Page 55 of Rafael

He frowned. “I can’t protect you if I’m not near you.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Thank you for being so conscientious, but I don’t need protection while I’m working today.” She turned and walked away.

Not to be deterred, Rafael followed her. “At least let me clear the building before you go in.”

“We would’ve heard if anyone tried to get in,” she said as she stuck her key in the lock.

“Not if he figured out how to disarm the alarms.”

“Is that possible without getting inside first?”

“No,” Rafael said.

“Thought so.” She pushed open the door and stepped inside.

Rafael eased past her before she could close the door between them. He grinned. “I promise, you won’t even know I’m here.”

Gisele rolled her eyes. “Right. I won’t know there’s a bull in my China shop.” She sighed. “Fine. You can stay, but try not to get in the way.”

“Let me help you restock shelves. You’ll find I’m trainable. I got high marks in my obedience class.”

“You’re too much,” she said and put him to work loading items on the Voodoo doll rack.

He shook his head as he hung the dolls, amazed that so many people purchased them. He would feel sorry for the people they targeted with the pins if he believed they really worked. Like so many things unique to Louisiana, it was the novelty of the item more than the use.

Gisele’s assistant, Lena, arrived and went to work sweeping and mopping the floors. The shop wouldn’t open for another hour.

Before Lena’s mopping could box him into a corner, Gisele appeared, carrying a bucket of soapy water, a squeegee and a dry shop rag. “You can clean the outside windows while the floor is drying.”

“Keep the back door locked,” he warned.

“I will. I leaned the ladder against the back wall. You’ll need it.” She shooed him out the door, leaving it unlocked, but the sign on the door remained CLOSED.

Rafael set the bucket, squeegee and rag on the stoop and hurried around back to collect the ladder. Once he had it set up in front of the building, he went to work washing the windows, taking pleasure in a purely physical task where he could see the fruits of his labors in the finished job.

He had the work done before the store opened. Inthe process of cleaning windows, he noticed areas of the exterior that needed minor maintenance. He nailed down loose siding, caulked around the clean windows and tightened the screws holding the striped awning over the front. When he'd finished outside, he carried the ladder to the rear and stowed it in the stock room.

After the store opened, he worked inside, careful to stay as far out of the way as possible in the tight confines between rows of goods and display racks. When the shop became too crowded, he moved into the back of the store and cleaned the shelves in a storage room, the toilet and replaced the filters in the air vents.

Close to the end of the day, the crowd thinned for a few minutes. Gisele let Lena leave early to catch the band playing that night at the festival.

Rafael stepped up beside Gisele.

She moved money from the cash drawer to the safe below, closed the safe and spun the lock. She straightened in time to smile and welcome a customer who’d just entered the shop.

“How do you do it?” he asked.

Her brow wrinkled as she shifted items on the counter. “Do what?”

“Keep smiling after a long day on your feet.”

She shrugged. “I remind myself that I work for myself, not a bloodless financial firm that doesn’t give two rat’s asses about the people they represent.”She smiled up at him. “I can go to bed at night with a clear conscience.”

He brushed his hand across her cheek. “You’re a good person, Gisele.”

“I try.” She glanced past him. “Excuse me. That customer looks like he has a question.” Gisele moved around him and approached the customer.

The man had shaggy dark hair and a stubbled face that looked like it hadn’t seen a razor in a few days. He stared around the store with a frown as if looking for something but not finding it. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of a lightweight jacket.

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