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Annie’s cheeks flush bright pink, and I nearly choke on my own tongue, but thankfully the rest of them are too preoccupied to notice the strained moment, and Annie recovers quickly, murmuring, “No, I haven’t,” before propping her hands on her hips and nodding toward the street. “We should go. Those books aren’t going to rescue themselves.”
She’s talking about my collection, of course, but as we head for the opposite side of town and the path leading out into the marsh, I can’t help feeling like she’s on a mission to save much more than my damaged library. By the time Blaire’s warded the house and whisked Edmond back to the Blackmore mansion with a travelling spell, I’m sure of it.
Annie has something up her sleeve, something I need to put a stop to before we get one second closer to sunrise.
“You’ve done enough for tonight,” I say, nodding toward the books she’s organized into ten piles, based on the level of damage. “Let me take you home.”
She glances up from where she’s sitting cross-legged on the floor with a cup of Earl Gray. “That won’t be necessary. I brought a bag.”
I blink and echo, “A bag…”
“Yes, a bag.” She smiles. “So, I can stay the night. And tomorrow night and the next night and the next and all the days in between. That way we can get all the work done on the library and have plenty of time to get to know each other better.”
I shake my head, but before I can speak, she says, “You promised me seven days.”
“Seven dates,” I correct. “And this is hardly the time for fun and games.”
“Seven dates, seven days, you say to-may-toe, I say apple slices because I hate tomatoes. And I never expected fun and games,” she continues, lifting her stubborn little chin another inch into the air. “I expect grouchiness, complaining, and knowing you, probably some growling, and I still packed to stay the week. I know what I’m in for, Baron, and I have no intention of leaving, so I suggest you accept this is happening and make the best of it.” She flashes one of her sunny, slightly smartass smiles, the ones I’m coming to appreciate far more than I should. “Maybe we could try meditating together before you head to bed? Doesn’t that sound like fun? Sitting peacefully with our breath and not thinking terrible, mean thoughts about ourselves for five to ten whole minutes?”
I growl beneath my breath, but her smile doesn’t waiver.
She simply makes an invisible check mark in the air with one finger and says in a strange voice, “One! One grouchy growl, mwuah-ha-ha.” Clearly reading the confusion of my face she adds, “Sesame Street. The Count? The vampire puppet who loves to count things?” She waves a hand. “Never mind. I’ll show you a video the next time you’re over at our place for dinner.”
“I don’t eat dinner, and I have no intention of—”
“La, la, la,” she says, covering her ears with her hands. “Sorry, no time for more Negative Nelson tonight, my friend. I want to get my supply list ready before I take a nap on your couch.” She drops her hands. “Or I can come sleep in the basement with you, if you’re scared and need a friend to cuddle. We could do that, you know. Just cuddle. No funny stuff.”
With another growl, I cross to the entrance to the cellar. I close and lock the door behind me with a sharp click, but Annie remains unfazed by my rudeness. Half an hour later, I can still hear her up there humming and turning pages.
Even the sound of her singing off-key makes my heart swell larger in my chest.
It’s going to be a very long week.
Very long, indeed…
Chapter 12
Annie
A few hours after my couch nap, just as the early morning light is warming to something more serious, Casey arrives on a fat-tired bicycle specially designed for use in the snow. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes still puffy from sleep, making it clear she must have rushed over as soon as she rolled out of bed.
Meeting her at the bottom of the steps leading into the cabin, I pull her in for a hug. “Thank you so much, but you didn’t have to come over so early. I know you were up late last night.” I pull back, gazing up into her face. “How was your first training shift at the pub?”
“So good,” she says with a bright grin. “After about five minutes, Emily realized I didn’t need training and put me to work. I had a line three people deep all night and by the time we closed up, she offered me a raise.”
My eyes widen. “What? That’s amazing!”
“Yeah. Turns out the people of Nightfall appreciate a kick ass craft cocktail recipe. I had a loyal following in Vegas, too, but this is next level. And the tips were a Goddess send.” She exhales as she hitches her overstuffed backpack higher on her shoulder. “At this rate Amy and I will be able to afford new furniture in no time.”
I clap my hands softly together. “Of course, you will! Oh, babes, I’m so happy for you. What a load off. You must be so relieved.”
“I am. I confess I was a little afraid I wouldn’t be able to make a living wage at a tiny pub, but it looks like I was worried about nothing.” She grins as she nods toward the pack. “I brought pastries to celebrate. Kitty insisted I take a dozen scones. She wants to be sure you never lack carbs to sustain you while you’re saving the stories.”
Silently thanking Kitty for being a morning-sickness-fighting angel on earth, I motion Casey into the house. “Perfect! I made tea. It’s the only thing Baron had in the house aside from bear food and I didn’t want to get on Laura’s bad side by eating her dried fish or apples.”
“And dried fish is repulsive,” Casey says as she follows me through the book triage area I’ve set up in the main room. The two fans Darcy delivered just before sunrise sit on the coffee table, blowing gently across the open pages of the first ten books in the queue. “Oh, wow. Blaire wasn’t kidding. How many are there?”
“I’m guessing close to two thousand. I had no idea he had the bookshelves stacked four deep.” I step into the small kitchen, pouring two mugs of steaming brown liquid. “It would take days just to catalogue them all, let alone treat moisture and spine damage. It’s going to be a big week.”
