“Maise, we got that shipment of new guidebooks in.”
Maisie looked up and said, “Thanks, Lainey. Just leave them in the back. I’ll get them checked in.”
“Okay. I’m going to reshelve.”
“That’s fine,” Maisie replied.
The woman named Lainey turned back around after eyeing India, which was strange, but India let it go and returned her attention to Maisie.
“Hi,” Maisie said again with a bright smile and welcoming eyes.
CHAPTER 7
“Hey,” India said again and stood just inside the door.
“Can I help you find a new romance? You couldn’t have finished the first one since I saw you this morning,” she said.
“No,” India replied, laughing a little. “I just… I guess I came here to browse.”
“In the middle of your workday?”
“I’m taking a break,” India replied.
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Need help findingwhereto browse, maybe?”
“That old man grunted at me.”
India hooked a thumb in the direction of the door.
Maisie laughed and said, “Mr. Barnard grunts at everyone.”
“Why, exactly?” India asked as she walked over to the counter.
“Well, he’s an old man. I think they just do that. But if I had to guess, there’s more to it than that.”
“Like what?”
“I think he had a crush on my grams.”
“Crush?”
“Maybe more.” Maisie shrugged a shoulder. “He used to come in every single day, six days a week. And had we been open on Sundays, I think he would’ve come in after church, dressed in his Sunday best.” She smiled. “Whenever Grams was working in the front, he would grab a book off the closest table, make a special order, or pick one up. When she was in the back, he’d skip right over the counter and make his way through the aisles.”
“That’s sort of sweet,” India said with a smile.
“It was, yeah. She wasn’t interested, though. She never moved on from Gramps.”
“It’s cute that you call them that; Grams and Gramps.”
“What do you call your grandparents?”
“Well, nothing now. They’re all gone. I used to call them Grandmother and Grandfather, though.”
“Grandmother and Grandfather? Not even Grandma and Grandpa?”
“Formal family,” India said, tilting her head.
“Families can be formal? How doesthatwork?”
