Page 88 of A Novel Love Story

In reply, he leaned against the counter beside me. “At first? I was a little annoyed. You left my bookstoreunattended, after all, and you’re a horrible liar.”

I winced.

“But you keep surprising me.”

“Like a plot twist,” I said, tongue-in-cheek.

He took my hand in his, conflict furrowing his brows. “Yes, well, speaking of plot twists—”

27

Good Bones

THE BELL ABOVE THEdoor jingled again. “I’ve got good news!” Frank crowed as he flung the door open and stepped inside. His combat boots made hardthunks on the hardwood floor, leaving a trail of mud behind him.

Anders’s words caught in his throat. He closed his mouth in frustration, and turned toward our new guest. “Frank, hello.”

“Anders, Anders, I’m a genius,” he said, slapping him on the back so hard he almost knocked Anders’s glasses off.

Anders pushed them back up his nose. “Was that ever in question?”

Frank grinned, showing the gap in his front two teeth. “Maybe tell my daughter that.” Then he spun to me and threw up his arms. “She’ll be readytomorrowmorning!”

“Your daughter?” I asked, perplexed.

“No, your car! I thought it’d be readytoday, but heh, who’s not a day off once in a while? After searching everywhere, I finally found a carburetor I can work with,” he said, and gave Anders a wink. “She’ll be ready to send you on your way in the morning.”

My eyes widened. “O-oh.”

Sweetpea was almost fixed? I didn’t know what to think. To be honest, I’d sort of forgotten that I was stranded here at all, and not staying of my own accord. And tomorrow, I’d finally get to go to the cabin. Start my vacation—

Leave.

The word felt heavy on my chest.

If my true feelings about the news reflected on my face, Frank didn’t notice. He told me he’d bring the car around tomorrow morning, with some extra Hotties in the back seat (wink, wink), and I’d be on my way. Then, just as quickly as he’d come, he left—like a tornado. Upending everything in one fell swoop.

When he was gone, Anders and I stood awkwardly for a long moment.

“Well,” he began, breaking the silence, as he put his hands into his knife-pleated trousers. Honestly, I missed the jeans a little bit, and how good he looked in them. The better he dressed, the more it felt like armor. “Seems like—”

“Excuse me,” I muttered, quickly leaving from behind the counter, and fled out the front door before he could say anything else.

My chest felt tight and squirming, like worms had burrowed their way inside my rib cage. The sun was hot and almost directly overhead as I made my way down the sidewalk. I curled my fingers into fists.

I was acting foolishly. I couldn’t stay here forever—I didn’t want to—but I didn’t want to go yet, either. I’d fixed the mess I’d made with Ruby and Jake, but there were too many questions that I wantedanswered—too many plot threads left open. What would happen to Maya and Lyssa? Would the inn ever open again? What was the ending that Rachel Flowers had in her head for this town,these people? Who did she write for Anders? I still couldn’t find her (though I hadn’t really been looking all that hard, if I was being honest). So much of the real world was built on half-finished stories and bitter endings, I didn’t want to leave this one without knowing.

My feet carried me down the sidewalk, my head spinning, and I didn’t stop until familiar voices shouting dragged me out of my thoughts. I’d walked all the way to the Daffodil Inn, halfway across to the clock tower in the center of town, when Junie burst out the front door.

She yelled behind her, “Sometimes good bones aren’t enough!” As she descended the stairs, she kicked a decorative white rock on the path, and it skittered into the yard.

Then she noticed me, and—without knowing what else to do—raised her hand in greeting. “Erm, hello.”

I echoed the wave. “Hi.” I crossed the street and leaned against the white picket fence. The tower in the square tolled noon.

After the buzzing had receded, and the town quieted with the echoes of the bells, Junie said, “There’s water everywhere. Puddles of it coming from the toilet. We don’t understand it—we’ve checked itall.” She made a noise of frustration, and then took a deep breath, and collected herself. “Sorry, I know you don’t want to hear this.”

“It’s all right. For what it’s worth, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

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