A few minutes later, just as I was about to need to make a decision about a nap there in public, the dogs almost pulled my leg out of joint as they bolted toward something north on the water’s edge. I sat up, whipped the leashes off my ankle before they dragged me like I was a prisoner in some old Western, and stood up to see what they were looking at.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. Looked like a man was fishing down by the water, maybe even casting a net. I thought that might be illegal here, but I didn’t know fishing regulations well and didn’t really care enough about that infringement, if it even was one, to confront a random person on a deserted stretch of river front.
But the dogs wouldn’t stop pulling, even when I hauled them back and put my hands on their heads. I studied the pups for a second and realized, surprisingly, that they weren’t barking. Typically, they were the epitome of all bark and no bite, but today, they seemed ready to attack but didn’t want to warn their victim.
I brought them to heel with some force on their leashes, and then we walked up the paved path slowly toward the man. My plan, loosely formed at best, was to stroll by like we were just taking a walk, see if I could get a look at what was going on, and then leave it at that. I figured the man had probably just gutted some fish there, and the dogs were looking for a disgusting but tasty snack of fish innards.
As usual, the dogs seemed to sense my intention, and while they stayed on high alert, they also didn’t pull or make even a loud snuffle as we approached the man.
He was bent over right at the water’s edge, which is why my first impression had been that he was casting a net, not throwing a line. But as I got closer, I could see he was actually wrapping a rope around something, something soft and brown from the looks of it. That seemed odd, but people do odd things all the time.
It was only when I saw him tie big rocks from the river’s edge onto the ends of the rope that I put it all together. He was trying to sink something. No one tried to bury something in water if they weren’t up to something, ahem, fishy.
I tugged the dogs, hoping to move them along more quickly so we could get out of sight and call Jared, but Taco refused to budge. I pulled his leash, and he simply sank down to a crouch. And then he began to growl.
If anyone ever tries to tell you that Basset Hounds are easy-going dogs, be sure to call them out for fraud. They are lazy. They are cuddly. They are adorable. But they are also the most stubborn canines I have ever met, and I think Taco may have been the breed standard for that trait. He simply would not move.
The man didn’t appear to have heard the growling yet, so I took a few steps back to the Basset and tried to lift him up to get him moving. Apparently, he had grown suction cups on his belly because I couldn’t pry him from his crouch. His muscles were stiff, and he did not want to move.
I glanced up at the man, hoping he was still too focused on what he was doing to see us, but apparently, the noise of a middle-aged woman trying to lift a sixty-pound dog had broken his focus. He was looking right at us.
I stared a second as my brain caught up to my eyes. It was Roger Birmingham.
With a level of acumen I was surprised to have at the moment, I smiled and raised one hand to wave while I continued to try and lift Taco from the asphalt. “Good afternoon, Mr. Birmingham,” I said with a strain caused my fear and physical exertion. “Taco here is apparently very eager to meet you.”
It was only when he forced a smile that I realized Birmingham had been glowering at me. And the transition to stiff grin wasn’t really less intimidating. In fact, I was now feeling scared for the first time. “Hi, Ms. Beckett. Out for a walk?”
“Indeed. Gorgeous day.” I looked out over the water as my mind raced. “Catch anything?”
He glanced behind him to where I could just see the rock-laden end of the rope. “Not yet. Still some daylight left, so I’m hopeful.” He started to walk up the brief incline toward me.
At this point, Taco stood and let forth a bark and a growl that further pushed my alarm system into high alert. When Mayhem came to stand against my leg and bared her teeth, my heart began to run even faster.
I held both of the dogs’ leashes in my left hand, and fortunately, I had my right-hand in my pocket with my phone. By some great gift of cognitive firing, I remembered that if I held the button on the side of my phone down, the phone would automatically call 911. So I did that now. I felt the machine buzz in my fingers, and I let go, hoping someone had picked up on the other end.
I forced another smile. “Not sure what’s up with them today. Sorry about this,” I said as I shifted my weight and breathed a little sigh of relief when the dogs moved with me. “I’d better get them home. Good luck with your fishing.”
Birmingham had stopped approaching when the dogs got aggressive. He was about five feet away, just distant enough that if the dogs lunged they couldn’t reach him on their leash. “Thanks, Ms. Beckett. I hope you have a good day, too,” he said. It was only then that I noticed the knife tucked into his leather belt.
I waved as casually as I could and turned the dogs to walk away. They obeyed, thank goodness, but they did keep sounding alert barks as we walked, their heads swiveling every few feet to be sure we weren’t being followed.
