Will glances at the front door. He worries he can’t take any more, that he has reached his limit.
“Hey, don’t make me repeat myself. Get your ass into the shower, and make sure the water’s cold.Now.”
Will wishes to be stronger, to be the kind of man who would smash his fist into Nate’s face, then step over his unconscious body before leaving for good. He can picture himself doing that, but something beyond his control stops him from turning the fantasy into a reality. He doesn’t have a name for it, but he can’t deny itsability to make him stand up and go take a shower like Nate told him to.
*
Two days later, in the late afternoon, he drives to the library. Julie loved the latest batch of books he’d brought her so much, she finished them in record time. Since reading is one of the few things that makes her happy, he’s willing to visit the library every day if she needs him to.
It’s less than an hour until closing time, even though it’s still relatively early. Van Buren likes to call it a day at around seven o’clock, but since Will has never lived anywhere else, he’s used to it.
The music playing in the library is different from usual, modern rock and not the old tunes that Francie likes. The reason for the welcome change is sitting behind the circulation desk, reading a book. Owen mentioned his new job, but it slipped Will’s mind.
Owen raises his eyes from the book he’s reading, noticing Will standing by the entrance. For some reason, his usual friendly smile is replaced by a cautious expression. Will tries to remember if he said anything rude to Owen or accidentally commented on his bitch of an aunt—but he didn’t.
It’s getting awkward just standing there, so he walks over to say hello. Owen manages a polite smile, butthere’s uneasiness in his blue eyes. “Hi, Will.”
“How’s the new job going?”
“It’s cool.” He goes quiet, and Will doesn’t know if he should walk away to search for books on his own. Before he can decide, Owen clears his throat. “I mean, there isn’t much to do, but I’m writing down some projects I want to try out.”
“Like what?”
“Well, there isn’t a book club anywhere in town. There’s enough space here, so why not make an event out of it?”
Will nods, seeing the logic. “People here would like that, if only for the extra chance to gossip.”
Owen smiles. “Who am I to stand in the way of gossip? Is your sister done with the books I recommended?”
“Yeah, she loved them. Mind helping me out with new ones?”
“Sure.”
They reach the Fantasy section, and Will can’t help but notice how Owen keeps his distance. He doesn’t stand far enough to come across as rude, but the change in his attitude is noticeable. Will can think of two reasons that might be behind this—either Will’s reserved behavior has finally made Owen want to keep his distance, or someone in town mentioned Will’s past to him.
“Did she read any of these?”
Will looks through the books and picks out three he knows Julie didn’t read. “These will do.”
“Cool. Let me do the swipe.”
They return to the circulation desk, and Will wonders if he should apologize for his frosty behavior. He was never rude or hostile, but he didn’t act as friendly as he would have if Owen weren’t related to Sheryl.
Owen scans the barcode inside the books, still looking a bit tense and uncomfortable.
“If I did something to offend you, I’m sorry.”
Owen looks up, his eyes wide. “What? No, you didn’t offend me.”
Which means that someonehasbeen talking about Will behind his back. It was only a matter of time, but it still hurts. It’s a reminder that even though people are mostly polite to him these days, this town is never going to forget his past, nor stop talking about it behind his back. He should take his books and leave, since he’s not about to apologize for anything that Owen might have heard—whether true or not—but something stops him. That same something makes him ask, “Do you want to grab dinner?”
Owen frowns. “You mean at Rodie’s?”
That would be the safest choice, but he doesn’t want to see Nate there, especially not while he’s having dinner with Owen. “I was thinking of going out of town. There’s a place I like not that far. We can take my truck.”
“I’m… hmm, yeah, that sounds cool. I’m supposed to close up soon.”
“Then I’ll go take these books to Julie and come back to pick you up.”
