Trust in Me by Dee Tenorio

was trying to pry out of her. “Do I want to know why they were kayaking without underwear?” Please say they had pants at least.
    “The way I heard it, even Locke didn’t want to know. He just handed them the butter and got the hell out of there.”
    Laughing suddenly got easier.
    When it died down, Amanda leaned against the wall, her pretty face drawn into lines of disappointment. “Can you at least tell me why you need two more days?”
    Part of Susie wanted to explain. Was tired of feeling the growing separation between herself and the best and first real friend she’d ever truly had. But… She shook her head. The only one she could imagine telling was the one she absolutely couldn’t confide in. Not yet.
    “It’s important to me, Amanda. That’s really all I can tell you. But when I do explain, the one who should hear it first is Locke.”
    She didn’t like it, but Susie could see the acceptance on Amanda’s face.
    “How about I go see if any orders came in overnight? Get a jump on the shipping?” Not usually Amanda’s job, but Susie could tell her friend was doing what she could to give her some space.
    She would take an olive branch if she could get it. “Sure. You remember the password?”
    “Still ‘Flash Gordon’?”
    Yeah, what could she say, she had a type.
    At her nod, Amanda got up and headed through the curtain for the office/closet, calling back sweetly, “Do I get to tell Locke that ?”
    Just as sweet: “Only if you want me to break every bone in your body.”
    Amanda was still laughing as she got started, the sounds of her tapping the mouse and the keyboard drifting through the quiet until she gasped.
    “What in the blue hell is that ?”
     
     
    Locke stared at the open sign on Susie’s shop door. He’d been looking at it for a solid ten minutes, debating whether or not he should head over as he planned. What he really should do was head home and try to force himself to sleep, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Why? For the same reason he couldn’t leave the front of the store.
    Something was wrong. Something had to be wrong because Cole Engstrom had walked into the Suite Shoppe at nine in the morning. Cole Engstrom barely registered as breathing at nine o’clock on any morning. A certified computer genius—meaning he had a university-granted license to play video games like a drug addict—and something had to be seriously wrong to have him rushing into the store lugging a bulging black duffel bag.
    But if Locke went over, Susie would tear into him for interfering.
    Not that he was overly concerned about that part, but upsetting her wasn’t a good idea. Which meant he’d had to resort to something he most disliked doing: coming up with an excuse. Coming up with one Susie wouldn’t see right through was an even bigger challenge.
    He smiled grimly. At least his reputation with her might actually work in his favor for once. A quick call to Jimmy’s Grocery and he already had an airtight alibi. All he needed was for the delivery to arrive so he could get started.
    “How long are you gonna be mooning over that woman?” an unwise person asked from where he should have been dusting the stock.
    “Man, Danny, didn’t I tell you to leave him alone?”
    Locke didn’t bother to turn and face his younger brothers. Having an audience only made them more obnoxious, though how that was possible he found hard to explain. They were only three years younger than him, but in many ways, he couldn’t help but see the elder twins as the babies of the family. Lord knew they whined enough to be considered for the title.
    “What? I’m just saying.” Daniel’s favorite excuse for spouting off whatever came to his lips. Clearly, none of it went through his mind first. “She don’t want nothing to do with him, but he’s always there. Staring. Breathing. Like a desperate psycho. He’s scaring people.”
    “So?”
    Yeah, so.
    “What do you mean, so ? It’s