Chapter Three
Daisy
My alarm goes off when the sun isn’t fully up yet. I groan as I shut it off, rolling onto my back to look up at the ceiling. I go over everything I need to do as I listen to the horses nickering in the distance.
Shower.
Eat.
Chickens.
Horses.
Cows.
Simple enough.
I drag myself out of bed, stopping in front of the window to look out of it.
The sky is starting to brighten, a light mist hovering above the ground.
A wave of peace washes over me, the same way it always did when I was here.
There’s something about the quiet, the calm, nothing but animals, that is soothing.
There are no city lights, no city sounds. Just… nature.
I take a quick shower, change into old clothes, and pull out the casserole that Ellen Mathews brought yesterday to show how sorry she was for Grannie’s passing.
I’m certain she just wanted to get the gossip on the house, as that’s what she does.
Always has. She’s the gossip queen of Bakersville.
It’s a good thing she brought the food though, because there is nothing else here to eat.
I’ll have to go into town today. Charlie said he would take me.
The wicker egg basket is hanging on a hook by the chicken coop—the same basket Grannie has had since I was a little girl.
I step into the pen and stop short when I see the chickens standing off to the side in a perfect line, watching me. Again.
“Okay, that’s unsettling. You guys always do synchronized cult stuff, or is today special?”
I go to the coop to grab the eggs and find one in each nest, resting perfectly in the center.
I put them in the basket, smiling that I didn’t have to fight the chickens off.
“Thank you for being good poultry,” I say with a smirk. “I remember when I was little, Grannie had this one chicken, I called her Satan. She’d always peck me when I took her eggs.”
Their beady eyes follow me as I walk to the exit. They didn’t move an inch as I went in there, and if their heads hadn’t turned to watch me, I’d think they were dead.
“Weird chickens,” I comment, as I bring the eggs inside.
Next up: horses.
The horses and the cows act perfectly normal, as I feed them. They don’t stare at me strangely or stand in straight lines. Maybe the chickens are sick? Maybe I shouldn’t eat the eggs.
“How’s it going, Miss Daisy?” Charlie asks as he comes into the barn.
“Oh, just fine. But, uh… is there something up with those chickens?”
“How do you mean?” he asks quickly.
“I don’t know,” I say, patting Pecan, the beautiful chestnut-colored horse. “They were looking at me funny and didn’t move when I went into the pen.”
He waves me off. “They’re just used to people, is all. Agnes had those chickens forever. I’m surprised they’re still clucking around.”
“You’re sure they’re not sick?”
He chuckles. “Definitely not sick, Miss Daisy. Those eggs are just fine.”
I shrug and make my way over to the other horse, Butter, who is a golden cream color.
“What time can we head into town?” I ask. “I need some groceries.”
“I’d say about afternoon time.”
“I’ll meet you at your place.”
“No point in walking all that distance. I’ll pick you up.”
“If you say so.”
I’ve washed up and changed, ready for Charlie to pick me up. I head out back to put the basket away, and this time I see the chickens huddling together.
“Telling secrets, are we?” I ask with a laugh.
One of them, the biggest one, whirls around to face me, and I swear it looks mad.
“Wow, sorry.” I put my hands up. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I turn to walk away but then look back at them.
The golden one seems like a normal chicken. Maybe a little… needy. Lonely? Sad? I’m not sure, but he doesn’t worry me as much as the other two. Weird to get a vibe from a farm animal, but… better than getting pecked at. Those little beaks hurt.
The dark brown one keeps his distance, watching me like I’ve personally offended him somehow.
But it’s the reddish-brown one that makes my skin prickle.
He just stands there, chest puffed out, staring at me like I’m trespassing on his property.
The old red truck horn blares, so I hurry through the house and out the front door to hop into Charlie’s truck.
“Have those chickens ever attacked you?”
Charlie laughs. “Miss Daisy, why are you obsessed with those chickens? The horses are a much better animal to be friendly with.”
I let out a sigh, looking out the window. I honestly don’t know the answer. “They’re just… weird.”
“Animals can be. You’ll get used to them. It’s just their personalities, is all. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about them.”
The square is our version of downtown. Every business in Bakersville is right here, located in the square.
Grocer. Hardware store. Post office. Fabric store.
And more. In the middle of the square are some trees and benches that no one hardly uses.
The area is small and not so busy, but it seems everyone comes out of the woodwork when we step out of the truck.
I’m here because I finally found out Grannie passed away.
I’m sure the whole town knows and they all want to give their condolences—or see what else they can find out and spread around.
I hurry into the grocer before anyone can corner me. I can’t imagine all of them coming in here after me.
Only I’m wrong because the bell above the door rings and rings and rings, as I put things into the small cart. I get sad smiles and frowns as I go through each aisle and have to hold back the eye rolls. I feel like I’m being stalked and hunted by gators the way they’re looking at me.
“Hi,” the young man behind the register says when I get there.
“Oh, hi,” I say, happy to see someone my age.
His hair is dark and messy, his eyes bright blue. He’s much taller than me; with the kind of tan you only get from being outside every day.
“You’re Daisy, right?” he asks with a crooked smile.
“Yep, that’s me,” I say, putting my items on the counter one-by-one.
“I won’t bother you with nothing,” he says. “I bet everyone else already has.”
“Just about.”
“It is nice to see someone about my age though. How old are you?”
“Funny, because I was just thinking that.” I pull out my wallet. “I’m twenty-three. How about you?”
“Just turned twenty-one last month.”
“I don’t recall seeing you when I visited Grannie?”
“Naw, I only just came up to live with my grandpa a few months ago to help out since he’s getting up there in age. That’s why I’m running the register.” He taps the side of it and grins.
“Oh, well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s fine. Wasn’t doing nothing else with my life. At least I can help him out.”
“That’s nice of you.”
He rings up the last item. “That’ll be sixty-three dollars and eighty-five cents, Miss.”
I give him sixty-five and put the bags in the cart as I wait for my change.
“You know, we are starting a delivery service, if you’re interested?” he says, offering me my change.
“You are?”
“Sure are. I suggested it to Grandpa. Said I could give it a go. Thing is, I can’t deliver until the store closes, so deliveries will get there around seven or eight. We close at six. A lot of the folks around here are in bed by that time, but I figure you may be up a little later.”
“I’m definitely a night owl. So how does this work?” I ask.
Charlie comes up and I move out of the way so he can put his few items on the counter.
“Here, I’ll give you a flier.” He reaches beneath the counter and hands it over. I glance at it quickly and read over instructions on how to order.
“This is very convenient. Thank you.”
“Of course.” He starts to ring up Charlie’s items. “Name’s Devin, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Devin.”
“How about you go put those in the truck, Miss Daisy?” Charlie says, then leans in closer. “While the ladies are still wandering around the store trying to look busy.”
I laugh as I head out the door, waving goodbye to Devin.