FIVE O’CLOCK ROLLED AROUND, and right on time, the front door chimed at Fanny’s arrival. I leaned back in my chair, my back popping from the change in position. Fanny was the recently-returned-from-college girl that I’d hired to help run the bookstore at night so I could head home to help Sabrina.
I didn’t like turning over control of my shop, but I needed the help because Sabrina needed me. She’d changed after the birth of Samuel, and I worried about her being home by herself, especially at night. During the day, I asked our neighbor, Mrs. Leatherbury to check in on her. And she was good at that. But at night, Mrs. Leatherbury wanted to be home with her husband when he got off work, so I had to make a point of getting out of the bookstore in a timely manner.
It wasn’t like Trevor was ever going to show up again. He was long gone, and I doubted he remembered the small town of Harmony and the woman he broke when he left.
“Jerk,” I muttered under my breath before forcing a smile and turning to see Fanny standing behind me with her eyebrows raised.
“Jerk?” she asked with a teasing tone.
I pinched my lips together and waved my hand in front of my face. “Just thinking about Sabrina’s ex.”
Fanny furrowed her brow as she slipped off her jean jacket and draped it on the chair I’d just vacated. “Any particular reason why you were thinking about him?”
I gathered the papers I’d strewn about and tapped them on the counter to straighten them out. “I was up with Samuel all night to give Sabrina a break.” I sighed. “What my sister needs right now is the father of her son. But of course, he left without even a goodbye, so I’m stuck being dad to his child.”
My eyes widened as my words echoed in my head. “Not stuck.” I pressed my fingertips to my lips. “Oh, gosh. That sounded horrible.” I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment before opening them again. “I love my nephew, and I’d do anything for him.”
Fanny chuckled as she waved away my words. “Girl, I don’t fault you for what you said. We love our family members even if it’s hard to be around them sometimes.” She reached up and began to gather her hair into a high ponytail.
Speaking of families…I leaned toward her. “Guess who was here this morning?”
Fanny finished tying up her hair and ran her hand down her ponytail before focusing on me. “Who?”
“Missy.”
She rolled her eyes. “What did the town’s gossip want?”
I swallowed, not sure if I should say anything or not, but I needed to tell someone, and I knew Sabrina wouldn’t care. So I pushed away the guilt that started to rise in my stomach and continued. “Charlotte’s granddaughter is coming to the will reading on Monday.” As I said the words, I realized how ridiculous this all sounded.
What seemed like a scandal when Missy said it now just seemed like a random conversation between people making small talk at a coffee shop. Why I thought Fanny would care was beyond me.
Fanny furrowed her brow for a moment. “Oh, really?” she asked, once recognition passed over her face. “That’s interesting.”
I slammed my hand down on the counter. “See? And from the way Missy was going on, I knew there was something to the story. I just don’t know anything about Charlotte, much less her granddaughter who has Missy in such a fit.” I blew out my breath as I hoisted myself up onto the counter.
Fanny was studying me. The expression on her face was incredulous. “So, you know their story?” I asked.
She pinched her lips together.
“Are you going to tell it to me?” I placed my hands behind me and leaned back.
Fanny grabbed the chair and dragged it over so she could sit down. “So, you know Miles?”
I nodded. “He’s Charlotte’s grandson, right?”
“Step-grandson, er…” She held up a finger. “Ex-step-grandson.” “Ex?”
She nodded. “Miles’s dad married Charlotte’s daughter. They were married for a few years before they divorced. Charlotte’s daughter died, and Miles’s dad disappeared. Miles left for about six years until he came back. He moved in with Miss Charlotte, and they ran Harmony Inn together.” She let her voice trail off as her eyes sparkled like she was holding in a juicy secret.
I leaned forward, knowing there was something good there. “What?” I asked.
Fanny’s eyes widened before she shook her head once more and sighed. “I shouldn’t be saying. My momma would be so mad at me for gossiping.” She glanced up toward the ceiling before she shook her head once more. “But I guess it’s just telling you facts. And that’s not gossiping.” She paused before she lowered her gaze to meet mine. “Miles has a sordid history with women.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Sordid?” Fanny nodded. “Yes.”
“How?” There was no way that Miles had dated Charlotte…was there? “He didn’t date…” I let my question disappear as heat permeated my cheeks. I felt wrong discussing this. So what if it was true?
