by Kym Roberts
“We need to talk,” he insisted, but I could see his mind was going elsewhere.
“I’ve been waiting to talk to you for several weeks.”
“I know. And all I can say is that I’m sorry. Can I stop by tonight?” he asked.
I heard myself saying it, before my brain could correct my mistake. “Yes.”
He smiled and I nearly drowned. “Thank you.” Cade leaned down to kiss me, but one last glimmer of self-respect rose and I turned away at the last moment. His firm lips encountered my cheek, instead of my mouth. It didn’t stop him, but I knew it hurt him.
He stepped back, a sad smile spreading across his face. “Can you finally tell me what my mom’s news conference is about?”
And there it was. The reason for all this charm. I straightened my back and lifted my chin. I’d give him the information he wanted, but I’d make sure he knew it was because it was my choice, and not because I fell for any of his lines.
“She’s introducing an app for my cousin Jamal.”
“Who’s he working for?”
The fact that he believed Jamal couldn’t do something like develop a computer software program, lifted my chin even farther. I probably looked like a giraffe reaching for the top of an acacia tree. “This is his app,” I said with a wagonload full of pride. “His idea, and your mom loved it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why is she the one announcing its release?”
My pride fell a smidgeon. Cade of all people would know what it took me to ask his mom for help. “Because I asked her if she would.”
“What’s in it for you?” he asked.
“That’s something you’re going to have to find out for yourself at the news conference at ten o’clock…tomorrow.” I turned back to my work.
“Okay, I’ll be here. What time can I come by your apartment tonight?”
I hadn’t expected that. I’d anticipated Cade canceling by text now that he had most of the information he wanted. I glanced back over my shoulder, unsure of my judgment. “You still want to come?”
“Asking to come by your place was not a ploy to get information about what you’re up to.”
If I believed the look on his face, he was genuinely insulted. I ignored it and chose to believe Cade would appear when I saw him standing at my door. “I should be done around nine fifteen or so.”
“I’ll be at your front door at nine fifteen…sharp.”
Cade said goodbye and headed to the front door as my dad walked in. The conversation between them was easier. It had the flow of friendship that made it warm and inviting. It was nothing like our conversation, which had been filled with pain and passion that neither one of us was ready or willing to except. I listened to them for a few minutes and realized I was jealous of the years they’d had together. Yet at the same time, I reveled in their friendship. That relationship had gotten my daddy through some rough times while I’d been gone. Any woman would be thankful for that.
“Are you ready for the press conference, Princess?” my daddy asked.
Cade stopped before exiting the store, pausing long enough to glean a bit more information.
“Almost, Daddy,” I said with my back turned to them. I was not giving Cade any more information. The announcement was supposed to be a surprise.
“Jamal said the app is completely ready. I just collected my first book and it worked wonderfully.”
Daddy hadn’t been able to go with us when Jamal showed me how to play, and he’d been dying to try the app ever since. I just hadn’t realized how excited he’d been. At the rate he was going, he’d be telling the whole town about it before we even gathered the press for the release.
Cade preyed on his enthusiasm. “It’s a game where you collect books?”
“It’s not just a game—”
I interrupted before he gave away the Barn too. “Daddy, we have to save the details for the media.”
“Hogwash. This is Cade. He’s our friend and our mayor. He has a vested interest in the app succeeding.”
Who was this blabbermouth? And where did he hide my daddy?
Dad turned to Cade, using his hands so much I was beginning to think he had bugs in his pants—of the fire ant variety. “It’s going to launch a business venture between the Book Barn Princess and Jamal’s Book Seeker app. We hope that it will bring business from across the state to our store.”
I saw Cade’s face light up as he slowly turned to look at me. A couple of months back when he’d asked me what my intentions were for the Barn, I’d said I was happy to return home and keep it small. My daddy had just proven Cade’s point—he couldn’t believe I would settle for one store in Hazel Rock when he thought I could create a chain.
Somehow, I couldn’t get anyone to understand that I didn’t want to expand the store and make it grow nationwide. That wasn’t why I’d stayed in Hazel Rock. I’d stayed because I found my roots once more. I’d stayed because I was working with my dad in my hometown, and I finally felt comfortable in my own skin.
I didn’t want to leave Hazel Rock for anything but vacation. This was where I belonged. I didn’t need to be rich and successful. I was comfortable making a living and being right where I was. But Cade was ambitious; he always had been. And that was one of our differences—one of the wedges that would always come between us.
“Are you looking to expand the Barn?” Cade asked in that all-knowing tone.
“No,” I said before my daddy could answer.
“Yes!” my dad said, despite my denial. Both our answers were full of passion. I had no idea he wanted to expand the business. Apparently, he didn’t either, because he seemed somewhat embarrassed by the admission. It was like we hadn’t communicated about it at all…which, in hindsight, I guess we hadn’t really discussed the possibilities, we just always said we liked out business the way it was—family run.
“You do?” I asked.
Cade smiled like a pet raccoon. “Is that what my mom is going to announce? The collaboration between the app and the bookstore?”
