“Thank you.”
“Do you have any work boots or jeans we could grab?” I asked, remembering why we were here. “Syd needs something she can wear in the field.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. “If you go back around the corner and take a left at the decorative duck statue, you can’t miss it.”
“Thanks, man.”
We walked in that direction, passing the duck statue he mentioned. It had a sun hat tied over its head and rested in a bed of ceramic florals.
“Aw, cute,” Sydney said. “Reminds me of Chicken.” While this was certainly modeled after a mallard and not a harlequin duck, I could see the personality resemblance she was referring to.
We finally made it to the rack of clothes with different shoes resting above them. It was easy to find a pair of worn-down work boots, a few thick pairs of jeans, and a couple of flannels she could get dirty.
Jake checked us out, and I made him promise to grab drinks with me once the Blossom Festival was over.
“I forgot about that,” he grumbled. “It’s the worst time with tourists.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “Every time is a bad time with tourists.”
Whatever the season, Hallow’s Cove was a premium vacationing spot. In part because it was disconnected from most of the outside world without phone service, but also because you could find everything here.
You could ski up at Hallow Hill in the winter, go down to Kasper Marina in the summer to swim, and of course, everything that happened in the town itself. Our mayor, Louise, and town founder, Barnaby, had done a good job over the past few years bringing more fun events, including the Street Fair they had started last year. And though not everyone loved how touristy the town was, no one could deny they kept it thriving.
We went back to the truck, but when I checked the clock, it was almost noon. “Why don’t we do a bit of walking around before we head back?” I asked.
Sydney looked wary for a moment. “Don’t we need to work?”
I shrugged. “I’m sure we can get it all done. And it’s almost time for lunch anyway.”
She shifted on her feet as she considered, and I could almost see a smile when she said, “Sure.”
Chapter ten
Sydney
Brooks and I walkeddown Main Street together toward Ted’s. I could feel my nerves getting the best of me. I’d never played hooky from work before, and this felt exactly like that.
But something about Brooks made it so hard to say no. And he was right; I was efficient and could get things done this afternoon. We would grab lunch, stop at a store or two if he needed something else, and go back.
We ate at Ted’s quickly, me getting a wrap and him getting a stack of pancakes and bacon. Something about being with him made it pleasant. I tended to be a fairly private person. Most of the time I ate alone, preferring to have lunch at work alone in my car. I would occasionally go out with friends, but even those occasions were few and far between. But something about eating with Brooks, just doing something ordinary with him, was fun.
We left Ted’s with our bellies full, ready to explore. I paused as we stood in front of Bookstore. I was still shocked it was simply called that.
“Want to go in?” Brooks asked as I eyed the place.
“Sure.” I wasn’t much of a reader, but it looked cute, despite being sort of dark. “Is it open?”
Brooks checked his watch. “It should be. They usually open around noon.”
“Noon?” I asked. “Isn’t that late?”
He shrugged. “When it’s run by a vampire, it makes sense.”
I paused. Though I was sure Brooks wouldn’t take me anywhere dangerous, all the fictional media around vampires made me a bit wary.
“Don’t worry,” Brooks said, seeming to sense my apprehension. “Barnaby has never fed on humans, and I heard he has a little snack of his own now.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I did trust him, so I nodded and followed him inside. It was lit so dimly that I almost couldn’t see the space, but it seemed very basic, with a wooden desk for checkout near the front and matching shelves covering the space, each filled to the brim with books.
