At the end of the commercial strip of Main Street, they swung their bikes right at the stop sign. There were houses on both sides of the street, but the left boasted a mercurial strip of blue sea just beyond the rooftops. Up ahead, Chatham Light loomed against a cloudless sky. Midway along the stretch sat the old captain’shouse. Sure enough, when the girls pulled up on their bikes, there was a large hand-printed sign in one of the front windows:Help Wanted.
They propped their bikes up at the bottom of the steps, which were roped off with yellow tape. A small sign affixed to the tape said:Fresh Paint! Deliveries, please use side door.Below it in parentheses:Not Open for Business Yet.
“Geez, that’s a lot of signage,” Reya said.
Lucy let her gaze travel from the still-wet steps to the windows, covered in brown paper. “Looks like no one’s here.” She reached for her bike.
“Not so fast.” Reya grabbed her by the hand and tugged her toward the rear. “The sign says go around to the side.”
“For deliveries,” Lucy reminded her.
“Well, I’m delivering you,” Reya puffed, pulling her around the side yard to the door. “You’ll thank me later.”
Lucy was about to object just as the door flew open. A woman, not young and not old, stared back at them in surprise. Her blond hair was tied back in a red bandana. “Oh! Hello. Can I help you?”
Reya elbowed her. “Hi,” Lucy said. “You have a sign in the window for help wanted?” It came out as a question, which was not the way she’d hoped to introduce herself.
The woman smiled. “Yes, I know. I put it there.” She seemed to be lighthearted, and something about her made Lucy smile back with relief. “Are you looking for a job?”
Lucy nodded. “I’m Lucy Hart.”
“Did you say Hart?”
Lucy nodded again.
“Brad!” the woman called over her shoulder into the house. The room she was coming out of seemed to be some kind of old kitchen, and there was a decent amount of noise emanating from within. A saw purred in the background, as well as music.
A young man appeared. “Did you call me?”
The woman stuck out her hand and Lucy shook it. “Brad, you’ll never believe who showed up.Thisis Miss Hart.”
An hour later, Lucy was pedaling home fast, Reya puffing to keep up behind her. Her heart pounded, though she wasn’t sure if it was with excitement or fear that she’d just made a very big mistake.
“I can’t believe she hired you because of your last name,” Reya called out.
“I don’t think that’s the only reason,” Lucy called back over her shoulder. Reya surged up alongside her.
“She said she was looking for heart. That you were a sign.”
“Whatever. I think she was just being nice.”
“Or crazy.”
“Or that,” Lucy admitted. They pulled their bikes to a stop at the sign and paused to catch their breath. “I don’t know. She seemed nice. And it’s abookstore.”
Both of them loved bookstores and were used to having to drive all the way to Hyannis for the Barnes & Noble. Now they’d have one in their own town.
“I just hope she actually opens,” Lucy said, realizing that she really wanted this job.
The interview, if it could even be called that, had consisted of Lucy and Reya being invited inside. The first thing thathappened after introductions was Leah inviting them inside and shouting for someone named Brad. “You’ll have to excuse Leah,” Brad said, rolling his eyes sympathetically. “She’s been looking for two things to make this store happen. Hands.” Here he pointed to a good-looking guy walking by in construction attire. “And heart. Which, kiddo, seems to be you.”
“Lucy, do you live in Chatham?” Leah had asked.
When Lucy told her she’d grown up there, Leah seemed overjoyed. “I grew up here, too. So you know this old captain’s house has been around a long time.”
Lucy couldn’t say she remembered the old house as anything other than an eyesore. “It’s always been empty,” she said, trying to be polite.
“Exactly. Which is why we are bringing it back to life. Follow me.” Lucy wondered at the wordwe, but Reya was as entranced as she was nosy, so she followed Leah like a puppy, leaving Lucy no choice but to do the same.
