Chapter 8 #2
He put shoes on and shadow walked to Conal's den. It was a small cabin. The wolves had worked for the human building company and many of their dens were in good shape. Thano couldn't understand why no one had claimed any of the empty cabins after the wolves had left, but they hadn't.
Conal opened his door and peeked outside. "Thano?"
"Who's the sheriff?"
Conal blinked as if he'd just woken up despite being fully dressed. "What?"
"There is a sheriff in Last Hope."
"No..."
"Lark came to me only a few minutes ago. She told me someone with a shiny star and a gun had given Eli a warning."
Conal stared at him, then flashed teeth. "A sheriff?"
"She said she knew he was a good guy since he had the star Romeo had read about in one of the books, but her gut didn't agree, and she wanted to fly away."
Conal's eyes shifted color. "They told me there was nothing else to discuss after you'd left."
They were trying to shut The Moonlight Ranch out?
"Byrd is still there, keeping an eye on things."
"Alone?"
Thano dipped his head in confirmation.
"I'll go in. I only need to eat something first."
"I'm to pick Eli up at six. Will you be back with the car by then?"
Conal nodded.
* * * *
Eli's hands shook as he unlocked the door to the shop for the second time that day. Joshua was a quiet shadow next to him, and it wasn't until the door closed behind them, he let out a breath.
"Fuck, it feels weird in town today."
Eli nodded. He couldn't describe it. People didn't look at each other, the teller at the bank had been jittery, and there was an eerie silence.
Normally, there wasn't a lot of noise this early in the day, but if you walked down Main Street, there was a murmur of voices from people standing around talking, the occasional car driving by, and people walking, but today it was quiet.
"What will the warning mean?"
"No idea."
Joshua looked directly into his eyes. "He gave you a hygiene warning because there were others in your shop."
Eli didn't reply for a long time. "I can't ban others from the shop. I get most of my meat from Ciar and Draven. I can't have a no-others rule." And he wasn't sure he wanted to.
There was a tap on the window of the door, and Eli turned to see a crow balancing on the door handle while pecking at the window.
"See. I can't tell them they're not welcome.
" The last thing he wanted was to anger the others.
He didn't think they'd ever care about him the same way they did about Romeo, but he did not want to make them his enemies.
"No, you can't. The question is how much trouble the sheriff will cause you. I didn't like the look in his eyes."
Eli shook his head as he neared the door. He hadn't liked it either. Gleeful. The man had been overjoyed at being able to give Eli a warning.
He opened the door and squawked as the crow flew in and sat on his shoulder. Jesus. Joshua chuckled at him.
"Funny."
"Oh, I agree." Joshua grinned and gave the crow a nod. "I'll head out. It doesn't feel safe to be here today."
Eli would have to agree, but he had nowhere to go. "I'll...eh...will you be back soon?"
"We'll be in next week on market day. Do you want me to bring anything?"
"Will you have anything?" Eli looked at the crates. It was more than Joshua normally delivered, which had to mean he'd taken everything he could spare.
"Greens, and I might have some peas. I've experimented a little this year with the greenhouse."
"You have a greenhouse?"
Joshua shrugged. "I put old windows together into a...shape." He formed a triangle with his hands. "I experimented and planted some peas back in February. They're flowering now."
Eli gaped at him. "Now?" His garden hardly had anything green in it yet. "That's amazing."
"It was an experiment, so I didn't plant a lot. Didn't want to waste seeds if it wouldn't work. Next year, I'll do more. Depending on if I can save enough seeds, of course."
"Of course." It was on the tip of his tongue to tell him about Romeo's gardening book, but he'd promised not to.
Joshua nodded. "See you next week." Then he focused on the crow still balancing on Eli's shoulder. "It was nice meeting you."
The crow replied with a hoarse coo.
Grinning, Joshua waved a hand and slipped out of the shop, leaving Eli alone with the crow.
"I need to put these things on the shelves."
The crow flew off him and sat on the counter. Eli hoped the sheriff wouldn't be back. He looked at the crow again. "Did you know there was a new sheriff?" They hadn't had one since the others had killed the last one ten months ago.
