"Oh no!" Lenni Belle ducked behind a stack of books. She frantically motioned to her boss to get his attention. "Mr. Brooks. Psst. Mr. Brooks."

He turned slowly and raised an eyebrow from across the small bookstore. "What is it, Miss Belle? And why are you whispering? We're the only ones here."

"Shhh!" Her heart pounded in her chest and the hair on her arms stood up. She was sure that Ned was looking in the store and would spot her. "Don't look this way. My ex is outside."

Mr. Brooks shook his head and scowled. "Are we still doing this? I have half a mind to call the police myself at this point."

He went to the front door turned the sign to Closed and pulled down the front blind. He craned his neck looking out the front windows. "I don't see anyone out there."

Lenni came out from behind the books and breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart was still pounding. She had to look for herself to be sure. Her eyes swept around the empty parking lot three times before she could breathe easy. "Thanks. I don't have the energy to see him today."

Mr. Brooks took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Lenni, this boy is stalking you. I don't care how you want to romanticize it, this is dangerous. I've spoken to your father about this and we both agree that this situation has gotten out of hand."

Lenni's face burned. "You talked to my father?"

Mr. Brooks nodded. "I had to. I had hoped that he would be able to talk some sense into you, but I can see that isn't the case."

"I know that Ned come on a bit strong, but he means no harm." She wrung her hands together. "He would never hurt anyone. He's a big softie really. His bark is way worse than his bite."

Mr. Brooks went to the register and took the drawer. He took the notepad he used for counting down the register each night from under the desk. "I don't know how a girl like you falls for a boy like that in the first place."

"He's actually very romantic...well at least he was when we first started dating," Lenni said. They had met using a dating app. She wouldn't tell her boss that though. MateMe! was fun to use and she was hoping to find a new match soon.

The app was new and she was lucky to even get an invite to use it. There weren't many humans on the shifter dating app. Unless you knew someone, you couldn't even open a profile. Luckily, she knew a pelican shifter who'd been able to give Lenni an invite.

Lenni had never thought Ned would end up being such a jerk. She had spent almost a year dating the aloof wolf shifter. He was very attractive and had a great body, like most shifters. Most of the time he was very nice to her, but he had a way of making snide comments about her looks or her life choices. He's said that her going to community college was "a waste of time" since she only got a general business degree. With a body like hers, she was made for breeding. No point wasting time learning when she could be making babies.

His babies of course. Because she was his mate. He'd told her that every day since their first date. At the time, she had laughed off his remarks as funny, but over time they grated on her. Was that all he was interested in? Making babies and keeping his home on the pack grounds clean? It didn't sit right with her. She was more than a breeding factory. When she would bring up how much she hated it, he told her she was overreacting. He was giving her compliments after all. She was the only person in all the world who was good enough for him. She was the most beautiful, special woman in all the world.

It did sound sweet. She had been so excited when they'd first met and became exclusive. She supposed it was nice for a good-looking man to tell her there was something intrinsically special about her. And her father spent a lot of time talking about the pack and shifters in general. She had romanced the idea of dating a shifter. The reality wasn't so nice even if the guy was hot.

At least not with Ned. She had to break it off with him when he started asking her to move in with him. It didn't feel right and she knew the relationship had run its course. He took the breakup hard. He still texted her every day to let her know that he loved her and would do anything to make it work. He forgave her for her "little misstep." But it wasn't a misstep. She didn't love him anymore. She didn't want to be with him.

She did still want to date a shifter though. She hadn't given up on the idea of being someone's mate yet. One day, she might find the right shifter for her. Or not. Maybe she was meant to be a human man's wife. But she was still sticking to the MateMe! app. She would get out there as soon as she got Ned off her back. The wolf shifter seemed to be popping up everywhere. It was starting to creep her out and her paranoia was making things difficult for the people she cared about.

"You didn't have to close early on account of me," she told Mr. Brooks.

"It wasn't like we were going to have a rush of customers," he said placidly. He handed her the stack of cash to count and the paper to write down her final number on.

"You don't know that." She started counting the ones and then the fives. "Some people like to shop after work."

"No one likes to buy books in stores anymore." Mr. Brooks looked around. "At least not in little stores like this. We only get a rush when we have a guest speaker."

"Yes, but that's more than enough." Lenni finished counting the tens and started on the change. She liked counting the money but hated how little the total was on regular days. "Maybe we should add more guests for the summer. I could try finding more people to speak. I could use social media to contact authors too."

"Thanks Lenni. You're the best worker a boss could ask for." He hugged her around her shoulders. "That's why I want you to be careful with this whole Ned thing. You don't know this boy that well and don't know what he's capable of. At least promise that you'll speak to your father about it."

Lenni shrugged and made a noncommittal noise. She hadn't seen much of her father for the last few weeks. He was out on one of his nature walks. She had dropped him off hours earlier. He spent the days she worked roaming around the mountain. He said he was trying to get in shape and wanted to search for shifter artifacts, but that was a bogus claim. There were no shifter pieces in the mountain.

She worried about him out on the mountain alone, but he had a phone and knew the area well. He was an adult. He could take care of himself. As long as he stuck to the trail, getting some air and stretching his legs. After all, it was only a year ago that she was telling him he spent too much time cooped up in his office.

It was difficult striking a balance with her eccentric father. She wondered how her mother had put up with it for so long. Not only put up with it, seemed to love it.

There was an ache deep in her chest remembering her mother shaking her head with chagrin at a crazy idea her father was describing. By the end of it, she had only laughed and caressed his cheek. She loved her "mad professor" so much. If she was still around, things would be so much easier.

"Done." She wrote her number on the pad and blinked a few times to stop the tears from falling. Her mother had died more than twenty years ago. It was far too long ago to shed tears over.

"Our numbers match. We're good." Mr. Brooks packed up the money and locked it in a drop bag. "You don't have to follow me to the bank. I don't think anyone is going to rob me for one hundred fifty dollars."

She checked the parking lot twice and had Mr. Brooks check around outside before she left the shop.

"Have a good night, Ms. Belle, and please consider calling the police," he said when they were next to her car.

"I will," she promised. She wasn't going to call the police, but she would consider it. She did check her rear view mirror often as she drove to the base of the mountain. She could never be too careful.