Shelf Awareness: Green Valley Library Book #4

by Romance, Smartypants

  Thuy waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. There’s no offense. While I have my MLS and officially took over from Mrs. Macintyre, Naomi knows the library like the back of her hand since she’s been here so long. Considering I’m new here in town, I imagined she would have a better vision about who to hire.”

  “I see.”

  “Go ahead and go back,” Thuy instructed.

  “Thank you.”

  When GramBea started down the hall with me, Thuy threw us an odd look. Rolling my eyes, I replied, “I still can’t believe you insist on seeing me to the door like this is my first day of kindergarten.”

  “Finley, must I once again remind you this is Green Valley, not Atlanta.”

  “I’m starting to think I need to get that embroidered on a pillow,” I grumbled.

  The appearance of Naomi in the doorway of the office cut off our argument. “Beatrice, how nice to see you again.”

  GramBea leaned in to give Naomi a hug along with the small-town “swapping sugar” kiss on the cheek. “After all those years of doing the poetry circle with Bethany, you can’t imagine how thrilled I am at the prospect of my granddaughter potentially working here.”

  I forced a smile to my face at GramBea’s blatant plug for my hiring. Extending my hand, I said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Winters.”

  After she shook my hand, Naomi said, “Please call me Naomi. Your grandmother has told me so much about you. I can’t tell you how excited I am to speak with you about the job.”

  “I’m excited myself.”

  Clearing her throat, GramBea said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to see if I can find a who-dunnit I haven’t read in the stacks.” She patted Naomi’s arm. “Thanks again for everything.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Once we were alone, Naomi motioned inside the office. “Please, have a seat.”

  I eased down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. “Considering my grandmother sprung this interview with you this morning, I’m afraid I don’t have a hardcopy of my résumé with me. I did forward you one via email.” I refrained from telling her I did it in the car on the way over.

  “While I received it, I’ll be honest neither Thuy nor I looked over it.”

  My brows shot up in surprise. “You didn’t?”

  She shrugged. “Beatrice told me what I needed to know, and I relayed that to Thuy.”

  “And you’re not worried GramBea might be exaggerating about my skills?”

  Naomi laughed. “I’ve known Beatrice for years. While she’s known to exaggerate from time to time about how many award-winning pies she’s baked, I knew she was being genuine in this case.”

  Unsure of what to say, I shifted in my chair. “Based on my grandmother’s summation, I assume you found me a worthy candidate?”

  “I wouldn’t have let her bring you in if I didn’t think that. Of course, I was afraid Beatrice wouldn’t be able to talk you into coming in.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “I think we both know you’re overqualified for a position here.”

  “I’m really not worried about that.”

  Naomi cocked her brows at me. “Aren’t you concerned about your salary? We can’t possibly match your previous one.”

  “I didn’t imagine you could. But that’s okay. I’m looking for something new and different.”

  “Considering the position, I think we could definitely fulfill that. I assume Beatrice told you we’re opening a new history room.”

  “Yes, she did. I have to be honest that is what enticed me to come in for the interview.”

  “It wasn’t something we initially planned after receiving the endowment. During the renovation, we realized we had an empty room that wasn’t allocated for anything. Since we had so many old books of Tennessee history along with countless documents from Green Valley, we decided to make it into a history room and model it after the one at the Maryville library.”

  “What exactly do you envision as the parameters of the position?”

  “Initially, we would like you to set up the room itself. Once that is accomplished, you would work with our IT specialist to convert the microfilm over as well as scanning in a collection of newly donated Native American documents.”

  The mention of Native American documents had me sitting straighter in my chair. “You’ve had a collection donated?”

  “Yes. Having a room to display the collection was one of the stipulations of the family.”

  “What’s part of the collection?” I questioned eagerly.

  “Documents as well as artifacts like arrowheads and pottery.”

  “How exciting.”

  “We think so. Although they have moved on, the family patriarch had ties to Green Valley. Once again, Bethany Winston appears to be making things happen from beyond the grave. The Henderson family specifically referenced her when they donated.”

  “I don’t find that surprising at all. She was an amazing lady.”

  “Yes, she was.” A momentary look of sadness passed over Naomi’s face. She quickly shook it away. “After the transfer of documents, we see the position as a county liaison of sorts. We’d like you to coordinate with the Historical Society to do some speaking engagements. You’d also reach out to the school system to help integrate local history in the curriculum. Considering your journalism background, I think we could easily talk the Green Valley Ledger into letting you write a bi-weekly or weekly column about certain aspects of the town’s history.”

  Holy shit. All of that plus I might get my own column. Even in Atlanta, I’d never had my own column. I’d been a beat reporter and an editor. I fought the urge to pinch myself because I couldn’t believe all this could possibly be happening to me in Green Valley of all places.

  Steepling her fingers, Naomi eyed me curiously. “What do you think?”

  “I would love to be articulate at this moment, but it seems all I can think of is wow!”

  She laughed. “I’m glad you think so because I can’t imagine anyone else taking the job.”

  “Just like that?” I questioned almost breathlessly.

  “Just like that.”

  Once again, all I could utter was, “Wow.”

