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“Your girl here is taking me with her to get her hair done by Miss Ford’s fancy guy. I’m going to start calling myself a bodyguard. It looks better on a resume.” He chuckled and waved at Rarity. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sixat the house?”
“Yep, and I’ll buy you breakfast for your trouble.” Rarity came around the counter and sank into Archer’s arms. “It’s been a really long day. But you’ll be happy to know that Holly and maybe Malia are coming over on Sunday when you’re off hiking withyour buddies.”
“When I have a job, not hiking with my buddies,” he corrected her. “Anyway, after what happened today, I’m not sure even keeping someone with you is enough. Maybe I should wrap you in bubble wrap and put you in a closet.”
“Hey, not my fault someone broke in and decided to stay. Although I am rethinking my hiring practices. Janey would have been amazing, but Caleb, he has issues. So I’m at a twenty-five percent failure rate.” Rarity walked over to the back room and glanced around before she stepped in. “Just make sure the door is locked and turn out the lights.”
“Does talking yourself through the steps help?” Archer stood in the doorway, watching her.
“Yes, for today, it does.” She checked the lock and forced herself to look out the window to the alley. No one was there. She let out her breath and went over to turn off the lights. “I guess I need to walk through the bookstore too. He said he hid in the stacks last night.”
“You can, if it will make you feel better. I think someone like Caleb hiding in the bookstore is kind of a one-off thing.” Archer met her gaze. “But let’s go through the exercise anyway. You take that side, and I’ll go to the left where thebathrooms are.”
When they met back up in the middle at the counter, she picked up her tote and handed Archer Killer’s leash. “I’m surprised Killer didn’tsay anything.”
“He knew Caleb. Why would he?” Archer leaned down and picked the dog up. “Having a guard dog only works if your intruder isn’t someone healready knows.”
“True.” She rubbed Killer’s head. “Sorry if I’m inviting the wrong sort into your life.”
“I’m sure he’ll deal with it.” Archer set him down and nodded to the door. “Let’s go make fish and chips. Unless you’d rather eat at the Garnet? We can do dinner out if you’d rather. I can drop you off there, then I’ll take Killer home and come back. By the time I’m back, we should have food.”
She felt worn out. “Do you mind if we eatat the Garnet?”
“I just offered, so no, I don’t mind.” He pulled her into a hug. “Do you have a book to read while you wait, or do you want to grab one?”
She tapped her bag. “I never leave home without one. Even to come to the bookstore. I need to do a ‘staff recommends’ for this month’s newsletter, and I’m running out of staff to delegate the assignment to, so Iguess it’s me.”
He laughed and turned off the lights as they stepped out. “The joys of owning your own business. Did I tell you I think I found someone to work part-time at the shop? He’s a hiker and needs a ‘real’ job to support his habit. He’s going to school in Flagstaff but lives here with his folks. And he’s majoringin accounting.”
“Sounds like a perfect match.” She locked the door and stepped up to meet Archer. “What do you wantat the Garnet?”
“I’m dropping you at the front door. So we have time to talk about that.” Archer put his arm around her. As they walked to the restaurant, he chatted. “I’m thinking about a Sedona burger with cheddar cheese and fries. We can do fish and chips tomorrow night.”
“Sounds good.” She felt her energy increasing now that they were out of the bookstore. Maybe it had just been all the negative vibes from Caleb that had sapped her. Now that she was out in the cool air, she felt better.
“What about you?” Archer asked. “What are you having for dinner?”
“A glass of wine, and after that, I’m not sure. I’ll have to look at the menu.” She watched as Killer greeted everyone who passed themon the street.
“You’ve seen that menu more than a hundred times. You’ll look at it, then you’ll do the halibut with rice and a side salad or the chicken with mushrooms.” He nodded to the crosswalk, and they crossedwith the light.
“Like I said, I need to see the menu.” She laughed at the look on his face. “Seriously, I don’t know what I’m getting until I weigh my options. And I might see something that someone else ordered that looks better than what I was thinking about.”
“You’re a goof.” He opened the door for her and kissed her lightly. “I’ll be back. Order me a beer, will you?”
“Of course.” She moved to the hostess stand and waited for the woman to greet her.
She looked up and then around Rarity. “Just one tonight?”
“No, Archer is on his way, so two. Can you seat me now?” The place didn’tlook that busy.
“Sure, I’ll put you in Malia’s section.” The girl grinned and picked up two menus.
Apparently, the hostess knew her. She sat down and looked at her name tag. “Thanks, Jessica.”
“No problem. I’ll be at the book club next week before my Saturday shift. I loved this book. Whoever chose it was spot on. It really spoke to me about the problems high school kids deal with.” Jessica saw the door open and turned back to the hostess stand. “Have agreat dinner.”
Rarity opened her menu and thought about Caleb. He’d chosen the next six months’ of books for the teen book club. Hopefully Shirley could use the group to choose more. Rarity didn’t read young adult, but she decided no matter what book any of the clubs were going to read, she would read them too. That way, if she ever needed to step in to help out, she’d be prepared. She took out her planner and put a note on tomorrow’s to-do list. It was too late to read the elementary school choice before tomorrow’s meeting, but she’d read it anyway in case there were follow-up questions. She opened her phone, pulled up her website, and wrote out all the books that the clubs were reading for thismonth and next.
