Family to the Rescue. Lissa Manley

stalling. Oh, man. She needed a job. And he needed someone to help out if he was realistic about his limitations at the moment. The Sports Shack was a two-person operation, no doubt about it. He needed an employee.

      Kim was right. Her offer made sense. And, really, how could he say no without seeming like an ungrateful, heartless idiot?

      He rubbed his jaw, wishing he had more time to think all this through. He didn’t usually make important decisions on the fly. Unfortunately, the store had to open on schedule—if he remembered correctly, he had a delivery coming this morning. He didn’t have a lot of time to be cautious.

      “All right,” he said, hoping he didn’t regret his decision. “You can come help out…for now.” He’d leave it at that.

      “Great,” she said, beaming. “Perfect.”

      He mumbled his agreement. Her working for him was mutually beneficial; he’d be providing Kim with something she desperately needed, and vice versa. The solution sounded ideal….

      So why in the world was he so conflicted about working with her?

      He looked at her, trailing his gaze over her face. She was smiling broadly at him, her gorgeous golden eyes sparkling, her clear, fresh-scrubbed skin glowing. She looked happy. And full of life. And so beautiful he could barely breathe.

      The truth belatedly smashed into him. The reason he hadn’t wanted to agree to Kim’s deal was as difficult to ignore as a grand slam when the score was tied.

      He wanted to casually date the appealing Kim, not be her boss. He gave a mental groan. Yeah. It was going to be a long couple of days.

      Chapter Four

      Kim spent her first morning at The Sports Shack rearranging displays and unpacking and shelving various sporting goods items that had just been delivered.

      Seth, on the other hand, hadn’t come out of his office once since they’d arrived and he gave her brief, general instructions on how to manage the basic running of the store. He’d even told her that he preferred not to be interrupted unless it was an emergency, mumbling under his breath that he wasn’t feeling up to par. Of course, he waved off her concerns about his concussion.

      No, he hadn’t even ventured out to see how she was doing with the job, although maybe that merely expressed his confidence in her ability to handle things by herself. Fortunately, she had been able on her own to help the five or six customers who’d wandered in from the quaint, flower-lined boardwalk.

      Despite Seth’s standoffish ways, she’d made it a point to stick her head in his office a few times to make sure he hadn’t fainted dead away from his concussion. He’d been a bit terse, though civil. But other than the contact initiated by her, he’d stayed sequestered, uninvolved with the sales end of the business. And her.

      Guess he left the people part of the store to his mom most of the time…?

      The bells over the door rang, and a tall, thin gentleman dressed in a multi-pocketed vest, some kind of pants with straps over the shoulders and a battered fishing hat walked in and went directly to aisle four.

      Per Seth’s instructions, she headed over to the customer. “May I help you?” Kim said to the older man.

      The older man turned and gave her a rueful smile. “Probably not.”

      She pulled in her chin. “What do you need?”

      He sighed. “I’m looking for the new Fish Master 1000 surface lures that were supposed to come in today.”

      “Fish Master 1000?” In reality, Kim didn’t know one lure from another. Who would have guessed there were so many ways to catch fish?

      But she had unloaded some kind of lures in the shipment this morning. They’d been in a green and white box. “What color is the package?”

      The man laughed. “Don’t rightly know.” He looked around. “Is Seth here?”

      Kim cast a hesitant glance toward Seth’s office, located down a small hall in the back of the store. He’d made it clear he didn’t want to be bothered unless the place was on fire. “Well, he doesn’t come out onto the floor much,” she said. As in never. “Are you sure I can’t help you? I rearranged some things, but I can show you where I put the lures we got in today.”

      “Yeah, I’m a regular around this operation, and I know that Seth tends to hole up in the back,” the man said. “He’s funny that way. Kinda keeps to himself around people he doesn’t know.”

      Funny? And odd, in her book. Of course, she was a bit of an extrovert. And Seth? Well, he clearly wasn’t.

      Kim felt the need to explain about her lack of lure knowledge. “I’m not that familiar with the lures because I’m just filling in for a few days—”

      “Oh, yeah. I heard.”

      She blinked.

      “I’m Elwood Olsen, local, longtime resident,” he announced.

      Okay. “Nice to meet you, Elwood. I’m—”

      “Kim Hampton. I know.” More blinking.

      He chuckled. “The story’s all over Moonlight Cove,” Elwood said. “You’re Rose’s niece, newly arrived to our auspicious burg. Seth rescued you from a nasty ripper yesterday, and you’re filling in here for his mom.”

      Wow. News traveled fast in a small town. Was there anybody who didn’t know what had happened on the beach yesterday, or that Kim was now working for Seth until his mom returned to town? Coming from a big city like L.A., it felt strange for everyone to know her business. “That’s right.”

      “Yeah, I know the story, so that’s why I wasn’t really expecting you to know too much about the new lures.” He started walking toward the back of the store. “I’ll just go ask Seth. Save you some time.”

      Kim followed Elwood, trotting to keep up with his long-legged pace. “Um…sir? I don’t think Mr. Graham wants to be bothered.” Unless a person was drowning. Then Seth would race to the rescue. Odd. But seemingly true.

      “Oh, don’t worry your pretty little head about bugging Seth,” Elwood said, waving a relaxed hand in the air over his shoulder. “He’s known me his whole life, so he won’t mind me barging in and dragging him out of his cave.”

      Kim halted and let Elwood proceed. Maybe it was good for Seth to have some interaction with a customer or two. It couldn’t be healthy for anyone to spend so much time alone, in a tiny, windowless office.