Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Six

Cam kept himself busy, stocking supplies that were already full and stealing a glance every so often at the woman who sat in the dining area, absently coiling a lock of dark blond hair around her finger as she filled out the employment application he had given her. Granted, Julie Callahan had passed the first part of the interview simply by showing up, and she seemed committed to taking the job, but still... could she really be trusted? She wasn't from around here. That much had been obvious when she had come in to Bill Platt's store the day before to buy five dollars' worth of gas—who buys five dollars' worth of gas nowadays?—and Cameron had the distinct impression that, had she not overheard his need for hired help, she would have kept right on driving until she reached Bangor or another of the bigger towns situated further up Route One. Her impulsive willingness to stay on in the nondescript little village of Lloyd's Harbor, in hopes of securing a mediocre job at a place called The Sub Shack, told Cameron two things about Julie Callahan: One, that she was a drifter; and two, that she was desperate. And neither of those qualities was making him particularly eager to hire her—Christ, she'd probably steal him blind and disappear before the ink on her application was dry! Cameron unwittingly permitted his gaze to slide in her direction once again, and was startled to find her looking right back at him.

"All set?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant as he slipped out from behind the counter.

"I think so," she said, sliding the form across the table as he took the seat across from her. "I'm new in town, so I can't give you an address right now..."

Cam raised his eyes to hers, a flicker of caution flashing through his mind, but her bearing didn't falter one bit. Still, Cam couldn't escape the nagging suspicion that something wasn't right with this woman...

"That's okay," he said as he slid the application back to her side of the table. "Just put down the address and phone number where you're staying for now and we'll update it later."

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, her gaze dropping briefly to the paper and then coming back up to meet his.

"I don't know it," she said, her golden brown eyes locking on his. "It's a motel."

Cam almost bought it, until he saw the 'tell'. It was very subtle—not a full twitch, but just the slightest contraction of her left eyelid—, so slight that it hadn't immediately registered the first time he saw it, when she'd told the first lie. But he saw it now, and a red flag was triggered in his head. What was she hiding?

"Oh. Okay, then," Cam said, real casual-like as he turned the form back to his side of the table. He studied the precise block lettering of her name for a moment, and then brought his eyes back to hers and smiled benignly. "Which one?"

A-ha, she hadn't expected that question, had she? She blinked and looked away, but not before Cam saw the look of panic that flashed behind her eyes. He'd tripped her up, but she took a valiant stab at damage control.

"Um, it's down that way," Julie said, gesturing vaguely. "Big red sign, something that starts with a C, I think..."

Her eye did that thing again, and alarm bells screamed in Cameron's head.

"The Colony Inn?" he asked, his eyes shooting up to hers. "You're staying at the Colony?"

"Yes, that's the one," she agreed too readily, and then grew wary. "Why? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Um... no," Cameron said, covering his suspicion. He wanted to see where this was going. "No, not at all. It's a nice place, a little pricey maybe..."

"Yeah, sort of," Julie said, fidgeting nervously in her seat. "They, uh... they gave me a deal."

Cam nodded, studying her carefully as she avoided his eyes.

"Yep, that sounds like Bert and Ellie, all right," he said, baiting her into another lie. "They're nice people."

"Oh, super nice!" Julie enthused with what he knew to be another lie, and then deftly changed the subject. "So, do I have the job?"

Cam stared back at her for a long moment. She wasn't a teenager, and on the outside she fit the mold of an ideal employee—clean, polite, and reasonably attractive without being showy about it. He'd hired worse, that was for sure, but still... she was lying through her teeth, so there was definitely something fishy going on with her.

Cameron's thoughts were interrupted as the door to the restaurant swung open, and a shaggy-haired boy in a rumpled sweatshirt stepped inside. Cam was about to tell him that the place wasn't open until ten, but the kid spoke first, directing himself to the back of Julie Callahan's head.

"Mom, can I have a dollar?"

Cam's eyes shot back to Julie, who had all but deflated in her seat. She sighed, and when she absently brushed a wisp of hair from her face, he noticed that her hands were shaking. When she finally met his gaze, she couldn't hide the defeat in her eyes, but she smiled weakly nonetheless.

"Finn, this is Mr. Shepherd," she said dully, never taking her eyes from Cameron's. "Mr. Shepherd, this is Finn. My son."