“Sounds good. Hang out here. I’ll be right back.” Getting up, I headed over to the reference librarian and gave him the list.
Taking the paper, he glanced at it. “Let’s go one name at a time, yeah? So I don’t overwhelm you with microfiche rolls.”
“That works.”
“Great.” The man pushed away from the desk. “Give me just a couple minutes. I’ll bring them to you.” He nodded toward the microfiche readers.
“Okay, thank you.” Backing up, I turned and caught Mina’s attention and tipped my head toward the readers.
She got up and headed that way, picking up the extra chair and bringing it with her.
An older gentleman shuffled in front of her, not paying any attention to his surroundings. She paused, waiting for him, then continued, reaching the readers at the same time I did.
“It’s busy in here,” she commented, setting the chair down.
“Yeah. I think this place is a designated cooling shelter.” Once more, I glanced around the library. Many people were just sitting around in groups on their phones, although there were also plenty who had books open.
“This time of year is when I wish it were worth it to have a pool up here.”
I chuckled. “There are plenty of natural streams and lakes you can take a dip in.”
She shuddered. “Been there, done that. That’s a folly of youth. Even in the summer, the water is cold.”
“Nah, it’s refreshing.” One side of my mouth tilted as I turned my head to look at her.
She laughed, sitting down in the extra chair, leaving the one in front of the machine for me. “Sure. If you say so. I’ll stick to tropical waters, though.”
An image of Mina in a bikini popped into my head. Those full breasts pushing against her t-shirt would fill a swim top quite nicely. And the bottoms would show off the swell of her hips to perfection.
Swallowing hard, I worked to banish the picture before my body reacted. I sank into the chair beside her and crossed one leg over my knee, leaning forward while we waited on the librarian. “The beach does sound nice. What do you think? Key West?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No. Too touristy. I’d rather go someplace like Aruba or the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
“How are those less touristy?”
“They’re probably not, but they’re bigger, so fewer people per square mile. Key West is crowded.”
“Have you been there?” She talked like she knew from experience.
“Yes. Many years ago. It was a family vacation. We had fun, but there were definitely a lot of people around. When I go to the beach now, I don’t want to fight for towel space with twelve families, each with three to five kids. I just want to read my book in peace.”
“What would you read?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Probably some romance. I like my sappy books.” A smile slid over her face. “Let me guess. You like action novels?”
“Sci-fi. And westerns.”
Before either of us could ask more questions, the librarian returned with a stack of microfiche rolls. After thanking the man, I took the top one off the stack and threaded it through the reader.
“What reference number am I looking for? And what’s the woman’s name again?”
Mina picked up the paper the librarian left with the rolls. “The first name on the list is Kathy Burl.” She glanced at the number on the roll I’d loaded, then read the reference point.
I spun the dial, and the fiche whirred through the machine. In moments, we were huddled together, reading the news article on the screen.
The scent of coffee and vanilla tickled my nose, along with a heady mix of something unique to Mina. It set off a firestorm in my blood, and it was all I could do not to lean in and bury my nose in her hair.
Clearing my throat, I checked the paper in her hands and moved on to the next news article as I scooted my chair slightly to the side, under the guise of getting a better view of the screen.
