Page 56 of All Because of You

When he saw her, he scrambled upward. “Your throne, Your Majesty.”

Madison rolled her eyes and swatted him. “I’m no queen.”

“But thisisyour kingdom.” His eyes sparkled as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

Her cheeks burned at the public display. After all, this was her place of work. But looking around at the volunteers—Mrs. Wildman, Bud and Velma Travis, Ashley and her cousin Shannon, Ben, Bella, Alex, Evan—she knew it was also her home.

“I like the sound of that.” Madison squeezed Evan’s hand then turned to face the group. “All right, people, the day has finally arrived. The reopening of the newly christened Chrissy Price Public Library is upon us.”

As she said the words, she nearly cried. It had been Evan’s idea to name the place after her aunt, especially since they’d decided to convert her former hardware store into the library. Carol Davenport had offered to donate the space to the city, which had allowed them to use the extra funds to add thousands of wonderful books to the collection of those that had survived the earthquake. Madison had spent days in here, sorting, cataloging, and shelving each book with love, even sending prayers of hope for those who would read the pages she’d held in her hands.

“Thank you again for your countless hours given to this effort. With all the programs we’ve put into place, I just know our community is going to thrive.”

The residents of Walker Beach weren’t the only ones thriving. Madison herself had blossomed since she’d decided to close the hardware store and interview for the library director position—to embrace the dream she’d had for her life. After all, Chrissy had only ever wanted her to be happy and whole. And though she would have accepted the job even if it had been funded with grant money, the fact it was built into the city’s future budget made the job that much more appealing.

Madison looked toward the front doors, where a line of people already gathered on this bright and sunny Thursday in April. “Let’s do this!” She sank into the chair behind her computer.

Ashley joined her. Other than helping at the library here and there, her friend hadn’t been around much, and Madison took a good look at her. Though she was as stylish and friendly as ever on the surface, there appeared to be an underlying strain in Ashley’s eyes. A worry, something that interfered with her friend’s laid-back nature.

“You all right?”

“Hmm?” Ashley’s eyes remained fixed on the doors, which Evan would unlock in precisely three minutes. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. Just tired. Lots of work and such.”

“You sure that’s it?”

Biting her lip, Ashley turned her head toward Madison. “Derek’s coming back this weekend.”

“Derek?”

“Derek Campbell.”

As in, the guy Ashley had been half in love with in junior high and high school? “Wasn’t he best friends with Ben growing up?”

Her friend played with a strand of her long hair. “Yeah.”

“Where has he been?”

“He left for Europe fourteen months ago to work at a vineyard. Kind of an internship opportunity. Before he went, we got . . . close.”

“Did you date?”

“What? No. Nothing like that.” Ashley sighed. “I thought, for a while, that maybe he saw me as more than his best friend’s little sister, maybe even more than a friend, but he never said anything. And then he left, and it’s been really hard to connect. He’s busy, I’m busy. We just . . . have been living different lives. I haven’t spoken to him in forever. I only know he’s coming back because I ran into his dad at the market.”

“It’s always hard when we drift apart from the ones we love.” Madison placed a hand over Ashley’s. “Did you ever tell him how you felt about him?”

Ashley’s sharp look revealed the truth in Madison’s question. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she swallowed. “No. But . . . maybe. I don’t know. Maybe I will.”

“You should.” Peeking up at Evan, Madison smiled. He watched her, waiting. She gave the thumbs-up sign, and he turned to unlock the front door. Then she turned back to Ashley. “You never know what will happen when you kick down your walls and open your heart to love.”

And as the door swung wide, people streamed into the library, and Madison embraced the incoming flood with joyful arms.

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