Riley's Secret (A Moon's Glow Novel # 1) by Christina Smith Page A

need to ask Nate. I don’t know why you’re
ignoring him, but you’re just going to have to suck it up. He’s your
supervisor.” She yanked the bags from my hand. “I’ll hand these out, you go
make nice.” She gestured with her head in the direction of the kitchen.
    “But he’s the one who has a problem with me,” I
whined.
    She held her hand up. “No, I don’t want to hear it.
Go.”
    I stomped my foot. “Fine,” I huffed, storming off back
into the kitchen, knowing I was acting like a child. “So what needs to be
done?” I asked, not looking at anyone in particular.
    “Eddie’s cleaning the dining room and Patti’s cleaning
the bedrooms, so you can either clean the bathrooms again, or help me make
lunch,” Nate answered as he unloaded burgers and hotdogs out of the fridge.
Theresa was chopping lettuce and trying to look uninterested in our conversation.
    It was obvious what job I was going to pick. I wanted
to be around him as much as possible. And even though the last time wasn’t as
bad as I thought, cleaning the men’s urinals gave me nightmares for days. “I’ll
clean the bathrooms,” I said, surprising myself. I turned around before he
could respond and headed to the supply closet.
     
    “What the heck did they eat last night, beans ?”
I grumbled to myself as I sprayed about a bottle and a half of air freshener in
the men’s bathroom. After I closed the door behind me I let out the breath I’d
been holding.
    “Hey, Megan, where’ve you been?” Natalie asked as she
made her way down the long hall towards me. She was wearing one of my vintage
off-the-shoulder tops.
    “Oh, just some personal issues. What have you been up
to?” I moved the cleaner caddy from my right hand to my left, so I could brush
hair out of my eyes.
    “Packing. Mom got a job at Riley’s Department Store
and our apartment is finally ready.”
    “That’s awesome.” I gave her a one-handed hug. My
heart swelled with happiness for them. “You’re going to come back and see us,
aren’t you?”
    “Yes. Part of the deal of staying here is helping out
when you can, even after you leave. But I’m okay with that, I’ll really miss
everybody. Want to help me pack?”
    “Sure, just let me stash the cleaning supplies and
I’ll meet you in there.”
     
    About an hour later I found my way back downstairs to
help with lunch. “Where’ve you been? I needed your help.” Nate scowled at me as
soon as I stepped into the kitchen.
    “I was helping Natalie pack.” I rolled my eyes. “All
you had to do was come up and ask.”
    His face unclenched a little. “I’m sorry, but I was a
little shorthanded this morning and after you didn’t show up last night I
thought you weren’t taking this seriously.”
    “I didn’t show up last night because of your atti—”
    “Nate, where do you want this?” Mia asked,
interrupting me. She stood behind him holding a tray filled with condiments.
    He glared at me for a few seconds and then slowly
turned towards Mia. “Out in the dining room. Megan, go help serve,” he ordered,
still facing Mia.
    I did what I was told, taking the empty spot in the
middle between Eddie and a new guy, who smelled of mothballs.
     
    When it was time to leave at the end of the day, Nate
stopped me just as I was about to pull out of the parking lot.
    “I’m going to follow you home,” he stated as he headed
for his car.
    However, I no longer wanted his help. “No thanks, I’m
fine.” He didn’t have a chance to argue before I spun out of the lot. I laughed
to myself at the small victory. I knew I was being petty, but I just didn’t
care.
    I was singing along to the radio when I noticed
headlights shine in my rearview mirror. Icy claws of fear gripped ahold of me
and my heart sped up at the idea of Shane in his SUV following me again. I
relaxed a little when I noticed the lights were lower to the ground and the car
kept a safe distance. However, by the third turn and they were still there,