For my part, I listened hard behind me and trusted the dogs to alert me if Birmingham followed. I figured I needed to look casual, even if my dogs didn’t.
We made it to the end of the next street north, and I quickly steered the dogs back into the residential area. As we approached the end of the block, Taco suddenly stopped, turned around, and began to howl like he was Stephenie Meyer’s latest werewolf creation. I looked back and saw Birmingham driving up the street in his truck. I could not have walked faster than he was moving, and every alarm system in my body when off.
The dogs and I began to run and turned the next corner to the left so that we could get closer back to town. Birmingham followed suit, inching closer as the dogs and I continued to run full-tilt.
We went another two blocks and then Mayhem tugged us into a hard right up the next street. It was only then that I realized we were at the end of Jared’s block, and as I saw his house come into view, the three of us sprinted even more quickly into his backyard and slammed the gate behind us.
I heard Birmingham’s truck stop on the street, and I knew we only had a minute before he was through the gate and in the backyard. The dogs would definitely get between me and him, but with that knife, they wouldn’t last long in that fight.
I ran us around to the back deck of Jared’s house and remembered that Jared kept a key in a lockbox by the grill. He’d told me the combination was his birthday, so I fumbled to punch in the numbers, fished out the key, and then shoved it into the lock just as I heard the gate open beside the house.
The dogs and I were into the house with the door locked behind us in seconds. The three of us bounded through the kitchen and the dining room into the living and then out the front door in a matter of seconds. I’d let go of their leashes, and the three of us were bolting up the street, trying to reach the store before Birmingham realized we were no longer in the house.
As we reached Main, two police cars screeched to a halt beside us, and Jared leapt out of the first cruiser and ran to me. “Harvey!” he shouted as he hugged me to him.
Tuck grabbed the dogs’ leashes and brought them over. “What’s going on?”
Behind me, I heard a truck start and looked back just in time to see Birmingham do an illegal U-turn and screech up the street in the other direction. I was breathless and couldn’t say much. “Birmingham. Chased. Knife.”
Tuck shoved the leashes into Jared’s hand and jumped back into his cruisers. With lights flashing and siren on, he took off after Birmingham’s truck.
“Do you need to go with him?” I said as my breathing slowed.
“Yes, but first, we’re getting you inside with other people.” He put his arm around my shoulders and steered all three of us the two blocks up the street into my bookstore. There, he signaled to Marcus and Rocky to come over, gave me a hug, and then ran back out the door faster than I’d ever seen him move.
As Rocky slid a mug of chamomile into my hands and Marcus filled the dogs’ bowl with water, Stephen and Elle came to sit with me. No one talked for a few minutes as I pulled myself together and then explained what had happened. “I’m okay. Just scared,” I said finally.
“Of course you are, honey,” Stephen said as he put his head against mine. “We’re bringing everyone in early,” he said as he gave me a tight squeeze and looked at Elle. “You got her?”
“I do,” Elle said as Rocky squeezed my arm and went back to her counter.
Marcus was ringing up a customer, Walter was still at the CTTT table, and I could see Henri talking to someone in the history section. I took a deep breath. Everything was fine. Everything was fine.
Within minutes, my parents were there and insisting that I add something a little stronger to my tea, an offer I did not turn down even though the bourbon burned a bit. Cate and Lucas came soon after followed by Pickle, Bear, and Woody, who were all dressed up, or as dressed up as they got when not at work or in the courtroom. “We’re here to help,” Woody said as he tugged on his leather vest. “I’d like to volunteer to join Jared and hunt that bas—”
I interrupted him with a laugh. “They’ve got it, Woody, but thank you. Maybe you could help Marcus?” I had no idea what Marcus might need help with. Clearly, though, Woody needed a project.
Pickle and Bear followed after him, and as my women friends gathered around me, I felt my heartrate slow to normal. I loved all my friends, but something about the presence of strong women who knew me well was always the best balm for my soul. Dad, who had always found groups of women a little disconcerting, gave me a quick hug and then wandered over to Walter and Stephen’s table.
Cate pulled her chair next to me. “So you’re okay?”
I took a shuddering breath and then nodded. “I am.” The dogs were settled right against my feet, and I smiled as I looked at them. “Thanks to them.”
As Henri joined us, I repeated my story and let the words of anger and support from my closest girlfriends sink deep into me. I hadn’t always been willing to accept help, but now, especially today, I needed all the moral support they could give me.
