Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Nine

Julie bid farewell to the final customer of the day and started the daily sales report printing as she moved to lock the door behind him. Having completed her third full day of work—if you considered six hours to be a full day, that is—she had already settled into a fairly efficient closing time routine, one that would likely go much faster now that Cameron Shepherd was finally out from under foot!

She had started immediately after her interview, mainly trailing along behind him as he demonstrated the duties involved in running the little sandwich shop. The second day they switched roles, with him shadowing her as she baked the rolls, assembled the sandwiches, and punched dollar amounts into the cash register. And by noon on this, her third day, it was plain to see that his presence was more hindrance than help, and Julie felt a flood of relief when he finally retired to the cramped office space out back.

Not that he had stayed completely out of sight. No, he had a way of popping up at random intervals, sometimes asking if she needed help and other times saying nothing at all, just observing with those unsettling blue eyes of his. The man definitely had an aura about him, that was for sure, and Julie knew without looking each time he'd entered the room. She wasn't sure how, exactly—something about the way the air shifted, maybe, making her scalp tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up just the slightest bit. It had to be that little thing called Intuition, more commonly known as "gut instinct", although what it was trying to tell her she hadn't a clue. But judging from past experience, it wasn't likely to be anything good.

Julie popped open the cash register and began counting the change. True to form, Cameron Shepherd materialized in the doorway behind her.

Is he checking in or checking up? she wondered, feeling the weight of his gaze on her back.

"Sorry, I had some calls to make. I didn't realize it was closing time already," he said stiffly, edging by her to slide out from behind the counter. "I'll lock the door for you."

"Already done," Julie murmured, noting the amount of quarters on a sheet of scrap paper and moving on to count the dimes.

"Oh. Well, I'll check the soda tanks, then."

"Did that, too," she said, glancing up briefly before resuming her count. "The chip rack is full, cups and lids are restocked, and the drink cooler is full and ready to go for tomorrow."

"Oh. Well, then. I guess I'll just..."

Just what? Julie grumbled silently. Just keep an eye on me, in case I decide to steal something?

"I'll just, uh..." he stammered, then ducked past her once again. "I'll start cleaning up out back."

"Fine," Julie murmured, but then slid the cash drawer firmly shut and whirled around. "I'm not a thief, you know."

Cameron Shepherd froze in the doorway to the kitchen and turned slowly to face her.

"Did I... did I say that you were?"

He looked vaguely offended, but also just a tad bit amused, and Julie's heart dropped in her chest. She felt a faint rush of color rise up into her cheeks, and the spike of indignation she'd felt only seconds before vanished into thin air. He'd simply been offering to help, and she'd assumed some sort of ulterior motive that clearly wasn't there.

"No, I just..." she started, wishing she could stop expecting the worst from people. "The other night, at the store? I overheard you say that people you've hired in the past have stolen from you, and I just... I just thought you should know that I'm not like that. I don't steal."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he stared back at her for so long without speaking that Julie was forced to look away. Finally, he cleared his throat and broke the unbearable silence.

"Well, uh, thank you. That's...good to know," he said. He started to move into the kitchen, and then turned back again. "Actually, you know what? If you don't mind, I think I might take off for the day. I've got this old house that I'm fixing up, and if I don't get the roof finished soon I'm going to be shoveling snow from the attic this winter. Do you think you can finish up on your own?"

"Sure, of course," Julie agreed, feeling vaguely guilty, like she was forcing him to leave or something. But isn't that why he'd hired her, after all—to run the place for him?

"Okay, then," he was saying, returning from the kitchen and setting a leather key ring down on the counter. "Here're the keys to the front and back doors, you'll need those to open up in the morning—"

"You're not coming in tomorrow?"

"Nah, I think you're ready to fly solo," he said, and then gave her an almost-smile. "That is what I hired you for, isn't it?"

Julie swallowed hard and looked away. Cripes, was he a mind reader, too? Fortunately, he didn't seem to notice her moment of unease as he continued on without waiting for her to answer.

"I'll leave my cell number on the desk just in case, but I don't think you'll run into any trouble. Oh, you'll probably need the combination to the safe, too. When you're done with the cash-up, just lock it up in there and I'll take care of it when I do the deposits. Other than that... do you have any questions?"

"I don't think so."

"Well. Okay, then." Cameron Shepherd stood facing her, seemingly unsure of what to do next. "Okay, then."

"Okay, then," Julie echoed, forcing what she hoped was a confident smile. "Be careful on that roof."

"Yeah, you too," he said, and then shook his head. "I mean, uh... well, I don't know what I meant, actually. Just call if you need anything, and I'll, uh... I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah, okay," she said. "I'll see you around."