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“It’s not my fault this thing is a maze.” Stella holds out a hand. “It’s gorgeous.” Her gaze flits around the room. “But it’s so over the top that my head is spinning.”
“Only the best for Longdale Lake, Stella.” Oliver eyes the Pyrex before reaching over to try to peel the lid off. “Did you bring me food?”
She bats his hand away and he laughs. “It’s for you, Alec and Sebastian.” She turns to me. “And Sophie, of course. Beef stew. I made too much. Besides, I haven’t been over in a while.” She takes in the room again. “Things are coming together,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
Her two children are older than all the Tate boys, nearly out of the house when her husband passed away and her nephews started coming for their summer visits. The Tate boys are more like her own children than nephews.
We chitchat, Stella asking me about the mobile library and if we had a title she’s interested in—a popular memoir.
“With any luck, within a year or two, you’ll be able to visit us at a permanent location…somewhere,” I tell her.
“I heard the petition got enough signatures finally,” Stella says. “Congratulations, Sophie. We need something bigger and better than the bus. Imagine how much nicer your job would be in an actual building.”
I allow myself one second to hope, imagining rows and rows of stacks, every title we could ever want brightening up the space.
Oliver cuts in. “Sophie’s agreed to curate and design our hotel library here.”
Stella lights up. “That’s wonderful. You better pay her for her time and talents, Oliver.”
Ididhave time and talent where libraries were concerned.
“We’re paying her.” Oliver’s response reminds me a little of when Stella would visit the shake shop and she’d remind him to say thank you to the customers or that he needed to move his clean clothes to the dryer when he got home.
“I was thinking it might be cool if we had a guest book for the library. With a fancy pen and a ribbon bookmark,” I tell her. “And the guests could add in their favorite books and then the hotel could purchase them to add it to the collection and add in a nameplate on the inside front cover. You know, the guest’s first name and where they live.”
Oliver regards me with surprise. “That’s a good idea. It would personalize things. And give a little something extra when they come back.”
I nod, my mind turning over the possibilities. “And maybe we could include books from local authors. I know there are at least two who write books with Longdale Lake as the setting.”
“Maybe we should hire you on full time, since you have all these amazing ideas.” Oliver’s eyes brand me. He’s complimenting me again and I fall for it—again. It’s like he’s read through my list of insecurities and fears and he’s single-handedly taking them on, one by one.
Give Sophie validation in the form of a library job.
Check.
Speak words that make her feel seen and heard.
Check. Check.
Look at her with wonder, even in mom pants and scuffed shoes.
Check. Check. Check.
“That’s a perfect plan, Sophie.” Stella rests a hand on my arm. “Oh, and Henry was telling me about a really good book he was reading. What was it called? I think it was a new epic fantasy.”
I was just about to say which title she might be referring to, but Oliver interrupts.
“You spoke with Henry? When?” His mouth has gone slack.
“Oh, well, a few days ago.” She shrugs.
“Why did he call you?” Oliver has a vein in his forehead that usually lies dormant and invisible. But there are times when it comes out to play. Right now? It’s a pulsing beast, taunting anyone who comes near.
Stella’s gaze darts around the room, and then it meets mine, like she’s wondering why it’s such a big deal. “He calls me every other week, maybe. I don’t know.” She moves to an overstuffed chair. “He likes to check in…make sure I’m okay and that I get the things he sends to me.”
“He sends you things?” both Oliver and I ask at the exact moment.
I pipe up to say, “Jinx!” but the word dies off before I can finish it. Oliver isn’t having any of this. His concern is palpable.
