Until I Met You

by Tari Faris

  “But why are they here? Now?” He stepped closer as he inspected the boxes, sending the scent of clean soap around her.

  She inched farther away. “This is the new library. You said I could move them in after a couple weeks. It’s been a couple weeks.”

  “That was before the roof got damaged in the move.” His brows shot up as if she’d lost her mind. “We aren’t ready for books.”

  “Nate said—”

  “I don’t care what Nate told you. I said it isn’t ready. We have plastic over the roof, but it’s another few weeks before it gets replaced.”

  “Fine. Move them back if you want, but stop yelling at me.” Libby eyed the piles of boxes and stopped. Odd. She was sure she’d taped all the boxes, but the one on the end was just folded shut.

  Austin took a seat on one of the boxes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t talk to you that way. I seem to lose my temper more often than not these days.”

  Libby sat on a box a few feet away. “You aren’t always this charming?”

  He leaned forward on his knees. “I’ve been trying to apologize to you for more than a week now. But you seem to be avoiding me.”

  “Possibly.” She tried to ignore the wet lock of hair that fell across his forehead. It didn’t work. “Can you blame me if this is what your apologies are like?”

  “Right. I’m sorry for the other day . . . and for a minute ago.”

  “Did you apologize to Nate?”

  “Yes.” He rubbed his hands together but didn’t look up. “Whatever is going on between you and my brother is none of my business.”

  “You’re right, it’s not.” Libby leaned her head back against the rough wooden wall. “But nothing is going on.”

  His shoulders seemed to relax with that bit of information. He’s jealous. Olivia’s voice echoed through her mind. When Austin’s eyes settled on her, she had to turn away from his intense gaze.

  Libby lifted the edge of the box that was missing the tape. There was a one-inch gap between two books. Odd. Every space had been squished full with books. She read the titles of the books around it. Sure enough, one was missing. It was the first of a series, and she’d been careful to keep all series together.

  “I should go. My dad is waiting at my place.” He stood and shoved his hands in his pockets, then pulled them out again. “We’re having a small picnic. You want to join us?”

  “What?”

  “It won’t be anything fancy, but I can grill a fine burger. My dad would be thrilled if he got to spend the afternoon with a pretty girl rather than just me.” He shifted from one foot to the other and then back again.

  She should say no. Her emotions couldn’t take another appearance of Mr. Hyde. Then again, he was trying, and the vulnerable expression that had filled his eyes when they’d spoken of his brother still tugged at her heart.

  “Come on. It’s just burgers.” He held out his hand, and she let him pull her to her feet.

  But with that look in his eyes and the way his touch made her insides flip around, it could never be just burgers with Austin. Still, she nodded, followed him out of the library, and pulled the door shut until it clicked.

  Austin was a few steps ahead but slowed to let her catch up. “I’m not sure if I told you, but my dad has early-onset Alzheimer’s. He has good days and bad days. He’s on a new medicine. It does seem to be helping, but only time will tell.”

  “That must be hard.”

  “It is.” He dropped his hands in his pockets again. “It has its challenges. If he says anything off the wall, it’s usually easier to agree with him than try to correct him.” He paused on the sidewalk, where Otis lay in their path. “That hippo is weird.”

  Libby bent over and rubbed Otis’s shiny brass nose. “I think he’s awesome. And you better start calling him Otis if you don’t want to look like an outsider.”

  “I don’t care. I am not calling it by name. They can run me out of town as soon as my job is done.”

  They made their way across the street to Austin’s backyard, where his father was waiting with Shiro’s head in his lap.

  “Hey, Dad. This is Libby. Libby, this is my dad, Henry. The senior Williams of Williams and Son Landscaping.”

  “Son,” not “Sons.” He’d taken care to emphasize that.

  Libby extended her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. It’s a fine Saturday, isn’t it?”

  “Sure is.” The wrinkles around his eyes deepened as he seemed to be trying to place her.

  Austin headed toward the door. “I’m going to finish readying the burgers.”

  Libby settled into a chair next to Henry. “Is this your first time in Heritage?”

  His brow wrinkled. “I don’t know.” He chuckled as he tapped the side of his head. “Not what it used to be.”

  “No worries. We all forget things at times.” Libby scanned the backyard. “Nate lives in town. Is he coming over too?”

  “No. I think Austin said he had a church thing.” He returned to petting the dog. The action seemed to ease some of the tension around his face. “Probably best. Those boys do fight sometimes.”

  Austin appeared in the doorway behind his dad as if ready to ask something.

  “Don’t tell Austin, but he has impossibly high standards sometimes.” Henry held his finger to his lips.

  Austin’s jaw tensed at his dad’s words, and he turned around, disappearing back into the house.

  Henry ran his hands over Shiro for a few more minutes, then looked up at Libby and blinked. “I didn’t know you were joining us, Becky. Did you bring some more of that peach pie?”

  Becky? Austin’s instructions floated back. “If he says anything off the wall, it’s usually easier to agree with him than try to correct him.”

  She reached out and patted his hand. “No peach pie. Not today.”

  Maybe Becky was a cousin.

