Unbound by Olivia Leighton Read Free Book Online

place was decorated and arranged, right down to the faint smell of pine in the air, which might be attributed to the huge pine beams that ran across the length of the roof. I wondered why I never stopped in the few times I had ventured down to this end of town. It was one of those places that you passed without notice unless you were really looking for it.
     
    There were three other customers in the store; two wandering the aisles and one at the register paying for their selections. An attractive woman with long, raven hair and girlish dimpled grin was behind the register, ringing up the purchases. I made my way over to the small selection of shoes in the far corner of the store which was situated beside a small fireplace that looked as if the entire store had been built to accommodate it. It really was a quaint and truly unique little place.
     
    The pair of boots I wore were comfortable enough, but they left a lot to be desired when it came to long hikes in the woods. I wanted something that had the build and comfort.  I turned around to ask the woman behind the register if they had them in my size. When I did, I collided with the woman—already on her way over to be of assistance—and nearly knocked her down.
     
    I dropped the shoe and caught her by her shoulder as she let out an oof sound. She looked startled and I could feel my face flush with embarrassment.
     
    “ Shit!  I’m so sorry,” I said. “I didn’t see you and—,”
     
    “ No, no, it was me. I didn’t—,”
     
    “ I need to watch where I’m going because I—,”
     
    “ It’s okay. I’m okay.”
     
    We spent five seconds speaking over top of one another as we regained our composure. She gave me a beautiful smile, clasped her hands together in front of her and said, “Let’s try that again. How may I help you?”
     
    I looked over her pretty face for a moment, taking in the bright green and golden browns that made up the hazel in her eyes, and smiled.  “I need these,” I said, bending down to pick up the display show I had dropped, “in a size thirteen and a half.”
     
    “Hmmm. Big feet.”  She twisted her head as she looked at the boot and nodded. “We might have that size in the back. Let me go check.”
     
    “ Thanks.”
     
    I watched her walk to the register and then through a small doorway, momentarily taking in the sway of her hips and nicely rounded ass. While she was gone, I continued to look around. The place was pretty cool, filled with tents, rock climbing gear, survival equipment, and even a selection of knives. A gun catalog sat on the register with a plaque that read WE CAN ORDER ANY MAKE AND MODEL FOR YOU AFTER YOU SHOW SOME I.D.  God, Alaska.   If the northwest and Texas had a kid, Alaska would be it.  I smiled.  This place suited me well.
     
    A small rack of granola and energy bars sat by the register and I selected a few that were on sale: GoBars, they were called.
     
    I stood at the counter when the woman came back through the door. Now that I was actually seeing her through clear eyes and not ones shaded by embarrassment, I noticed that she was attractive in a not-made-up sort of way. I know that most women hear that and think it’s a thinly veiled insult, but the woman was legitimately cute. It was refreshing to see natural beauty after having been exposed to chicks with Botox and tons of makeup for so long. While Aubrey hadn’t fallen to Botox yet and used makeup sparingly, there had been that untouchable Hollywood beauty about her. The looks of this woman as she brought me a box of shoes, was on a different level.  Beautiful, long inky hair, and her skin had a slight olive tone to it.
     
    She caught me staring, so I blinked and pretended like I was looking at one of the large pictures on the wall behind the register. There was one of a mist shrouded mountainside and another of two men hiking up an incline.
     
    “ Thirteen and a half,” she said. “Last pair.”
     
    “ Are they good