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Rarity laughed and elbowed Shirley. “Thanks, Jonathon. Shirley and I appreciate your help.”
“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Shirley muttered as she smoothed the cloth on the table. “I’m so nervous to lead a group of teenagers. Babies are easy. I feel like I’m walking into the lion’s den today.”
As the time for the book club got closer, people started coming in. A few parents came in and bought some books, including the next month’s club read, but then they’d leave, telling their kids they’d be back in an hour or would meet them somewhere downtown. By the time the group started, the only people in the store that were over eighteen were Rarity, Shirley, and Jonathon, who was still trying to workon his laptop.
As Shirley started the group, he came over and leaned on the counter, watching the group. “It’s a little loud inhere to write.”
“Do you want to use the back room? You’d be doing me a favor. I keep having to shoo couples out of there who think it’s a great place to make out.”
He snorted as he went to get his laptop. “I’ll go play mall cop for you. I’m pretty sure one look at me would stop all those hormones fast. Maybe we should pair up this group with your Mommy and Me class so they can see what can happen if they’re not careful.”
Rarity laughed, and Shirley glanced over to see what was happening. She turned to check on Killer, who had tucked himself into the bed she kept behind the counter as soon as people started to show up.
“I’ll stop bothering you so you won’t get in trouble.” Jonathon went around the counter and through the door tothe back room.
Rarity pulled out the book that the group was talking about and tried to finish reading it. She only had a few more chapters, and before Shirley led the group in a discussion of the cliffhanger ending, Rarity had finished. She tucked the book under the counter and picked up next month’s book. It was still considered YA, but this time, there was a mystery involved. She started reading the book and was surprised when she was interrupted by a young woman with a stack of books to purchase. Shirley’s club was over, and the kids were either hurrying out or wandering through the bookstore. One couple tried to go into the back room but must have seen Jonathon, because they’d backed out and then went outside.
Rarity smiled at the girl standing in front of her. “Did you enjoythe book club?”
The girl shrugged. “My mom said if I went, she’d give me fifty dollars to buy more books with. So I came. She’s always trying to get me out of the house. My sister, she loves hanging out with her friends, so Mom worries about me.”
The girl was so honest, Rarity wasn’t sure what to say. She decided to focus on the books. “Well, we’re glad you came. And these are all amazing choices. I’ve heard good things about all of these, but I haven’t had time to read them. Maybe you could write a review for our newsletter on one ofthem sometime.”
The girl blinked. “You want me to write a review?”
“I’d love it. I don’t have a lot of staff, so readers’ reviews are hard to come by. I’d love to have a book club member reviewing books that we don’t get to cover in the club.” Rarity was making this up as she went along. Then she had a brilliant idea. “I could pay you with a book club credit. If your writing is good enough, that is.”
“I always get As in English, and I’ve been reviewing on Goodreads for about a year. My mom always reads them before I post, just in case there’s a problem.” She handed over the fifty-dollar bill to pay for her stack of books. “You’re not kidding me, right?”
“I’m not. It’s a bona fide offer. I’m Rarity Cole. I own this place.” Rarity handed her back her change and a receipt. “ So what’s your name?”
“I’m Staci Patterson. My mom was your real estate broker. I was so excited to get an actual bookstore in town. Before, I’d have to beg her to take me to Flagstaff or buy them online.” She pushed back a curl that had fallen in her eyes.”
“Nice to meet you, Staci. Come by when you have a review for me to consider.” Rarity saw Staci’s mom standing outside the bookstore in the courtyard. She waved at the woman she’d worked with to buy the building. “Your mom’s here.”
As Rarity finished up the last few purchases, Shirley came by and helped put books into bags and to say goodbye to the few remaining stragglers. Finally, the bookstore was empty. “Well, that went better than I’d expected. I was hoping Caleb would show up and help me, but I muddled through.”
“Shirley, I need to tell you something,” Rarity went on to tell her about Caleb and his last visit. As she was finishing up, Jonathon came out of the back room with his laptop.
“Rarity, I checked the back door, and someone had unlocked it. I don’t know if they were just going out to smoke or something, but I relocked the door. You may want to think about that during your next club meeting. At least with the high school group. They were a little hard to corral. You may need several people to helpon club days.”
Chapter 20
On Sunday, when Malia joined Holly and Rarity at the house, Rarity brought up the issue she was having with the teen book club. “Shirley and I need help with our high school book club. I’ll pay you for the two hours and buy the book for you if you want to read it, but mostly we just need chaperones to make sure the participants stay in the discussion area and to monitor the storeand back room.”
Holly raised her hand. “I love reading YA. Pick me.”
Malia elbowed her friend as they sat outside on the deck. “I’ll come too, as long as I don’t have a shift at the Garnet. It’s from ten to noon on the third Saturday, right?”
“Exactly. And I could use both of you.” Rarity loved her group of friends. She knew she could count on them for help when she needed it. Even with this specific request. “Remind me to give you next month’s book on Tuesday at book club. Are both of you going to be there?”
“Of course. I’ve got some dirt on Caleb. Apparently, he has a habit of stalking coeds on campus. One of my friends said he followed her around until she had a classmate tell him they were dating and to buzz off. All she did was be nice to him in class once, and she couldn’t get rid of him.” Malia dipped her chip into her salsa. They each had their own bowls of chips and salsa since Holly insisted that Malia often double-dipped, whichMalia disputed.
“Interesting. Except, apparently, Caleb had the wrong place and time of death when he confessed to shooting at Janey. Even so, I think he’s going to be staying at the psychiatric hospital for a while. They found pictures in his apartment of Janey and other girls. And he had his own darkroom. I guess he didn’t like digital pictures.” Rarity sipped her beer. She’d already swum today, so now all she needed to do was fold laundry and relax. The rest of the chores could wait. And with Archer temporarily living here with her, he took care of a lot of cleaning chores during the week. The guy was pretty close to perfectas a boyfriend.
They were having a taco bar for lunch, but they’d been waiting for Malia to finish with her study date or one o’clock, whichever came first.
“Speaking of guys at school, was that Dane O’Conner who just dropped you off in front of Rarity’s?” Holly asked.