Fanny stared at me for a moment before she covered her mouth with her fingers. “Oh, my gosh, no. Not like that.”
I laughed, feeling stupid that my mind went there. I folded my arms and leaned against the counter. “So, if not that, then what?”
Fanny brought her foot up and rested her chin on her knee. “Well, Charlotte’s daughter, Emma, had a daughter, Shelby.”
“He dated his stepsister?” I asked, feeling like I was hearing the plot to a soap opera.
Fanny shrugged. “It was all town speculation that he liked her, but never anything official. It ended when Shelby started dating Clint.”
“Clint?”
“Missy’s son.”
My eyes widened. “This is getting good.”
Fanny nodded. “But Shelby ended up pregnant, and Clint took off.
Before they could find him, Shelby lost the baby and left town.”
I felt like I needed popcorn and a Coke for this story. My heart was pounding from anticipation.
“Where did he go?”
Fanny shrugged. “No one knows. Or if they do, they don’t talk about
it.”
“Does Missy know where he went?”
“I don’t know. Missy doesn’t talk about him.”
“Huh.” Then I paused. “You said he has a sordid past with women.
Shelby is one woman.”
Fanny nodded as she pulled at the thread of her fraying jeans. “Well, after Miles finally returned, he kind of kept to himself. That was until Tamara moved to town. She was the librarian and had her gaze set on Miles from the get-go.”
I chuckled. “You make it sound like she was going to kill him.”
Fanny shrugged. “When she left, it was like someone stabbed him in the heart.”
“Oh.”
“Then Tamara showed up a year later with a baby, claimed it was his, and told him that she couldn’t take care of the child anymore.”
“Wow.” I was surprised that I hadn’t heard any of this before, but when I broke it down, it made sense. I mainly kept to myself, and it wasn’t like Miles and I were friends. Charlotte had always been pleasant to me, and Missy…well, I doubted she wanted to air her family’s dirty laundry to me.
Still, for a small town, it was amazing that everyone had been so tight- lipped about this.
“I’m surprised you didn’t know,” Fanny said, a small smile on her lips. “It’s not every day that I get to tell stories that someone hasn’t heard yet.”
I jumped down from the counter. “I’m happy to oblige.”
“Just keep it quiet that I’m the one who told you. Most people in town don’t mess with Missy, and I’d hate for her to find out I was the one talking about her family.”
I nodded. “Will do.”
I turned to finish cleaning up the counter behind the register when the bell on the front door rang. Fanny came up behind me. “Mind helping him? I gotta run to the bathroom before I clock in.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see a man had entered. The sun was streaming in through the picture windows, creating a halo around him and making it hard to see anything but shadow. “Yeah, sure,” I said as I straightened my apron and turned to fully greet him.
“Evening,” I said as I stepped up to the register. “Are you here for books or food?” I grabbed out a pad of paper and a pencil, already anticipating his answer. Here in Harmony, people rarely came in for books.
“I’ve never seen a bookstore-slash-cafe before.” His voice was smooth and silky. It reminded me of hot chocolate on a cool Christmas evening.
I shrugged. “Books are for pleasure, and the food keeps the lights on.”
“Books are for pleasure?” There was a teasing hint to his voice which sent shivers across my skin. The man stepped toward me out of the sunlight, and my entire body warmed. He was tall, over six foot, and his blond hair was damp like he’d just gotten out of the shower. His clothes were clean, but I could tell he was in a trade because there were black smudges on his shirt and jeans.
“Hi,” he said with a smile.
“Hi,” I breathed out. Like, no diaphragm work, just air. He must have noticed my reaction because he chuckled before pushing his hand through his damp hair. I was staring, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t pull my eyes away.
He looked like Hercules had stepped into my tiny store and was standing there in all his god-like glory. His teeth were perfect. His cheekbones could cut glass. And his lips…
I brought my gaze up to meet his, and the edges of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.
“I’d like to order some food…” He peered down one of the book aisles. “Do you have the latest Jackson Richards novel?”
My hands dropped to my sides as my eyes widened. “You like Jackson Richards?”
The mystery man was now leaning one elbow on the counter, smiling at me. “You like him?”
I swallowed and nodded. “Like him? My stepmother is his editor.” I waved my hand toward my chest like a fainting woman from one of those
old-timey movies. “I met him. And he signed” —I dropped my pad of paper and pencil on the counter and motioned for him to follow me— “all of my books.”
