Deceived: Lured from the Truth (Secrets) Read Online Free PDF Page A

me go as I drop my time card into the slot. Seriously, it’s starting to feel like my coworkers have all turned against me. And simply because I like doing a good job — and they don’t seem to care.
    If Belinda wasn’t Nadine’s niece, I think I would report all of them as lazy and worthless. Oh, Alistair would probably be an okay employee, except that he’s so easily influenced by Lorna and Belinda. But even if I did tell, it would probably just wind up being my word against Belinda’s in the end. And although my mom and Nadine are friends, I’m sure Nadine’s allegiance would rest with her own flesh and blood. So why bother?
    As I trudge back toward the dorm, which should be pretty quiet on a Friday night, I wonder why I even care about keeping Nadine’s clean and sanitary in the first place. Why not just turn into a slacker like the rest of her employees? Who cares?
    “Rachel!”
    I turn to see a guy jogging down the boardwalk toward me. I am pleasantly surprised when I realize it’s Josiah! And instead of wearing his usual dairyman delivery uniform, tonight he’s got on a madras plaid shirt, khaki shorts, and sandals.
    “Hey.” I wave happily, hurrying to meet him. “What are you doing here?”
    “I came to see you.”
    Now I’m painfully aware of my messy appearance, not to mention I probably smell like a cow. But he works at a dairy, so maybe he won’t notice. “I, uh, I just finished my shift at the ice cream shop.”
    “I know.” He nods. “My aunt told me you called and that your phone’s on the blink.”
    I hold out my hands as an explanation for my shoddy appearance. “I was just heading back to the dorm to clean up.”
    “Awesome. I’d love to see you in civilian clothes.”
    “Really?”
    He laughs. “Absolutely. How about you get yourself cleaned up and then we’ll go grab a bite to eat?”
    I nod, trying not to look as surprised as I feel. “It won’t take me long,” I assure him. “I can get myself together in about twenty minutes.”
    “Beaut.” But now he gives me a doubtful look. “That’s pretty fast for a sheila. Are you certain?”
    “Yes. Half an hour tops — and that’s only if the showers are busy, which shouldn’t be the case.”
    “You do that and you might just be my dream girl.”
    My heart does a flip-flop now, and to my relief, we’re in front of the big dorm building. “This is it. There’s a community room if you want to wait in — ”
    “No worries.” He points to the bench in front. “I’ll just wait here.”
    Then I rush into the dorm, and as I’m running down the hall to the women’s section, I begin to unbutton my shirt.
    “Someone’s in a hurry,” a girl teases me as I dash past her. “Hot date?”
    Ignoring her, I grab my shower stuff and continue stripping off my clothes as I head for the bathroom. Thankfully, there’s an unoccupied shower and I make record time getting clean. Drying myself as I rush back to get dressed, I realize I don’t have the luxury of obsessing over what I’m going to wear or changing my outfit several times. Instead I pull out my blue-and-white checked sundress. It almost always makes me feel happy when I wear it. Then I shove my feet into my favorite Gap sandals, and letting my still-damp hair fall loosely around my shoulders, I fluff it with my fingers.
    I grab my purse and paw through it as I walk back down the hall. I pause in front of the big mirror next to the front door to apply some lip gloss and mascara and give my hair one last fluff. Not bad for such short notice.
    “How was that?” I ask Josiah, trying not to show how relieved I am that he’s still here … that I didn’t imagine the whole scenario.
    He holds up his phone to show the time. “Incredible. That was exactly nineteen minutes and forty seconds, Rachel.” Now he peers more closely at me. “And you look fantastic!” He reaches for my hand. “You truly are my dream girl.”
    I laugh as we walk together.
    “I called some of