AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?”
“I don’t want to talk about reproduction with you.”
“I know, but Samantha, you haven’t been to the doctor since the last surgery. I think you need a checkup, and I know you still have questions. So why don’t you just go ahead and make the appointment? I’ll come home and go with you, if you want.”
God, he was the best grandpa. “Thank you, but you don’t have to do that. I’m a big girl. I can go to the doctor by myself. I’ll make an appointment, I promise, but right now, I gotta go.”
“I’m gonna hold you to it, Sunny.”
“Okay. I love you. Bye.”
I regretted being tense with him as soon as I hung up. At least he cared to know what was going on with me, not like my parents, who I still hadn’t even seen since before everything happened in Florida. The same parents who’d reacted to my miscarriage over the phone like it was a black mark on their shared calendar. Who has time to comfort their daughter when there were movies to be filmed?
Carrying my phone in my hand this time, I snuck out of the bathroom and headed toward the main room when the bell rang again. I turned the corner and saw Wisper’s only female sheriff’s deputy standing on the far side of the check-in desk.
“Hi,” I said. “Is everything okay?” Oh gosh, what is her name? Ally? Abby? Ugh. I couldn’t remember.
“Yeah. Uh, Ms. Moonlight told me to come. Juneau Moonlight?”
“To come to the library… why?”
“For the book club.”
“Oh! You’re not here in an official capacity?”
“No. Why’d you think that?”
“Um, ’cause your—” I motioned to her stiff brown uniform under a matching canvas coat. She was wearing a brown cowboy hat, and her white-blond hair had been pulled back into a quick bun at the back of her neck, but strands of it had fallen loose, and they framed her face. “Never mind. Come on. The ladies are in the back room.”
“Is Juneau here yet?”
“Not yet. I’m hoping she’s on her way. Come on back.”
She followed after me, but I stopped and turned before we got to the reading room, noticing that she was armed with handcuffs and her gun. Yeesh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce myself. I’ve seen you around town, but I don’t think we’ve ever properly met. I’m Sam.”
She shook my hand, smirking. “Nope. We haven’t, but I know who you are. I’m Deputy Abey Lee. I work with Frank.”
“Oh, um, right. That’s nice,” I said, my cheeks heating and blushing. She was referring to her partner. Wait, did deputies have partners?
Whoever he was to her, he was also the man who came to my library every Tuesday. The same man who sat in an armchair and read a book he barely seemed interested in. And when he wasn’t reading a book, he was reading me. Silently. He rarely spoke.
In fact—I checked my phone for the time—he would be headed here in less than an hour.
I looked down at my clothes. Ugh. My usual skirt and T-shirt would have to do, but maybe I’d have time to freshen my eyeliner before he got here. I mean, not that I was interested.
Although, he was extremely handsome, I may have noticed on occasion. But he had to be way older than me. His hair was graying, like, a lot, and he had kind of an old-guy air about him. Not like “grandpa old guy,” but like, a distinguished older guy.
Fine. He was hot. Super macho, protective, law-enforcement hot. Tall and built like a mountain, if he could shift into a bear, he’d fit right into one of Aislinn’s stories.
With a wave of my hand, I motioned for Abey to follow me again, trying to fan my face discreetly with the other, but she chuckled under her breath, and I blushed harder. Did everyone know about the crush I had on my most regular patron?
We entered the back room, and I introduced her. “Everybody, this is Abey Lee. She heard about the book club, so she’s joining us.”
Abey removed her hat and pushed it out in front of her. “Yeah, but Juneau promised we’d read some LGBTQ books. I don’t mind readin’ about dudes and chicks, but I would also like to put my vote in now that we read some chick-on-chick love stories. Or dude-on-dude. I’m an equal-opportunity lesbian.”
Mrs. DuBois squeaked, and Billie said, “I’m down. Right on, copper.”
Abey sat next to Billie, and Billie spun in her chair, swinging her legs over the other arm. “How’ve you been? We haven’t seen you since that whole Carey/Frannie drama. It’s a good thing they tied the knot and started popping out babies. The angst was killing me.”