Excitement boiled over inside of me as I led him down to the dedicated shelf I’d made for Jackson Richards. In the end, Sabrina said it looked more like a shrine than anything else, but I just shushed her. I loved his books, and the fact that he graciously signed all of my books even though he was going blind meant I was going to make sure I treated his stories with the respect they deserved.
I pulled out Jackson’s latest book and handed it over to the mystery man. I tried not to notice how large his hands were as he took it from me. Butterflies erupted in my stomach when I noticed how close he was to me, and I wondered if he’d purposely stood this close. He flipped the book over a few times in his hand.
“Right here,” I finally said, lifting up the front cover and the first few pages to reveal Jackson’s signature.
“Well, will you look at that,” he said as he brought his gaze up to meet mine.
I swallowed. He leaned even closer to me as he ran his finger across Jackson’s signature.
“To the Shop Around the Corner,” he read, “Jackson Richards.” Then he closed the book. “Are you sure you want me to buy this from you?”
I nodded. “Of course. That’s what it’s here for.” I took it from his hands, but he held on so that we were now holding the book together. I glanced up at him to see him smiling down at me.
“Did you tell me your name?”
I shook my head. My tongue felt twisted in my mouth. His smile widened. “Do you want to?”
Yes. I did. I’d give him my birthday, my social, my address, even the combination to the safe I’ve had since I was a kid. Anything to keep him around. It had been so long since I’d been around a man, much less have one look at me like this man was.
The current that was flowing through me from the smell of his cologne and the warmth of his body to his unabashed stare had my head swimming.
“Abigail,” I finally managed when my senses came back and I could focus.
“Abigail.”
I shivered at the way he said my name. It was like he enjoyed the taste of it on his tongue. My gaze drifted down to his mouth, and suddenly, I was wondering what it might feel like to press my lips to his.
“And yours?” I finally managed to ask through a weak wheeze. “Anders.”
“Anders,” I repeated. I wanted to make sure it was seared in my brain. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too.” Then his gaze flicked down to my left hand like he was looking for a ring.
“You can just call me Unattached Abigail,” I said, hoping that came across less dorky than it sounded in my head.
“Likewise.”
“Ha,” I said and then pinched my lips. That came out way too loud. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged.
“I’m back,” Fanny sang out as she rounded the bookshelf. She stood there with her eyes wide. “I’m—er…” She did a few half-turns as if she were trying to figure out if she should leave or not. “I’m sorry,” she finally muttered as she turned her back.
“It’s okay, Fanny. Anders here was just picking out a book to buy along with some coffee and food?” I asked, peering up at him.
“Did you make it?”
“Yes,” I managed out.
He nodded. “I’ll take some food then.”
Fanny glanced between us a few times. “Great. What do you want?” He didn’t take his gaze off of me. “Whatever is the town’s favorite.” “So, you’re not from here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m here for a construction job. The new subdivision off of It’ll Do Rd?”
“Ah.”
“Hey, my grandma is getting a house there,” Fanny piped up.
We both looked over at her as if we suddenly realized that she was still standing next to us.
“Awesome,” Anders said.
An awkward silence fell between us. Not wanting to stand here like this, I gave the book that we were still holding a tug and then handed it over to
Fanny. “Get him some coffee and a blueberry muffin. And make sure to ring up this book as well.”
Fanny nodded and then turned and headed to the cafe.
Now alone, I folded my arms across my chest and smiled at Anders, who was still studying me. “Well, I should go,” I said, suddenly remembering that I had Sabrina and Samuel to get home to. Not sure what to say as a farewell, I gave him a smile and started to walk away.
“Hey, Abigail?”
“Yeah?” I turned to see him smile. “I’ll see you around sometime.”
I pinched my lips shut and nodded because the only response that wanted to spill from my mouth was a giggle and I was a thirty-year-old woman. I didn’t giggle.
Thankfully, I left his presence with some grace, but once I was out of his sight, I turned into Phoebe from FRIENDS and ran out of the bookstore to my car. I was still smiling when I walked into the apartment to find an un-showered Sabrina standing in the living room, holding a screaming Samuel.
I immediately took him from her arms and shooed her off to the bathroom for some alone time while I bounced Samuel. I didn’t even mind his wails.
For the first time in a long time, I was happy. For the first time in a long time, I had a sometime to look forward to.
I felt…free.
