“I’m gonna let you close up, Jesse Dean. Lord, it’s been a long day! I’m ready to go home and soak my feet in some Epsom salts.” He pulled down the shade on the front door and looked about to see if he’d missed anything. “Now if anybody comes, just pretend you don’t hear them. If they don’t have it by now, they don’t need it!” He paused. “I left some of those tangerines you like and a small fryer in the refrigerator for you, so don’t stay too late—and you have a good Thanksgiving, you hear?” Jesse Dean thanked his employer and wished him the same. Harris Cooper was a kind man and had always treated him fairly, which wasn’t the case with everyone. He checked the cash register to be sure all the money had been deposited in the safe in the back of the store and discovered six dollars and thirty-seven cents that had come in during the last half hour. Well, it would just have to stay there until Friday. On the shelf beneath the counter he found what he was looking for, the lists of items he’d delivered that day.