  When Henry went back to scratching the dog’s ears, Libby stood and went to check on Austin. “Need any help?”

  Austin pointed to a cutting board that had an onion and a knife resting on top. “Do you cut onions?”

  “Sure.” Libby turned on the hot water and started washing her hands. “Your dad is super sweet.”

  “He can be when he isn’t bad-mouthing me.” Austin shaped a hamburger patty, then slapped it on the plate with the others.

  “He wasn’t bad-mouthing you.” She dried her hands and picked up the knife. “He was just . . . observing.”

  His head jerked up. “You think I have impossibly high standards as well?”

  She shrugged as she cut off the end of the onion and started peeling back the outer layer. “Every time we fought, it was because I failed to meet your expectations. Either I’m lousy at living life or your standards might be a little high.”

  “There is nothing wrong with having standards.” He reached for another ball of meat and started shaping it.

  “No, but a life without grace for others’ mistakes ends up being a pretty lonely life.” When Austin didn’t comment, she set to slicing the onion in wheels. “He called me Becky. Is that a family member?”

  Austin’s movements stilled before he dropped the patty on the plate. “No. Becky is just someone we used to know. You can throw the plant scraps in that bucket by the door. I’ll compost them.”

  Libby added the onions to the plate and scraped the rest into the bucket. Her mind flashed to Olivia and what she’d say about this little lunch. Shoot. She was supposed to text her. She grabbed for her phone, but her pocket was empty. “I forgot my purse in the schoolhouse. I’ll be right back.”

  She jogged back to the schoolhouse and stopped. The front door was open a crack. But she’d shut it—tight. Libby edged the door open with a loud creak. This time the noise felt less homey and more horror-flick-ish. Please don’t be a psycho killer.

  “Hello?” Libby’s voice echoed around the empty room.

  Nothing.

  Maybe a thief?

  She flipped the light switch and
gave a quick scan of the room. No one. And her purse remained right where she had left it.

  Weird.

  She grabbed her purse but stopped. The flap on the open box was now bent the opposite way. She opened the other flaps. One book was still missing, but it had been the first book of the series before. Now book one was in its place, but book two had vanished.

  It wasn’t a thief or a serial killer.

  Heritage had a serial reader on the loose.

  eight

  Why hadn’t he just told Libby who Becky was? It wasn’t like he had anything to hide.

  Austin sat on the steps of the gazebo and slid his baseball cap back on. The midday sun was still a little warm for his tastes, but three weeks into September meant cool days were coming, and soon. He made a few notes on his clipboard, then set it aside. His heart just wasn’t in it today.

  A tightness squeezed his chest. His dad had called Libby “Becky” half the day at their picnic, and Libby never corrected him. She’d even stopped Austin once when he tried to correct his father. He’d nearly choked on his burger when his dad asked if they were still planning on a winter wedding.

  Libby had dismissed it, but Austin had called it an early night for everyone. It had been a rough day for his dad, but Austin had never seen anyone so sweet and gentle with him.

  She’d also managed to leave that baggie of change on his table at some point in the day without him noticing. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as his gaze traveled to the library door. Maybe he should go see what she was up to today.

  Austin shook away the thought and stood. He needed to focus his time on saving the family business. Libby was becoming a distraction from that goal.

  Austin made a note on the clipboard to mark the ground for the auger. That hippo better walk away again before the auger got here, or that could be quite problematic.

  “Hey.” Nate’s voice came from behind him. “Looks like it’s all coming together.”

  “Yup.”

  “I’m almost done in there.” Nate stood on the steps of the gazebo and pointed at the one-room schoolhouse. “Have you been in to look?”

  “Yes, looks good.”

  Nate leaned on one of the rails of the gazebo, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt. Must be a meeting-free day. “I thought you said you understood about the moving-day problem.”

  “I do.” He added a note to call about the heirloom roses he’d ordered. “It’s fine.”

  “If it’s fine, then why do you still talk to me like we’re barely more than strangers?”

  “Isn’t that what we are?”

  “What do you mean by that?” Nate leaned back against the rail.

  Austin slid the pencil behind his ear and tucked his clipboard under his arm. “I came to realize that a lot has changed over the years, and I don’t really know you.”

  “Austin—”

  “I’m serious. The town all talks about how you give the shirt off your back for everyone.” He walked to the opposite side of the gazebo and leaned against one of the posts. “You’re involved with so many committees, so many volunteer positions, so many visitations, that I wonder how you even have time to sleep. I can’t believe what you’ve done with the inside of that library. It’s like you have this compulsion to rescue everyone from everything, and yet when Dad needs you, when I need you, you aren’t around—”

  “No matter what I do, it isn’t good enough for you, is it?” Nate turned away and leaned his elbows on the rail.

  Good enough for him? His dad’s voice from the other day rolled over in his mind. He has impossibly high standards sometimes. Maybe he did, but wasn’t that better than having no standards? Some things should never take a back seat . . . like family.

  “The Williams brothers. Just the two fellas we’re looking for,” Mr. Jameson yelled as he crossed Second Street, waving his arm. Two people trailed him. One was a man carrying an impressive news camera, and the other was that newswoman—Sydney St. James—in full makeup and a skirt. She seemed to struggle with her heels in the soft grass as they moved toward the gazebo, but her practiced smile never faded from her face.

