Page 19 of Inside Silence
Will Collier, owner of the small local hardware store, was the reason I went into construction in the first place. One of the very few people here who meant something to me.
Hell, I’d been a little punk and he caught me stealing a fistful of Dum Dums. He kept those suckers in a mason jar by the cash register for kids who came in with their parents. My mom would never step foot in a place like Nuts & Bolts, she was too busy getting drunk or high, or both.
Instead of calling the sheriff on me, Will let me keep the suckers and told me if I came in to help him in the back of the store after school, I could have all the Dum Dums I wanted and make a little pocket money to boot. To a kid like me it felt like I’d hit the jackpot.
I loved tinkering around his shop in the rear of the store. He had a million little projects on the go; building bird feeders, bread boxes, industrial table lamps, and other small stuff he would sell as a little sideline. He taught me how to use power tools, weld metal, mix concrete, make dovetail joints, and gave me a chance to be good at something.
Yeah, I definitely owe the old man a lot, and I’ve been avoiding the store because I’m not sure how to face him.
That’s why when Brenda tells me a moment later that Will died only two years ago, I’m hit with a feeling of regret so heavy, it momentarily robs me of air.
I left many years ago without looking back, but in my mind Silence and its people stayed the same. Frozen in time. I guess I thought there’d always be an opportunity to set the record straight, to right old wrongs. Time to atone to those I might’ve hurt when I took off.
Looks like I let time run on too long.
Too late to tell him I’m sorry.
“It was a massive stroke. Fast,” Brenda explains. “We buried him in Potter’s Field.”
Potter’s Field is the town’s cemetery, where most of Silence’s residents go after they die. Including my mother.
“The store was closed for two months while Savvy did her best to track down his only living survivor. His niece, Genevieve. She found her living in Montana. Ginny came here with plans to sell the place, but ended up sticking around. She moved into Will’s apartment upstairs, and has been running the store ever since. She keeps the place pretty well stocked, so you can probably find what you need right here in Silence.”
Somehow this feels like a test to see how committed I am to being back here. If I go into Spokane to hit up one of the bigger box stores, I’ll have failed.
Great.
“I guess I’ll give Nuts & Bolts a try then,” I concede to a brightly smiling Brenda.
“Good choice.” Is her verbal pat on the back, cheerfully delivered.
Not sure there was any choice, but okay.
As I walk out of the station, I immediately notice Savvy leaning with her back against her cruiser. At first, I don’t recognize the big guy in a state trooper’s uniform bracketing her in with one arm braced above her head against the roof of the SUV and his body leaning close. I watch as he brushes at a hank of her hair that’s slipped from her ball cap and tucks it behind her ear.
My hands instantly close into fists and before I realize I’m doing it; I’ve taken two steps in their direction. I don’t know if his attentions are welcome. He’s at least six two and built like a tank to Savvy’s compact, five-foot-four frame. It’s not until Savvy lifts her hand and touches the guy’s face, I recognize him as Auden Maynard.
I stop in my tracks.
Jesus, the scrawny kid from down the road my mother would occasionally watch has certainly grown up. The prominent hooked nose is unmistakable, as are the dimples in his cheeks. Kinda cute on a kid, but ridiculous on a grown-ass man. And he sure has grown. Only kid I knew who came from a more fucked-up household than I did. Why else would his mother leave mine in charge of her kid? She couldn’t even take care of me.
Hard to believe this is the same Auden. Even harder to believe he’s obviously quite comfortable with Savannah. Not sure why I assumed she was single. It shouldn’t surprise me she has someone in her life. She’s gorgeous and smart, and every bit as irresistible as she was years ago.
The moment Savvy catches sight of me, I change direction and head to my truck. None of my damn business what she does and who she does it with. I have no desire to live in the past anyway.
Moving forward.
Nuts & Bolts is much like I remember, too much stuff crammed into too small a space. The store is relatively small and the aisles so narrow, with shelves stocked to the brim, half the time you have to shuffle sideways to get through. It was almost impossible to find what you needed, but Will knew where every little washer or screw could be found.
The first thing I notice as I work my way to the left of the store where I remember the counter to be, is how well the shelves are organized. All the small hardware is in clearly labelled bins, sorted by size. Everything is neatly arranged. Each aisle is numbered and a sign shows clearly what is there.
“Can I help you?”
The voice belongs to a well-shaped blonde, leaning forward on the counter.
“Hi, are you Ginny?”
She straightens up, and I try not to get distracted by her curves. She’s got plenty of them.
