Page 2 of Secrets in the Stacks

After she’d gotten in her laps, she changed into her yoga pants and a T-shirt and came back out to the kitchen. Killer was lying on the floor, watching Archer season the stir-fry. “What can I do to help?”

“You could pull me out a beer. Dinner has about ten more minutes, so we have time to sit for a while.” He nodded to the dining table. “Inside?”

“Please. I know I’ll probably have to give up my swimming time soon, at least until it warms up, but I love ending my day with the workout.” Rarity took out two beers from the fridge and walked over to the table, where she curled her legs under her as she sat. “I talked to Terrance about what it would cost to run the heater in the pool, and I guess I’ll just deal with the chill. I can’t afford the extra bill right now. Not after hiring Darby part-time.”

“How’s she doing? I was friends with her dad before he and her mom took off to live in Alaska. You think it’s cold here? Try Alaska in the winter. Darby said they already had a foot of snow at the house the last time she called them.” He opened her beer and then his own. “She’s a good kid.”

“I won’t argue with you on that. She’s a hard worker. I’m glad you sent her my way. I didn’t know that her parents had moved out of the area. She talks about her grandmother a lot, but not her folks.”

“Her grandmother is an amazing person. If you ever get a chance to visit with her, I think you’d have a lot in common. She volunteers at the women’s shelter in Flagstaff and just got some sort of award from the mayor. She’s always proposing new legislation to the state reps on women’s rights. And she comes to at least one of my group hikes every week. I finally sold her a senior card so she would stop paying me.” He sipped his beer. “She’s also a survivor. I’m surprised she’s not in your book group.”

“I don’t believe you really have a senior card, but let her think she was getting a deal,” Rarity guessed. “I don’t think all survivors want to be in a book club. We don’t all read.”

“Okay, you caught me. I created a fake card on the computer, then told her it was for locals only. If I had to honor that price for everyone, I’d go out of business. Anyway, it worked. She’s happy, and I don’t feel like a jerk taking her money.”

“You’re a good man.” She squeezed his hand. “No wonder Darby loves her grandmother so much. She sounds amazing.”

He sipped his beer before he responded. “It was hard on Darby when Jeff and Sara moved. She felt abandoned, especially since she’d just finished her cancer treatments. They just thought they were moving on with their lives. They still pay for her college. I think she was just planning on living at home a while longer. When they moved, they took that away from her. She hasn’t forgiven them yet, but it’s close.”

“Families are hard,” Rarity said, staring at the pool outside through the glass. She could see her own reflection in the window over the water, like she was still outside, swimming. She saw Archer’s face as he studied her. “What?”

“You just don’t talk about your own family much. It’s like you came fully formed and dropped into Sedona.” He held his hands up to the skies. “Of course, if that’s going to happen, it’s going to happen here.”

A timer went off in the kitchen.

Rarity stood, smiling. “Saved by the bell.”

“Okay, so you are an alien. Just don’t eat my face. I’ve been told I’m good-looking, and if I’m going to be dead, I’d like to have an open-casket service.” He checked the doneness of the rice and nodded his approval. He took one of the flat bowls that Rarity had retrieved from the cupboard and filled it, first with rice, then with the stir-fry mixture. He sprinkled some chives he’d snipped from her indoor herb garden and handed it to her. “Eat this instead.”

“Aliens don’t eat healthy Chinese food, do they?” She set her plate on the table as she got out a fork for her and chopsticks for Archer. He liked the full experience when he ate cultural foods. She still had half her beer, but she poured a couple of glasses of water to go with dinner. “Anyway, I’m just glad I have help at the bookstore now. Darby checks off all the boxes for a perfect employee.”

“Humph, maybe I should have hired her and replaced Calliope.” He sat at the table with his bowl.

“Maybe.” Rarity let the smell of ginger and garlic rise for a few seconds before she picked up her fork. “All I know is I need to keep you around. You’re an amazing chef.”

“And that’s not my best talent.”

The rest of the night was spent talking about little to nothing and watching a movie. Rarity liked nights like this where it was just the two of them. As they talked, the conversation bounced from one subject to the next. She enjoyed spending time with Archer, and not just because he was crazy good-looking. He was smart and funny, and he took care of her in little ways, even when she didn’t ask for help. Now, she didn’t want to be the helpless damsel in distress, but being watched after didn’t exactly hurt. Especially not after dating Kevin for so long. He barely noticed her existence, except when it affected one of his plans. She’d been stupid to think he really cared.

Killer was curled between them on the couch when the movie ended. Archer glanced at his watch. “I hate to cut the party short, but I’ve got a group hike tomorrow at six. Do you want to come along?”

“I’d love to, but with the festival coming up, I need to get the bookstore set up. I’ll be packing books and moving boxes over to the town square, then moving boxes back to the shop and putting books back on the shelves after the festival is over. At least I’ll get my workout in this weekend.” She turned off the television and went to let Killer outside. Then she went to the kitchen and started putting food away into plastic boxes. “Do you want some of the leftovers?”

“I’d love some, if you don’t mind. I’ll take it for lunch tomorrow.” He reached down and got another plastic container out of her bottom cabinet. “You’re very generous.”

“You cooked, dude. All I did was buy the raw ingredients.” She filled the container and snapped on the lid. Then she handed it to him. “You better get going, or it will be too cold for you to walk home.”

“Hmmmm, what on earth would we do then?” He laughed, and Rarity figured from the way her cheeks felt that the bright red coloring was the cause. He kissed her on the neck. “Sleep tight. We’re on for early dinner on Sunday, right? If you need me to, I can come early and help you unpack from the festival.”

“I’ll consider it. I think I’ll be fine, but then again, I don’t know how many of the books are actually going to sell. It would make me sad to box everything up for sale and then have to box it all back up to put away.”

He pulled her close to him and leaned into her neck. She could feel his breath on her skin. “That’s not going to happen. You need to be more positive.”

“I’m trying, but running my own business is harder than I thought it would be. Every time I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be a train.” She leaned into him. “But if I continue to get hugs like this, I’m sure I can be ultra-positive.”

He kissed her gently on the lips, then stepped away. “Like you said, I need to get going. I’ll see you this weekend, if not before. Call me.”

And then he was gone. She let Killer inside the house and locked the back door. Then she went and stood near the entry and watched Archer out the side windows by the door. “You’re a keeper, Archer Ender. Now we just have to find out why you’re not already in someone else’s snare.”

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