The crow shook its head.
Did it mean Thano hadn't known either? Eli went to grab an old bowl when he realized Joshua had tied the spinach into small bunches. He added some water to the bowl and arranged the spinach like he would a flower bouquet.
When the door opened behind him, he jumped.
"Morning, Eli." Alice smiled at him, and Eli relaxed.
"Morning. How are you today?"
She looked at the crates. "Fresh delivery?"
"Yes. Joshua left only a few minutes ago."
Silence stretched, and Eli moved the radishes to one of the baskets on the shelves close to the counter.
"I've been thinking..."
Eli looked at her. "About?"
"What you said about registering as a company."
He nodded. "I think you should."
She wrung her hands. "I'm afraid I'll mess up, and they'll throw me in jail. I like it here, much better than New Town, but I don't think I can handle..." Fear shined in her eyes.
"Hey." Eli walked over and took her hand.
"There is no jail in Last Hope." They simply sent people out into wild country to fend for themselves when they broke the law.
Or killed them. A shiver went through him.
Though, who was to say what the new sheriff would do.
"You won't mess up. All you have to do is take your money to the bank every day you sell something and pay for soil and seeds and such with the money in your company account.
The teller at the bank will write everything down for you, and as long as you don't leave anything out, there won't be a problem. "
"It's market day next week."
"Yes. Ask Romeo to go with you to the bank and register a company and bring a table to the market and sell your plants."
She nodded.
The crow flapped down on the floor and shifted. Alice made a surprised sound, which made Eli suspect she hadn't seen it when she'd entered.
"Can I also sell plants at the market? I can get a table." Byrd stood naked before them, excitement shining in his eyes.
"No, sorry. You have to be a registered business, and..." His words died away. "Unless you're there with Romeo. Romeo can sell things at the market."
Byrd cocked his head as if he was still in crow form. "Can't I be there with you?"
Eli shook his head. "I don't sell at the market, but Romeo is registered as a farmer. He can bring produce there."
"But if I trade things instead of selling them, I don't need a business, right? We do it all the time."
Eli stared at him then glanced at Alice. "I...eh...I'm not sure. You better talk to Thano about it. Or maybe Conal now that he's the one at the board." What would the sheriff do if there were crows at the square trading things? Was it illegal for others to trade things with humans?
"I want to have a business with shinys." He motioned at the box still on the counter with the kitchen utilities.
Eli rubbed his neck. "Talk to Thano."
Byrd nodded before shifting back into crow.
Alice looked between them. "I...eh..." She held up a few coins. "Would like some..." She noticed the fish in the refrigerated display. "Are those fresh?"
"Came in this morning. Finn Pretty caught them."
She felt around her pocket and found a small bill. "I want for two people. Is it enough?"
He hadn't had time to think about what he'd charge. "Yes. Do you have anything to take them in?" Fish were tricky. You didn't want to put them directly in a basket and he had nothing to wrap them in.
"Eh..."
Eli moved in behind the counter and looked around for an old plastic container he had there. "I want this back."
"Of course."
Byrd shifted form again. Could they change shape an indefinite number of times? "I can trade you a bucket like that."
Eli froze. Containers were hard to get hold of. "Can you?"
"Yes, I need to fly away for a bit, but I know where I can find one."
"And what do you want to trade?" He couldn't trade anything for the store, but he could perhaps buy it from the store and trade it with Byrd in his personal capacity. No one would have to know.
Byrd reached into the box of kitchen utensils. "This." He held up a balloon whisk in stainless steel.
Eli held out his hand, and Byrd reluctantly put it on his palm. "Deal. I'll buy this with my money and give it to you when you give me a container."
Byrd nodded and ran toward the door, yanked it open, and ran outside without a stitch of clothing. A few seconds later, a crow flew away.
Alice stared out the window. "Imagine being able to fly away." There was longing in her eyes, and something stirred in Eli's chest.
"Yeah." He rang up her purchase and gave her another pep talk about registering a business before she left.
* * * *