Page 16 of Fire Harbor

In a daze, he began to load the perishables into the bags. After transferring everything, he picked up each sack and stood in place. “Come on, Farley, it’s time to go,” Linus said to the dog.

When she returned and stuffed the books into the grocery sacks, he asked, “Which way out?”

“Let me help you with that,” Lake offered, taking one of the bags out of his hand. “The front door’s this way.”

She led him out of the kitchen through a hallway to the left, flipping on lights as she went. The dogs trailed after them as they passed through the formal dining room and then what used to be a parlor with huge tri-paned arched windows and an ornate fireplace. She reached a wide entryway featuring a chevron-patterned floor of alternating mahogany and light wood. The main staircase showed off the same dark wood in the sturdy railing.

Linus took one look at the massive mahogany staircase and said, “How do you find your way around here? Do you ever get lost?”

Lake sputtered with laughter and turned the lock on the double doors. “It’s not the Taj Mahal or Buckingham Palace. It’s just home. I should’ve given you a tour of the place. Next time. In case you’re ever called to this address in an emergency, I keep an extra key underneath the birdhouse in the backyard for backup. A magnetic strip on the underside holds it in place.”

“Clever. Let me guess. Your grandfather built the birdhouse?”

“Nope. My dad. But he always taught me that I should have a Plan B—B for Backup, B for Backyard, B for Birdhouse—hence an extra house key in the birdhouse. Don’t ask—it’s Marigold logic—that made more sense when I was eight.”

In an awkward moment of silence, he took that first step onto the front porch with Farley. “Thanks for dinner.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she replied stoically as she watched him and his labradoodle head for the pickup before coming to her senses. With Jack and Scout on her heels, she followed him to his truck. Before he could open the door, she stepped up to him. “This is silly. You can’t leave without me doing this.”

She took his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely on the mouth. When she finally let him go, she added, “Now that’s a proper goodbye kiss. If you’re not working tomorrow, stop by the library around one, that’s when I take my lunch break. I’ll pack an extra egg salad sandwich for you.”

With that offer, Lake Marigold sauntered back toward the front porch.

Linus stood there dumbfounded at her initiative, her boldness. He stood there in that one spot without moving until the front door slammed shut.

Okay, that kiss had gone a long way in making everything feel less awkward. This meant he was leaving on a high note. And what a high note, he decided, glancing over at Farley in the front seat. “Women. You think you have them pegged. Not Lake Marigold. Not the meek librarian after all. From here on out, something tells me we’re in for a helluva ride, Farley.

”

Chapter Three

It was almost ten o’clock by the time Linus pulled up to the Colonial Craftsman on Windemere Circle and hit the garage door opener. The remote kicked in, allowing him to enter just as the light popped on, illuminating the garage. Otherwise, the place sat in complete darkness. If he’d known he and Farley would be out this long, he’d have left the porch light on or at least one lamp inside.

As Linus cut the engine, he realized that bumping into Lake had offered an unexpected opportunity he couldn’t turn down. And why would he? His interest in her had begun the moment he saw her in the library reading that Anthony Doerr novel she’d brought from home. He remembered the book was All The Light We Cannot See. It stuck out in his mind because she’d offered to lend it to Izzy Delacourt, who always seemed to miss out on the one copy the library had on hand. To him, it showed her generosity, that she was willing to share her own copies of a book just so others could read the story.

Like tonight. She offered to share her own books on dog training.

Why had he wasted eighteen months sitting on the sidelines?

It wasn’t like him. He wasn’t shy with women. Far from it. Two years earlier, he’d even dated Cord’s tech assistant, Jessica St. John—which Lake apparently had already heard about. Their relationship lasted a short six weeks until things between them began to fall apart. Jess had complained about his long work hours. And she’d wanted him to ask her to move in, which he believed was way too soon for his liking. He wasn’t ready to cohabitate with anyone, least of all someone who complained about his job.

Major red flags had gone up.

Then there was his attraction to the librarian.

As he had explained to Lake earlier, their differences at the time had seemed insurmountable. His own insecurity had kept him from asking her out. He felt silly about that now.

Farley nudged him in the ribs as if to get him out of the truck. “I’m going. Let me enjoy this moment a little longer. Okay?”

But Farley whined, ready to jump out of the pickup and get inside.

“Fine. I’ll remember this when you want to stay in bed in the morning,” Linus told the dog as he finally gathered up his backpack and opened the truck door.

Farley escaped out of the pickup and stood waiting for Linus to unlock the door leading into the house.

Taking his time, Linus adjusted his backpack onto his shoulder, gathered up his groceries, and with his arms full, hauled the sacks inside past the laundry room. He tried to flick on the hall light with his elbow, so he wouldn’t have to stumble around in the dark but couldn’t manage it and had to walk the rest of the way down the hallway until he reached the kitchen.

With one free finger, he flipped on the light switch before dumping the bags onto the counter. He set each item out before off-loading them into the cabinet or refrigerator, which he decided needed some straightening up. He did his best to tidy the shelves, rearranging things to make items easier to reach. But his decluttering and energy didn’t last long. After such a long day, he felt exhaustion overtaking him. Soon, he grabbed his cell phone out of his backpack, cut the lights off, and headed into his bedroom with Farley trailing after him.

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