blackberries used to grow, but the hill was too steep and brushy. As I came back out of the holler... I lost control and rolled.”
Diane gasps.
Sawyer hands me his beer, and I take a long drink.
“You’re lucky you didn’t break something,” Nick told him.
“Yeah, your neck,” I add.
“Luckily I had my phone with me.” Jake repositions the ice bag.
“Not a bear—are you sure, Jake?” I think I’m hoping it was just a bear.
“All I know is it was the size of a large man and didn’t have fur.”
“Maybe it was a man,” I suggest.
“No human can move that fast, Sofie.”
Something about his comment tickles a memory, but I don’t dwell too long because I think of something else. “What about the cow?”
“Taylor and I checked,” Nick answers. I raise my eyebrows in question. “More than one had fed.”
I shudder. “Does Ben know?”
“Not yet,” Jake says.
“What the hell, Jake?”
“What am I going to tell him, Sofe?”
“Uh—you wrecked the four-wheeler, but you’re not seriously hurt!”
“He’ll see tonight I’m okay.”
“I’ll call and tell him you’re okay now,” I decide.
“Thanks.” Jake hands me his cell.
“You big weenie,” I retort as I take the phone. Jake grins. I’m certain he just set me up so I’d be the one breaking the news to Ben, and I give him a disgruntled look. After I end the call, I hear Taylor say he’ll call someone called Santiago, and Sawyer’s asking questions about the meeting that night.
“Jake, you think Sofie and I should take you to the doctor so he can check you out?” Diane asks, looking worried.
“Nah, I’m okay, baby.”
I go behind the bar and open the fridge.
“What you need isn’t in there,” Taylor informs me.
“No?” I turn to look at him.
He sets two shot glasses down and searches through the bottles behind the bar. Sam steps up and reaches over the bar top, pulling out a bottle. “Here’s what we need,” Sam says.
Taylor sets another glass out. “Just what I was looking for.” He pours a shot in each glass, sliding one over to Sam and one to me.
I sit down on the stool by Sam, taking a deep breath. Drinking tequila at this time of day can’t be a good idea. I turn the shot glass up. Taylor promptly refills our glasses. I glance at the table where the others sit, talking. Diane’s listening to everything; I’ll have to pump her for info later.
“What do you two think Jake saw today?” I ask my drinking partners.
Sam glances where Jake sits. “Exactly what he told us.”
Taylor turns up his shot and sets the glass down. “I agree.”
“You don’t think it might have been a bear?”
“Do you?” Taylor asks.
“Maybe, but Jake says for sure it wasn’t so...” I shrug, and then grin at Sam. “Maybe it was Momo. ” He chuckles, and Taylor’s eyebrows come together. “There have been sightings through the years of a hairy creature that walks upright on two feet.”
Sam takes up the story when I pause to drink my shot. “In the last twenty years, people have seen such a creature, off and on up north on the Mississippi River, mostly in the little town of Louisiana. But years before that, we had several sightings in this area of the Ozarks.”
“The old Jesse James Museum in Branson once had a stuffed one on display,” I add. “Someone trapped a similar Momo in late 1800s, sold it to a circus, and it lived in captivity for twenty-some years. When the creature died, they stuffed the poor thing, and it ended up in that old museum. It had dark brown hair all over its body and brown, human-looking eyes. The museum’s long gone now, along with the Momo.”
“What are you three doing, getting drunk?” Nick sits on the stool beside me.
“Sofie’s telling monster stories,” Taylor teases with a smile.
“Oh, that’s not a monster story. If you want a monster story, I can tell you one.” I catch the surprise on Taylor’s face as I turn away. Sometimes things slip out, and
Diane gasps.
Sawyer hands me his beer, and I take a long drink.
“You’re lucky you didn’t break something,” Nick told him.
“Yeah, your neck,” I add.
“Luckily I had my phone with me.” Jake repositions the ice bag.
“Not a bear—are you sure, Jake?” I think I’m hoping it was just a bear.
“All I know is it was the size of a large man and didn’t have fur.”
“Maybe it was a man,” I suggest.
“No human can move that fast, Sofie.”
Something about his comment tickles a memory, but I don’t dwell too long because I think of something else. “What about the cow?”
“Taylor and I checked,” Nick answers. I raise my eyebrows in question. “More than one had fed.”
I shudder. “Does Ben know?”
“Not yet,” Jake says.
“What the hell, Jake?”
“What am I going to tell him, Sofe?”
“Uh—you wrecked the four-wheeler, but you’re not seriously hurt!”
“He’ll see tonight I’m okay.”
“I’ll call and tell him you’re okay now,” I decide.
“Thanks.” Jake hands me his cell.
“You big weenie,” I retort as I take the phone. Jake grins. I’m certain he just set me up so I’d be the one breaking the news to Ben, and I give him a disgruntled look. After I end the call, I hear Taylor say he’ll call someone called Santiago, and Sawyer’s asking questions about the meeting that night.
“Jake, you think Sofie and I should take you to the doctor so he can check you out?” Diane asks, looking worried.
“Nah, I’m okay, baby.”
I go behind the bar and open the fridge.
“What you need isn’t in there,” Taylor informs me.
“No?” I turn to look at him.
He sets two shot glasses down and searches through the bottles behind the bar. Sam steps up and reaches over the bar top, pulling out a bottle. “Here’s what we need,” Sam says.
Taylor sets another glass out. “Just what I was looking for.” He pours a shot in each glass, sliding one over to Sam and one to me.
I sit down on the stool by Sam, taking a deep breath. Drinking tequila at this time of day can’t be a good idea. I turn the shot glass up. Taylor promptly refills our glasses. I glance at the table where the others sit, talking. Diane’s listening to everything; I’ll have to pump her for info later.
“What do you two think Jake saw today?” I ask my drinking partners.
Sam glances where Jake sits. “Exactly what he told us.”
Taylor turns up his shot and sets the glass down. “I agree.”
“You don’t think it might have been a bear?”
“Do you?” Taylor asks.
“Maybe, but Jake says for sure it wasn’t so...” I shrug, and then grin at Sam. “Maybe it was Momo. ” He chuckles, and Taylor’s eyebrows come together. “There have been sightings through the years of a hairy creature that walks upright on two feet.”
Sam takes up the story when I pause to drink my shot. “In the last twenty years, people have seen such a creature, off and on up north on the Mississippi River, mostly in the little town of Louisiana. But years before that, we had several sightings in this area of the Ozarks.”
“The old Jesse James Museum in Branson once had a stuffed one on display,” I add. “Someone trapped a similar Momo in late 1800s, sold it to a circus, and it lived in captivity for twenty-some years. When the creature died, they stuffed the poor thing, and it ended up in that old museum. It had dark brown hair all over its body and brown, human-looking eyes. The museum’s long gone now, along with the Momo.”
“What are you three doing, getting drunk?” Nick sits on the stool beside me.
“Sofie’s telling monster stories,” Taylor teases with a smile.
“Oh, that’s not a monster story. If you want a monster story, I can tell you one.” I catch the surprise on Taylor’s face as I turn away. Sometimes things slip out, and
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