In His Eyes by Gail Gaymer Martin

Author:Gail Gaymer Martin [Martin, Gail Gaymer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2006-10-19T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ellene stepped from Connor’s SUV, and a chill skittered down her back. She’d only drunk orange juice this morning, since the electricity hadn’t come back on. She would enjoy a hot cup of coffee, especially after learning the town still had power.

“It’s colder than predicted,” Connor said, closing the SUV’s door. He swung his hand toward the shop in front of them. “This is it.”

Ellene gazed at the sign. Island Sports Shop. She studied the street-front windows with their unimaginative design. She glanced at golf clubs, polo shirts, tennis rackets and badminton sets, all seemingly dumped into the window display.

Connor pushed open the door and motioned her inside. She stood a moment within the threshold, noting no customers browsing inside the store. She wandered down the first aisle, then the second, viewing golf shoes, tennis shoes, archery sets and fishing gear.

She also noticed dust everywhere. The shop needed a good cleaning. Signs of neglect gave her an uneasy feeling. No pride in the business, no customers, no success.

Her mind spun with curiosity. On a small island, how much business would a sports shop have?

As they neared the counter, the clerk was watching them. “Can I help you?”

“We’re just looking,” Connor said. He paused in front of the register. “Mr. Long’s not in today?” He turned to Ellene. “He’s the owner.”

“Mr. Long lives off the island in the winter. He couldn’t get here without the ferry service.”

“Isn’t that unusual to live away from your business?” Ellene asked, thinking that hiring help in a sport shop in winter didn’t make good business sense.

“He has a full-time job on the mainland.”

“Aah,” Ellene said, weighing the information and noting Connor hadn’t reacted to the statement.

He grasped her arm and steered her away from the counter to peruse the rest of the shop. The contents seemed much the same—baseball bats and mitts, basketballs and hoops—nothing for the winter months.

“I’ve seen enough, I think,” she said, edging toward the doorway. “How about finding a restaurant so we can have a cup of coffee?”

“That sounds good,” he said as he pushed open the door and they stepped outside. “So, what do you think?”

“You want me to be honest.”

He nodded, his eyes searching hers.

“I think you’d be throwing your money away.”

He pulled himself to full height. “I figured you’d say that.”

“You asked and now you don’t trust my opinion?”

“It’s not that. I saw it on your face yesterday when I asked you to take a look.”

Her shoulders tightened. “You’re wrong, and if you’d have really asked questions and looked at the shop, then you’d understand why I say this.”

He pursed his lips and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You don’t have a lot of faith in me, do you?”

“It has nothing to do with faith in you. It’s about having no faith in a business that’s dead.”

He reached for her arm to help her over a slippery stretch of sidewalk, and her reflex caused her to pull away. From his expression, Ellene knew she’d hurt his feelings.

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