Page 32 of The Love Shack

Both dogs resoundingly agreed with that plan.

The weekend brought drizzling rain that made everyone miserable, most especially Lawson.

Kathleen was out in the rain, and damn it, he felt guilty about it. Someone had decked out the mannequin in a swimsuit, wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.

They should have put an umbrella in her hand instead.

Her wig, probably some kind of synthetic hair, would be ruined soon.

Behind his counter, Lawson shifted so he couldn’t see the mannequin so easily through the front window. At least it wasn’t looking at him.

A jokester—though he had no idea who—had at one point positioned the thing so it was staring in at him. Ha, ha. Very funny.

Not.

He’d kept busy in the back room for a few hours, and when he came back out, Will had repositioned her. That was yesterday, and she was still here.

Weren’t the townspeople supposed to move her around or something? He’d heard all these stories of Kathleen showing up everywhere, but lately she spent most of her time in front of his shop. Pretty sure people did it just to annoy him, but he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of complaining.

Today there weren’t that many customers around. Without foot traffic to the beach, everything had slowed to a near standstill. He’d already taken care of inventory, cleaned, eaten, cleaned again... In the idleness, he spent his time noticing the mannequin.

If only he hadn’t let Will take off, but the young man had a date and there wasn’t enough work to require them both.

When a sunny yellow umbrella came past the window, Lawson stared, but he couldn’t see who carried it. Whoever it was, they struggled to hold the umbrella—while trying to take Kathleen.

He’d be glad to help with that.

Quickly, he pulled on his rain slicker and opened the door. “Need a hand?”

Lark jumped, nearly losing her umbrella. She tried to juggle both, and lost.

Kathleen landed on the gravel lot, and the umbrella nearly went flying with a fast wind.

He darted out and caught it, and then heard Lark laughing. When he turned, she sat beside Kathleen, both of them soaked. Quickly going to her, he asked, “You okay?”

When she reached up, he took her hand and hauled her to her feet. “I thought you’d left for the day, so I was trying to save you. Figured I’d move Kathleen somewhere else so you wouldn’t have to deal with her tomorrow.”

“And instead I startled you.” He held the umbrella over her head, but already her face was wet, tendrils of hair sticking to her cheeks. “Sorry about that.”

Kathleen still laid on the ground, all stiff arms and legs, her expression somehow stoic.

“Oh,” Lark said, as if she’d just had the same realization. “Poor Kathleen!” Leaving him with the umbrella, she bent to collect the mannequin, but it wasn’t easy. Her plastic body was now wet and slippery.

Lawson looked at her with distaste, but he couldn’t stand by—holding a bright yellow umbrella—while Lark struggled.

“Here.” He caught her arm again, urging her up and to the side, then he gave her the umbrella. “Where do you want her?”

“My car?”

Her car? Definitely said with a question, because no way would Kathleen fit. He gave Lark an incredulous look.

“Yes, see, I thought I’d let her legs stick out the window or something.”

While they discussed it, he was oddly aware of holding the mannequin upright. What was it about her that creeped him out so much? “Where were you going to take her?”

“Oh, the restaurant. It’s so nearby, and Saul, the owner—Have you met Saul?”

“Yeah. Nice guy.”

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