Page 9 of Once Upon a Beast

She grimaced, making her way through their cozy little showroom. Like her family had done with the bookstore’s historic building, Del and Chase had preserved as much of the rustic feel of the cabin as they could. Some things they couldn’t avoid changing, however, like adding indoor plumbing and heating and cooling units. But their custom-made display tables matched the log cabin vibes, and the neat and tidy potted domestic greenery for sale atop each brought a little bit of the outdoors in. It was a stark comparison to the disorganized mess she’d left in the wee hours of the morning.

“Still standing, so that’s a good thing. You should have seen it, Chase. The roof’s northeast corner was leaking like a sieve. We lost a few dozen books that didn’t get moved fast enough, but most were in the used section. Sucks to lose any, though.”

“Agreed. How’s Faye taking it?”

“Oh, you know my aunt,” Del said, putting her keys away with a grin. “Always looking at the bright side of things. She kept insisting it could have been a whole lot worse.”

When she and Brooklyn weren’t teasing me about Isaac, anyway. Which reminds me…

“Hey, any chance I can borrow one of the chainsaws over my lunch break? I offered to help with some storm damage cleanup.”

Chase looked at her like she’d grown a third arm. “You know there are easier ways to take down bookshelves than with a chainsaw, right?”

“Not at the bookstore, you goof!” Del shook her head and laughed. “No, I’m helping a…friend with some downed branches and stuff.”

“Well, that makes more sense. Yeah, no prob. Might need it this afternoon, though. Think you can have it back by maybe one o’clock? Or I could just meet you over there. I’m sure we could knock it out pretty quick if we tag-teamed it.”

“No!”

Chase’s brows rose in unison.

Oh, man, why on earth had her answer come out sounding so panicked? It wasn’t like he would go and report Brooklyn to anyone if he found out why Del had cleanup work ahead of her today. Or did it maybe have more to do withwhoshe was doing the work for?

Isaac in his drenched attire had put that long, lean body nicely on display. Would he look as delicious today in drier clothes? She felt her cheeks warm, which wouldn’t help her end this conversation any sooner. Del faked a coughing fit, then grabbed her travel mug and took a long drink.

“Sorry, had a tickle in my throat.”

“Uh-huh,” Chase said with a wary eye. “Probably from all the dust that got kicked up moving books last night.”

“Exactly.” She took another long swig to emphasize her point. Though something told her he wasn’t buying it. “Anyway, there isn’t that much to clean up, so you don’t need to waste your lunch break helping me on mine. Besides, someone’s gotta stay here to man the store, right?”

Chase looked around their shop, currently empty of customers. Weekday foot traffic was minimal at best this late in the season. Which they both knew.

“Riiiight. Well, I’m gonna head out back and start loading the trailer for that Manchester job. But don’t worry, I won’t leave until you’re back from running your errand. Wouldn’t want us to miss any sales, you know.”

He was goading her now, but Del wasn’t biting. She didn’t ask him about his personal life, so he didn’t need to know about hers.

Okay, that wasn’t true. Shedidprod him about his personal life, all the time—it’s what pseudo big sisters did. Still, the less he knew about this job, the less he could tease her about it. Goodness knew, she’d already been razzed enough by the women in her family.

Which was silly and a wasted effort. The hermit was cute, she’d give them that, but that’s as far as she was letting any of this go. And for good reason.

Del had learned the hard way her first year back after college that it was foolish to let her mind take a back seat to her heart, thanks to suave Mr. Jonathan Schumacher. As the red flags began to surface in their relationship, she’d pushed them away, buying into his excuses without question. And why wouldn’t she when they were going on one exotic vacation after another? Ten months later, as she’d sat on her back porch daydreaming about a future beachside wedding, Mia arrived with some news she’d stumbled across online: wedding bells were in Jonathan’s future.

They just hadn’t been in Del’s.

The shocking news had broken her heart. His betrayal had convinced Del to keep her tender heart locked away for a while. Over time, the hurt had faded, but the trust had yet to return.

So no, Del didn’t date, didn’t want to date, and certainly didn’t need to date. Her family and friends all knew it, too. Though there was nothing wrong with enjoying some eye candy. She was single, not dead for goodness’ sake.

“Great,” she said. “Just holler when you’re done loading, and I promise to be quick.”

“Sounds good. And you’re right, it shouldn’t take you long to cut down the rest of that awful shrub at Manning’s place. I’ll be glad to see it go.”

Del groaned. Why had she even bothered trying to slip one past him? Chase was practically family, after all. “Mia told you.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said with a wink. “Enjoy your lunch date.”

With that, he headed out the door. Del watched him go, chin lifted as he whistled an imaginary tune, the cocky jerk. She pounded a fist on the counter.

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