Page 16 of I Met Him At The Library

“So, you and Emily were shopping buddies this weekend?” Levi asked, changing the conversation from the town meeting we were talking about.

As usual, the four of us gathered at the bar after work. I had told them about the upcoming town meeting regarding the funding and they’d all agreed to come lend their support. We needed as many people as possible to show up.

“I ran into her at Trudy’s and we did some shopping. We met up with Preston and Meghan at the diner, it was nothing.”

Levi and Trey both grinned wide at me, and my eyes flicked between them. I could practically see their brains turning. Thankfully, Preston jumped in and saved me from any further discussion.

“So what are you going to do about the funding if the pastor wins?”

Grateful for the change in the conversation, I replied, “I have no clue. I’ll keep searching for someone who will take an interest and help us raise money. I doubt I’d be able to convince the entire town to back the continued funding of the library. Not when most of the town would prefer the funding to go into the programs at the church.”

“I never understood how they get away with this shit,” Trey remarked before taking a sip of his beer.

Strands of his dark brown hair fell over his brow, and he shoved them back. My friends were all as aggravated about the funding situation as I was. We could see the benefits of the library programs in real time.

This year alone, we had three kids receive at least partial scholarships to college and several more get acceptance into their first school of choice. They might not be Ivy League schools, but it was far better than the results from Trey’s graduating class.

“Look, most small towns don’t even have a library. Mayor Hill sees that and believes the church can take on the programs instead of the library,” I explained.

“Yeah, and indoctrinate the youth by deciding which books they should be reading,” Levi grumbled leaning back in the booth.

“I’ll fight it for as long as I can, but if it fails, I may need to consider going back to my old career,” I warned.

“You burnt out so badly, though. I’m sure you could freelance, or I don’t know, I’ll hire you,” Trey suggested.

Barking out a laugh, I shook my head, “Sure, sure, take the tech guy turned library director and throw him into carpentry. Nothing bad could happen there.”

“You worked with wires, which is kinda like running electricity. I could train you, and within months, I’d bet you’d run circles around Levi,” Trey joked as he flashed a grin at Levi.

“Why do I put up with your abuse?” Levi scowled at Trey.

Turning back to me, Trey said, “All I’m saying is if you need the work, I could use the extra hands, and Preston won’t even consider the offer.”

“Cars. That is what I do. I understand them, find peace working on them, and enjoy the work I do. You’ll never drag me away,” Preston said, for the thousandth time.

It wasn’t the first time Trey tried to get Preston to join them, but Preston’s only love was cars. It didn’t matter if they were old muscle, new minivans, or custom builds, he loved them all. Zeke snatched Preston up when he arrived in town a year before I did, and Preston claimed he’d never been happier.

When the town went through the boom of people coming in to build B&B’s and vacation homes as investments, they conveniently forgot the local businesses could help. The residents didn’t forget Trey and his dad, who was now retired, and kept them afloat during the initial tourist boom. Now the big developers were gone, and Trey’s business had picked up again.

The new neighborhood of townhomes, which was mostly vacation rentals now, and the B&B’s all needed handyman services to fix mistakes the original builders made. The rental managers had Trey on speed dial.

Levi joined Trey in the company during high school summers and weekends. After they graduated, they both stuck with it. When Trey took over from his father, he made Levi a partner in the business. Trey didn’t think he’d have anyone to pass it on to.

While Trey’s offer was considerate, I was happiest working at the library. If I couldn’t do that anymore, I honestly didn’t know what I would do.

Chapter 10

Emily

Standing in my kitchen, I stared at the premade meal sitting in the fridge. Every night since Sunday I had eaten chicken alfredo lasagna, and as much as I loved it, I didn’t want it again. I should eat it since tomorrow I’d make something new for dinner, but … the idea of eating it again didn’t sound appealing. Picking up my phone, I called for takeout.

“Thank you for calling The Blue Plate,” Sadie answered.

“Hi Sadie, it’s Emily. Can I order a cheeseburger and fries to go? Oh, and a cookie.”

“Of course. I’ll have it ready for you in fifteen minutes.”

“See you soon,” I said before I hung up.

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