Page 1 of Players and Pages
"And Jackson makes it to second with a steal!" the announcer called from the little box on the corner of my monitor. I watched as one of my favorite players did a little victory dance to taunt the baseman. A smile tugged the corners of my lips up as I shook my head at his antics.
While I’d never really been into sports, these new performance teams had caught my eye and I was instantly hooked. The Knuckleball Knockouts stadium was just twenty minutes away but I hadn’t gotten up the nerve to purchase a ticket yet, however I would soon.
I kept telling myself once the store slows down… but that hadn’t happened yet. If it wasn’t a busy day in store, it was online.
Footsteps had me turning around to greet a customer that was walking up to the counter, arm full of books. I lowered the volume on the game and flashed her a smile.
"Did you find everything you needed?" I asked as I started to scan her purchases.
"So much more than I could even carry, but I'll definitely be back," she promised. There was genuine excitement in her voice, like this store was life changing for her. That right there was thereason all three of us were working so damn hard to make this place perfect.
Though, Taryn’s babies, the mystery book boxes, were on hold until she was fully back to work. The twins always took priority.
"That makes my heart happy," I told her, throwing in a few book themed stickers along with her receipt. We liked to keep little freebies at the counter for customers that shared our excitement for reading.
"Do you know when the mystery date with a book section is going to be ready?" she questioned when I told her the total.
"Oh, Taryn is hard at work on it. We don't have an exact date, but if you subscribe to our newsletter, there will be an announcement a week or two before it's open," I reassured her.
"Yes, I subscribed and follow you on every page already." She beamed.
"You are my dream customer," I said with another grin. “I’m Dani. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out.”
The customer shook my hand and took her bags before answering. "I'm Tricia. Book enthusiast and stupidly excited for the store updates. We don’t get good stores like this in these small towns, so I’m practically feral for it.” Her laughter was more of a cackle and had me joining in.
“I’ll be sure to pass the encouragement along,” I promised as she waved goodbye. "Thanks for coming in, we hope you come back soon."
The bookstore had been insanely busy since we opened the doors three months ago. Between my already established customer base, word of mouth, being a unique business in these parts, and Taryn’s online presence, we were more than lucky.
It didn't take that long to get the shared business up and running once we had the location, but with the arrival of Taryn's twins, we pushed the grand opening back a bit.
Even with that delay, that didn't stop the foot traffic one bit.
A soft cry behind me had me turning to see Taryn walking up, sweet baby Gem swaddled in her arms. There was a big, amber bow on her head that had me smiling at her. My focus was fully on my sweet, little niece and not my best friend until Gem started to wail.
"You want me to hold her?" I offered, holding my arms out in the position to take her.
"There are so many customers in here, are you sure you can juggle both?" Taryn asked. There was a guilt in her tone that I didn't miss.
"Of course. It will give me practice for the next babies you have," I told her with a wink. She was crazy if she thought holding Gem was a hardship. Plus, I could clearly see she needed a break.
"Don't curse me with that talk," she laughed as she readjusted her glasses, "but seriously, please don't say that in front of the guys. They are already asking when we can have more."
"Well, next time they bring it up, tell them you’ll have more when they can carry two of these angels for nine months," I said as I bounced Gem, pitching my voice into a soothing lull as I spoke.
Gem quieted for just a moment as a customer came to pay. I shifted her to one side and completed the transaction one handed. They just had one book, so it didn't take long. Gem started to fuss again, which had Taryn reaching for her.
I danced away, which quieted the cries easily. This wasn’t my first time with a fussy baby.
"I’ve still got her. Take a shower or a nap. We will be fine," I promised the very tired omega. My poor friend had dark circles and her hair was a bit disheveled. It had to have been a long night.
"I don't know what I'd do without you and Bea. She's got Liam now, too. Gem’s fed and changed, I don't know why she won't settle down," she told me as she ran a finger gently down her baby’s face.
"She may be overtired and you're stressed, not a good combo," I said.
"How do you know all of this?" she asked as she quirked up an eyebrow. There was her usual sass. “Any secret children we don’t know about?”
"Ha-ha. No. My little sister is eleven years younger than me, so I helped my mom with her," I answered.