This time I made sure my dad didn’t answer. I held up my hand to halt his response and approached our mayor. “Cade Calloway, what we plan with our business is none of your business. You’ll find out when the rest of Hazel Rock finds out—tomorrow morning.”
“At ten o’clock in front of the Barn.”
“Ten o’clock in front of the Barn,” I repeated.
“Does Mateo know?” he asked.
“He knows about the press conference. The rest is between my dad, my aunt, me, and my cousin.”
“And my mother, apparently.”
My dad finally got the clue that Cade and I were at ends. Opposite ends. He cleared his throat, the look of total discomfort showcasing how much he hated to be caught in the middle of our arguing. “Excuse me. I think I’ll disappear into the back room.” Princess scurried across the floor after him, limping just a little bit as the two pushed through the curtain into the stockroom at the same time.
Cade and I looked at each other. He was pleased. I was annoyed.
“You’ll have to come back tomorrow. I hope we can trust you not to say anything.”
Cade held his hand up to his heart. It was his way of saying I could trust him.
Part of me did. The other part rolled her eyes.
“I’ll be here, and I’ll make sure my dad is too.” His smile and exit were full of male bravado. If he’d done it at the beauty salon across the street, all the women would have looked at each other and burst out laughing.
I sighed and went back to work.
The last thing I wanted was J. C. Calloway standing next to his wife and trying to take all the limelight from my cousin and my daddy during the press conference. There was no doubt in my mind he would do it—none whatsoever. J. C. had a need the size of Texas to be the center of attention, and if Cade couldn’t
see that about his daddy, I wasn’t sure we’d have a whole lot to say to each other later that night.
I had a lot of books to get out in the next couple hours and the tearoom needed to be restocked. The door reopened with a swish and a ding, and I’d had just about enough of the Cade Calloway charm. “Cade Calloway, I am too busy to answer any of your cockamamie—”
“I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but never have I have been accused of looking like Cade Calloway.” Scarlet stood in front of me dressed in all black, her shiny auburn hair falling in smooth silky waves over her shoulders. Her lips pouted, but there was a twinkle in her eye that held the devil-may-care attitude Scarlet was known for. At a glance, I’d probably mistake her for Scarlett Johansson in the role of the Black Widow. Her outfit hugged her curves and showed off all her female sexuality no man could deny. And part of me was jealous of how sexy she could make a simple pair of leggings and a black blouse look.
Scarlet’s warm, giving spirit, however, wouldn’t allow that feeling to blossom. Her smile was enough to make you fall in love with her, because Scarlet was the most caring person I’d ever met. Her IQ was out the barn roof and her heart truly was bigger than the state of Texas. Princess came out to greet her and rubbed against her leg.
“I’m sorry, Scarlet. Cade’s gotten under my skin this morning.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” A smile spread across her face as she scratched Princess behind the ears, and Princess raised up on her hind legs like a cat to get more attention.
Scarlet was one of those people in town who believed in Cade and me living happily ever after together. It was annoying…mostly because it was wrong. “Don’t start.” I carried a stack of books to the mystery section.
“What? I wasn’t starting anything.”
“You know darn well what I’m talking about.”
“Just because your future mother-in-law is giving a press conference for the Barn tomorrow…”
“Penelope Calloway is not my future mother-in-law,” I insisted for only the millionth time in the past eight months.
“If you say so.” Scarlet sauntered over to where I was stacking the books on the shelf and began helping.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I asked.
“Did Princess sleep on your pillow again? You’re mighty testy today.”
“No, I just don’t want to talk about Cade.”
Scarlet grabbed another stack of books. “You were the one who brought him up.”
“Can we drop it, please?” I pointed to one of the stalls on the other side of the Barn. “Those go in the romance section.”
Scarlet changed directions and said, “Considerate it dropped,” as she dumped her stack of books onto the counter and turned with her hands on her hips. The noise may as well have slapped Princess across the face. The poor little thing jumped straight up in the air, looked back at Scarlet, and I could’ve sworn a frown crossed her face as she headed out the back of the Barn through her pet door.
“She didn’t mean it, Princess,” I said.
“I’m sorry, girl. I should have realized it’d be a bad day for the princesses.”
It hadn’t been a bad day—until people started nagging us.
“Should I leave you alone?” Scarlet asked.
Guilt washed over me. I was taking all my frustration out on my best friend for no reason at all. “I’m sorry, Scarlet. You know what the man does to me.”
“I do. And I know what you do to him.”
“Can we just drop it for today?” I asked.
“Tell me about the press conference. Is Penelope really going to promote Jamal’s app?”
There was a topic I wasn’t afraid to discuss, at least not with Scarlet. As my number one confidant, she learned everything before anyone else. She was so excited about the book signing, she’d texted me at seven o’clock to tell me she’d downloaded the app and started stacking books on her shelf first thing that morning. I’d read the text and rolled over to get another hour of sleep. She and my dad seemed to be obsessed.
“How is J. C. taking to Bobby Ray spending so much time with his wife?”