Rocky refilled my mug and then said, “Anyone feel like making sugar cookies for tonight?”
I stared at her for a second. “Really?”
“Yep, I brought all the ingredients and was going to do it myself in the kitchen, but out here is just as good,” she said as she turned to grab two large, stainless steel bowls off the counter behind her.
I grinned. I loved baking and didn’t have nearly enough time to do it as much as I wanted to, so I was totally in. If my clothes got covered in flour, which would certainly happen, I had enough time still to run home and change, something I might want to do anyway since my sprint through the streets had me feeling a little less than fresh at the moment.
Right then, though, I wanted to bake, so we took over four of the tables in the café and began to mix ingredients. I wanted to make witchy cookies, to go along with the theme, but Rocky only had triangle cookie cutters. So Mom and Henri took on the challenge of adding little rolls of dough to the bottom of the triangles to make witch hats.
Soon, we had several trays of cookies to go, one at a time, into Rocky’s brand new compact oven in the back, and within minutes, the store smelled heavenly. That was, of course, the whole reason Rocky had bought the oven. “If cookies can sell houses, I expect they can sell themselves and books, too,” she’d told me.
She was so right. People came over to buy hot cookies and even asked if Rocky did baking classes. I could see the wheels turning in her mind as she pondered her answer, and when she said, “Not yet, but stay tuned,” I knew we were about to add something really special to the store’s offerings.
We all had a blast coloring the cookies black with icing and then adding feathers and leaves and even an animal or two as decoration, and when it came time to eat them, they tasted even better than they smelled. “Your mom’s recipe?” I asked.
“Of course,” Rocky said. “She’s going to be thrilled you like them.”
“I’m pretty sure I’d like your mom’s recipe for cardboard,” Henri said with a laugh before turning to me. “Okay, now that you’re all relaxed, I’m taking you home to get a quick rest, a new outfit, and a long drink. Mart is bringing a new wine cocktail.”
I sighed. “Okay. Is everyone coming?” I looked around at my friends.
Mom shook her head. “Nope. We’re here for the duration. Elle and I are going to take care of setting up the final touches for the reading, and Cate is adding a flourish or two to the store in her own special way.” Mom winked at Cate, and I smiled. This was going to be something I was sure.
“You go, Harvey,” Rocky said. “We’ll get it all ready and see you back here to eat in an hour.”
I glanced down at my watch and saw it was already four o’clock. Where had the afternoon gone? I took a deep breath, smiled at all my friends, and followed Henri out to her car, where I found Dad and the dogs waiting. “Figured they’d need dinner,” he said.
“Thanks, Daddy,” I said as I took their leashes. “See you soon.”
He smiled as he turned to go back inside. He looked fine, but I could see the worry on his face. I felt bad about worrying him, but given that it was Roger Birmingham that had been the troublemaker, I decided to let that guilt go.
Jared had been texting off and on for the past couple of hours to let me know they were still looking for Birmingham. Now, I looked down to read his latest message. “Found his truck, but not him. Headed back to the water to find what he was hiding.”
I’d filled both men in, by text, about what we’d seen Birmingham doing at the water, and I’d tried to pinpoint roughly where he’d been standing in relation to the bench we’d been sitting on. I hoped they could get some answers by looking there.
Jared’s next text to me said, “I’ll see you in fifty-two minutes. Can’t wait.”
I grinned and then slid my phone back under my leg.
“Good news?” Henri asked as she glanced at my face.
“The best kind,” I said.
In a fresh, blue shirt dress, my knee-high boots, and more make-up than was my typical, I was eager to be back for Harrow’s reading and to see what kind of “décor” my friends and mother had arranged for me. As Henri drove me back up the street, I gasped. The entire front of the store had a porch of lights hanging out over the sidewalk. It looked magnificent.
My friends had wrapped thin boards with lights and then cantilevered them out by d the strands of light to the sign Woody had made and had just now outfitted with small cup hooks. “This way you can put up the lights when you want them for special occasions without much trouble,” he said as I stood with tears in my eyes at the front door.
“Wow,” I said and reached out my arms to hug as many of these people that I loved as I could. When they stepped back, I felt my breath catch in my throat because there was Jared in dark blue jeans, a button-down shirt, and a cowboy hat. I had never fancied myself a woman who would like a man in a cowboy hat, but holy cow, did I ever.
He stepped forward and handed me a bouquet of wildflowers and said, “You look amazing,” and then gave me a lingering kiss. “May I be your date tonight?”
