could find no hint of what troubled him.
“Nothing for you to worry about at all, darlin’. It’s just a situation
I need to deal with. You get some rest, and I’ll call you in the
morning.” He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. His kiss reassured
her and hinted at the plans he’d had for that night and promised of
nights to come.
Juliana wished he could’ve stayed, and doubt wormed its way into
her heart even as his lips lingered on hers. She hoped he’d be a little
more forthcoming in the morning.
After he let himself out of her house, she drifted on the edge of
sleep for over an hour, wondering what had happened. Who had
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115
shown up at the ranch? And why did he choose to not tell her who it
was?
There could only be one reason he’d withhold that information. It
had to be another woman. He’d been distracted, sweet and loving as
he usually was, but nonetheless distracted. What thoughts or
memories had been in his mind as he stared off a million miles away
during the movie? Whoever it was, he’d said it was an unexpected
visitor. Perhaps it was a woman from his past. If it had been a male
friend, she doubted he would have withheld that information from
her.
She sighed heavily, rubbing her brow, reminding herself of the
way he looked at her, the way he talked to her, and the way he’d made
love to her that morning. He wasn’t the type to love ’em and leave
’em, and he’d left reluctantly. If it was someone he’d truly wanted to
see, he would’ve left her house much more eagerly. He’d left tonight
like he did not want to go and face whatever was waiting on him.
Finally, she drifted off, but her sleep was far from peaceful, and
her dreams were troubling. She woke several times during the night
and didn’t fall deeply asleep until it was nearly time for her to get up.
When she awoke, she felt bereft of rest and a little cranky.
Peevishly, she thought about calling or text messaging Grace to ask
her if she knew who it was that Ash had returned to the ranch to see.
Pride wouldn’t let her. She didn’t want to seem desperate, even to her
friend.
She vacillated, remembering that Grace had asked her to call, and
she decided she would after she got to work. Then she decided against
it again because she didn’t want to know if it was bad news from
Grace. She’d rather hear bad news straight from Ash if it was coming.
Proud of herself for following through on her promise to not go in
early, she didn’t get to the store until nine-thirty. She should’ve felt
out of sorts for arriving at a time she would normally consider late.
When she walked the sales floor and checked the stockroom, she was
pleased to discover that everything looked as it should.
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Heather Rainier
The stock had been rotated onto the sales floor properly, and the
display racks were all full, neat, and tidy. Employees were already
busy getting ready for the day.
After her usual morning meeting with Evelyn and Leah, the day
went on without a hitch, almost boring in its quietude. At least it was
until the theft detection alarms at the front door went off.
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117
Chapter Eleven
Juliana turned in her chair and watched the front doors on the
security monitors behind her desk as a petite blond darted out the
door, a leather jacket in her arms, followed swiftly by two male
employees.
Just as they were trained to do, they stopped her peaceably,
cutting off her escape down the sidewalk. They held up their hands
and gestured to her to return to the store. Juliana rolled her eyes,
watching as the girl first tried the scared-little-girl tactic, but when it
didn’t work, quickly switched to flirt as she tried to bargain her way
out of returning to the store and certain retribution. She applauded
Harry and Joe when they shook their heads and pointed up at the
security camera.
“Yeah. Smile, bitch, you’re on candid camera.”
Harry and Joe escorted the shoplifter back into the store while
Juliana called Hank Stinson, the sheriff.
He told her he’d be right over to deal with the girl. Juliana waited
in the bed and bath department as they escorted the thief to the back
of the store. She looked petulant and angry, mouthing off at a
customer who stared in disgust at her.
She’s talkative. Great.
Harry and Joe escorted her carefully into Juliana’s office. Juliana
returned to her desk and took a seat as Evelyn stood in the doorway
observing.
Juliana looked quietly at the girl, trying to determine if she’d ever
seen her before. She had shoulder-length blonde hair, was petite, and
had pink-tinged cheeks and didn’t look unkempt or down on her luck.