Carol Cox by Trouble in Store Read Free Book Online

the store for the rest of the day, where I can keep an eye on you.”
    “But me and Percy—”
    “Percy is going home, too.” Caleb shot a questioning glance at Earl Slocum, who nodded back.
    “I’ll be happy to escort him home and let his daddy know what he’s been up to.” The older man tightened his hold on Percy’s collar and led him away.
    Caleb marched Levi back inside the store and pointed to the boy’s special hiding place under the far end of the counter. “You can play inside your fort until it’s time to go home.”
    Levi opened his mouth as if to argue but seemed to think better of it and ducked under the counter, where he kept an assortment of small toys.
    Caleb waited until he was out of sight, then pulled out his handkerchief and mopped his forehead, trying not to let on how much the incident had shaken him. How was he ever going to manage raising a child on his own? Levi’s actions could have cost him the store . . . and seen the whole town go up in flames.
    Thanks to the quick actions of the local men, disaster had been averted. But what would Levi come up with next?
    The mercantile had a good reputation around town, but he was still keenly aware of the need to prove himself. He had gotten along well enough with the locals in the three months he’d been in Cedar Ridge, after Uncle Alvin decided the store was too much for one person to manage alone and requested Caleb’s help. Still, he knew he was far from winning everyone over completely—Mrs. Pike being a case in point. And today’s near catastrophe hadn’t helped. But he was determined to make a go of it. He had to, for Levi as well as for himself.
    He tucked his handkerchief back in his pocket and stifled a groan when he saw that Miss Ross hadn’t moved from her earlier position. He beckoned her toward him with a curtnod, intending to move behind the counter to establish his position of authority. As he circled around the end, his foot caught on something and he stumbled. Looking down, he saw the woman’s floral brocade carpetbag.
    “Is it true?” She kept her voice low, but the concern in her tone carried clearly enough.
    Caleb jerked his head back up, wishing with all his heart that it was time to close the store and bring an end to this madhouse of a day. “Is what true?”
    “People have been coming in and out of the store since you ducked outside, and I couldn’t help but overhear them talking. They said the fire was set deliberately. By . . .” She pointed toward the counter, indicating the spot where Levi had disappeared.
    As if his private troubles were any of the nosy woman’s business! “That matter has been dealt with, and needn’t concern you.” Caleb drew his lips down as he picked up the carpetbag and thumped it on the counter. “Miss Ross, you seem to be operating under some misapprehension. I’m sorry you’ve traveled out here for nothing, but the truth of the matter is—”
    “—that my late cousin, George Ross, was one of the proprietors of this establishment. He always told me I had a place to live and work here at the mercantile. When your uncle wrote to tell me of George’s passing, he invited me to come out and get acquainted. I took that to mean the offer of a job and home still stand, so I decided to take him up on it. And here I am.”
    Her blithe assumption of a warm welcome—a home, no less!—rocked him on his heels. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible. You see—”
    Miss Ross planted her hands on her slim hips. “Mr. Nelson, over the past four days, I have traveled by train, stagecoach, and freight wagon.” She tilted her chin and glared up at him. “I did not go through all that just to be brushed off like some bothersome insect.”
    Caleb winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You don’t understand.”
    Her voice rose a notch. “What I understand is that this really doesn’t concern you. The person I need to speak with is your uncle. Please get him immediately, or at