His Small-Town Family. Lorraine Beatty

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ watched him with an uneasy sensation in her chest. He walked like a man confident in his abilities. A man who could handle himself in any situation. A soldier, perhaps. But even that idea didn’t fit. He didn’t have the high-and-tight haircut or the ramrod posture she’d seen in her marine brother. Something was off. She just couldn’t figure out what it was.

      Remembering she had customers in the store, she shoved the thoughts aside. She was being overly sensitive. She couldn’t paint every man she met with the same brush as her late husband, Brad. Just because a man was reserved and private didn’t mean he had something to hide.

      She glanced at the man again. Despite her misgivings, there was something trustworthy about him. History had taught her to be cautious, but she had to start trusting her instincts again. Please, Lord, let this be the right decision, because I’ll need his help and Yours to save the store.

      * * *

      Ethan wrote his name on the line, trying to remember the last time he’d filled out an employment application. He’d worked for TNZ News Network since graduating college. But that job had ended ten months ago. His years embedded with the troops as a conflict photographer had resulted in capturing one too many horrific images with his camera. The doctors had called it cumulative stress disorder. He called it an emotional meltdown.

      Ethan blinked away the visions lurking in the back of his mind and wrote down Jim Barrett’s name as a reference. Jim’s brother Paul had been the lifeline Ethan needed after he’d returned from his last assignment in Afghanistan. He’d been wounded and emotionally traumatized, and the military shrinks hadn’t been able to help him much. But then he’d returned to Atlanta, met Paul and joined his post-traumatic stress disorder group for civilians. Not only had the group turned his life around, but Paul had become a close and valued friend. When Ethan had been looking for a place to start his life over, Paul had sung the praises of his small hometown in south central Mississippi.

      He was giving himself two months to see if Dover could be his new home. Having a job would help him settle in. Within a few minutes he’d filled in all the blanks with his scant personal information. He hoped she wouldn’t press him for the background facts he’d left out. He carried the paper back to the front, waiting while the woman completed a sale to a customer.

      She smiled and took the application from his hand. His heart did a funny little twitch inside his chest. She was a very attractive woman with her shoulder-length blond hair and eyes the color of cornflowers in summer. He guessed her to be a few years younger than himself. The top of her head was even with his shoulder, and it was hard to ignore her nice curves. There was a softness about her that intrigued him and reminded him of the delicate pink azaleas in bloom all over town.

      She glanced at him, and he saw a wariness in her blue eyes. Not that he could blame her. He didn’t inspire confidence with his two-day growth of beard and old faded shirt. He’d deliberately chosen to keep his appearance low-key, hoping to blend in and not call attention to himself. Had he realized the Lord would lead him to Latimer’s Office Supply, and a job interview, he’d have done things differently.

      The woman took a moment to look over his application. He braced himself for the question she would undoubtedly ask—the one that asked for an emergency contact. The one he normally put his previous boss’s name in. Not this time. He had no intention of letting Karen Holt know his whereabouts. She’d want him to come back to work. Out of the question. His life as a conflict photographer was over. As long as he stayed away from his camera, he should be okay. He had absolutely no intention of looking through that viewfinder again.

      The bell over the door jingled again, preventing her question. She glanced briefly between him and the new customers. He saw the doubt in her blue eyes fade and knew she’d decided to take him on.

      “Why don’t you take a few minutes to look around the store, familiarize yourself with the merchandise? We’ll talk as soon as I take care of these customers.” She shoved his application into a drawer behind the counter and started to walk off. “Oh, I’ll need someone who’ll stay on the job for several weeks. Is that going to be a problem?”

      The determined lift to her chin belied the hopeful look in her blue eyes. His protective instincts stirred. The lady could use a hand, and helping others had been one of the things that restored his sense of purpose. “No, ma’am. I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

      Ethan took a quick tour of the store while the woman waited on a customer. The first thing that struck him was the size of the place. It was too large for one person to manage alone. Which might explain her desperate need to hire the first person who walked in the door.

      He made his way through the store, walking down aisles set in neat predictable rows and gazing at the merchandise one would expect in an office-supply store. The back corner held an assortment of office furniture. The area next to it displayed a small selection of outdated computers and printers. One thing was evident. Latimer’s Office Supply was a basics-only store. In fact, it bordered on old-fashioned. But maybe that was the norm for a small Mississippi town.

      Overall, it was a charming business. He dragged his hand along his jaw. Nothing here would trigger a memory. Nothing here would yank him back to the past. It was the perfect place to start over. No memories would be stirred. No old nightmares resurrected. He’d promised himself he’d learn to be a participant in life and not merely an observer.

      Returning to the sales counter, he found the woman—he didn’t know her name yet—staring at the departing customer. “Where would you like me to start?” Her gaze collided with his, the blue eyes wide and filled again with a shadow of doubt.

      She smiled and raised her chin slightly. “The stockroom. But first we need to discuss your hours and pay.”

      Ethan started to tell her he wasn’t concerned about wages, but she stated an amount before he could speak. “Sounds fair.”

      “Good. For now, you’ll have Sundays off, but I’ll be making a lot of changes, and I’d like you to come in on Mondays, too. At regular pay.”

      “That’ll work.”

      “Good. I’ve lost several employees, and I need to replace them quickly.”

      “Understood.” He extended his hand. “I’m looking forward to working with you, Miss...?”

      The woman’s cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. She tucked a strand of her wavy hair behind one ear. “Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Nichelle Latimer.”

      She grasped his hand. Her fingers were small and delicate and fluttered against his palm, sending a sweet jolt of awareness like a sudden sugar rush throughout his system.

      “My family owns this store.”

      Questions erupted in his mind. Why wasn’t her family here helping? She must have sensed his curiosity because she tugged her hand away and squared her shoulders.

      “Which way to the stockroom?”

      She pointed toward the back. Ethan nodded and attempted a smile, but all he could manage was a nod. Sometimes he thought he’d forgotten how to smile. He turned and walked toward the rear of the building. Nichelle. It was a lovely name for a lovely woman. But the guarded look in her eyes suggested she was protecting herself from something. The lady had secrets. But then, so did he.

      The back hall was positioned on the east side of the building and led directly to the back door. On the right was an office, and tucked between it and the rear entrance was a kitchen and eating СКАЧАТЬ