Faithful Shadow by Kevin J. Howard Read Free Book Online

him her best Southern smile. “I am flattered by the gesture.”
    Paul thanked her for the cone and headed out, looking back one last time with a puppy dog stare, batting his eyes for a second chance. She gave him a wave and felt guilty. Kelly would have felt much better about rejecting him had she seen the wedding ring beneath his glove, but she hadn’t. Nine came around and she could finally leave. Her legs ached from standing all night. Unlike Sonia, her work ethic wouldn’t allow her to sit at a table and hop up if someone should come in. She felt that was far too unprofessional, even if they were only working in an ice cream shop in the middle of the woods. Kelly kicked off her shoes and pulled the two glass doors together, closing off the shop from the rest of the Inn.
    The cleanup routine was a snap. Why Sonia had trouble following all the steps was beyond her, probably too busy thinking about what she was going to wear or who she was going to take it off for. Kelly didn’t like to think ill of others and she’d never out-right say that her friend was a slut, but if Stew thought he was the only one she was knocking boots with, then he had got another think coming. Better not ask his sweet innocent Sonia about Hector the line cook, Frank working in the gift shop, and especially not those two guys they’d met after orientation in Mammoth. Kelly shook her head at the ever-growing list of lovers and felt oddly envious; something she would never admit to anyone, even herself. To be as free as Sonia would be something else, so liberating. But Kelly put the wild urges aside and focused on Richard, his chiseled face and honest eyes. A shiver ran down her spine and she smiled, feeling this might be love. Kelly wiped away the thought with the table she was currently cleaning, not wanting to jinx it. Kelly tossed the rag onto the counter and placed the three ice cream scoopers into their designated cups filled with hot water and soap. She stood for a moment, hands on her hips, taking inventory.
    Satisfied the shop was clean, Kelly took a seat at a booth. It had finally gotten dark, all but the ominous glow to the south. The red tint from the fires made her angry, thinking how unfair it was that this kind of shit should be happening the one summer she was up here to work. It wasn’t like she could just come on up next summer and hope for the best. Alabama and Wyoming weren’t exactly neighbors. She would just have to make the best of it; sitting in a dark ice cream parlor while all her friends were out having fun, so very typical of her character. Yep, she’d make the best of it. Covering the shift of her friend so she could go out and get laid while she waited around all night for closing. Kelly was always willing to sacrifice her time for her friends and they always knew that. Not that she would let people walk all over her. She just felt better when everyone around her was happy.
    An odd sensation crept over her. She felt someone staring at her. Kelly looked out through the window, moving her eyes slowly across the parking lot to the woods, but no one was there. Not a single soul walking around. She cupped her hands around her eyes and pressed her face to the glass, unable to shake the strong feeling. There was no question about it in her mind. Someone was out there right this minute, their eyes locked on her. For a brief moment she saw something green at the edge of the woods, glowing like a roadside reflector. As fast as she’d seen it, the two little lights were gone, nothing there now but darkness. Maybe it was that fireman playing a trick on her? The thought made her shiver. He had had such a sweet face, but wasn’t that always the case with psychopaths? Weren’t they always clean cut, charming men that women wanted to be around? Then when they finally got you alone, they tore into your flesh with a rusty knife. The visual gave her goose bumps. She jumped as someone banged on the glass door behind her.
    “Damn