Page 24 of The Library of Second Chances
“Wonderful! I’ll talk to Logan, and we’ll get the first meeting on the books.” He reached out to shake her hand.
Smiling, she thought of Gatsby’s Ghost and how proud he would be of her.
Ten
Logan
Texting his sister a photo of the beach had led to questions about how Logan’s job was going on Heron Isle. He knew she worried about him after what had happened in San Diego.
“It’s going well so far,” he told her, and it wasn’t a lie.
For the first time since he was announced as the consultant Heron Isle had hired to solve their waterfront predicament, Logan really did feel good about the direction it was all headed. His step was a little lighter after he’d visited Missy at the flower shop and then caught Mel, the owner of the general store, as he was opening for the day. They’d both been receptive to his idea of attracting a small line of cruise ships to make Heron Isle one of its ports.
Logan had worked with the cruise line on the Baltimore job. They’d organized a multi-day cruise around Chesapeake Bay with stops in towns like Yorktown, Cambridge, and St. Michaels to help spread out the tourists. The businesses in those townshad been happy to receive the new visitors, and he thought he could do the same for Heron Isle. The guys at the cruise line had been intrigued, but they didn’t have any other stops nearby. He knew that meant all the tourists would descend on Heron Isle, and then Lucy might be right that it would be more of an influx of people than their downtown could bear. Maybe there were ways to trolley them to other parts of the island. He had some time to flesh it out.
The cruise idea had been an easy sell to Missy and Mel. He’d had the idea to bake some incentives into the contract, which he’d already discussed with the cruise line. The ship would purchase floral arrangements from Missy for its dining-room tables and VIP cabins each time it stopped in port, and Mel would get increased foot traffic as passengers disembarked and stocked up on everything from sunscreen to soda and snacks.
Logan caught himself whistling as he walked down Main Street and ran into the mayor. Like a needle to a balloon, their conversation immediately deflated him. The mayor wanted him and Lucy to host community forums. Two words every local-government consultant feared the most. It was impossible to make everyone happy, so the best anyone could hope for was a consensus, and even that was often challenging.
The mayor insisted the downtown business owners and the conservancy were the largest opposition groups, so if he could get them on board he’d be on the right track. Logan had been able to discuss things civilly with Lucy the previous day, and she was far from the worst person he’d ever been forced to spend time with on a project. In fact, she was cute when she wasn’t mad at him. Unfortunately, she’d pretty much hated him since the instant she found out why he was on Heron Isle.
Knowing they needed to find some mutually agreeable dates, Logan changed directions and headed over to the bookstore. Hespent the short walk trying to find a way to frame their new situation that she wouldn’t completely hate.
When he entered the store, he immediately spotted Lucy helping an older woman by the shelves that ran alongside the left wall of the store. She was tucking a blonde curl behind her ear, smiling, and nodding as the customer spoke. Lucy glanced toward the door when the woman paused to look at the book Lucy had handed her. As soon as she saw him, her smile disappeared as if someone had flipped a switch, and his optimism was immediately dashed. Her shoulders stiffened and she politely told the woman she’d be nearby if she needed any other recommendations.
Logan wanted Lucy to understand he wasn’t a bad person. That change wasn’t bad. This was why he’d always preferred jobs in bigger cities. People in small towns seemed to take change far more personally, like his father and the other farmers in Berlin had. He couldn’t let Heron Isle make the same mistakes he’d watched decimate his hometown.
He flashed his best smile at Lucy as she crossed the floor to where he stood near the counter, the heart-pine floorboards moaning and creaking under even her small frame. He imagined how many people must have walked across these same floorboards over the past one hundred and fifty years.
That was it! He loved the history here too. He just needed her to see that side of him.
“This is quite the place you’ve got here.” He looked around the room in a way he hoped showed his appreciation for it. As he glanced toward the back of the store, he noticed the ceiling for the first time. It looked like hand-stamped tin. He pointed up. “Are those original?”
She followed his gaze. “They are. So are the floors.”
He couldn’t read her even expression, but if her first reaction when she’d noticed him by the door was any indication, she wasnot happy to see him. He knew they hadn’t agreed on everything when they chatted on the docks the day before, but he thought the conversation had gone well overall and they’d broken the ice.
The customer was approaching the counter with her selections.
“I’ll just look around for a minute.” He nodded to the woman as he excused himself then wandered toward the shelves. He ran a hand over the edge of a shelf. They looked like they were handmade from heart pine too. A ladder hung at the far end of the shelves near the front window with a small sign attached that said: “Please do not climb.” He’d always dreamed of having a library in his house one day, and he’d even pictured having shelves that went to the ceiling like this with a ladder to reach the top. Unfortunately, his job didn’t lend itself to him having a permanent address, so the library of his dreams would have to remain just that, a dream. It was for the best. When someone stayed in one place too long they got stagnant, stuck in their ways. He would not become his father.
Logan moved to one of the shorter shelves that ran perpendicular to the wall, pretending to be interested in a thriller as he eavesdropped on Lucy’s conversation with the customer to distract himself from the memories of his father. The woman was asking if Lucy had a website where she could order books after she left Heron Isle.
“Unfortunately, I’m pretty useless when it comes to technology. But call me anytime. I’d be happy to ship you anything you’d like or make some recommendations.” The voice she used with the customer was much warmer than the one he’d been greeted with.
“Thank you, dear. I’m so glad you kept the store open after Annie passed. She was such a remarkable woman. Do you know she always remembered what kinds of books I liked and would have a couple sitting aside for me, ready for my arrival eachJune?” The woman shook her head. “You just don’t get that kind of service from those big corporate stores or ordering online.”
“Well, now that I know what you like, I’ll be sure to save some of my favorites for you, Mrs. Frances.” Lucy patted the woman’s hand where it rested on the counter. “Thank you for continuing to visit us every year. Just call me if you need to me to ship you anything in the meantime.”
The woman thanked Lucy and left with her bag of books. Lucy busied herself writing in a notebook on the counter, either having forgotten about Logan or purposely avoiding him.
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but if you need a website, I know a great guy. I bet a lot of your seasonal customers would buy from you online, especially ones like that who’ve been coming here for years.” He walked up to the counter, curious what she was scribbling.
“I do just fine without a website.” She quickly closed the notebook. “If someone wants a book they call and I mail it. It’s more personal that way.” Gone was the warm tone she’d used with the woman, replaced by something more clipped that felt like standing in front of an open freezer door.
Holding up a hand in mock surrender, he softened his tone. “I’m not saying stop taking phone orders. You could just add online ordering for those who prefer it. What if someone wants to order something late at night or before you open in the morning?”
“Then they leave me a message.” She nodded toward a desk phone on the far end of the counter. “I’ve got an answering machine.”
