His Small-Town Family. Lorraine Beatty
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 area. The stockroom was on the opposite side and extended along the back wall of the building. Boxes and packages were stacked on the floor and piled on the worktable, waiting to be opened.
The familiar surroundings eased the slight tension from his shoulders. The stockroom was a good place to start. He was comfortable here. He could do his job with little interference. One thing his new boss had mentioned made him uneasy. Waiting on customers. Dealing with people face-to-face had never been his strong suit. It was why he’d lived his life behind a camera lens. No chance for emotional entanglements that way. But he was jumping the gun. There would be time to worry about that later.
Ethan reached for the box cutter on the shelf and slit the seam of the closest carton. Spiral notebooks. It was spring. School would be out soon. Maybe Nicki was planning ahead for back-to-school sales. Prying off the packing slip, he verified it against the contents, then moved on to the next box. He glanced at the assortment of pricing tools hanging above the worktable. He’d have to speak with his new boss about price points for the merchandise.
His lips moved into a smile. The activity reminded him of his college years working at the discount store. The Lord had come through for him again. There was absolutely nothing in Latimer’s Office Supply that would remind him of the Middle East or suicide bombers or innocent victims in marketplaces.
* * *
Nicki winced at the sound of the heavy pot being set down on the counter. Her mother was not happy. The nice, quiet Saturday evening meal with her parents had ended in an argument. Nicki had avoided telling her mom about Ethan as long as she could. But when she asked her straight-out when she planned on replacing Charlie, their longtime employee who had recently retired, Nicki had had no choice but to come clean.
“You hired a stranger to work in our store? Some vagrant off the street?”
“Myra, calm down, dear. Nichelle has good instincts about people.”
Good thing her father knew how to handle her mother because she surely didn’t. They had never been able to communicate. Her brother, Kyle, had been her mother’s favorite, always able to charm her out of a bad mood with a wink and a smile. The perfect child who could do no wrong in her mother’s eyes.
Opening the packet of formula,