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“Can I ask why you’ve suddenly come around to my way of thinkin’, son?”
I looked him right in the eye and gave it to him straight. “Because I’m the best option for the position once you vacate it. I’ll be fair to my team, and I’ll serve this town best I can. I decided to go for it because I think I deserve it.”
He nodded resolutely. “Not a doubt in my mind about that. Why do you think I’ve been pushin’ you so hard?”
My chest swelled a little. “I appreciate you having faith in me, sir.”
“Well, now that we got that settled, I’ll announce my retirement at the next public forum and that I fully endorse you as the next sheriff of McCall County. You’ll be a shoo-in, and not just because you’re runnin’ unopposed. This town knows you’re their best bet. I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ what you can do, son.”
I stood, pride swelling in my chest. “Thank you for everything you’ve taught me.”
His nodded solemnly. “My pleasure every step of the way.” He stopped for a beat to clear his throat. “Now get the hell out of my office and do some damn work. I don’t pay you to sit around, bein’ mushy, do I?”
I waited until I left his office to let my smile loose, knowing he’d have given me a ration of shit if he caught sight of it. But even then, it would have been worth it.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
LYRIC
The weather had gotten worseright before lunch, and with the library a ghost town, I’d sent the volunteers home. With no one there, the library felt almost eerie, the sounds of thunder clapping outside and the fat, heavy raindrops slapping against the window the only sounds that could be heard.
I buried myself in paperwork—the least favorite part of my job, but a necessary evil—and prepared to pass the hours until Holton picked me up at the end of the day. It was kind of nice having the whole place to myself. When I was little, I’d made up rich fantasies about being trapped in our town’s library, all alone. Only, in the fantasy, the whole town was gone, my parents included, and I got to live in the library forever. Just me and the books I cherished so much. And I never felt lonely, because I had a million stories to keep me company.
To a little girl whose real life was nothing but misery and pain, that was a damn good dreamland. But I much preferred the one I was currently living in, mainly because Holton was in it with me.
I still loved stories, I always would, but I didn’tneedthem anymore the way I had back then. And that was due in a large part to Holton. I knew, down in my bones, that as long as I had him by my side, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Good or bad, he would be my rock through it all.
A deafening crack of thunder rattled the windows just before the sky lit up with a streak of lightning, causing me to jump. I placed a hand to my racing heart and laughed as I shook my head. “Jeez, Lyric. Get it together, would you? It’s only a storm, for crying out loud.”
I got my second jolt in just a matter of seconds when the door to the library swung open unexpectedly, the wind from outside kicking it back so hard it slammed into the rubber stopper on the floor. A person clad in in a bright green raincoat and tall rubber rain boots stepped inside, droplet of water falling into a puddle on the floor at their feet.
My heart sank the instant the person dropped their hood back and I saw who it was. I swallowed back the groan that wanted to burst free, determined to take the high road. I wouldn’t stoop to Janine Gates’s level, no matter how badly I wanted to curse her out. After all, there had to have been a reason why she was so unhappy all the damn time.
I rushed around the counter, a towel in my hand, and met her halfway between the help desk and the door. “Ms. Gates, you shouldn’t be out in this storm. It could be dangerous.”
She snatched the offered towel and dabbed at her damp face and hair. It was the kind of rain that, no matter the precautions you took, you were getting drenched. And she hadn’t been spared. As she stood in front of me, the image of a drowned rat popped into my head, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing.
“I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. And I certainly don’t need the likes ofyoutelling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing.”
Resigned to having to deal with this woman, I sighed and held my arm out, hoping she’d follow without much argument. “Come on, then. Let’s at least get you dry. Would you like some coffee or something to warm you up?”
She harrumphed, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. That was when an idea hit, like a lightbulb being flipped on.
“If you come in and sit down, drink a hot cup of coffee, I’ll sit there and listen to your complaints without comment.”
I knew I caught her off guard by the way her chin jerked back. “You—that’s not—”
“Look, Ms. Gates, obviously, given you came all this way in the middle of a thunderstorm, what you have to say matters a great deal to you.” Whether or not I personally found her complaints to be ridiculous.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t come here to cause harm or make enemies,”she replied.
“Until the town council’s next public forum, there’s nothing either of us can do about the books you take issue with. But if it still bothers you that much, I’ll listen. Say what you have to say, and I’ll listen, you have my word. Just as long as we can agree to keep it civil. After all, we’re both adults, are we not?”
Honestly, I didn’t have the first clue whether the pinch-faced woman would take me up on my offer, but the more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that maybe she had so much to bitch about because no one ever listened to her.
Her face remained pinched, but I could see the indecision warring in her eyes, so I waited patiently.
Finally, she spoke. “I supposed I do need to warm up, and maybe if you listen to what I have to say instead of arguing, you’ll realize I’m right,” she said snootily.
