Page 16 of When the Angel Falls First

I had no business expecting him to show up. Feelings like that would never improve anything. Still, I couldn’t stop the heat that flowed through my veins at the thought of him.

The little girl stepped in farther, her eyes wide with curiosity as she looked around at the tall bookshelves, the comfortable corners filled with cushions and blankets, and the cats lazily napping here and there. The sight of her, so small in the place I’d built, made my heart soften. I watched as she took in the magic of the Bookish Cat, the disappointment of Caleb’s absence receding. This was why I was here, doing whatI did. For the stories, for the magic, and for moments like this one.

“Can I help you find something?” I asked, making my way over to the little girl who was still absorbing the surroundings of the bookstore as I kneeled down to her eye level.

“I got three dollars for candy,” she replied, holding up the crumpled bills for me to see. “But I wanna buy a book instead.”

My heart warmed at her words, a vivid echo of a younger version of myself. All the books in my store cost more than three dollars, but looking at her eager eyes, I couldn’t bear to let her down.

“What kind of book are you looking for?” I asked, leaning closer.

“I like trains,” she said with a shy smile.

Guiding her over to the children’s section, I pulled out a colorful tome about trains. “This one’s a favorite of mine,” I told her, handing her the book.

She took it reverently, thumbing through the pages with wide-eyed fascination. “Does it cost three dollars?” she murmured, while admiring a nineteenth-century locomotive.

“As a matter of fact, it does,” I said, smiling at her. “It’s a special deal today, just for you.”

She looked at me in disbelief before breaking out in a beaming smile. “Really?”

“Really.”

The girl’s eyes lit up as she held the book tight, her joy as visible as a glowing light. Just then, the bell over the door chimed again, and in walked a woman, who by her resemblance was unmistakably the girl’s mother. As she caught sight of her daughter cradling the book like a cherished treasure, her face broke into a warm smile.

“You got a book, sweetheart?” the mother asked, a note of surprise and pride in her voice. “With your candy money?”

“I bought it with my own money, Mom! And it’s abouttrains!” The girl waved the book around, her happiness contagious.

“I’m so proud of you.” The mother bent down and hugged her daughter, whispering something in her ear that made the girl beam even brighter. Watching this scene, my heart twisted with a pang of longing for such a beautiful relationship.

“She’s a lucky girl,” I said, turning to the mother, my voice heavy with unspoken emotions. “Not all mothers are so supportive.”

She looked at me, her eyes soft with understanding. “We all need someone who believes in us, don’t we?” She glanced at her daughter who was engulfed in images of engines, and her head cocked to the side. “But this book costs more than?—”

“It was meant for her,” I interrupted and winked.

The girl clutched the book to her chest, her happiness infusing the room with a warmth that could rival any fireplace before she and her mother waved goodbye on their way out of the shop, the mother mouthingthank youas she went.

Yes, this moment was worth everything.

Spinning back toward the counter, I almost collided with the very muscled chest that had made my heart race since I first laid eyes on it. Caleb.

“You haven’t changed a bit. You’ve still got the biggest heart in the Pacific West Coast.”

“You!” I said for the sake of the obvious, poking that tempting chest to give myself some distance. “You saw that?” Once again with the obvious.

His warm gaze held mine. He wasn’t grinning, wasn’tjoking around; he looked at me with a softness I didn’t expect and wasn’t ready for.

“That girl doesn’t realize all she’s got, having a mother like that. Maybe she will, when she’s older,” I said.

He held my eyes, not letting me breathe as he took a half-step closer. His voice was gentle when he asked, “Josie, how did things fall apart so badly with your family? It wasn’t like this before.”

His question hung in the air between us. It wasn’t prying, and I wanted to tell him, to share the burden. Something about Caleb’s steady gaze made me feel safe.

“Well,” I started, the words tasting unfamiliar on my tongue. “You know I never wanted to be an accountant like the rest of them. But it all came to a head when I had to enroll for a second semester of…”

My voice trailed off as Caleb’s focus abruptly shifted. His eyes looked past me, his expression hard to read. His whole demeanor changed in an instant, the moment of intimacy suddenly left suspended.

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