“We’re good. Always nice to see a new face in town.” The woman glances at my bag and smirks. “And old friends are always welcome. I’m Farrah MacGillicuddy, owner of MacGillicuddy’s.”
I shake her hand, and it’s like grabbing an iron girder covered in jangling bracelets and rings.
“You’ll be at Chamber, right?” Farrah asks.
“Chamber of Commerce meeting,” Shelby fills in for me. “Since you’re the new owner of the Video Emporium, you kinda have to.”
“Then I guess I’ll be there.”
Farrah finally releases my hand, and I want to rub my aching bones.
Shelby and I sit, Keelie brings us menus, and from then on, it’s a perfectly normal lunch, outside of the pit bull that has decided to happily lie down on my feet. The food is surprisingly good, and Keelie is a great waitress, and Maggie mostly shuts up when I give her some fresh fruit to peck at.
As for the Chamber of Commerce and all that entails, that’s a problem for future Rhea.
17.
“Stop fussing,” Maggiesays from the floor. I’m in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to get my hair to behave. “It’s just a Chamber meeting.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re a fancy pink parrot, whereas I actually have to impress these people.”
“Which means you finally decided to stay?”
I huff a sigh. “Maybe. Probably. We’ll see how it goes tonight. If it sucks, I still might hightail it back to Alabama, where I’ve never been chased by bloodthirsty turkeys before.”
When I asked Shelby what to wear, she just shrugged and said, “Something cute,” like that helps. I think Shelby might be one of those people who just looks cute in everything. Or maybe every woman thinks every other woman is that kind of woman. I ended up choosing dark jeans with a blazer and flats, trying to aim for professional but fun. If I’m going to open a bookstore, after all, that’s the perfect persona.
Every time I think that word—bookstore—I can’t help grinning.
The idea is so delicious that I’m scared of it.
Can I really just…open a business?
Choose exactly what to sell, where to put things, when to open and close?
I’ve spent so long working for someone else and taking care of other people that I’ve never considered what it might be like to do exactly what I want to do, exactly how I want to do it. Talking to Shelby at lunch really brought things to light. She told me how she started up her bakery, how she keeps her books, how she changes things like hours and prices to see what will work, and I realized that if someone as flighty as Shelby can bring in enough money to live comfortably, maybe I can, too. Especially when I factor in my newfound knack. Books are the perfect choice. Before, my future just felt like endless drudgery, but now I can visualize a life I truly want.
The only thing missing is my sisters.
As if by magic, my phone rings. It’s only Cait calling on FaceTime, though, which is weird. I understand immediately what’s going on when both of my sisters’ worried faces appear, squished in together.
“You’re alive! Thank heavens!” Jemma points a finger at the screen. “You are not answering texts like you’re supposed to!”
“I’ve been busy. I had to fight a flock of turkeys today.”
“You what?” Jemma shrieks.
Cait laughs, then her eyes narrow in accusatory suspicion. “Forget turkeys. You’re wearing makeup. Lots of makeup. What’s going on? Do you have a date?”
“A date?” I splutter. “I’ve only been here a couple of days! How fast do you think I move?”
“Well, I just can’t think of another reason you’d be fully doneup at six p.m. And Lord knows you’ve been in a dry spell since the last time Billy Wayne changed your oil.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s a terrible euphemism. And our entire hometown is a dry spell.”
“So are there cute boys in the mountains? Mountain men? Burly men?” Jemma gasps. “Are there lumberjacks?”
“I’m going to the Chamber of Commerce meeting,” I tell them, if only so they’ll get off the topic of men and stop making me think about being squished up against Hunter Blakely’s armpit in his truck. “As a local business owner, I need to meet everybody and figure out how to get the video store making money.”
