Complete Pelican Lake Series

Chapter 3

Ashley wrestled with the hose at the dock-side filling station, which was part of her family"s store. This job was physically harder than working inside, but she preferred it most of the time. At least here she was outside and could enjoy the sunshine instead of being stuck inside, stocking shelves or sitting behind the counter, bored.

Here, at least, if there wasn"t someone to help, she could sit on the edge of the dock and dangle her feet in the water. She"d been away all winter, finishing up her degree. This might be the last summer she would be able to come back and spend at the lake. She was determined to soak in as much sun and water as she could before she had to go back to the city and start her new job.

She loved kids and she was excited to start teaching, but she knew she would miss this place. Maybe she would manage to come up for part of the summer next year. She"d just have to wait and see, there was no point in worrying about it now. She finished coiling the hose they used for filling fresh water tanks and stood with her hands on her hips as she stared out across the water.

The slight breeze coming off the lake was enough to blow her hair out of her face and keep the sun from being too warm on her skin. She loved that she could get away with wearing an open button-down shirt over her bikini top and shorts while working out here. When she worked inside, her dad insisted that shirts be buttoned and it not look like the place was being run by teen-age beach bums. His words, not hers.

Ashley rolled her shoulders and tilted her head back so the sun shone directly on her face for a few seconds before the hum of an approaching engine caught her attention.

Glancing around, she found a fifteen or sixteen-foot skiff approaching. She squinted into the glare of sunlight off the lake but couldn"t tell who was at the wheel. Yeah, they got a lot of people in and out all summer long, but they learned to recognize people and remembered names quickly. It helped people feel more at home and made them more likely to come back and spend money, and that was how her family stayed up here year-round.

Yes, it was freezing in the winter, but her parents liked it, and Ashley hadn"t realized it wasn"t like that everywhere until she"d gone down the mountain for college. As the little boat came closer, she moved down the dock to take the dock line and help them tie in for their short stay. As he got closer, she recognized the man from the day before. Jared, he"d said his name was. She helped him tie off and waited while he stepped off the boat onto the dock.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?" she gave him her best friendly smile.

"I"ve got a list of supplies, and I need to fill my gas cans."

"No problem." Ashley glanced at the gas can in his boat. "Your can’s empty?"

"Completely."

"All right," she grabbed the ticket book from next to the gas pump, wrote out a ticket for a little under what his can would hold, tore it off and handed it to him. "Take that in to Steph with the rest of your items and she"ll ring you up. I"ll have the can full and back in place before you get back."

"You don"t have to put it back, I can do that."

"Not a problem." She shrugged and watched as he looked back at her for a couple seconds.

"I"ll be back soon then." He turned and headed for the shop, and Ashley refused to let herself watch him walk away. Instead, she turned, pulled the plastic gas can from his boat, and went to fill it.