Page 1 of Dying to Read

Chapter 1

Rebirth. Rejuvenation. Re-recreation. Rarity Cole stared into the blue water lapping at her feet and wondered what word any of the multiple books in her shop would use for this moment in her life. If the book was a romance, she’d be facing a second chance. But her new life here was more than another chance at love. It was a reawakening of every part of her life. Career, love, friends, she’d even changed her scenery by moving from the Midwest to Sedona, Arizona.

Even the structure and activities of her days had changed. Currently, she sat on the edge of her backyard swimming pool, a luxury she’d only dreamed of when she was climbing the corporate ladder in the marketing department of a midlevel production corporation in St. Louis. Since the weather had turned perfect last weekend, she’d gone on several hikes with Archer every daysince Friday.

Now, the calendar weekend was over and it was Monday, the second day of her actual weekend. Rarity had the entire day off even with the store being open. Her employees, Shirley Prescott and Katie Dickenson, took turns running the bookstore on Mondays starting the first of March. Now Rarity had a real two-day weekend for the first time since opening the Next Chapter. She felt like she was back working in corporate marketing. At the table this morning, she’d started making a list of to-dos but realized nothing else would happen if she didn’t get her swim markedoff the list.

“Workout first,” she muttered. That had been her motto since January, matching up with one of her resolutions. She felt better when she moved first thing in the morning. She believed in the power of goals. They’d gotten her through her stint of treatment for breast cancer. And the complete overhaul of her life afterward. She’d moved fourteenhundred miles from St. Louis to Sedona. She quit her corporate job and bought a bookstore. And she broke up with Kevin. The man who was supposed to be her future husband thought she wasn’t fun enough when she was fightingfor her life.

Okay, truthfully, Kevin had broken up with her, but either way, it had been a big life change. Four changes on the list of top stressors according to the magazine articles.

Today, she lived in a three-bedroom cottage in Arizona with a pool she used year-round. She loved running the bookstore and hadn’t worn a business suit to work in months. She had a new boyfriend, Archer Ender, who was planning on moving in with her next month. And she had a baby.

Oh, not a human baby. She had adopted Killer, a tiny Yorkie with a huge attitude. And an evenbigger heart.

The baby in question, Killer, was sitting on the side of the pool watching the water and the yellow ducky float that also served as a way to disperse chemicals. Rarity leaned down, kissed the pup on top of his head, and then dove into the water.

When she finished her laps and climbed out, her phone was ringing. She hurried over to the deck table where she’d left the phone to answer the call. Looking at the display, she smiled and said, “Hey baby,how are you?”

“Baby, huh?” Archer sounded amused.

“I figured I needed to increase my sweet talk since we are moving our relationship to a new level.” Rarity wrapped a towel around herself and sat at the table, letting herself air-dry. She took off her swim cap, running her fingers through her hair. Killer had followed her up on the deck and now lay near the French door that led to the kitchen.

“Okay, I guess it works. I called to let you know I got a late afternoon hike today, so dinner’s out. Sorry.” Archer sounded distracted.

“Do you want to move it to a later time?”Rarity asked.

A pause on the other end of the line made her think she’d lost him. She glanced at the display but the call was still active. “Archer? Are you there?”

“I’m here. Sorry, I’m slammed. I can’t make it later either. Look, I’ll see you Tuesday night after your book club. We’ll talk then.” Archer ended the call without saying goodbye.

Rarity set down the phone and looked at Killer. “Maybe using the term ‘baby’ was too much. Your friend Archer isbeing weird.”

Killer stood and barked at the door.

“Ready to go in?” Rarity asked, standing. Killer wasn’t interested in the affairs of humans. On the other hand, she hadn’t fed him yet. “You probably want some breakfast.”

Killer barked again and ran in a circle.

“I’ve got a lot of things to do anyway.” Rarity wished she’d said that to Archer, but she wasn’t used to playing games with him. If he was too busy to see her, there was a good reason. She had to believe him. Hewasn’t Kevin.

* * *

Later that afternoon, she’d come back from a grocery run to Flagstaff when someone knocked at her door. “Come in.”

Terrance Oldman, her neighbor, poked his head in the door. Terrance had lived in the house next door since before she’d moved to Sedona. He was a retired military guy who never had time for a family. So now he treated Rarity as his long-lost daughter. “Hey, Rarity. I saw you pull in. Did you get me some of those spicy sausages from the store?”

She held the meat up for inspection. “Two packages, like you asked. I could have brought them over.”

“I thought I’d come over and see if I can be helpful.” He tucked the sausages into an empty bag, then grabbed the milk and juice and put them away in her refrigerator. They worked that way together in silence until all the groceries were put away. “I have to say since you moved in, you’ve been challenging me to clean up my eating habits. I made soup and a sandwich at home last night instead of ordering pizza, and I had a salad instead of french fries yesterday when I met the neighborhood watch guys for lunch. Of course, most of them did too. I’m the last confirmed bachelorin the bunch.”

“Next you’ll tell me you’re eating kale,” Rarity joked as she folded one of her reusable grocery bags. She wondered if Shirley had influenced the way Terrance saw food during their last few months together as friends. But she wasn’t bringing that can of worms up.

“Now, don’t go all crazy on me.” He held his hands up to ward off the idea of the green, leafy vegetable.

Rarity left the salmon on the counter. She wanted to make a spice rub for it before she put it away. “I’m planning on grilling tonight if you don’t havedinner plans.”

“I thought Mondays were date night with your guy?” Terrance sat down at the table. He’d pulled out sodas from the fridge as they’d finished putting the food away, one for him and one for her.

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