“Can I come in?”he asked, meeting her stare.
“Oh, sorry.Yeah.”
She held the door open, and he stepped inside.She’d done her best to spruce up the place, but there was only so much that could be done in two hours.The chaotic atmosphere of the shop was something she’d come to accept as part of its essence.And no amount of organization or cleaning would erase that.
Still, Lilian felt… anxious as Hawk took in the store.
With her faire cottage, it was expected to be a little rustic.She’d had to work with what the faire gave her.But this wasn’t the faire; this was a real bookstore.Granted, it was one built on the bones of well-loved and used books.Books that had gathered dust in people’s homes before collecting more in Tenison.
Hawk no doubt was regretting his decision to help her.
“Sorry about the mess,” she said.“Our records are back here.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said, following her through the stacks.“I know what to expect when it comes to used bookstores.”
“You do?”
He nodded.“Clutter.Stacks of books.Absolutely no organization.This all tracks.”His brows dipped together as he added, “There was a used bookstore back in Texas that I would visit.Believe it or not, it had a lot more mess than this place.”
She hummed, taking his response as Midwestern politeness and returning it in kind with the expected follow up question.“When were you in Texas?”
“For my undergrad.I came back to Kansas for grad school.”He pointed at his shirt with an added, “Go Wildcats.”
“Let me guess, you majored in business.”
“Accounting, actually.”He smirked at her but then conceded, “and it was a master's in business.”
“Where did you study in Texas?”
“A&M.”
She didn’t know much about Texas, but she recognized the name from her father’s Saturday football games.“Did you like Texas?”
“Loved it,” he said.“But I also missed having four seasons.And Texans are… really into their colleges.Aggies are particularly obnoxious with their school spirit.”
Obnoxious, huh?Lilian bit back the comment and said, “And you didn’t like that?”
“Oh, no, I loved it.”He grinned.“I fit in pretty well down there.”
Her own smile tugged into place.“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“No, no, it’s fine.I know how I can be.My frat brothers let me know all the time.I was a lot, even for them sometimes.”The words sounded wistful, as if it were a warm memory.
“Why did you come back here?”
“Mom and Dad needed the help.”
“I get that,” Lilian said, waving a hand toward the surrounding shelves.“This place… well, it’s my way of helping my mom out.”
Hawk’s focus zeroed in on her.His eyes were so intense she could hardly meet them.“Where is your mom?You said this place is still in her name?”
At the mention of her mother, Lilian’s shoulders tensed.She’d gone to chemo on Friday and was still exhausted.But that was none of Hawk’s business.He was helping her, but she didn’t owe him any more of herself than that.
“She was feeling under the weather today.”
She watched the hard set of Hawk’s face.If he sensed there was more to the story, he didn’t pry.
When they arrived at her desk, three neat piles of folders, receipts, and inventory sat at the ready.They looked so small and insignificant, even though the folders held months of work.There were still files that were missing, but it was a start.“Should I get you some water?Or coffee?”
