Page 74 of Truth

At first, nothing came to my mind. Then... “Could we...”

“What is it, Brianna. What do you want to do?”

I glanced down, then over to the large windows and into the city lights. Disappointment dragged me down. It was too late. We wouldn’t be able to go tonight. Maybe if I told him, though, we could go tomorrow? Or next week?

“Could we go to the library?”

He smiled, and it lit up his entire face. “Of course.” He looked at his watch. “I’ll need to make a call. Go get a sweater, just in case you get chilly. I’ll be right back.”

Before I could respond, he jogged across the room and up the stairs, leaving me staring after him. I didn’t know what he was doing. It was after eight o’clock at night. Libraries didn’t stay open that late, or at least they didn’t in Two Harbors. They didn’t even stay open that late in Dallas. Maybe it was different in Minneapolis.

Doing as I was told, I went to my bedroom to retrieve a sweater. It was June, so I didn’t think I would need it, but I wouldn’t question him.

When I returned to the living room, Stephan was back downstairs talking on his cell phone. “I appreciate it. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Thanks.” He hung up his phone and grinned. “Are you ready, sweetheart?”

I nodded.

He held out his hand, and I took it.

It was rare we went out at night. I wasn’t sure if that was because of me or if it was what Stephan preferred. It was hard to imagine him sitting home alone at night in his condo. Was he used to going out with Logan and Lily? Were there parties, events, he was turning down because of me? I didn’t want him to do that. It didn’t seem fair.

As he drove, he kept glancing in my direction, smiling. I didn’t understand what was going on, but I was glad he was happy.

We drove outside of the city and into an upscale residential area, and I became more confused. Where were we going? “We have to make a stop first. It won’t take more than a few minutes.” He answered my unspoken question.

I watched the houses as we passed by. They all looked the same except for small things. I couldn’t tell in the dark, but I wondered if they were all the same color, too.

A few minutes later, he turned into a well-lit driveway. The porch light was on as if someone was expecting us. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

He left the car running and walked up to the front porch. Before he could ring the doorbell, an older woman appeared. She seemed amused as she talked to Stephan. Shaking her head, she handed him something before he hopped off the porch and strolled back to the car.

The lady stood outside her door, watching. She smiled at me and waved. I waved back. I had no idea who she was, but it would have been rude not to respond.

He slid behind the wheel and reached for his seatbelt. “Ready?”

“Yes.”

Stephan backed out of the driveway and drove toward downtown once more. I wanted to ask him who that woman was, but I didn’t. Stephan knew many people. She could have been anyone.

We came to a stop at the back of a large brick building. He exited the car and came around to open my door. Taking his hand, I stepped out of the vehicle.

Hand in hand, we walked up to a brown metal door on the far right-hand side of the structure. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. It was then I noticed the sign to the left of the door. Library staff only. All patrons please use the main entrance at the front of the building.

He opened the door. It was pitch black until he turned on the lights. I nearly jumped for joy when I saw the piles of books stacked on the floor right inside the entrance. I glanced up at him, not sure what I was allowed to do. He chuckled. “Go on. The place is all ours for the evening.”

Unable to contain myself, I ran to the nearest stack of books and began flipping through. There were so many. Stephan had a large collection of books, but it didn’t compare to that of a community library.

I sat on the floor, leafing through the books around me until Stephan knelt down and rubbed the outside of my arms. “There’s more, you know. We’re only in the back room where they sort and process. The actual library is through there.” He pointed to a long hallway on the other side of the room.

I looked first to the hall, then back to the books on the floor. I felt as if Christmas and my birthday had come all at once. I didn’t know which to choose.

He laughed. “Why don’t we take a look out there, and then if you want, you can come back here for a while.”

That sounded reasonable. “Okay.”

We stood. He took my hand again, and we walked past stack after stack of books on our way to the main part of the library. Some were on the floor. Some were on tables or carts. There were so many books!

Chapter Twenty

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