  “Channel 21 News is back.” Mr. Jameson huffed as he stopped at the bottom of the steps. “They had come to interview me today about the progress and were thrilled to see that the building had already been moved to the site.”

  Sydney St. James surveyed the area, then pointed to the library. “Maybe on the steps of the library.”

  Austin looked down at his T-shirt and worn jeans. “I’m not dressed for an interview.” Although more exposure was exactly the thing he needed for more business.

  “You two look perfect. Trust me.” Sydney eyed both men up and down.

  Without waiting for input, she headed in that direction and motioned for them to follow.

  Nate started walking toward the steps. Of course he did. The mayor wanted something and Nate jumped. No questions asked.

  Austin tossed his hat to the side and followed. He ran his fingers through his hair, doing his best to erase the hat-hair look. For their first interview they had a makeup crew with nonstop touch-ups. Now they didn’t seem to care if he’d even showered.

  He stopped at the top step and waited while Sydney gave instructions to everyone. The guy with the camera counted down, then pointed to Sydney. She lit up with that practiced smile once more. “At Channel 21, we pride ourselves on listening to our viewers. And after our feature on Heritage almost six weeks ago, you have asked what the Williams brothers are up to these days. Today I’m here to find out.”

  The Williams brothers? Wasn’t this story about the town? He shot a look at Nate, but his brother just shrugged.

  “As you can see behind me, the schoolhouse has been moved to its new location, and when I walked up, the brothers were discussing where to place the new sidewalks.”

  Not exactly, but small detail.

  “Anyone who has been to Heritage in the past can appreciate all these two men are doing to transform the town. Tell me, Williams brothers, are you happy with the progress so far?” Sydney shoved the microphone toward him and Nate as if they were a package deal.

  Austin leaned in. “We are. Moving the schoolhouse was challenging but worth it. And if all goes as planned, the library will be open by Halloween.”

  “What other plans do you have for the square?” She pointed the microphone toward Nate.

  Nate? He didn’t have plans. Williams and Son Landscaping had plans.

  Austin spoke up before Nate could. “The adjacent corner will have a community playground. Various options have been discussed for the other two corners, but those won’t be added until a future date.”

  “Great!” Sydney looked into the lens and smiled extra wide. “Now to a question we get asked most often by our viewers. Are you two single?”

  Austin blinked at the camera. What kind of question was that? Was this a news show or a gossip show? He’d let Nate take this one.

  Or not. His brother had gone three shades of red as he shifted from one foot to the other.

  Austin leaned toward the microphone. “This project hasn’t left much time for dating. We have both been putting in long days.”

  Sydney said a few more words, then the camera guy started packing away his equipment. That was it? No questions about the other landscaping they had planned? How would this help his business if all they asked him about was his dating life?

  Then again, all publicity was good publicity, right?

  The full moon made it a perfect night for her to catch the serial reader. Libby laid out a quilt on the grass next to Luke and Hannah’s house. Their house shadowed her from the bright full moon so the serial reader would never see her. She dressed all in black, complete with a black stocking cap of Luke’s she’d found. She was undercover. She stretched out on her stomach and lifted the binoculars.

  “What are you doing?”

  Libby let out a little scream as she turned toward Austin’s voice. “Shh. You’re going to
wreck my cover.”

  Austin stood about ten feet away next to his house, his hands in his pockets.

  Libby pulled her black cap a little lower. And please go inside so I don’t die of embarrassment.

  Austin dropped down to sit on the blanket. “Seriously, what are you doing?”

  “I’m watching for someone who has been sneaking into the library.” Her voice was an exaggerated whisper.

  “An intruder?” He grabbed his phone. “We should call the police.”

  She yanked his phone away. “No. A serial reader.”

  His right eyebrow lifted. “A what?”

  She motioned him closer. She could watch while she explained, but whoever it was wouldn’t come if he or she saw or heard them.

  Austin stretched out on his stomach next to her. “Please explain.”

  “Shh.” She put her finger to her lips, then lifted the binoculars again and peered around. “There was a book missing the other day. It was the first in a series, but then when I went back it was there, and the second in the series was missing.”

  He crossed his arms in front of him and laid his head down. “Are you sure you didn’t just think you saw the wrong book?”

  “That’s what Olivia said, but then last night I went to show her, and the third in the series was missing.” Libby scanned and rescanned the square. Nothing.

  “Someone is breaking into the library to read?” Humor laced his tone.

  Libby couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Right? Whoever it is will be my new best friend.”

  “How do you even know they’ll come tonight?” He rolled to his side and propped his head on his hand. He was just beyond the shadow of the house, and his dark hair glinted in the moonlight.

  “It seems to take them one to two days to read the book, so it’ll probably be tonight or tomorrow. But the farther you are into a series the faster you read, so I’m betting on tonight. I left the door unlocked.”

  “You’re going to stay out here all night to see if this night reader will come or not?”

  “Night reader. I like that.”

  Austin rolled onto his back and looked up. “You can see a lot more stars here than in Canton.”