, he w
ouldn’t be expecting the likes of Oleander
. “She already knows where I’m headed. She even made some breakfast for me to take along so that I could share it with her. I’ll be fine, sir.”

“Fair enough. You seem like a smart girl and I’ll take you on your word this time, but I’m gonna keep my eyes peeled for you around town later just in case.”

He pulled the car in front of Iris’s house. The strawberry stand was just an empty box this early in the morning. Aster
hesitated to get out, bec
ause it seemed like the
Sheriff
still had something to say to her. “Thank you for the ride,” she said. “It saved me a lot of walking in the heat.”

His deep blue eyes continued to study her face
. “That’s all part of my job
. But there’s still somethin’…” He stroked his mustache as if in deep thought. He reached down to his belt and pulled off something that was clipped to it.

“I’ve been Sheriff here almost as lo
ng as you’ve been alive.
We’re quieter and more civilized
than the city up the way, b
ut Miller’s Glenn ain’t exactly Mayberry either. You probably don’t even know what that is. Anyway, what I mean to say is I’ve seen my share of missin’ kids and dead bodies. And I’ve sent a goodly number of perps to the big pen upstate. When I seen you…” He trailed off again, as if wondering how to s
ay what was next
.
Aster hung by a thread, completely caught up in the man’s almost rhythmic speech.

“You remind me of one particular gir
l that disappeared goin’ on two decades
ago. She was my girl, actually. The
love of my life. Lived in Oasis, same as you
. We were crazy about each other, and like a couple dumb kids thought love was all we needed in the world to be happy. We were gonna run away together and get married. Then one day, she disappeared without a trace. They searched for a body but never found one.
Later on, when I became a police
officer
,
I did searches for her name in all the law enforcement databases, and never fou
nd one shred of nothin’
. She was
like a ghost.
”

He pulled out his wallet and flipped to a picture to show Aster, and her mouth dried up at the sight of the familiar curly red hair and dimp
led smile. The face was
young
and beautiful, but it was her mother’s nonetheless. Aster’s
hear
t was fluttering like a frightened bird
high up in her chest, practically in her throat, and the
cavernous motor carriage
suddenly felt half its size. She could smell the coffee, but another scent mingled with it. Perhaps the cologne he wore.
It is the smell of my father
.

B
ut her eyes couldn’t
meet his
. She was afraid he’d really see her for who she was
, and she wasn’t ready for that
.

“I know this all seems
out of left field to you and you probably wonder why I’m mentioning any of this. But ever since I lost Dahlia, I’ve worked extra hard to make sure the young women of this town have a safe community. It’s why I love the Oasis as much as I do, and why I’ll do everything I can to make sure it gets the money it needs to stay open. Me and the Missus hold fundraisers for Miss Ivy twice a year. I never had any kids of my own, but I consider all the girls under that roof part of my family
,
and I take care of my own.”

He held up a
little black cylinder
.
It was compact enough to fit into the palm of his hand. “This here is
pepper spray. I don’t go handin’ this stuff out to just anybody, but sometimes I just get a tickle in my spine. I know a girl who needs pepper spray when I see one. You keep it in your pocket and blast it on any sumbitch who tries to get fresh with ya. And then you run
like hell, you get me? Call 911
and I’ll personally be there to take care of it.”

Aster took the little black canister with a visibly quivering hand. Pepper spray. It sounded like something Oleander would have cooked u
p. “Thank you,” she said. “I will
keep it close.” 

“Now head
on up there. I’ll w
ait till she answers the door.”

Aster stepped out of the car and risked a glance over her shoulder. Sheriff Kennedy was a monolith behind the steering whe
el and he watched with eyes which
, now that she thought about it, were shaped an awful lot like hers. How could sh
e ever begin to tell him that picture he carried with him always
was her mother
, and that she was alive in another world
? It would begin another chapter in her life that already had too many unresolved passages in it.
But perhaps in time, if she lived…