Page 15 of When the Woods Go Silent

"Finally!" I leave the food on the checkout counter and throw the door open again, thudding down the porch stairs and meeting her with the kind of hug only best friends know how to give.

"Christ on a cracker, that drive felt like forever," she exclaims, wasting no time in throwing open the hatchback to show off her purchases. "Crazy-sexy-gorgeous, right?"

"Holy fuck, Ru,” I say, laughing. “Did you let anyone else buy books?" I have to tease her a little, but I'm just as excited to check out the new inventory. Of course, we'll sell plenty of genres, but the heart of the shop will definitely be romance, with a super special focus on dark, smutty, fantasy romance.

That stuff is so addictive, and nobody does smut quite like the independent authors who don't have crusty old malepublishers to answer to. Add a mouth-watering cover into the mix, and it's easy to tell why romance is the number one selling genre in any bookstore.

We load ourselves down and start lugging everything inside.

Ruby almost drops her box as she takes in the redecorated front room, mouth hanging open in a grin. "Wow, Rosey. This iseverything. The fern stencils are freaking perfect. And those pink ombre shelves? Ugh, I'm in love."

She dances around the room, sliding her fingers across the painted shelves.

"Enchanted garden, right?" I show her the picture of the rug I ordered, too.

"Our own little magical garden. You did such a great job - it’s all so freaking perfect."

We dive into the new books and the pizza, sitting right on the floor in the middle of the shop. Ruby's words tumble and flow around us like a breeze of fresh air as she delivers even more gossip from the conference. Part of me still wishes I'd been there, but I'm so proud of the work that was done while she was away. The pristine windows glisten, and the freshly painted shelves look fucking awesome as we arrange and rearrange the new books on them, getting the layout perfect.

Before we know it, it's well past two in the morning.

"Damn, I need to get to bed," Ruby says with a yawn as she stands and stretches. She smiles sleepily around at the bookstore's front room like she doesn't quite want to leave it, and I follow her gaze.

"This is going to be amazing," I assure her, and despite my hesitation around the forest, I know it's the truth.

"Thanks for riding shotgun," Ruby says as she squeezes her arm around my shoulders, referencing our little joke that I'm along for the ride in her plans.

"Thanks for letting me pick the music," I tease, taking off toward the stairs to the apartment before she can shriek her answer. We might agree on books, but music is a whole other story.

"Hey, what's this?" Ruby asks as she puts the last two slices of pizza into the fridge and pulls out the tart box. I'd totally forgotten about saving some for her.

My mouth sours just enough that her eyebrows raise.

"Okay, bedtime is officially postponed. Allegra Rose McKinley, did you go on a date while I was gone?"

"No need to bring out the full name," I grumble. She knows me too fucking well. I'd just told her about the alarm system needing a tune-up, but I'd held back on the weirdest parts, including Arlo. I'm not even sure why. I have quick flings with guys all the time, so it shouldn't be an embarrassment.

Yet, it kinda is.

"Spill it," Ruby commands, swiping her finger through the tart filling. A moan spills from her lips as she tastes it. "That’s wicked good. If there's a man who created this, then no wonder he messed it up with you. Goddess doesn't overpower her men like that. It just wouldn’t be fair."

I finally feel the laughter bubble up as I tell the story about finding the pop-up restaurant and the pastry box that appeared on our doorstep, followed by the interrupted date, if I can even call it that.

"He's hot, yeah. Willing and able, from what I could tell."

"But?" Ruby prompts, setting the tart on the kitchen counter and propping a hand on her hip. Her dark eyes glint at me, and she brushes a stubborn strand of purple back impatiently.

I shrug. "I don't know. I probably shouldn't care, but it was weird for him to just... leave. And then not call or anything today." I roll my eyes to show it's no big deal, but Ruby is already glaring in anger on my behalf.

"No, you should absolutely care. Who the hell does business in the middle of the night? Shiesty. And to not call today? So rude. Sounds like he's just another hot douche bag, Rosey. Although I wouldn't blame you if you still want to ride."

She winks right along with her fury, and the maniacal combination makes me giggle.

"You’re crazy, and I love you," I say, shaking my head. Having Ruby feels even better than having a sister. We balance each other out in the best ways, and she helps pull me from depression as much as I help her make sense of the world.

"Hey - you never get mad when you should, so I have to remind you that sometimes violence really is the answer. Or sex. Two sides of the same coin, right?" She shoves a huge bite of the tart in her mouth, her eyes rolling back in her head. "Hold on. I’m about to have a private moment with this pastry."

Her dramatic moan gives me the giggles, and the negative feelings I'd been holding onto about Arlo begin to dissipate. Ruby isn't completely right - I get mad plenty of the time. I just never show it to anyone, because anger doesn’t change anything.

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