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Brooklyn grimaced. “Are you going to tell her I was here?”
“You know she’ll find out one way or another. We might as well be up front with her from the start.”
Her shoulders sank. “Great, I’ll probably get grounded at both houses.”
“Nah, I’ll plead your case and ask for leniency. After all, you’ve got a lot on your mind right now.” He gave her a fist bump. “Hang on, I’ll go grab my keys.”
“Okay.”
Huh, maybe this parenting stuff isn’t so bad after all.
He started for the hallway leading to Mia’s room where he’d left his things. Sure enough, Mia was there, dressed in her pajamas and hugging her midsection. In the dim lighting from yet another nightlight—come to think of it, this house had them everywhere—she mouthed, “Thank you.”
“Oh, hey, Alex?”
He paused to look back. “Yeah, Brooklyn?”
“You might want to put your shirt back on.” She smirked. “I don’t need two new baby siblings.”
Mia’s eyes went wide, and Alex shook his head on a chuckle. “Yep, will do.”
Chapter Twelve
Mia waved good-byeto a happy customer at Brooks Books the next morning, then resumed assisting her temporary helper restock books in the kids’ used books section. Two sets of twins had been through the picture books, along with a handful of other preschoolers while their parents had looked at new titles nearby.
“I’m still surprised your aunt has a used book section,” Alex said, kneeling to put the misplaced books back in alphabetical order. “I mean, don’t get me wrong—it’s really cool, giving these books a second chance. It just doesn’t seem very profitable.”
“True, but those aren’t the items we hope to profit from.”
Mia grabbed a small stack from the basket they kept at the end of the aisle, where they encouraged browsers to place books after perusing instead of reshelving them themselves. Like racks stationed in dressing rooms, it kept the wrong items from getting shoved into incorrect locations. The concept had helped staff and shoppers alike.
“My mother wanted to bring affordable reading options to our town, since we don’t have a library here. So, she started a buyback program, where kids could basically buy a used book and once they’d finished, they were able to come back and swap it out with any book they liked, so long as they hadn’t destroyed their copy. It’s like having our own library but without late fees.”
“She sounds like she was an amazing lady.”
Mia felt her throat tighten. “She truly was.”
The bell over the front door jangled, and a breathless Delaney stepped in with a travel cup from the Coffey Still in each hand. “Who needs caffeine?”
“Me!” Alex and Mia cried.
“That’s what I heard,” Del said, handing a coffee to Alex and a chai latte to Mia. “What was Little B doing driving home so late last night? Did she forget something?”
Mia exchanged a look with Alex. He’d questioned her suggestion to move his car into her garage while they were out running around today, and this was why. Small towns never slept. At least, not small towns with insomniacs named Margaret Harper.
“No, and we’re going to have a talk about her being out so late without telling anyone where she was going.”
“Did she…interrupt anything?” Del waggled her brows.
“Thankfully, no, we were asleep long before that.” Mia took a sip of her chai, hoping her sister would push no further. Ah, heaven in a cup. “Still not sure how she got in. We’ve been having trouble with the lock on that back door for months.”
Del gave her a flat look. “The same doorknob I offered to replace this summer?”
Mia grimaced. “Maybe? Look, I’m sure I can figure it out. I’ve just been busy.”
And okay, maybe she was a little intimidated by the task. Little things like changing light bulbs and putting IKEA furniture together, she could handle. But making household repairs would take it to a whole new level. Mia had thought if Del could do it, so could she. Unfortunately, Del also didn’t have a fear of jumping into projects headfirst, either.
“I’ll pick up a new one and bring it with me the next time I swing into town. You don’t want to have to struggle to get inside when the weather turns frigid this winter.” Alex took a long sip of his coffee. “Man, this is really good. And I love the name of this place.”
