“New York,” Taylor replies.
I can’t help noticing that she just says it—she’s not waiting for an impressed reaction like a lot of the city folks here do.
“New YorkCity?” Meg asks, giving her one anyway.
“Yes,” Taylor says, nodding. “Queens, anyway, not Manhattan.”
“But that’s so cool,” Meg says.
Taylor nods, but she has a kind of sad look in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
“Did you have a bookstore there too?” Meg asks.
Taylor’s expression stiffens so slightly that I’m not sure if I actually saw her tense up or just imagined it.
“Who wants to help me with this window?” I ask as I jump to my feet.
Taylor’s gaze moves to me and I swear I see gratitude in her brown eyes.
I guess I changed the subject to protect her. That surprises me. I’ve managed to stamp out most of my gallant instincts over the years.
“I’ll help,” Meg offers right away.
“Let’s wash our hands first,” I tell her, moving to clean up the meal on the blanket.
“I’ll get all this,” Taylor says. “The bathroom is in the back on the right.”
By the time Meg and I get back from washing our hands, Taylor’s got everything tidied up and she’s standing over by the window like she’s planning to help too.
When I arrive at her side she looks up at me and sends my heart thundering again.
“I’ve got this,” I growl at her as I rip my eyes away. “Why don’t you finish…whatever you were doing before the tree.”
“Sure,” she says softly, moving away.
Guilt shimmers around the edges of my thoughts,but I ignore it. I’m here to replace a window. Then I need to get Meg home. That’s it.
“Can I help Taylor instead?” Meg asks.
“Sure,” I tell her. “I’ve got this.”
“But your dad might need help,” Taylor says.
“I don’t,” I say quickly, without turning around.
I apply myself to the task at hand. I’m trying not to listen to the girl explain to my daughter about her ideas for the pretty floors and the bookshelves and her big project, but it’s not really a big enough space to get away from it.
“Will they go back exactly like they were?” Meg asks as they work.
“I don’t think so,” Taylor says, her voice kind of dreamy. “I want to get a lot more books and set things up in a way that works for this town.”
To do that, she’d have to actually know the town first. But if she’s like the rest of the New Yorkers who come here for the summer or the holidays, she’s not going to do the logical thing and just find out by spending time with the locals. She’s going to tell us what we want and how we want it by stocking the store however she wants, and then she’ll be bent out of shape when it doesn’t fly off the shelves in the off-season.
“What works for this town?” Meg asks, sounding mesmerized by Taylor’s business plan.
“I have no idea,” Taylor says briskly. “But I’m going to start finding out first thing tomorrow.”
She sounds so confident, it’s all I can do not to turn around.