  “Does that mean you’d like the job?”

  “Of course, I’d love the job.”

  “Wonderful.”

  I’m pretty sure this would go down as one of the strangest but most wonderful job interviews I’d ever been on.

  “When can you start?”

  “Today. Right now,” I replied.

  Naomi laughed. “I like your enthusiasm. Although we’ll consider tomorrow your official start day, we can take the rest of the afternoon to get you acclimated to the job.”

  “There’s not a training period?”

  “Ours is on-the-job training.”

  “I see.”

  She handed me a manila folder. “Here’s some paperwork that’s necessary for our records and tax purposes. You can fill it out tonight and bring it back tomorrow. In the meantime, why don’t I show you the room?”

  I bobbed my head. “That would be wonderful.”

  We stood and I followed Naomi out of her office. She motioned to Thuy at the front desk. “I suppose you met Thuy.”

  “I did.” Remembering my early gaffe, I replied, “I didn’t know she was the new head librarian.”

  “Yes, she’s been amazing for the patronage. Unlike you with your family ties, she’s totally new to Green Valley.”

  “I didn’t think she looked familiar.”

  “She’s from California.” With a grin, Naomi said, “I’m pretty sure the two of you will be able to commiserate on the downfalls of moving to the backwoods from the big city.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure we could.”

  “In spite of it being a hen’s nest around here, we all get along really well.”

  Naomi came to a stop outside a room with an unmarked door. She reached to unlock the door and then sto
pped. Glancing over her shoulder, she said, “I just want to prepare you. Before we decided what to do with the room, it became a dumping ground of sorts.”

  I waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, that won’t be a problem. I love to go through things and organize.”

  “Then this is your lucky day.”

  After Naomi unlocked the door, she motioned me to go ahead. When I tried forcing the door open, it only went halfway. That was primarily because a set of boxes stopped me. It was more like boxes upon boxes stacked precariously on top of each other. A few archaic tables and chairs were jammed into the far side of the room. A three-paned floor-to-ceiling window sat in the middle of the room with the glass covered with paper.

  “Did I prepare you well-enough?” Naomi questioned.

  Gazing at the enormous mess before me, I swallowed hard. “Maybe.”

  She laughed. “It’s okay to seem intimidated. We certainly were. It’s the one reason the room has stayed boxed up. We didn’t have the time nor energy to devote to it.” Motioning to the corner, she said, “After we got new tables and chairs with the endowment, we debated tossing the old stuff. Upon closer inspection, we decided it might give this room a little character.”

  “I like that idea.”

  “In case you can’t see them all through the mess, bookshelves run the entirety of the walls.”

  Peering past the boxes, I followed the line of shelving as it wound around the room. It was going to take them all to house the massive number of books I imagined were in the boxes. I fought the urge to utter the famous line from Jaws, “We’re going to need a bigger boat,” but change it to shelving. “That’s good.”

  “Once you get started, feel free to request whatever materials you might need. As long as they’re within reason, we can get them.”

  Right now, the only thing I could imagine needing was a few hefty football players to lug all the books around for me as I organized the shelves. “You don’t have a set plan of how you want the room to look?” I asked.

  Naomi shook her head. “It’s entirely up to you.”

  “No pressure,” I teasingly replied.

  “I have no doubt you’ll overwhelm us with your ability.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from saying I hoped that would be true.

  “Once you’ve fixed the shelves, you’ll be better able to see the computer system. It will assist in locating records. Everything from old newspapers to birth and marriage certificates will be able to be researched.”

  “That’s amazing. I assume you have an IT specialist on staff?”

  “Not exactly.”

  Back in Atlanta, there would have been an entire IT team hired to take care of the computer system. It was just another aspect of culture shock. That was also when panic ensued. Were they expecting me to work on the new computer systems? God, I was so screwed. My knowledge of Microsoft Word was basic at best. I always relied on Grant to update any software on my computer. Swallowing hard, I replied, “Oh.”

  Naomi must’ve read my body language because a reassuring look came over her face. “Don’t worry. We wouldn’t expect you to do it. Thuy is the computer savvy one, but even with her skills, she didn’t have time to set up the new computers and implement the software.”

  “Thank goodness,” I wheezed out.

  “While we don’t have someone full-time, Zeke Masters has been handling the integration of the computer systems. He’s on a sabbatical from Seattle.”

  Now that was interesting. Why would anyone take a sabbatical to an epically small town like Green Valley? Sure, the Smoky Mountains, which were known for their beauty and nature opportunities, were close by, but that wasn’t necessarily first and foremost on the mind of a tech specialist.

  “That’s very nice of him,” I remarked. A man of mystery who also had a kind heart. You didn’t hear about those every day.

  Naomi’s face lit up. “We’ve been able to add so many Middle Grade and Young Adult novels to our catalogue because of Zeke’s generosity. Seeing so many more young people come in has been inspiring.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “Come on. Let me introduce you to Zeke. I know he’s been itching to get inside here to work on the records.”

  “Okay, sure.”

  After Naomi locked the room, we turned and started toward the main area of the library. “Naomi, you have a call,” Thuy said from the front desk.

