Harvest Moon Read Online Free Page A

alone again, Dawn asked Jim to finish
his story.
    “Well,” Jim said as he pulled up the waist of his
faded jeans, “Gabe was half right. After the boys got drunk, word is they were
stumbling home and the bear was digging through some trash with her cubs. They
decided to try to chase her off, idiots. Of course, she stood her ground and
charged. One boy lost an arm, another an eye. Only one of them walked away
without any serious damage, and I heard that was only because he collapsed from
fright and the bear let him be.”
    “Damn.” Dawn shook her head. “What happened to the
bear?”
    “What I expect is going to happen this time,” Jim
said. “Now that there’s been an attack in town, hunters will come in and shoot
whatever’s doing the killin’. The last time, they shot the bear after three
days. Word is they gave the cubs to a zoo down south. Chances are, that’s how
it’ll go again. Can’t complain, though. The more hunters who show up, the more
thirsty people looking for some cheap beers at Jim’s.”
    “Hey, speaking of that,” Dawn said as she eyed the old
grandfather clock in the corner of the bar, “it’s about time we opened.”
    “Right you are,” Jim said as he moved toward the door
and clicked the open sign on.
    The bar never did have much of a lunch rush, but a few
of the people who had been gawking at the carnage did meander into the musty
old bar for some greasy food and a drink. The place may have looked a little
shoddy, but Gabe had a way with the bar standards, and Dawn had never had a
better cheeseburger anywhere, ever.
    Even though Jim’s was busier than usual on a weekday
afternoon, the place was oddly quiet. The few people who had claimed seats were
talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers, like what they were discussing
was some secret, despite the fact that everyone was talking about the same
thing.
    They’re scared , she reminded herself. And
you should be, too .
    That much was true. With the feds in town, the media
might not be far behind. Not much that was considered news worthy happened
around Goosemont, and Dawn was glad of that. The last thing she needed was to
have her face on national TV. Even if she was just in the background, it was
too risky to allow.
    The hushed anxiety and curiosity permeating the bar
broke as the front door swung open. With the cold breeze from the early
November day came Courtney, the second waitress at Jim’s and Dawn’s de facto
best friend in Goosemont.
    “Courtney, hey,” Dawn greeted her flame-haired friend
as she set down a tray of nachos for a small group of diners.
    It hadn’t crossed Dawn’s mind to worry about Courtney
in the same way that Jim had worried about her. Courtney had grown up in
Goosemont, and her father and brothers were all working in the lumber yards
that provided jobs for most of the town. Though she was energetic, Courtney
wasn’t an idiot, and Dawn knew she wouldn’t do something like tangle with a
bear, or wolf, or whatever animal it was that had killed that poor hiker.
    “Oh my God,” Courtney gushed as she tossed her fleece
vest over Dawn’s flannel jacket that hung by the door. The girl had grown up
with the mountain cold, and this weather was nothing for her. “Did you hear the
news?”
    “Um,” Dawn mumbled as she watched the patrons eying
Courtney. She was a bundle of excitement and could barely stand still as she
grabbed her apron and tied it on.
    Though everyone was just as curious about the dead
hiker, Courtney’s shocking lack of tact was obviously agitating them, and the
last thing Dawn wanted was to piss off Jim’s customers. That, and she had no
desire to lose her tips because Courtney was acting like a fool.
    “Come here,” Dawn hissed as she pulled Courtney back
into the kitchen by her elbow.
    “What?” Courtney snapped at her, wrenching her arm
away once they were out of view of the diners. “Stop being a grump!”
    “Me?” Dawn snapped back at her in a hushed voice.
“What