“Then we better get going!” And then I smelled my own breath.
I clapped my hand over my mouth and tried to scoot out of the bed without blowing my morning breath in his face, but he jumped up and held out his hand to help me. I couldn’t help it as I scooted over to get out of bed, with Daniel’s assistance, my face was almost right in his crotch.
And they hid absolutely nothing of his morning wood.
A blush exploded across my face, and when I stood, I looked anywhere but down. Was that a natural morning erection or was it from snuggling close to me all night?
I didn’t know, and since I wasn’t about to ask, I’d just go with he was happy to see me.
“Um, you’re welcome to the bathroom first,” I said, nodding toward my en suite.
He grinned and stretchedcompletelyunashamed of his morning situation. “Thanks.”
Then the incorrigible man pressed a kiss to my cheek before sauntering into my bathroom.
Oh, my goodness. Morning wood, atourage.
Chapter Twenty
Carol
I take a deep breath and reach for my glove compartment. Inside, I have a lint brush. One thing about spending so much time with Beth, is that pet hair gets everywhere. Technically, I hadn’t seen her this morning, but I still spotted hair on my clothes.
Rolling the lint brush over my dress, I smile down at the pale blue dress with the little ice cream cones on it. The day I’d spotted this fabric, I’d known I had to snag it and make a dress. I’d made it in a fifties style, and complimented it with a hair band, tied to the side, and white pumps.
I smiled at myself in the mirror, smacking my bright red lips together, then put the brush away and headed out of my car. There were only two cars outside of the library this morning, which made sense because it was before opening hours.
As I walked along, the wind picked up, carrying with it a slight chill. I shivered and looked toward the library. It was a good-sized brick building with a huge, wild park area behind it. Tucked into one corner was a playground for the kids, but most of the library’s lands had walking trails that weaved around the lake behind the library.
My gaze caught something red, and I froze. There was a small piece of torn fabric in the tree near one path. It was flapping in the breeze like a small flag. An old memory bubbled back to me of Bryan and I. He had worn a red shirt the day we had come here, and we’d taken that same path. Seventeen-year-old me had told him to catch me, and I’d taken off. He’s obliged, like he always did. All of the things that other guys found “quirky” about me, he just seemed to love.
I’d run as far as my legs could take me, and then he’d caught me in his big arms and swung me around. We’d ended up in some tall grass, and he’d kissed me. It wasn’t my first kiss, but it was definitely my favorite one. When he’d pulled back, I’d stared up at him, combing my fingers through his hair. With the sky behind him, he’d looked like a painting of a beautiful man. Even now, I could picture him perfectly.
Except, what would he look like now as a man?
Tension raced through my body. No, I wouldn’t think of that. Knowing him, he was living in some perfect, little cottage with a woman he adored and a few birds. He and I had both wanted birds rather than kids.
And that thought made my heart ache.
I turned away from the red fabric, squared my shoulders, and kept going toward the library. Memories of Bryan always crept up like that, like a spirit that was haunting me. It made me feel pathetic. Since Bryan, I’d been on easily a hundred dates and never felt that same spark, never felt that pull toward someone else, even when I tried, but I didn’t want to think of him. Thinking of him just hurt.
Climbing the few steps that lead up to the door, I pulled one of the two big doors open, and I was immediately hit by the scent of old books. It was my second favorite scent, dwarfed only by the smell of new fabric. I grinned and walked in, flouncing a little because I loved the way it felt walking that way with my dress.
“Hey, Glynda,” I called to our librarian. “Thanks for letting me in early!”
She smiled at me over her cup of coffee. Her feet were up on her desk, and she had a book in hand. “No problem. You’ve let me in the store early enough times.”
I grinned back at her. It was true, Maude loved my yarn almost as much as I did. She was even wearing a pretty green sweater that matched her eyes that was made from yarn from my store. I remembered her excitement when she came up to the counter to check out and had held it up next to her face, her eyes alight with excitement.
“Wish me luck!”
She chuckled as I walked past her desk.
I wanted to get my research done before I opened my fabric store. I didn’t have to stay there today, my helper was working. But I didn’t want to be tied up here researching people long dead all day either.
I made a beeline for the local section and pulled out yearbooks from our parents’ years at Mystic Hollow High, our years, and the years of people before and after us. Spinning with the yearbooks in my arms, I started singing a little song that makes me feel like a detective in an old show. I spread the books down on the table and grinned, before spreading out my skirts and plunking down in a chair.
Time to get to work!
