Page 8 of Sound and Deception

Summer. The uptick in hope evaporated, and an uncomfortable boulder settled in lieu. I knew that Gram climbing back into her role, physically at least, seemed unlikely. In the time I’d been away, she’d aged and it was damned obvious the accident hadn’t helped. I didn’t want to see it, and often pretended I didn’t. But pretense could only go so far.

“I’m sorry, hun.” Mrs. Plunkett’s expression tipped toward empathy, before I even realized my emotions had leaked onto center stage. “I’m sure it’s hard right now, but you ladies are tough. I’m sure everything will work itself out.”

I nodded, forced a smile, and wondered what that might mean for me.

Her brow wrinkled, eyes focusing to shift somewhere past me, before returning to the here and now. The sunrise smile returned. “I knew there wassomethingI wanted to mention to your Gram, but since you’re here in person…”

She scurried away from me to the adjacent counter, where a variety of displays served impulse buys. Bookmarks, earbuds, journals, magnets, and other small items clogged the far side, but she found what she sought with ease and hurried back. “Tiny Hedgewell makes these, so I showcase them here. It’s partly a favor—I want to support our fellow locals, of course—but they’re so darned cute!”

Mrs. Plunkett dangled a keychain before me, a microscopic book cover hanging from the end. “I seem to remember you constantly taking this out from our library. When Tiny brought it over, I thought of you.”

I pictured Tiny Hedgewell, a man with a round face, John Lennon glasses, and a shy smile. He embraced his small stature without irony. I wasn’t even sure what his real first name was. He dabbled in almost anything creative, especially mixed media, and would bring all manner of art to the quarterly “Talented Islander.” According to Gram and Sunny, he did really well on Etsy. Now, my old librarian folded his creation into my hand and I looked down to see a miniature Sherman Alexie book cover in my palm. The detail was spot on, and a smile warmed my face from the inside out. “Oh, my God. This is too adorable!”

“It’s yours then.”

I shook my head and went to hand it back, but the woman waved me away. “Thank Tiny by buying one of his other pieces at this weekend’s bazaar.”

“Um, sure. I guess I can try to drop by…” I almost grimaced, having forgotten about the annual pre-Thanksgiving and Christmas shindig. Everyone on the island would probably be there.

“Drop by where?” A familiar voice filled my space a second after the bell jingled above the front door.

“I was just telling Klahanie that she should stop in and check out the festivities. Tiny has some pretty impressive stuff for the holidays.” Mrs. Plunkett turned her kind smile on Noah. “Speaking of art, don’t you have some walls to fill?”

“I do, but today I had something else in mind.” Noah’s gaze found and held mine. No beanie today, so his chestnut waves fell untethered over his ears and collar. A couple days of beard growth still covered his jawline, and all I could think was “carefully disheveled,” but I doubted that was his intention. As before, he wore old jeans, a dark blue plaid flannel shirt, boots, and a lined bomber jacket. I could feel a little tingle at the bottom of my belly and it bloomed as I looked up at him.Shit.

“And what might that be?” The old lady nudged.

Noah and I stared at one another for several more beats, and before I could duck, he reached over my head to catch a strand of my hair. He smoothed it behind my ear, his warm touch feathery against my skin. “Wind gave you a tidbit of an up-do. All better now.”

“Um, thanks.” I wanted to ask him what the hell the whole radio thing was about, but thought better of it at the moment.

He turned to face Mrs. Plunkett. “I’m on a local history kick at the moment. I heard about this book…”

Noah described something he could easily find online, but chose to purchase throughBook Alley.A moment later, he faced me again. I should have used the short distraction to slip away, but like an idiot, I hadn’t budged. I shook myself off, pretending my lapsed attention had nothing to do with the old boyfriend standing next to me. Avoiding those amused brown eyes, I faced the old librarian. “It was lovely seeing you again, but I need to scoot. Two more deliveries to go, and I have some stuff to do at the farm. Thank you for the keychain.”

“You bet. Don’t forget to give your best to Tiny.”

“Will do.” My stomach twisted with a weird mix of leaden and light, but I managed to smile at both of them. It was just a quick one to be polite, before I turned to head back into the Northwest drizzle.

“Hey, Klahanie!”

I paused at the door, pivoted, and managed to meet Noah’s eyes again. I just raised my brows, aware that it wasn’t the friendliest response. If Gram had been there, I would have been on the receiving end of a frigid glare, and possibly an embarrassing remark.

“Wanna meet at Salty’z Friday?” He waggled his own brows. “Just dinner. That’s it. Maybe we should clear the air.”

“Maybe, but that was a long time ago, Noah.” I felt myself teeter.Damn it to hell.

“Yeah, I know. Makes it better, don’t you think? We’re all grown up, so we can chat about adult-type things. Or we could even tackle a subject that might have caused great discomfort at one time. But no strings.Absolutelyno strings. I wouldn’t want to clip your wings or anything.” He let his assertion hang in one serious beat, before a grin again took over his handsome face.

Mrs. Plunkett glanced between us, expression stuck somewhere between amusement and confusion.

“I’ll think about it.” The words slid out before I could plug the leak, but the damage was likely done.

Chapter Eight

“Well, just so you don’t forget, the 102ndannual Island Holiday Bazaar is coming up FAST. Or maybe it’s the 103rd—I’ll have to check with John Crowberry to be sure. Of course, we know you don’t remember back to your toddler years, but an estimate would be good. Just messing, man. Just messin’. Anyway, onward. Everybody and everybody’s hamster will be there, so don’t be the odd man/woman/hamster out.

Speaking of odd man out, looks like Charlie Taggart, of our own Northwest Hot Dog Eating Bonanza, is heading to Korea for a year to teach English. Just remember, buddy, the first thing people want to know or improve upon is cursing ability. ‘Course, you are themanin that category, so they’ll be spitting the color in no time and making you proud.

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