{"product_id":"chill-waters-9781450212717","title":"Chill Waters","description":"EXCERPT FROM CHILL WATERS\u003cp\u003e By Joan Hall Hovey \u003cbr\u003e http: \/\/www.joanhallhovey.com\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e CHILL WATERS\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e By\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Joan Hall Hovey\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e It's like a lion at the door; \u003cbr\u003e And when the door begins to crack, \u003cbr\u003e It's like a stick across your back;\u003cbr\u003e And when your back begins to smart, \u003cbr\u003e It's like a penknife in your heart;\u003cbr\u003e And when your heart begins to bleed\u003cbr\u003e You're dead, and dead, and dead, indeed.\u003cbr\u003e Anonymous; Nursery Rhyme\u003cbr\u003e One\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e He stood near the ancient gnarled apple tree that for years now had produced only sour, wizened apples, waiting for her. The hot thick air hummed with the chirping of crickets. Behind him, an occasional fat June bug bumped against the screen door, drawn by the night-light. Now and then a car passed by, seeming only to emphasize his sense of aloneness. Not much traffic on Elder Avenue since they built the thruway. \u003cbr\u003e Three houses down, Nealey's old black lab set to barking excitedly at something - a raccoon scavenging in a garbage can, most likely, but it could just as well be shadows. The mutt had a game leg and was as deaf as his mother's turquoise plastic crucifix that hung on the wall above the TV. The old man oughta have him done away with, put the damn thing out of its misery. Maybe I'll do it for him one of these days, he thought, a grin playing at one corner of his cruel mouth. As he retrieved the pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, he heard Nealey's door open, heard the old man's low, gravelly voice call the dog inside.\u003cbr\u003e He gazed up at the starry sky, grin fading as he envisioned Marie and that hotshot kid in the fruity white blazer slow dancing under these very stars. Bodies molded together, the kid's hands moving over her, groping... his breath hot in her ear... \u003cbr\u003e With a muttered curse, he shook his head as if to banish the image, checked an impulse to crush the pack of cigarettes in his hand. Instead, he struck a match against the tree, but his hand was unsteady and it took a few tries before he managed to get it lit. Leaning his back against the tree he closed his eyes. The rough bark of the tree stabbed like jagged stone through his thin nylon jacket. He sucked smoke into his lungs, exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. \u003cbr\u003e He wasn't usually a heavy smoker, but four hours later, when he finally heard the car drive up, a small mound of butts had accumulated beside him on the ground. With slow deliberation, he mashed this latest one out too, and rose to his feet. Although stiff from sitting, at the same time a power born of rage surged through his veins like electricity. \u003cbr\u003e Music drifted through the open, car window - a soppy Manilou ballad about a girl named Mandy. Above the music, her laugh floated to him, high and lilting as wind chimes. Mocking him. The flirtatious note in her laugh made his throat tighten, his hands curl into fists at his sides. But it was the maddeningly long silence that followed, while the music went on playing, that made him want to fly at them, yank them both out of the car and beat that scummy kid with her until he had to crawl home through his own blood. He wanted to do it. He saw himself doing it. \u003cbr\u003e It took all his will to remain where h\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Hall Hovey Joan Hall Hovey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e iUniverse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/04\/2010\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.85lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.68d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781450212717\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis title is not returnable\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"iUniverse","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44931222962291,"sku":"9781450212717","price":20.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_5b682a32-077d-4620-9e5e-cc5be337e499.jpg?v=1778092878","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/chill-waters-9781450212717","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}