Dog approached, tail wagging, as if he sensed it was time to go. Gray opened the door and the dog bolted out and charged up the back staircase. By the time Gray reached the top, Dog had found Shelby, who was tidying up the Children’s section.
He glanced around the shop on the way over. “You got a lot done today.”
“I had Janet come in to help with customers so I could focus on decluttering.”
“I wondered why there were three of you.” Though there were really only two as Haley seemed to just drift around the store doing as little as possible.
Shelby squatted to give the dog the affection he practically begged for, then glanced up at Gray. “What’s wrong?”
“Why do you think something’s wrong?”
Shelby rose to her feet with a heavy sigh. “Just tell me.”
“I looked back in Viola’s records. Things had been fairly stable for years, though not very profitable. Then the roof failed and business slacked off. The economy took a toll. You were right about that equity loan. Five years ago there was a forty-thousand-dollar deposit into the account, and shortly thereafter, a check in the same amount was written to Home Guard Exteriors.”
Her expression fell. “Now on top of everything else, I owe my brother forty grand.”
“He might not see it that way.”
“We all assumed he inherited the house free and clear. Gram and Pop paid it off years ago.”
“And you thought you’d inherited a thriving bookshop. This isn’t your fault.”
She pressed her fingertips to her temples. “I hate this.”
Dog caught sight of Chaucer across the room and charged after the cat with a happy yap.
Chaucer screeched as he scrambled away, then leaped onto a high shelf out of Dog’s reach. He turned and perched on the edge, head low, back arched, peering at the dog with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
Dog let out a bark, his entire back end wagging.
Chaucer hissed.
“Hey, be nice,” Shelby said. “He just wants to play with you.”
The dog was lonely for friends and the cat was wary of someone new and intimidating. “Kind of reminds me of us when we met.”
Her gaze darted to him.
Oops. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud—even if it was true.
“Am I the dog or the cat in this scenario?”
He smirked, remembering those early days. “As I recall, you didn’t exactly put out the welcome mat for me.”
“I was never mean to you.”
“No, maybe just a little... standoffish.”
“You were arrogant and irritating.”
He’d been insecure and hopelessly attracted to her. “Even so, we managed to become friends.”
She snorted. “Is that what you call it?” She shelved a board book someone had left out while his mind went back to all the ways they’d been so much more than friends. Like the way her eyes used to soften just before he kissed her. The way she seemed to melt under his touch. When she fell into his arms, he felt like the luckiest guy in the world.
“I don’t want to talk about the past. We have plenty of work right here in the present to keep us busy.”
He blinked away the sweet memories. This thing between them was like an invisible force field. He, too, wanted to put the past where it belonged, but at the very least he needed to apologize. He’d tried to be patient because she’d been dealing with so much, but they’d be working closely for weeks.
