whatever.”
“So, you aren’t gonna regret this tomorrow?”
“You know, with all this bullshit with Smiley, I’ve come to realize, life is too short for regrets. Living for the now is pretty much all we’ve got right now. Why not enjoy it?” she said with a smile.
Keith’s earnest, soft face lit up with the biggest smile he could muster. He hoped deep within his soul of souls she would pick him, but, he thought glumly, she needs to give Tony a chance, too. Thing is, the fact that she came to him first boded well for her future choice. The more she’s exposed to him, over Tony, the more the pheromones will influence her choice. Keith tried to form a plan in his mind to be around her as much as he could, without seeming like a creeper.
CHAPTER SIX
The next day, Kim was getting ready for work and her cell phone rang. She picked it up and accepted the call, and found dead silence on the other end.
“Hello?” she asked. “Hello?” her tone getting more demanding. She tapped the hang up button and put it back down on the table. “Fucking telemarketers.”
She went to the kitchen and tossed some bread in the toaster and rummaged in the cupboards for some peanut butter. She swigged back her cooling coffee and waited for her breakfast to finish up. Her toast popped, she put it on the counter and started to spread peanut butter on it, when her phone rang again.
She went over to it and noticed the caller ID showed that it was an unknown number, so she answered the call. Silence. More silence echoed on the other end. She put her phone back down on the table and angrily ate her toast while glaring at the stupid device.
Kim got up and wiped her mouth with the dish cloth that was hanging over the kitchen sink’s faucet and turned off the coffee pot. She grabbed her phone and headed towards her front door. She felt it buzz in her back pocket, but she decided to ignore it. She was almost late for work.
She locked her front door and hopped down the stairs of her front porch. Kim looked over and saw Tony mowing his lawn that early Saturday morning. She waved at him with a smile as she jogged to her job at the general store.
She jogged through the orchard that filled the town square with the aroma of sweet, ripe fruit. The peaches were just about ready to harvest. The cherry trees had been stripped bare and were in the process of being canned by the residents of the tiny town. She missed the boat, but Keith assured her he would barter for some canned pie filling and jam for her from Betty, the wife of Rusty, the head shaman and her boss, the owner of the general store.
She opened the front door of the general store, causing the old cow bell to announce her arrival to the wizened Rusty who stood at the cash register preparing the drawer for the day. “G’morning, stranger,” he greeted her. “Back to the grind, eh? Good, been getting tired of covering for ya.”
Kim laughed. “I’m sorry. Kinda hard to want to work when you’ve got some creep show stalking around wanting to kill you.”
“True, that,” Rusty replied. “He won’t be around for much longer. One of the boys will catch him. That’s one thing both of them are good at. If Tony can’t figure out how to find him, Keith will. Keith’s got those crazy internet connection things going.”
Kim smiled warmly. “I bet he does. Anyway, I’d like to get started. At least this place isn’t a total wreck. I figured with Junior running the show it would have burnt down by now.”
Rusty snorted. “Nah, I keep that boy well away from the front of the store. He’s too simple to run the front end. Good for muscle, not much for keeping track of pennies. He loses count after three. Was me and Betty here for the time you were gone, sometimes Keith came in to volunteer. Jessica Pine’s boy came in to sweep the store one night; he was the lil gaffer you gave a fright to when you came in looking for work.”
Kim frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to
“So, you aren’t gonna regret this tomorrow?”
“You know, with all this bullshit with Smiley, I’ve come to realize, life is too short for regrets. Living for the now is pretty much all we’ve got right now. Why not enjoy it?” she said with a smile.
Keith’s earnest, soft face lit up with the biggest smile he could muster. He hoped deep within his soul of souls she would pick him, but, he thought glumly, she needs to give Tony a chance, too. Thing is, the fact that she came to him first boded well for her future choice. The more she’s exposed to him, over Tony, the more the pheromones will influence her choice. Keith tried to form a plan in his mind to be around her as much as he could, without seeming like a creeper.
CHAPTER SIX
The next day, Kim was getting ready for work and her cell phone rang. She picked it up and accepted the call, and found dead silence on the other end.
“Hello?” she asked. “Hello?” her tone getting more demanding. She tapped the hang up button and put it back down on the table. “Fucking telemarketers.”
She went to the kitchen and tossed some bread in the toaster and rummaged in the cupboards for some peanut butter. She swigged back her cooling coffee and waited for her breakfast to finish up. Her toast popped, she put it on the counter and started to spread peanut butter on it, when her phone rang again.
She went over to it and noticed the caller ID showed that it was an unknown number, so she answered the call. Silence. More silence echoed on the other end. She put her phone back down on the table and angrily ate her toast while glaring at the stupid device.
Kim got up and wiped her mouth with the dish cloth that was hanging over the kitchen sink’s faucet and turned off the coffee pot. She grabbed her phone and headed towards her front door. She felt it buzz in her back pocket, but she decided to ignore it. She was almost late for work.
She locked her front door and hopped down the stairs of her front porch. Kim looked over and saw Tony mowing his lawn that early Saturday morning. She waved at him with a smile as she jogged to her job at the general store.
She jogged through the orchard that filled the town square with the aroma of sweet, ripe fruit. The peaches were just about ready to harvest. The cherry trees had been stripped bare and were in the process of being canned by the residents of the tiny town. She missed the boat, but Keith assured her he would barter for some canned pie filling and jam for her from Betty, the wife of Rusty, the head shaman and her boss, the owner of the general store.
She opened the front door of the general store, causing the old cow bell to announce her arrival to the wizened Rusty who stood at the cash register preparing the drawer for the day. “G’morning, stranger,” he greeted her. “Back to the grind, eh? Good, been getting tired of covering for ya.”
Kim laughed. “I’m sorry. Kinda hard to want to work when you’ve got some creep show stalking around wanting to kill you.”
“True, that,” Rusty replied. “He won’t be around for much longer. One of the boys will catch him. That’s one thing both of them are good at. If Tony can’t figure out how to find him, Keith will. Keith’s got those crazy internet connection things going.”
Kim smiled warmly. “I bet he does. Anyway, I’d like to get started. At least this place isn’t a total wreck. I figured with Junior running the show it would have burnt down by now.”
Rusty snorted. “Nah, I keep that boy well away from the front of the store. He’s too simple to run the front end. Good for muscle, not much for keeping track of pennies. He loses count after three. Was me and Betty here for the time you were gone, sometimes Keith came in to volunteer. Jessica Pine’s boy came in to sweep the store one night; he was the lil gaffer you gave a fright to when you came in looking for work.”
Kim frowned. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to
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