“You’re the new girl, aren’t you? Sorry I got in a little late this morning, but thanks for opening for me. Have we been busy today?” He leaned on the counter, then looked around as if seeing the shop for the first time. “Are you the one who rearranged everything?” His voice began to rise. “I didn’t give you permission to do this.” He pointed at the walls. “What happened to my dog pictures? Did you throw them away? What are all those . . . those . . . what are those things hanging on the wall? All those crazy colors! I didn’t put them there.”
“Oh, Mr. Lattimore,” Liddy said softly. She put a hand over her face and closed her eyes. What the hell?
“Mr. Lattimore, hello.” Evelyn, who’d worked for Fred before Liddy bought the shop, sized up the situation and stepped in.
“Oh, Evelyn. I’m so glad you’re here.” Fred lowered his voice. “Keep an eye on the new girl. I think she stole all my dog pictures. She’s trying to steal from the cash register.”
“No, no, Mr. Lattimore. You know Liddy Bryant. Jim Bryant’s . . . er, wife.” Evelyn apparently decided the divorce was more information than the man needed at the moment.
“Jim the insurance guy?” Fred asked. “Took over for his old man after he died?”
“That’s the one,” Evelyn told him.
“Bought insurance from him, bought it from the old man before him.” He turned to Liddy. “You’re young Jim’s wife?”
“Yes, sir,” Liddy replied. Close enough.
“Do I know your people?” he asked.
“I believe you might. My dad was Alphonse Hess.”
“He married a German girl. I remember her, all right.” He winked at Liddy. “She was quite the looker.”
“She certainly was,” Liddy agreed.
“Come see how nice we made the children’s section.” Evelyn steered him toward the back of the shop, looking over her shoulder to mouth the words Call Carl to Liddy.
“Already on it.” Liddy called the number for Carl’s hardware store. Someone in the office picked up and asked her to hold while she located Carl.
“Carl, it’s Liddy at the bookshop,” she said after he came to the phone.
“Oh my God, is he there?” Before Liddy could respond, he said, “We’ve been looking for him for the past hour. I should have known he’d go there. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“It’s okay. He’s not bothering anyone, but he’s obviously confused. He’ll be safe till you get here,” she assured him. She looked over her shoulder and saw Fred chatting with Evelyn and a customer. “He’s okay. We won’t let him leave.”
“I’m on my way.”
Liddy breathed a sigh of relief when Carl entered the store five minutes later. He looked like a younger version of his father, but his shirt was nicely pressed, and his shoes matched.
“He’s in the back talking with Evelyn and Mayor Harper.” Liddy pointed discreetly to the back of the shop.
“Thanks.” Carl made a beeline for the children’s section. Liddy watched him ease into the conversation, which he kept going for several minutes before addressing his father directly. Liddy couldn’t hear what was being said, but she saw the elderly man rise from the chair, shake the mayor’s hand, and walk toward the front of the store.
“Dad and I are going home for lunch now, Liddy,” Carl said as they passed by. “We’ll see you later.”
“Okay. Enjoy yourselves.” Liddy waved and Fred waved back. “See you later.”
“Will you be working tomorrow, young lady?” Fred asked her.
“I’m pretty sure I’m on the schedule.”
“Well, then, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He took two steps through the door, then stopped and turned around. “Oh. I’ll be back at closing to count the receipts.”
“Okay. We’ll save them for you.” Evelyn waved goodbye.
After the door closed, Evelyn’s forearms sank onto the counter.
“Poor guy,” she said. “It must be terrible to forget so much.”
“I’m betting this won’t be the last time we see him. I bet he’ll be over here every chance he gets. Which isn’t so bad, you know? He’s not hurting anyone. I think he just spent so much of his life here, he thinks this is where he belongs. It’s okay.”
Liddy watched through the front window as Carl helped his father into the car. She felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. When she was old and forgetful, who would search for her if she wandered off? Who would find her and tuck her into the front seat of their car and drive her home? Where would home be, and with whom? The future was a great unknown for everyone, but maybe even a little more so when you had no significant other, no children, no living relatives.
She was having an “Is that all there is?” moment. If Jess hadn’t died, would she and Jim have stayed together? Had he been intended to be her ever-after? Or was someone, somewhere, searching for her?
In her pocket, her phone buzzed to notify her of an incoming text from Gretchen, and she was grateful to turn her thoughts elsewhere.
There’s a problem. I’ll stop at the shop before I meet with the appraiser.
Liddy frowned. What problem could there be?
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the boy—Dylan—seated in the same chair he’d sat in the day before. And now that she thought about it, hadn’t he been there the day before that, too? Was it odd a teenage boy would want to spend his after-school time in a bookshop instead of maybe with friends? She honestly didn’t know a thing about teenage boys. Maybe both his parents worked, and he was a latchkey kid. He had to be at least sixteen, surely old enough to be alone until his parents got home. Maybe he didn’t like being home alone. She was about to try to engage him in conversation when Gretchen arrived and waved to her from the front of the shop.
“I just read your text,” Liddy said.
“Liddy, does Jim know you’re selling the property?” Gretchen took Liddy by the arm and moved them both to a less busy spot.
“It’s none of Jim’s business. It’s my property, and mine to sell.”
“Not according to the deed.”
“What are you talking about? Jim signed over everything to me in the divorce.”
“Everything except his old office, apparently.”
“Oh, hell. He must have overlooked it somehow.” He wouldn’t have deliberately held back on her, would he? Whatever else she might say about her ex-husband, she’d never known him to be duplicitous.
“Whatever. You’re going to have to straighten this out, unless you want me to call him,” Gretchen said.
“Oh, no. No. I’ll take care of this.” Liddy felt her blood pressure rise. Could he have done this on purpose?
Grace walked over, and Liddy took a deep breath intended to calm herself before she introduced the two women.
“Gracie, this is Gretchen Smith. She’s a friend, a Realtor here in town, and she’s arranged for an appraisal of the . . .”
Grace beamed. “Oh, great. I’ll walk over with you and let you in. I’m Grace Flynn.”
“Nice to meet you. I drove, but you’re welcome to ride with me,” Gretchen offered.