Page 25 of Between the Shady Groves
He jerked his head at the man, not wanting to talk. But the guy stopped. What was his name? Matteo? Cannon wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He wasn’t sure where the man fit in with his wife, but wherever it was, Cannon wanted to root him out.
“Hey, man.” Matteo stopped. He was sweaty, had been jogging, and was slightly out of breath. He put his hands on his hips and walked in place a little, like he didn’t want to completely stop and have his muscles get cold.
Cannon respected the self-control and self-discipline it took to have that kind of work ethic to be in that good of shape, but it was hard for him to admit that right now, because…he was jealous of the rapport this man obviously had with his wife.
“I just want to make sure you knew that your wife and I are friends, but I saw the ring on her finger the first time we talked, and it’s not been anything more than that. She has definitely kept a straight arm on me, and I don’t mess around like that anyway.”
“Good to know,” Cannon said, not really interested in becoming buddies with this guy. They couldn’t have less in common from what he could see.
“She mentioned that you owned a business.”
“I do.”
“I was wondering if you would give me some advice. I retired recently from the military and civilian criminal investigative work, and I kind of want to chill here in town. But I’m not independently wealthy, and the shop that I inherited from my uncle, which used to be an electronics shop, and I’m turning into a bookshop, is going to need to pay for my food and other necessities.” He kicked his legs out andstretched from side to side before he continued. “I was wondering if you had any advice for me. Your wife seemed to indicate that your business was highly successful.”
“I built it from the ground up,” Cannon said, responding to the man’s sincere compliment. He didn’t believe it was flattery. And he also believed that the guy probably didn’t know squat about business and truly was interested in learning.
“Impressive,” the dude said. He gave a half smile. “I’m pretty disciplined, but I don’t know anything about business. If it takes hard work, I can do it. But… Knowing exactly how to advertise and market my stuff… I have no clue.”
“Are you interested in reading?” Cannon had to ask. The guy didn’t look like he’d cracked a book in his life, unless it was a police procedural or a military intelligence manual.
“I read some true crime, thrillers, psychological thrillers. That’s about everything.”
“I see. Well, my first recommendation would be for you to open a business that suited your interests.”
“I like to read. I’ve probably read ten books over the last ten years.”
Cannon managed not to laugh. The dude must have seen the twinkle in his eye though, because he stopped fidgeting for just a moment and said, “That’s not enough, is it?”
“In my opinion, I would say no. After all, if you’re going to sell books, you’ve got to know books.”
“I have to admit, I’ve gotten some romance books that have come in the mail, and I’ve been tempted to tear the covers off them. Wow.” He ran a hand through his hair, and Cannon found himself liking the guy despite himself.
“I wouldn’t rip the covers off. The cover is the first thing that people see, and I know that the old adage is you can’t judge a book by its cover, but I would guess that that’s what sells the book. Or at least draws the reader’s interest to that particular book.”
“That must be why bookstores have displays that show the covers. I kind of thought the spine would be the most important.”
“Only true readers go browse. They have to look at spines. Even libraries have displays where you see the cover. They might even havesigns that draw your attention to the display before your attention is drawn to the cover. It’s all about positioning it and marketing it correctly.”
“This sounds a little more complicated than what I was thinking. I thought I’d open a bookstore, because it just didn’t seem like a whole lot of work, and I figured that I could work out in the back while people browsed. I’d have the cash register nearby, and I’d check them out and keep doing what I needed to. I don’t want to not stay in shape, you know?”
Cannon nodded. He already knew the guy that well. He probably spent a couple of hours in the gym every day. Or a couple of hours running along the lake. It probably wouldn’t hurt Cannon to get a little better shape. Maybe, after he was done talking about running a bookstore, he could see if Matteo would give him a little bit of advice on how he should start getting back into shape. Maybe that was part of Lauren’s problem, although she’d never mentioned it. Not even once.
“I suppose that would work. I think you’re right. People who want to read books aren’t really going to need you to take their hand and lead them around the store. You’re probably not going to have a lot of customer service issues either.”
“No. I’ll probably buy back books that were bought in my store, but for less, you know? I’d sell them for some amount and then buy them back for a tenth of that.”
“Yeah. That sounds good.”
“Where can I learn how to sell books?”
Cannon was quiet for a bit. Really, Matteo should ditch the whole book idea, although he didn’t know how much money Matteo already had invested. But he’d be better off getting into something he knew a little bit about. But how would one combine police procedure and investigations into a career in a small-town shop in Raspberry Ridge?
“Raspberry Ridge really isn’t big enough to sustain a lot of shops, although… The potential for tourism is there. But someone would have to open up a hotel or inn or something.”
“Actually, I heard the inn up on the hill right behind Raspberry Ridge is going up for sale. If that’s true, and someone buys it, we might get some tourism, and that’s what it’s going to take.”
“Well. I hadn’t heard that.” Of course not, since he wasn’t from Raspberry Ridge, and the only person he really wanted to talk to here was estranged from him.
