Page 41 of All Because of You

He was done playing his father’s games. Without another word, Evan climbed from the car and slammed the door as hard as he could.

Chapter 11

Being among books again—even so many ruined ones—felt every kind of right.

Madison sat on her knees, digging into a box filled with stories of all shapes and sizes. She pulled out the hardback on top, a children’s novel with a slightly warped cardboard cover—My Father’s Dragon. How well she remembered that one. Her nanny had first read it to her when she’d been, what? Six? Seven? The story of a boy named Elmer rescuing a baby dragon in a made-up land had given Madison bravery when she’d faced the monsters under her bed and in her closet. And when she’d faced weeks without the comfort of her parents’ arms because they’d been off on one business trip or another.

“How’s that one?” Across the room, Ashley sat cross-legged, removing books from her box and sorting them into a keep pile and a toss pile. Her friend stifled a yawn against her hand.

Madison checked the clock on the wall, shocked to see 10:05 staring back at her. They’d been in the basement of Ashley’s childhood home for nearly three hours sorting through the library’s damaged books. And that after a full day of working in the hardware store. Madison should be passed out on the floor, but instead, extra energy had sizzled to life when she’d entered the place where the library board had stored what was left of the inventory.

“The cover’s a bit damaged, but the pages all seem intact.” Madison set the book in her keep pile, which held most of the books she’d sorted. The thought of not saving all of them did something to her insides, so she’d rationalized a reason for most of them to end up there. “I don’t want to be rude, but . . .”

“Why hasn’t this been done before now?”

“Well, yeah. I guess.”

“I think I mentioned to you that most of the people on the board are in their seventies or older. They’re OK with the mental work—the planning, the petitioning, the brainstorming—but the physical stuff has fallen mostly to me.” Ashley blew a stray hair out of her eyes. “I had my family help me haul all of the stuff that was salvageable out of the library after the earthquake, but just haven’t had time to do more than that. I appreciate your help so much, Madison. You don’t even know.”

“Absolutely. Sorry it took me a while to get over here.” Now that shewashere, she couldn’t imagine leaving the job to someone else anyway. “I can come back every night this week if you’d like.”

“That would be great. I may not be free until nine or so, but I’m sure my parents would be fine with you coming and going as you need to.”

Madison cringed as Ashley chucked a book into the toss pile. From here, it looked perfectly acceptable. Maybe she’d sneak over in a bit and rescue it if possible. “So what’s the plan when this is done?”

“Once we get an accurate picture of the inventory that’s left, we can use the insurance money to purchase more. That’s another way your help will be super valuable—you’ll have an idea about what books we may need and what people will want to read.”

“Don’t you think whoever you hire as head librarian may want to do that?”

Evan’s whispered words came back to her:“That sounds right up your alley.”And, yeah, it really did. But she’d committed to a different path, one that included a sure income, not dependence on grant money.

One that honored Chrissy in death, even if Madison hadn’t in life.

Ashley fixed her with a strange look. “Maybe, though I don’t even know if we’ll get the funding for that. Besides, the committee and I are really pushing to get the library reopened within the next month or so. A town shouldn’t be without a library for this long.” She sighed and leaned back against the brown leather couch behind her. “Of course, we need the perfect space for that to happen. A lot of things have to fall into place. And lately, I haven’t had the time to give it the attention it deserves.”

Wedding and event season must be picking up. “Well, like I said. Now that the store is running, I’m happy to help. That library meant a lot to me, and I want to see it reopened.”

What if . . . But no. Even if the librarian job miraculously became available, she couldn’t take it, not after she’d worked so hard to reopen Hole-in-the-Wall. Especially not after Evan had missed out on his opportunity with Herman Hardware because of her.

“We should get you officially on the library board. I’m sure Bud would nominate you.” Ashley pulled her legs against her chest and fiddled with a strand of her hair. “So how is it going at the store?”

Madison ran her fingers along the spine of a weathered copy ofWuthering Heights. “It’s good. I’m still learning.” Today she’d made a gaffe when she’d estimated the amount of materials Elizabeth Harding, the owner of Hardings Market, needed for a flooring update. Madison was thankful that the older woman had her double check her pricing, or she’d have charged Elizabeth double what she owed for her order. The situation had sent Madison diving into her copy ofEmmaduring her lunch break—an all-too-brief escape.

“So, you like it?”

“As much as I’d like any job.” Well, maybe notanyjob. “But I’m sure Chrissy had her days too. Being a business owner is stressful and a lot of responsibility. I’ll settle into it. You’ll see when you start your wedding planning business.”

“If I ever start it.”

“You will. And you’ll do great.”

“Thanks, but I can hardly keep my head above water now with everything my boss has me doing plus the library stuff. And now Evan is tapping me to help with the Christmas Festival, which I’m more than happy to do. With all that, the business is probably going to be sidelined for a bit.” Ashley resumed sorting the books from her box. “Back to you. I’m glad you feel like running the store is going well. But . . .”

It wasn’t like her friend to be so hesitant. Or somber. “But what? Just say it, Ash.”

“I sometimes wonder if you’re sad you gave up your dream of being a librarian.”

The books in Madison’s keep pile threatened to topple. Was she so obvious? She removed the top three and set them neatly next to the others. “Sometimes, I guess. But I’ve worked so hard to get the store going, and I do think Chrissy would be proud of all I’ve accomplished. You know, facing my fears, staying here . . .”

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