Complete Pelican Lake Series

Chapter 5

Ashley wondered for the fifteenth time since the start of her shift if she"d worn the right thing. What would Jared think of it? For the fifteenth time, she reminded herself she was no longer a teenager on her first date. He"d seen her in work clothes, even the grungy shorts she wore while working the pumps, and still asked her out.

She pushed her self-doubts from her mind and focused on the job in front of her. Stocking and cleaning shelves. It was a boring job, but one that had to be done. She"d worked her way from one side of the shop to the other, making sure every shelf was full, and the goods and shelf were dusted and clean. She"d been interrupted a few times by customers through the day, but it had been slow and while she hadn"t made many sales, she had made good progress at this.

The fitness tracker on her wrist vibrated, startling her. Checking it, she found it was the alarm she"d set to remind her of closing time. Ashley stood, gathered her things, putting them away on her way to flip the open sign off, and locked the door.

She was still counting receipts and money when she heard a car door slam outside. That would be Jared. She waited for a knock on the door, which never came, as she finished with the cash drawer and locked the money into the safe in the back of the store.

Aware Jared was waiting, Ashley checked her face and hair in the bathroom mirror before grabbing her purse from behind the counter and going out to meet him.