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anymore. She looked too miserable. I told her she should go home and get some rest; she didn't need much convincing.

I took her place at the registers, silently fuming at that jerk Alec. My anger was furthered by the fact that I could do nothing. Casey's life wasn't really my business, and without her admitting to anything, Alec stood blameless.

With Casey now gone, Paige out sick again, and Warren golfing in Florida, I felt relieved when Doug showed up. He looked as energetic as ever, so I hoped he could counter my plunging mood.

"I heard you had a party."

"Yup." He grinned, working the register next to mine. "I tried calling you, but you weren't home."

"Had a party of my own. Hey, did you notice anything weird with Casey and Alec last night?"

"Weird how? I mean, they seemed to be hitting it off."

"Nothing else?"

"Nope. Not that I saw. Why? Are you interested? He's a little young for you, but if you're into that, I can give you his phone number."

"Hardly."

"Whoa," he suddenly exclaimed. "Check this action out."

He picked up one of the books his customer was paying for. It was a romance novel, emblazoned with a big chested man holding an equally big chested woman. Her neck was arched back, her lips open in a moan. And her dress was falling off.

"Bet there's some good shit in here. Nothing like some throbbing members and private time to get you off, eh?"

He winked at the customer, who turned crimson and didn't say anything. She handed over some cash and hurried away as fast as she could.

Aghast, I ignored the customers standing there and grabbed Doug's arm, jerking him away from the counter.

"What the hell was that?" I asked in a low, angry whisper.

He laughed loudly. "Oh come on, Kincaid. I was just having a little fun. Those romance novels always crack me up."

"You do not comment on customer purchases. Furthermore, you certainly don't swear in front of them."

"Basic training. I know all this."

"Yeah? Then act like it."

We stood there, both of us shocked at my tone. I didn't think I'd ever talked to Doug in such a reprimanding way. Certainly not here. We were both assistant managers, partners in crime. Our entire working relationship was one of lightheartedness and messing around.

"Fine," he said after a moment. "Whatever."

We went back to the registers, both of us pointedly ignoring the other. We worked without incident a while longer until I heard him say, "Man, this has to be rough. Hope it all works out."

Looking over, I saw his customer buying a book about STDs. Doug returned my gaze with a challenging look. I finished my own purchase and then put up a "register closed" sign. Finding Andy at the information desk, I told him to ask Doug to swap spots.

"Don't tell him I told you to."

Doug seemed safer helping customers find books, yet no matter where I was in the store, I could hear him. He spoke and laughed too loudly. Whenever I caught sight of him, he was always in motion - like he couldn't stay still. Once, he was - literally - juggling books for a customer. Another time, I saw him actually skipping as he led a customer over to the cooking section. I frowned, unsure what to do. His lively nature had been fun this last week, but he was pushing it now, and I wasn't entirely sure what my role should be in all of this.

"That redheaded girl said you're the manager here," a middle-aged woman suddenly said, approaching me as I rearranged a display.

"I'm an assistant manager," I told her. "What can I help you with?"

She pointed to the information desk. "That man was so rude to me. He helped me find some books, and then...he said..."

She couldn't finish, oscillating between anger and distress. I looked at what she held. Books on clinical depression. Lovely. At least it wasn't called Going Postal in an Insensitive Bookstore. I took a deep breath to steady myself and apologized profusely, promising I'd deal with it. I then walked her over to the head of the check-out line and told Andy to ring her books up for free. Warren never approved of that, but I didn't care at the moment.

I waited for Doug to finish with his customer and then pulled him aside once more. "We need to talk in the office."

He gave me a lopsided grin. Studying him, I saw his eyes glittering with a distracted fervor. "What for? Let's talk