“I’d be sad if you weren’t,” I whispered as I kissed him again and had to force myself to pull away. “Will you escort me inside?” I asked, feeling a bit like I was going to my high school prom. Prom had not been my finest moment in high school, so it was kind of nice to think of this moment as a new chance.
As soon as we stepped inside, though, all thoughts of high school gymnasiums fled my mind as I looked around at the way as strands of Edison bulbs hung in drapes over the stage. In front of the stage, was a newly constructed craftsman-style proscenium to frame the stage. It was decorated with hand-drawn flowers and leaves that fit the autumn season. It looked amazing and gave the reading space a bit more formality to set it off for a special night.
“It’s collapsible, so we can slip it in the back room at the end of the night. And we’ve already got plans for the winter decorations and early spring, too,” Cate said as she leaned against me. “Do you like it?”
“Like it?” I said as I squeezed Jared’s hand and then let it go so I could hug her. “I love it.” I stepped forward and studied the decorations. “You drew all of these?”
She blushed. “I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks.”
“Wow,” I said. “Thank you.” Over and over again, my friends stunned me with their kindness. I needed to find a way to repay them for all the ways they stood beside and behind me, but tonight, I was just going to be grateful.
Walter and Stephen stepped over and took me by the arm. “Now, it’s time for you to eat.” They steered me toward the back room, and when Stephen opened the door, I laughed out loud. They’d even decorated in here, but this time the theme was a bit more zany, with wry Jack-O-Lanterns, goofy scarecrows, and even a cackling witch in the corner.
Once I looked past the décor, though, I saw that the table was loaded with a veritable treasure trove of fall-themed food. I spotted pumpkin pie and stewed apples right away, and when I saw my mom’s signature marinated pork loin, I felt my mouth begin to water.
Jared came up behind me and gently steered me toward the food. “I made these,” he said as he picked up a dinner roll and slipped it onto his plate and winked at me.
“You made yeast rolls while you were chasing down someone who was threatening me today?” I eyed him curiously.
“Okay, I made the dough and had it ready to go, but I asked Cate to finish the proofing and baking for me,” he said with a little blush. “I had more important things to do.”
I nodded. “Well, I appreciate both your focus on my safety and your forethought to finish the rolls.” I put one on my plate and followed it with a considerable pat of butter before loading up with the rest of the goodies, including some green beans that were so vibrant that I knew Elle had to have grown them.
As each person filled our plates, we found seats around the room and enjoyed a few moments of silent appreciation for the great food. I was dying to ask Jared about what had happened at the river today, but since he didn’t bring it up and no one else did either, I decided to follow their lead and leave all talk about the afternoon until after the reading. I didn’t want to spoil the festive mood, and I also didn’t want to get myself all riled up again.
Instead, I asked which of Harrow’s books my friends had read already, and soon, they were in the midst of an intense debate about which of her novels was the best. I had my own opinion, of course, and I’d tattooed my preference on my arm, but some of my friends were fans of her other books. I respected that, and I was especially thrilled that they were all going to meet her. And her them.
As soon as we were all done eating, I went out to the floor to give Elle and Marcus a break, and I was delighted to find Mart with Rocky in the café. “Dogs all squared?”
“Oh yes. I plied them with their usual kibble and a little of the roast beef in the fridge.” She pointed toward their dog beds across the building by the stage. “I predict they will snooze through the entire reading. I hope Harrow doesn’t mind the accompaniment of snoring.”
I laughed as I saw my two hounds draped over their beds like they were the king and queen of the store, which of course they were.
Mart had picked my outfit tonight, laying it out at Henri and Cate’s request before I even got home. Then, she’d done my hair with some magical method of using bobby pins to contain some curls and emphasize others. When Henri had then added her flare for make-up, I felt like I was at some low-key spa, and by the time they were done, I was more relaxed than I’d been all day. Given Jared’s reaction combined with my own feelings about their attention, I figured I might be asking them to be my personal appearance team before every event at the store from now on.
While Marcus, Rocky, and Mart went back to get dinner, Elle and I staffed the café and bookstore. I got to try my hand a steamed milk heart, which didn’t look much like a heart – more like a dinosaur – when I was done but still elicited oohs and aahs from the customer. I loved someone who was easily pleased.