  “Excuse me for a minute.” She started to walk away and then stopped. “Feel free to go over and introduce yourself to Zeke.”

  While I would have preferred Naomi to make the formal introductions, I nodded in agreement. After Naomi walked off, I eyed the two men standing not too far from each other within the rows of tables. One was a tall drink of water with jet black hair and an imposing build. From the distance, he appeared to be of Native American descent. The other was a wiry looking man with glasses. By process of elimination, I imagined he was the man I was looking for.

  After powerwalking over to him, I thrust out my hand with a smile. “You must be Mr. Masters. I’m Finley Granger—the new librarian/historian. I can’t tell you how excited I am to work with you on integrating documents into the history room.”

  Mr. Masters offered me his hand somewhat reluctantly. In a nasally voice, he said, “I’m Gerald Henderson.” At what must’ve been my blank look, Mr. Henderson replied, “My family donated some of our Yuchi artifacts and documents for the history room.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I just assumed you were the library’s IT guy.”

  “Well, you assumed wrong,” Mr. Henderson replied tersely. He then proceeded to snatch the dusty book he’d been eyeballing off the table before hurrying away.

  I stood there wide-eyed and open-mouthed for a moment. Had he actually just dissed me? This was Green Valley—home of Southern charm and welcoming manners.

  “Someone has a stick up his ass this morning, huh?” a deep voice questioned behind me.

  When I whirled around, I came face to face with the tall drink of water with the jet-black hair and piercing onyx eyes. He was even more imposing close up. With all the eloquence of Baby in the “I carried a watermelon” scene in Dirty Dancing, I replied, “I called Mr. Henderson the IT guy, and it pissed him off.”

  A curious look formed on the guy’s face. “Why did you think he was the IT guy?”

  Shrugging, I replied, “He looked like an IT guy.” When the man blinked at me, I added, “You know because he has glasses and looks a little nerdy.”

  “Did you just stereotype IT men?”

  Mortification filled me. “Maybe.”

  The guy’s lips quirked momentarily before they curved into a smile. “It’s okay. I get it a lot.”

  “Wait, you’re Mr. Masters?”

  “Yes. But I prefer you call me Zeke.”

  “Right. Um, I’m Finley.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  Since I suddenly found myself tongue-tied, I was relieved when Naomi appeared beside us. “I see you two are getting to know each other.”

  “Yes, I just saved Finley from a prickly encounter with Mr. Henderson.”

  Wrinkling her nose, Naomi replied, “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you about him. He comes from one of the oldest families in the area, so he can be slightly pretentious.”

  “I noticed.”

  “Finley is our newest member of the library staff,” Naomi said with a smile.

  Zeke smiled. “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rubbing his hands together, Zeke said, “I’m glad I can finally get my hands on the microfilm files.” At what must’ve been my surprised expression, Zeke replied, “I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to stuff like that.”

  Nodding, I couldn’t imagine a time when he could ever be perceived as “nerdy.” He was like the farthest thing possible from anything remotely resembling nerdom.

  GramBea strolled up to the three of us with a thick hardback tucked under her arm. “I assume with the chit-ch
atting that the interview is over?”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “I got the job.”

  GramBea’s face lit up so brightly it could have outshone a Christmas tree. “What thrilling news.”

  “Considering your involvement, are you really surprised?” I questioned with a smile.

  “I merely planted the seed, Finley. I had no idea how it would turn out,” she replied.

  Naomi laughed. “I’m grateful it worked out for all of us.”

  It was at that moment GramBea turned her attention to Zeke. “It’s nice seeing you again, Mr. Masters.”

  I’m not sure why I was surprised GramBea knew Zeke. She always made it her mission to keep tabs on everyone in Green Valley—even if they were just passing through.

  “It’s nice seeing you again as well, Mrs. Adair.” His gaze zoned in on the book under her arm. “I see you’ve become a pro at using the online card catalogue.”

  GramBea twittered a laugh. “You were a wonderful teacher.”

  Good Lord. Was my grandmother flirting with my new coworker? The last thing I would have pegged GramBea for was a cougar.

  “I’d argue you were a fast learner.”

  “Thank you.”

  Zeke nodded his head at Naomi. “I hate to break things up, but I need to borrow you for just a moment.”

  “Of course.” Smiling at GramBea and me, Naomi said, “Let me take care of this, then I’ll finish our tour.”

  “No problem.”

  As Naomi and Zeke walked away, GramBea gave his retreating form an appreciative look. “My, my, he is sure nice to look at.”

  “I suppose so.”

  With an incredulous look, GramBea asked, “You suppose so? Honestly, Finley Anne, I know you’re still in shock over Grant, but surely, you can appreciate a fine male specimen when you see one.”

  “Of course, I can.” At her continued exasperation, I threw up my hands. “Fine. Zeke is very nice to look at. Are you happy now?”

  “I’m just glad you could admit it.”

  “Honestly, GramBea,” I muttered.

  “And the two of you will be working closely together?”

  “Yesss,” I hissed.

  “Aren’t you lucky?”

  Aware of what she was alluding to, I countered, “That I have a competent IT man to help ensure the records are catalogued correctly?”