“No, not at all.” He pressed a button on his phone and said, “Troy, I found a place to stay. Right.” He listened a moment then launched into an explanation. “The Bear’s Den. Yeah. No, it’s not open yet, but I couldn’t find anything else and Greg, the owner, offered to let me stay in one of the rooms until my apartment is ready. And I think he should be paid.” Silence again. “I see. All right. I would appreciate it if you can try.” Another spell of listening. “Yeah. Okay, keep me posted.” He tapped his phone and shoved it in his pocket. “Troy says that since you’re not a business yet, he’s not sure if they will pay for the room while I stay, but he’s going to see what he can do. I did make the point that there were no other options.”
“That’s fine.” I pulled out of the parking area and drove down the long lane toward the highway. “But I told you it’s not a big deal. I’m glad to offer space to our new librarian. It’s an honor.”
He gave me a sharp glance. “What a really nice thing to say. Being a librarian is so much behind the scenes, and I’m fine with that. If I put together a program and people enjoy it, they usually never know who set it up. It’s not a problem, but a compliment every so often is not a bad thing.”
“I can imagine. But some of the ideas you shared at lunch would be a huge blessing to the community here. As our hosts mentioned, they have cubs, and so many of the others in town have smallish kids. Even a story time would be mobbed with little ones.”
“That’s good to know. I just hope I can hang on long enough to get on the payroll because my savings are not huge and they’ve been kind of vague about when I actually will get paid.”
It seemed unfair. He’d shown up on the day arranged and it wasn’t his fault that the city had failed to maintain the library. Not that they didn’t have good reasons. “I’m not sure if you know much about the history of Oliver Creek, but for a long time, it was declining. All the young people were moving to the city, and the older folks weren’t able to keep everything up.”
Really?” He sat up straighter, appearing interested. “You’d sure never know that now. How long have things been better?”
“I gather just a few years. It’s all the restaurants. Once the town started to get a reputation as a foodie destination, it seemed to have a life of its own. More restaurants opened, the food truck area began, and other businesses appeared to support the food culture.”
“But not lodging.”
“Not enough, for sure.” The highway was a little busy, so I focused on driving for a few minutes. “That’s why I thought an inn like mine would do well. If I ever get it done.”
“It’s a lot for one person,” he said. “Couldn’t you use some help?”
“I have hired some pros for things beyond my abilities, but yeah, I mean I could. Why? Are you offering?”
I was teasing, but Oswald’s reply was no joke. “It would resolve a lot of things, wouldn’t it? I could be your assistant while I wait for the library to be ready to go. If you don’t mind anamateur, maybe I could help you get the inn finished up. I make no promises about my skill, but I’m willing, and I have time.”
“You’d do that? I’d pay you, of course.”
“No way. I need to keep busy anyway, and you’re giving me a roof over my head. If I don’t do something, I’m going to leave.”
“Don’t!” I snapped my mouth closed at the loud exhortation. “I mean, don’t rush off. This community needs you, and if you can be a little patient, I’m sure you’ll be able to step into the library before long. It’s not like you have something to get back to, is it? A boyfriend or a mate?”
He flushed, turned to look out the window. “Single. You?”
I tried not to cheer at the good news. “Same. If I’d had a boyfriend, he’d probably never have stuck it out for all this remodeling. I hear it’s hard on relationships.”
“I’ve heard that. But other things can be worse.” He stopped speaking then, and I wanted to hear more, to ask what he had experienced. Someone had hurt him; it was in his tone. But if he wanted to elaborate, he would. That didn’t stop me from wanting to turn my bear loose on whoever had caused him pain. “Anyway, we have a deal?”
“Deal. You can help me until you start your real job, and I’ll pay you.”
“No, I—”
“Yes. A tiny room on the third floor is not enough compensation for all the hard work I expect from you. Don’t worry. I won’t overpay you. I don’t have enough ready cash left for that.”
As we drove the rest of the way back to town—which didn’t take long—I gave the librarian omega a general rundown on what was left to be done with the inn. He asked lots of questions and even made some suggestions. “You don’t sound like a total amateur, Oswald.”
“I really am. I helped my dads with some small projects growing up, but only under a lot of supervision, and sometimes I thought they just redid whatever I did after I went to bed.”
“You’ll be great. Then you can tell your dads about it. Maybe have them come for a weekend and see what you’ve accomplished.”
“That would be nice. I haven’t seen them since—well anyway, they’d love it. They are wanna-be foodies from way back.”
Chapter Eleven
Oswald
I laughed and shook my head.
“What was that for?” Greg asked. We’d come to an agreement about me staying here with him and helping him get the inn open, but there was more to it than a simple work agreement. My fox certainly thought so.