As my friends finished up their meals and came back out onto the floor, it became clear to me that they had been marshalled, probably by my mother, into a clear plan of action. Pickle and Bear went outside and moved their cars from the spaces right in front of the store and replaced them with cones so that Harrow could park by the door. Lucas, Woody, and Dad patrolled the shop again picking up dirty cups and moving unshelved books to the library cart by the register. Meanwhile, Mart and Elle reshelved the books almost as quickly as the men brought them over, and Mom took first a spray bottle and clean cloth to the café tables and then a dust rag to the bookshelves.
Because Marcus, Rocky, and I were not given any specific chores, we did our usual, and I wandered the store speaking to customers and eventually made my way to where Walter and Stephen were packing up their Coming to the Table supplies. “How did it go?” I asked.
“Really well,” Walter said. “We doubled our goal just from the regular folks who came by.” Then he winked at Stephen.
“But your parents put us to quadruple our goal with their personal gift,” he smiled at me with a huge grin, “in your honor.”
I sighed. “They didn’t?”
“Oh yes they did.” Walter waved a check with my parents’ names on it in front of my face. “We already talked to the director. This money is going to be used for a scholarship in your name for the next CTTT National Gathering in June.”
I blushed. A scholarship in my honor. I didn’t know quite what to say. “I’ll thank them.” Then I hugged my friends. “And thank you.”
After I helped the guys pack up their table, I began to wander the store, and it was only then that I realized I hadn’t seen Jared in a bit. I looked in the back room and then searched the aisles. I was just about to ask Woody to check the men’s bathroom when he appeared from the back door. “I was worried,” I said, and it was only when I heard the shrill pitch to my voice that I realized I was clearly still pretty worked up over the past few days’ events.
“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry. I just stepped out to talk to Tuck. I should have told you,” he pulled me into his arms.
I shook my head. “I don’t know why I’m so worked up. You really don’t need to report on your whereabouts every minute.” I meant what I said, but my heart was still racing.
“I know that,” he said against the top of my head, “but I’ve made you worry a lot this week already, and then today, with Birmingham . . .”
“Yeah, but everything’s okay, right?” I said into his chest.
“Everything’s fine. I’ll tell you all about everything after Harrow’s reading. Tuck and Lu will be here in just a few minutes.” He pushed me away so he could look into my face. “Are you okay?”
I cleared my throat and nodded. “I am. But is it weird if I ask you to stay close tonight? I kind of need to see your face, I think.”
“Not weird at all. Flattering actually.” He gave me a quick kiss. “Now, what else needs to be done?”
I looked around as we walked to the front of the store. “Not much. Everyone has been amazing.” I glanced toward the café and saw Mom and Rocky setting out carafes of lemonade and our sugar cookies. “But it looks like we could help there.” I pointed.
“Do I get to sample?” Jared said as we walked over.
“Of course,” Mom said and handed him a cookie with a huge heart on it. “You’re one of the family now, so you get the first cookies.”
I blushed from my toes to my head because I knew my mom was almost as in love with Jared as I was and that her use of the word family and the heart cookie were not casual slips. Jared, however, didn’t seem to notice what with his deep and undying affection to the cookie in his hand. So I took a deep breath. “More trays to carry out?” I tried to ask casually.
“Yep, six more,” Rocky said and took me by the arm. “Your mom is something.”
“Something is right,” I said with a smile. “Thanks for this, by the way. What are we charging for these?”
“Pfft,” Rocky said. “These are a gift for my new favorite author and one of my favorite people, too.” She gave my shoulders a squeeze. “But coffee is for sale if you want to announce that.
“Absolutely,” I said. “You have some help if things get busy?”
“Right here,” Mart said as she joined us in the kitchen. “I’m your part-time barista for the night.”
I smiled. “We’re going to have to pay you if you work here more, you know?”
“Seriously,” Rocky added.
“Are you kidding? The opportunity to simply ring up customers and make lattes is a delight after wrangling half-drunk wine tasters.” Mart smiled. She loved her job, but she also had lots of good stories to tell about the infrequent wine snobs and far more frequent tipsy middle-aged moms who came into the tasting room.
I heard the bell tinkle over the door, and I turned to see Alix Harrow walking in. She looked elegant and comfortable in a pair of cream-colored, wide-legged trousers and a rust-colored blouse. Her hair was clipped back with simple black barrettes, and her make-up was bright but casual, too. In short, she looked like a woman out for a night with good friends, which was perfect.
“Oh, Ms. Harrow, it’s so good to see you,” I said.
“Harvey, if you don’t start calling me Alix, we’re going to have a problem,” she replied with a smile.
