“Go for it. I’d say take your time, but—” Liddy’s gesture took in the store. While the crowd had thinned, there were still a good number of people in the room. “Marion will be in soon. I’d wanted her for the entire day, but she had already agreed to give her daughter a hand at her flower shop this morning. Big wedding tomorrow.” Marion was Emma’s right hand at the art center and had been looking for part-time work. Liddy had been delighted when Marion had applied for the job and had hired her on the spot.
“I can wait till she gets here.” Grace said goodbye to Tuck and JoJo and, summoned by a customer who needed help, walked off in the direction of the sci-fi shelves.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night,” Tuck told Liddy over the head of the child who was counting out his coins to pay for his book. She nodded and helped the young boy to count.
It seemed most of the day saw a steady stream of customers, and even with the addition of Marion to work the cash register, Liddy was sailing on adrenaline. Around three, Maggie came in and shooed Liddy away from the counter.
“Grace says you haven’t eaten all day, and you look beat.” Maggie handed her a bag. “Sandwich. Salad. Dessert. Nice cold bottle of water. Go find a quiet spot and relax a bit. Brett’s going to stop in later and bring us all coffee. And if you need us to, Gracie and I will close up for you tonight so you don’t have to stay until nine. But right now—go.”
Liddy retreated to her office without protest. She sat at her desk and took a few long, deep breaths before she opened the bag. She wanted to relax, but she was too keyed up from the day’s events. There’d been something close to chaos around the cash register after Grace had finished reading, with all the children’s books her patrons wanted to purchase. Brisk sales were always a good thing, but she hadn’t realized how unnerving it could be to have so many people talking to her at once. She’d lived alone for the past three years, and she wasn’t accustomed to dealing with so much activity, so many voices at the same time. She’d tried to ask her customers to form one line, but her request had been ignored except for the people closest to the counter. Next Saturday, she’d have signs made up—PLEASE FORM ONE LINE and PATIENCE, PLEASE—and she’d have someone near the front of the shop to make sure there’d be no bottleneck such as there’d been earlier.
She finished the ham-and-swiss sandwich, the salad, and the brownie Maggie’d brought and took her time sipping the water as she reflected on the day so far. She wouldn’t know how many books had sold or how much was in the cash register until she closed up at the end of the day, but she knew they’d done well. That the store had not been empty since it opened in the morning was a clear statement from the residents of Wyndham Beach: they’d sorely missed having a bookstore in town and appreciated all the improvements since it had passed from Fred Lattimore’s hands into her own. She’d received as many compliments on the exterior of the shop as she had on the interior, with Tuck’s flower box getting rave reviews. She’d have to remember to tell him how much his handiwork had been admired.
Liddy stood and stretched, rejuvenated from the food and the rest, and eager to get back to work. She appreciated Emma’s and Maggie’s offer to stay until nine and close for her, but of course she wouldn’t take it. They both had things to do. Grace insisted on staying till the end, and while Liddy needed the extra hands, she thought a young woman like Grace—beautiful, smart, funny, amicable—should be out having fun with other young people on a Saturday night, not stuck behind a cash register. Unfortunately, Liddy could count on the fingers of one hand the number of single people in Wyndham Beach who were Grace’s age, which was one of the reasons she’d been so surprised Grace would want to put money into renovating a house she didn’t own. She still wasn’t comfortable with Grace putting so much of her savings into the house, though she wouldn’t lose out in the end since Liddy was sure she’d be able to pay her back when the house was rented to someone else once Grace left. And wasn’t it inevitable that Grace would eventually move on from Wyndham Beach? It was one thing for a woman like Grace to take some time to lick her wounds in a small town like this, another to dig in and stay for more than a few years. Liddy would bet money within two years—three at the very most—Grace would be gone to Boston or Pittsburgh, or maybe even back to Philly. She just didn’t see her giving up her law career for good, and spending the rest of her life living alone in the little house, no matter how beautifully she fixed it up. Surely Grace wanted—and deserved—more out of life.
Liddy left her office and switched off the light. Customers still strolled through the aisles and searched the shelves for something that caught their eye. She was pleased to see almost everyone had at least one book in their hand, that her shop had brought all these people in on a sunny September Saturday when they could have been outside enjoying the perfect weather. At the same time, she wondered how long it would take before the novelty wore off.
It would be her job to give people a reason to keep coming back. She was working on that.
She was just about to step behind the counter when she noticed two men standing near the front door. Liddy blinked and stopped midstride. The tall gray-haired man wearing the Dartmouth sweatshirt was Dave Michaels, who owned a car dealership on Route 6. The shorter of the two was bald, wore dark glasses, and was dressed in a light-blue button-down shirt and khaki pants. He stood with both arms crossed over his chest, and their conversation appeared amicable.
It was the bald head that momentarily threw her.
Then Liddy saw red. What in the name of all that was holy was he doing here?
If Jim Bryant thought she’d greet him with a smile and open arms, he was out of his mind. She made a beeline for the pair.
“What are you doing here?” she asked sharply.
If the harshness of her tone surprised him, he gave no sign. “I saw the opening day sign earlier this week and thought I’d stop in to wish you well.”
“Consider it done. Now you may leave.”
“I, ah, think I’ll go see what my wife’s into,” Dave said. “Jim, good seeing you again. I’ll give you a call about the insurance we talked about. Congratulations, Liddy. Nice shop.” Dave did a disappearing act.
“Why are you here, Jim?” She could barely stand to say his name.
“If you’re asking me why I’m in Wyndham Beach,” Jim replied calmly, “I had an appointment with a client.”
“You still have clients in town?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I was in business here for almost forty years. And I’m here, in your shop, because I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I don’t want you here. This is my place. And how I’m doing is none of your business.” Liddy was breathing fire. Her day had been going fabulously until he’d shown up. The welcome sign over the counter did not extend to him.
He stared into her eyes for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I guess I understand. I’ll go. But I really do wish you all the best luck. I think it’s terrific you bought this place.”
“I have long since stopped caring what you think about anything.” Liddy turned her back and went to the counter, where she relieved Marion. She greeted the next customer with the biggest smile she could muster.