Page 77 of It'll Always Be Her

ChapterSixteen

“Callie Prescott left those for you.” Ray Berry nodded toward a stack of old leather-bound journals and an archival box sitting on the counter. “Said she checked them out of the rare books section of Skyline College. Something to do with Captain Marcus.”

“Oh, great, thank you.” Bee stored her bag under the counter, pushing a lock of hair away from her forehead. The wave hadn’t soaked her enough that she needed to change clothes, but she was definitely damp. And a little weirded out.

“Okay if I organize the new releases?” Ray asked.

“Sure. Hey, did you want to schedule your book club?” She opened the calendar of library events she kept on the desk and flipped to the following month. Ray had recently formed a book club of his fishing buddies and other friends, and he’d asked her about holding their meetings at the library. “Saturday afternoons are open if you want to meet in the conference room.”

“Yeah, uh…” Ray scratched his head, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “Actually, we’re going to look for a place downtown instead.”

“You don’t want to have your meetings at the library?” Bee was both surprised and confused. “Why not?”

“Well, a couple of the guys live over in Traymore, and downtown is more central for all of us. Plus, we can get dinner or coffee, and there’s better Wi-Fi, obviously. Also, the conference room is a little small for eight people, and Mort has trouble with the draft from the windows because of his arthritis so—”

Bee held up her hand. “Okay, okay. I get it.”

“Sorry.” Ray shrugged in apology. “For what it’s worth, I’d be happy to meet here, but it’s kind of majority rules.”

“I understand.” Bee closed the planner, deflecting a sting of both hurt and something that felt close to fear.

She couldn’t avoid all thewhat-ifquestions forever. What if the show didn’t work in her favor? What if everyone in town agreed that the Gardenia House was no longer useful or valuable? What if the town council voted to sell the house and build the Media Center? What if the library closed and she lost her job and had to move away again?

What if she and Adam ended up in different states? Or different countries?

She didn’t want to know the answers to any of those questions. And the only way she could create new ones—likewhat if everything just stays the same?—was to stand her ground.

Letting out her breath, Bee picked up the journals and box that Edith had brought over. She left Ray in charge of the circulation desk and brought the items downstairs to the archives to review. She turned her attention away from hypothetical questions and back toward the ones that would have real answers.

One of the journals was dated 1891, and she leafed through the pages to find the entries for October. As usual, Captain Marcus had provided lengthy details about everything from his next ship voyage to the prices of sugar to the books he was reading and his many social activities.

At the beginning of November, he’d recorded an evening dinner party and ball he’d attended at a friend’s house on Halloween.

The “fine supper” included a seemingly endless procession of soups, meats, salads, and pudding—but more than the food, the captain’s eye was caught by a woman of a “most striking countenance.” She had “bright blue eyes” and “shining hair,” and he danced with her as many times as “decorum would allow.”

The woman was “of the name Millicent Pepper.”

Excitement flared through Bee like a thousand fireflies. Millicent Pepper!

She quickly scanned the rest of the entry. Captain Marcus relayed that Millicent was the town’s new schoolteacher who “found great pleasure in parlor games and ghost stories.”

Beeknewit. She’d known the instant she’d picked up the captain’s pipe that he and Millicent had been romantically involved. But she didn’t yet know why that was so important.

She couldn’t wait to tell Adam. Grabbing the book, she hurried off in search of him.

Unfortunately, he was busy in the mystery stacks trying to work through some sort of camera problem with a couple of the crew members.

Stifling her impatience, Bee returned to the archives. She put all the journals safely in her desk before she went to help Ray.

As they closed up the library, an endless stream of questions ran through her mind. Had anyone else known that John and Millicent were in love? Had they intended to get married? Was she the reason John had built the Gardenia House?

Underlying the questions was a distinct sorrow…because no matter the answers, Bee knew how the story ended. Whether or not Millicent had even returned John’s feelings, the captain had died at sea.

And by all accounts, Millicent had lived a very long, active life, but she’d been alone. They might have shared a love story, but it was tragic.

After Bee organized the holds shelf, she slipped the black tourmaline stone off her neck and put it in her bag. From his perch on the counter, Puffalump swished his tail.

“It wasn’t even working,” she told him. “And I don’t need or want protection from Adam anyway.”

---