Page 28 of Never Let You Go

Sarah

Welcome to my storybook village. [4 attachments]

So jealous. When can I visit?

I respond with a smiley and shut down my phone as Grace comes back from the bathroom.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

“Just making my friend jealous.”

She laughs. “I bet you have a lot of friends in the city.”

Nope. Once people know who I am, they either hate my guts or try to take advantage of me. “What makes you think that?”

She shrugs like it’s obvious. “You’re just so likeable.”

“That’s very nice of you to say. But actually, people are super busy in the city. Always running somewhere. It’s hard to make friends.”

“Huh. Well, we have nowhere to run to. Everything we need is right here! Ready for those new boots?”

A huge smile stretches across my face. “Always ready for new boots.” We bundle up and head out.

The General Store delivers on the promise of its name. Behind a cute but unassuming entrance on Maple Street, it goes on and on, with a basement level and an upper level, and sells pretty much anything you didn’t know you needed.

“Thank you so much for doing this for me,” I say as I slip on a pair of Sorels and compare them to the Helly Hansens I just had on.

“No problem. This is fun,” Grace says as she tries on fur-lined slippers.

I make my selection, and my eyes fall on the cutest pair of Darn Tough socks—dark green with blue deer. I place them on top of the boots I chose—tall with crisscross laces and light fur lining. “Let’s go or I’ll keep buying stuff,” I say, giggling. “Actually, hold on.” I put on the boots I’m buying and place mine in the box. “This will be more comfortable.”

As we make our way back to the front of the store, we pass a small room to the side, lined with wine bottles on racks. I hop inside and grab a bottle of white wine to bring back home. I’m not sure what the apprenticeship deal is in terms of food, but common sense tells me it doesn’t cover booze.

“At least my hands are full now. I can’t buy anything else,” I say as we head to the register. “Actually. Hold it.” There’s a rack of sunglasses, and one of them has my name on it.

“Did you want to look up our mouse traps?” The cashier, an older man in blue coveralls, says when we finally get to him with my boots, my socks, my booze, and my sunglasses. “We have humane ones. Thought a city girl like you might appreciate that. But then again, they might not be enough for the rats you’re dealing with. We got pretty much every this and that in terms of traps.”

Grace is shaking with restrained laughter.

“I’m… I’m fine. I promise there are no mice, or rats, in my bedroom. Totally fine. Scout’s honor. Thanks, though.”

When we step out, I have to ask. “What’s with all that? Is that some kind of prank they play on newcomers?”

Grace checks her phone and giggles. “It’s Echoes. It’s a closed social media group, just for Emerald Creek, where people post stuff they’re selling, or if they need help with anything. Or whatever complaints they have.”

“Lemme guess—it’s every gossip’s dream.”

“You guessed right. The thing is, that’s where all the important notices are posted, so we all go there, and we all read it every morning. It’s our newspaper. For the people and By the people, sort of. It has all the trivia you need to survive life in this small town. If the library is closing early. If the General Store is having a sale. If there’s going to be construction on the one road that goes in and out of Emerald Creek. That’s where it’s posted.”

“If the baker just got a new apprentice,” I suggest.

“And that she’s sleeping in an attic.”

“It’s not an attic! It’s the cutest room I’ve ever had.” Am I feeling oddly protective of Christopher? The way he felt embarrassed last night comes back to my mind. “You should see some of the places I lived in when I just graduated college.” Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about regarding that supposed attic. “Plus, his cooking is heavenly.”

Grace quirks an eyebrow up and cracks a huge smile at me. I blush as I realize I just defended Christopher when we were just talking about a room. She bumps my shoulder and laughs. “My cousin’s the best,” she confirms.

I look down and bite my lip, but I know we just had a moment.

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