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“Really?”
“Definitely,” he says with a sharp nod and a teasing grin. “And he’s evenolderthan Auntie Carlee.”
“Auntie Carlee?
“She came and visited when Mama died,” Maddie whispers to Morgan. “She has pretty yellow hair, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” My five-year-old nods along with her sister’s words, a frown puckering at her mouth. “I wanted to braid her hair like Rapunzel’s, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“Yeah, Auntie Carlee has a stick up her a—”
“Maddie, why don’t you take Morgan to play in the back?” I cut off my brother’s observation, smiling at my seven-year-old while simultaneously trying to glare daggers at Benji. Maddie smiles back and grabs her sister’s hand.
“Come on, Morg. We can play princesses in the reading nook.”
I watch them disappear around the corner before turning to face my brother. “What are you doing here, Benj?”
Benji pushes to his feet and strolls over, leaning against the counter.
“You’ve been mighty uptight lately, Lexi,” he says, fiddling with the stack of business cards beside the register. I swat his hand away with a scowl.
“Don’t call me that, Benjamin.”
“What?” He smirks, standing to his full height to tower over me. “Uptight? Or Lexi?”
“Either, thanks.”
“Aw, come on, Alex.”
“No, youcome on, Ben.” I run a hand through my dark hair and sigh. Can you please just watch your language around the girls? I don’t need them cursing at school.”
“Sure, I’ll work on that.”
“Thank you,” I say, turning my attention to the computer. “So, what are you doing here?”
“Can’t I just visit my nieces?”
“Sure you can,” I say, glancing at him over top of the computer. Opening the store takes little effort from me, but Benji doesn’t know that. “Which is why you swung by the house last night for movie night.”
“I thought I could help out with the books.” Benji looks pointedly at the bills I tucked haphazardly beneath a stack of geography books when he walked in.
“Oh, no, Ben,” I say, waving a hand in dismissal. “There’s no need.”
“Alex, I know the store has been struggling since Laura passed.” He reaches for the papers and, despite my swatting hands, pulls them across the surface. “It’s not a big deal, Alex. This is what I went to school for.”
Embarrassment floods through me, and I scowl at my brother. He doesn’t notice, though, since his eyes are busy scanning the bills and shipment invoices. Logically, I know he’s simply trying to help. He’s right—the store has been floundering for the last two years without Laura’s patient, guiding hand. A wave of regret rolls over me as I scan the rows of bookshelves. This place had always been Laura’s dream. I can’t sit by idly and let it die without a fight.
“Fine, you can look over the books,” I say, picking up the stack of books and walking around the counter. “But I can’t pay you.”
“No worries, brother.” Benji grins as he trades places with me. “You can pay me by getting a date.”
I shake my head, heading for the back of the shop. “I’m not dating Benj.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to get out and have a bit of fun?”
“I don’t need fun, Benji,” I reply, glaring at him over my shoulder. “I need to raise my daughters and keep Laura’s dream alive.”
“Do you really think Laura would want you to close yourself off from love?” His voice follows me to the non-fiction section, where I begin stacking the new books. “And what about the girls? Don’t they deserve a woman in their lives?”
