Free Jessica Coulter Smith by Her Wolf Savior Page A

cleaning the doors and windows before the day started, but there just wasn’t enough time this morning.  Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was five minutes to ten—time to unlock the front door.  After flipping the “Closed” sign to “Open,” she turned the lock and propped open one of the doors.  The mornings were still cool enough that the slight breeze felt rejuvenating, at least until one o’clock, when the afternoon sun started beating down, melting everyone in sight.
    Brianna had just sat down on the stool behind the counter when her first customer walked in.  It was one of her regulars, Mrs. Jones.  She always came in first thing in the morning on Tuesdays to see what new releases were out.  Thankfully, Brianna had put them out the previous night before heading home; otherwise, the “new releases” area would still have the titles from the previous week.
    “Good morning, Mrs. Jones.  How are you today?” Brianna asked the woman with a pleasant smile.
    “Good morning, Brianna dear.  I’m doing just fine.  I thought I’d see what new books came out this week.”
    Mrs. Jones was in her sixties at the very least.  She was shorter than Brianna’s five-foot eight-inch frame, but she was on the stocky side.  From the previous stories Mrs. Jones had told her, she knew the woman had been a dancer in her early years.  Mrs. Jones had laughed and fondly patted her round stomach one day and said that thirty years of marriage to her Mr. Jones had added on the extra pounds, and she didn’t regret a single one. 
    “I put all of the titles out last night,” Brianna told her. “Help yourself!”
    As Mrs. Jones perused the new books and then moved on to the mystery section, Brianna looked at her reflection in the mirror across the room.  She didn’t consider herself a raving beauty, but she thought she was pretty—tall, blonde haired and blue eyed.  Her shoulders were a bit broader than she’d have liked, and she was a little heavier than she preferred, but she wasn’t fat.  Her height helped her carry the extra weight well.  Prior to owning her own store, she’d gone to the gym almost daily.  Even then, she hadn’t had a six-pack or anything, but she’d been more toned.  She vowed that she’d get back to the gym one of these days, but never seemed to have the time. 
    Past, Present, and Future , her bookstore, had been open for over a year now, but Brianna still had a ways to go before she could take a lot of time off.  She had two teens who helped her in the evenings and on weekends, but while school was in session, she had the days to herself.  Thankfully, school would be out in a few more weeks, and she’d be able to hire a third teenager to help run the store so she could have free time. 
    The two girls currently working for her, Misty and Becca, had been with her for a few months now.  Out of the two, Misty was the most responsible, so Brianna had given her a key and allowed her to open the store on Saturday mornings. That gave her a morning of much needed rest. 
    Pulling out a stack of papers from the under the counter, she looked through the applications she’d been accepting for the past two weeks.  There were a few college kids who had applied, but the majority were high school students looking for a summer job.  If her business continued to do well over the next few weeks, she hoped she could hire two more people.  She knew that Misty and Becca would both want some time off to spend with their families and friends during their summer break, and she couldn’t blame them.
    “Excuse me.” A deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
    As Brianna looked up, and up, she saw the most beautiful brown eyes she’d ever seen.  The rest of the guy wasn’t too bad either, she noted as her gaze roamed over his short-cropped brown hair, tanned face, and full luscious lips…the kind that you just knew would be excellent at kissing.
    “May I help you?” she asked a little