“Does that mean you’ll cast a spell on her?” Mart asked as she put out her hand. “I’m Mart.”
“Nice to meet you, Mart, and alas, I do not have the abilities of my characters, I’m afraid. But if I did, I couldn’t conjure up a nicer venue for this reading.” She looked around at the lights and decorations. “Are those cookies for tonight?”
Rocky grinned. “They are. Made special for you and your books.”
Alix took a step closer and smiled. “They’re perfect. May I?”
“Of course,” Rocky said and held up a platter.
Alix took her time choosing her cookie and finally settled on a witch’s hat decorated with tiny blue and yellow flowers. Then, she set the cookie down, propped a copy of Once and Future Witches against the tray next to it and snapped a photo. “I’ll get this up right now.”
I walked with our guest over to the stage and watched as she snapped more pictures and immediately loaded them to Instagram. “This is amazing, Harvey,” she said as she slipped her phone back into her purse. “Wow.”
“My friends did all of it.” I pointed to where they were huddled like schoolgirls at their first dance. “They’re also big fans.”
Alix smiled. “Do they have books they’d like me to sign before I get prepped for the reading?”
“Are you kidding?” I said. “Watch this.”
I walked over to the giggling coterie of men and women and said, “Alix,” I put a lot of emphasis on her name with a smile, “has offered to sign your books before the reading as a thanks for all your work. You know, if any of you are interested.”
Henri and Pickle both literally jumped into the air, and Cate clasped a hand over her mouth like I’d just told her Santa Claus was coming. Then, they all scattered to where they’d left their belongings around the stage and quickly lined up in front of Alix.
“I feel like I’m the water fountain after recess,” Alix said with a laugh as she reached out and took Elle’s book. “To whom should I make it out?”
Elle flushed and said, “Elle, please – E L L E.”
As my friends queued up to fawn over their fav, I walked over to where Jared, Lu, and Tuck were talking in the corner. “She has some die-hard fans now, thanks to you, Harvey,” Tuck said.
“I have created monsters,” I said with a laugh. “She’s incredibly generous. But if we can, let’s keep her oblivious to all the goings on.”
“Definitely,” Jared said. “Not a word about anything at all tonight.” He winked at me, and I felt my stomach do a little flip.
“I better go get my book signed, too,” Lu said as she pulled The Thousand Doors of January out of her purse.
I laughed. “Another one,” I said.
“Seriously, I even read them, and you know I don’t read new books,” Tuck said. “They were amazing.”
“Maybe you should get in line, too, Sheriff?” Jared said with a chuckle.
The crowd began filling in the seats before six-fifteen. Fortunately, Marcus had moved a comfortable chair, a small table, and a footstool into the back room, so Alix had a decaf latte, a second cookie, and some peace and quiet while the room filled. I peeked in from time to time to check on her, but she was contentedly reading her own choice of book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, while she waited.
Promptly at seven, I walked her to the stage, stood at the microphone and welcome seventy-eight people to the reading. The reading area was packed to the fire code limit. The crowd was enthusiastic but respectful, and when Alix decided to read from her newest title, a teenage girl in the back row cheered with delight.
Alix’s reading was perfect. She took questions with wit and grace, and when the line to sign snaked around the room, she only smiled and picked up her pen. After an hour, the line was gone, and she was ready to head back to her hotel. “Thank you so much, Harvey. I had a blast, and now I need to sleep.”
“Of course, Alix. Thank you so much for coming.” I gave her a hug, invited her back anytime, and then watched as my dad walked her to her car out front. Then, I turned to my friends gathered behind me and pumped the air with my fist. “Yes!” I shouted. “Now, do you mind helping me clean up?”
Clean up wasn’t complicated, except by the fact that we were all tired. But since even all the cookies and lemonade were gone, and so were most of Harrow’s books, I expected everyone had enjoyed themselves. From the look on Rocky’s tired but smiling face, she had done well in the café for the evening, too.
As my friends put in even more effort to tuck away the chairs and clean up the remnants of the evening, I ran the totals on the register to find that we had beaten all sales records that day. I stacked the few copies of each of Harrow’s titles left in the store so that they could be scooped up tomorrow. She’d graciously signed them before she left, so I knew they wouldn’t be here past tomorrow.
It had been a long day with a stellar ending, and when everyone left with hugs and kisses for each other, all I wanted was to have Jared walk me home and sit with me on the couch. When he leashed up the dogs and said, “Ready?” I had to resist the urge to shout my yes.