1 Sunshine Hunter Read Online Free PDF

and he should have known this. Larry’s going to be so upset when I tell him. Do you want to stay with us for a few days?”
    “No thanks, Sam,” I said giving her an appreciative hug. “Husky was here this afternoon, so I haven’t had a chance to talk with him. And Darby asked me to go to Florida with him next week. I don’t even know where he’s going, but I’m thinking I’d like to go. I can get the time off from work, and I could really use a break.”
    “Susan, I think that’s a great idea ,” she said. “He’ll be good company, and Larry and I will both feel better knowing you’re with him and not alone.” It was her turn to give me a hug, “Try to have a good time if you go. Run on the beach, and don’t eat too much junk. You still have to keep training for tournament” she advised me.
    “I will. I promise,” I said. I couldn’t help but to smile at her. She was so serious about our training.
    Jerry tapped me on the shoulder. I noticed his face was more bloated than usual. I could only imagine what mine looked like after crying all afternoon. Make-up could only hide so much.
    “Hi, Jerry,” I greeted him. “I’m sorry about the mess. This party has run me ragged. Sam brought up clean towels, I’ve restocked the coolers, and the register is ready to go.” I looked around to see if I had forgotten anything. “I poured myself an apple juice and never drank it, so if you don’t mind it watered down, you can have it, or throw it out. And, Jerry,” I looked at him a bit hesitantly before asking, “would you fill in for me next week? I’d like some time off, and I’m only scheduled here a couple of nights.” I gave him a pleading look. He stared back with a blank look.
    “Please?” I asked using the best puppy-dog look I could muster.
    “Ok. But you’ll owe me more than an apple juice,” he said.
    I had no idea what he meant by that, but this was not the time to find out. “Thank you, Jerry,” I said as I gave him a quick hug. “I really appreciate it. I’ll mark it on the schedule so Stan and Louise will know I won’t be in.”
    Stan and Louise were the owners of the club, but we rarely saw them. All of the employees enjoyed working here, and they did their jobs well, so Stan and Louise only stopped in on Sunday afternoons to set schedules, order supplies, and go over accounting.
    The lobby was getting more crowded and the party-goers were getting rowdy. I was glad I was leaving for the night. It had been a long day.
     
    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
     
    Before allowing myself to drift off to sleep, I relived the confrontation with Mick. My heart was heavy, and I didn’t know if I coul d forgive him, or if we could go forward from this. But about one thing I was certain. It hurt so much, I knew I had fallen in love with him.
    As the tears started to come again, I forced myself to choke them back. I didn’t want to have another crying binge and end up with swollen eyes in the morning. What I wanted to do was go over a mental checklist of everything I needed to do tomorrow before leaving with Darby on Monday morning. I compelled myself to think it through.
    Angela wouldn’t mind taking over the weight-loss center for a week. She had been asking for more responsibility, and this would give her an opportunity to show she could be the interim manager while still taking care of members. I hadn’t scheduled a vacation in over a year, and even though it would be short notice, as long as the center was properly attended, Slimmers management allowed managers free rein to schedule employees and vacations as desired.
    Airline and hotel reservations would have to be made to coincide with Darby’s. Where were we going? Where would we be staying? I was partial to the gulf side of the state. When I was younger, my parents had taken me to Naples on several occasions to visit my aunt. Oh my gosh! My mother! How much of what happened today did I want to tell her? I had told her about Mick, and both she and my dad