My dad had been gone most of the morning with Penelope as the two of them worked on the app together with my aunt in tow. God only knew how much trouble the three of them stirred up.
“I’m not sure, but I can tell you, my aunt Violet was with them.”
“O.M.W! What an interesting group that makes.” O.M.W. was Scarlet’s way of saying oh, my word. She had the cleanest vocabulary in town.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think Penelope, your dad, and your Aunt Violet had to talk about?”
I saw where she was going with that, and I didn’t like it one bit. Those three together could spell trouble, and it wasn’t a trouble I wanted to deal with. I was sure Cade would use it as another reason to be even unhappier with me.
“They have more to talk about than me and Cade.”
Scarlet laughed. “If you believe that, you’re living in a fantasy world, girlfriend.”
“What about the app? What about the fact that Lucy Barton is coming for a book signing and that she is my aunt’s, and Penelope’s favorite author?”
Scarlet wasn’t going to let it go. “As fast as Violet and Penelope talk, I cannot imagine their conversation staying on one topic.”
“My dad won’t tolerate them talking behind our backs.”
“Your dad wouldn’t know how to stop them. I think he might actually be a little tickled by what those two women could put up their sleeves.”
“I would hope he’d stop them from putting anything up their sleeves. It might come back and bite them,” I grumbled.
Scarlet grabbed the books and headed for the romance section. “This news conference will be interesting, to say the least.”
I hoped the focus would be on Jamal, his app, and the Barn. If it strayed beyond that…I wasn’t sure I’d survive. “Penelope will be delivering the announcement like her typical PSA; we’ve gone over it. It’ll be better than a commercial. It’ll make people believe they need the app and with Penelope on board, it should go over well.”
“I feel like a parade is about to start,” Scarlet said as she put the books on the shelf in the romance section.
“I hope a parade of customers march right into the Barn.” If they didn’t, I was killing myself to get the store presentable for nothing.
Chapter Five
We closed the store a half hour early and I sent my dad home. There was plenty of work to do before tomorrow but putting up decorations wasn’t exactly his strength. His lights were always crooked, the wires were always showing, and even as a teen, I’d gone back and rehung them. Aunt Violet was staying with Daddy, and Jamal had taken the spare room in my apartment. It was cramping my style a bit, but it was nice to be back together.
Princess scurried through the pet door, her nails clicking across the concrete floor. Once she reached the ladder, she smelled it and looked up at me. I knew she couldn’t actually see that it was me at the top, but she could definitely hear and smell me.
She snuffled.
“I’ve still got a lot of work to do before I can take a break.”
She squeaked, twitched her nose, and huffed when I didn’t move toward the apartment and the bedazzled bowl with her name on it.
“Okay, I’ll take a break. I know it’s late and I know you haven’t had your dinner, but you know most armadillos would be out digging up bugs at this point.”
Princess snorted and turned her back to me as she waddled toward the steps. She ate bugs, but only on her schedule. And now she wanted her cat food. She stopped at the steps and looked back to see if I was coming.
I made my way down the ladder and hung the strand of lights on a rung.
“What will it be tonight? Tuna or beef s
tew?”
Princess ignored me and hopped up the first step. She didn’t hop like a dog or a cat, she lifted all her feet at the same time—kind of like a kangaroo if it hopped on all fours. I always got a kick out of watching her do step after step.
On the fifth step, she stopped, turned around, and flattened her ears. Before I could ask her what was wrong, glass broke in the front window. Something hit the step next to me and a loud blast followed by another and then another echoed through the store. It was only when Princess squealed that I realized the wood splintering around us was from a gunshot…or rather multiple gunshots.
I grabbed Princess, who was screaming like a panicked seven-year-old. It was a noise I’d never heard her make before as I covered my head like my arm would stop a bullet. I crouched down, looking for a point of escape and the store alarm sounded. Books, lights, displays, and other merchandise shattered in every direction I turned. Smoke filled the store, and for a moment I thought the store was on fire. Then I realized the smell was from gunpowder and I ran for the stockroom. Holding Princess close, I huddled under the cubby from the steps. The safe was between me and whoever was shooting at the front of the store. I prayed it was enough to keep both of us out of harm’s way. Princess squirmed against my chest and I looked down to see blood covering my shirt. My hands began to shake. I didn’t know if it was hers or mine. I couldn’t feel my feet. I couldn’t feel my hands. Everything was numb and tingling with adrenaline.
I heard a siren in the distance. At least I thought it was a siren; it was hard to tell with the blare of the alarm. I held on tight to Princess. I wasn’t about to let her go out there and get shot. I took comfort that the alarm sounding meant the police would be here soon, even if that wasn’t a siren I’d heard.
The door came crashing open; I heard the wood give way and slam against concrete. I didn’t know if it was the good guys or bad guys, but I needed something to protect myself and Princess. I looked around at the shelves. The only thing within reach was a mop. I tucked Princess under one arm like a football and grabbed the mop. Holding it above my head, I waited for the intruder to walk into the storeroom. I would take off his head if it was the last thing I did. I was not going down without a fight.
