Page 31 of The Library of Second Chances
She pulled her hand away first and he instantly missed the feel of her skin against his.
“To teamwork.” Lucy picked up her glass and raised it in his direction.
He cleared his throat, even as he still worked to clear his head. “To teamwork.” He lifted his glass to clink against hers and was pleased to see the easy smile return to her face.
Things were looking up. But even as he pondered how quickly he might be able to tie up the deal here so he could throw his hat in the ring for the big Boston job opening up, he couldn’t stop wondering if he and Lucy could have been something more if they’d met in another time, another place.
But they hadn’t, and he had to remember Heron Isle and Lucy were just a pit stop on his way back to his career path.
He left Lucy with plans to go by her bookstore after she closed the next evening and look at the paperwork she had on the building. She hadn’t agreed to letting him help her yet, but she did relent when he promised he’d look at everything objectively and be honest with her about whether buying the building was a reasonable thing for her to consider. He wasn’t sure if it was the wine or her good mood from the waterfront discussion, but by the end of dinner the conversation was flowing easily from quirky pets on the island like Sidney the alligator to where he could find the best seashells. She’d let her guard down, and he’d liked seeing her more carefree, the tension gone from her shoulders and her smile lighting up her features.
He pulled out of the restaurant’s sandy lot, but instead of driving the half mile to his cottage, he headed back downtown. He couldn’t let himself get attached to Lucy, and the woman he’d been exchanging books with in the Little Free Library was a safe distraction. He didn’t know her name, her age, or what she looked like. No danger of mixing personal and business there.
As he crossed the lawn from his parking spot to the Little Free Library, he found himself hoping there was a new book from Island Girl. He hadn’t even finished reading the last one yet, but he enjoyed the exchange. It was like the advent calendar his mom always put out in December—you never knew what might be waiting each day. He also had an irrational fear that he’d miss something from her or that someone else might take a book meant for him. They left sticky notes on the books for each other, but still, anyone could take what they wanted. It was a public repository after all.
Logan passed a young couple holding hands and licking ice-cream cones. He’d sat talking to Lucy at the Sand Dollar long enough that the downtown restaurants were closing for the night, families already back in their rented rooms and houses, putting children with sun-kissed skin to bed. Only a handful of couples and groups of friends lingered downtown, walking the streets, and eating ice cream from the store on the corner that was still open.
When he got to the library, he looked around to see if anyone was watching him. It was silly, but he’d begun to wonder if the woman leaving him the books ever hung out nearby and watched to catch a glimpse of Gatsby’s Ghost. He thought this because it had occurred to him to do just that. After all, it was hard not to be curious about who was on the other end of the notes. He needed to remain anonymous though. It was safer that way.
When he opened the door, he had to flip the switch to illuminate the space. There was a small stack on the ledge to be shelved, and he was about to give up when he spotted her handwriting on the final book in the stack titledThe Only Rule Is It Has To Work.
He pulled out the index card and read.
Gatsby’s Ghost,
I’m still reading the last book you left me—thank you for that. It’s just the pep talk I need right now.
And, yes, I do like baseball. My dad loved the game and raised me to do the same. Go Braves!
I know we don’t know each other, but I find myself wondering how your at-bat went. I’m afraid my problem might be that no one ever taught me how to hit. Is there a book for that? Haha.
Rooting for you,
Island Girl
P.S. Did you read Moneyball? If you liked that, maybe you’ll like this fun take.
She was a baseball fan. He turned the book over to read the back. Apparently, it was about two statisticians who had the chance to run an independent league baseball team, making up the rules as they went. TheMoneyballexperiment essentially taken to absurd levels. He was surprised he’d never heard of it, but he was looking forward to reading it.
He’d once tried to convince Catherine to read a book he’d thought she’d like, but she’d been too busy to bother. It sat on her nightstand for months before her maid finally put it on a bookshelf where it likely still sat.
On his drive back to the cottage, he tried to imagine the kind of woman Island Girl might be. Apparently, she read everything from historical novels to nonfiction sports books. If her dad was a Braves fan, she might be a local. There wasn’t a baseball team anywhere near Heron Isle, but then the Braves had been claimedby most of the southeast for decades, so she could be from anywhere.
He pushed thoughts of unmasking his pen pal aside. He and Lucy were finally making headway, and the clock was ticking before the Boston job opened for proposals from consultants. Initiating a successful plan in Heron Isle so that he could then help the town hire a permanent manager to implement it could show Boston that San Diego was a blip. And then a win in Boston would put him back on the map. No one would even remember San Diego then.
Eyes on the prize. All that stood between him and Boston were a few community forums.
Thirteen
Lucy
Seagulls cried overhead as Lucy sat on her back porch and wrote in her gratitude journal, the sun crawling up into the sky from where it had emerged over the horizon a half hour earlier. It was high tide and the waves crashed so heavily against the shore that it sounded like they’d lap up onto her porch at any moment. Closing her eyes, she focused on nature’s soundtrack as she whispered her daily affirmations.
I create room every day for growth and learning.
I only invest my energy in worthy endeavors.
I have faith that I have all the answers I need inside myself.
