Dog-eared Love (The Sandy Bookshop of Bourbon Bay #1)

Chapter 1

Scarlet Brevon stared at the letter tucked in the pocket of her binder. She didn’t want to travel across the country, not in the middle of the textile department’s rushed holiday preparations. Scarlet also had no desire to spend her summer in a windy little coastal town to inherit an old bookshop when reading was the last thing she had time or interest in doing. But if she didn’t handle it, everything her beloved aunt had worked hard for would go to waste.

Aunt Ann had always been a spry, fiery woman known for wearing bright colors in flowing fabrics over yoga pants. She appreciated all things and all people, yet she’d never married or had any children. That left Scarlet to takeover her little bookshop and cope with her unexpected death alone.

Scarlet had never felt so overwhelmed or lost in her whole life. She had no one to turn to, not anyone close. Everything had fallen on her shoulders.

Her aunt had always been a health nut and stayed on what she called a “clean” diet, much better than Scarlet’s, though Aunt Ann had a particular flair for baking. She had rescued many animals over the years—more than Scarlet could count. Scarlet herself had none.

The executor of her estate, Mr. Shorboro, had a foster home care for the animals left behind. He had settled all other matters. All that was left was the bookshop, which Aunt Ann owned outright.

I wish you were here, Mom. I’d gladly hand this responsibility off to you. I think you would’ve enjoyed retiring on the Oregon coast with all the books you could ever hope to read.

Both her mother and aunt loved to sit on the sofa for hours, reading every book they could get their hands on. Her mother preferred romances and self-help books, while her aunt loved mysteries and thrillers. Scarlet had taken after her father, only interested in instructions or online answers if necessary. Her mother had done her best, but it wasn’t interesting to Scarlet to sit for hours and spend time in her head .

The phone at Scarlet’s desk rang, startling her. Aunt Ann had called her many times over the last few months, and every time, Scarlet had silenced it or ignored it because of work.

Scarlet picked it up and answered.

Ms. Wesley, the fabric department manager of their chain of craft stores, spoke in a rush. “How are we coming along with those swatches? We need the prints for the sales pitch tomorrow, and Corporate wants to see them now.”

“I just got the last ones trimmed and labeled. Are you ready for them?”

“Yes, bring them in.” Ms. Wesley hung up.

Scarlet collected the stack of samples for the Christmas season. Even though it was early summer, they were six months behind after a snowstorm had crushed the roofs of their main office and manufacturing facility.

“Good luck.” Her coworker, Thea, danced her amber brows. After her third child came along, her once vibrant blue eyes had taken on a weary dullness. Childcare was expensive, and most of her salary went to pay for it. But Thea never complained. She worked hard, striving for any chance of a pay increase. “I hear she’s a frantic mess today because the company wanted us in stores before Halloween.”

“Unless she’s worked out some deal with another printer, I don’t see how we can make that deadline. It passed weeks ago. We’re already at full steam.” Scarlet entered the aisle and started for the corner office.

Thea shrugged and patted the stacks of store orders waiting to be filled.

“I know, but they’ll have to wait until she makes her decisions.” Scarlet adjusted the wispy scarf around her neck, tension creeping up her spine. “We can’t force things to work just because we’re impatient. Besides, I’ve never been a fan of putting Christmas out before Halloween.”

“Marketing says it’s best for profits. We have to do what the customers want. Quilters like their fabric far in advance.”

Thea had a point, and Scarlet, a quilter herself, knew she was right.

Ms. Wesley frantically waved Scarlet in and motioned for her to spread them out. At the same time, Ms. Wesley spoke on a video conference with several members at the company headquarters in the heart of New York City.

Out of the sixty samples Scarlet laid out, only thirty would make the cut for that season. However, it was up to management and the marketing team to select fresh new trends based on the consumers’ purchasing habits analysis of years’ past and current fashion trends. It came down to data science, something that sounded like a foreign language to Scarlet in the beginning, six years prior. Now, she had some mild concept of how it worked. Nevertheless, she was content designing the fabrics.

Scarlet sat in the chair across from Ms. Wesley and laid out the colorful squares of printed designs. They had an array of options from little snow people with squirrels in scarves to elaborate Christmas trees and simple tessellations of frosty fir branches and berries.

Scarlet’s phone buzzed in her pocket as Ms. Wesley sorted the squares into piles, still chatting over a headset. She glanced at it to see the same number that had started calling her a month ago. Scarlet silenced the call and waited for Ms. Wesley to finish.

Her manager was a sharp woman who always wore a form-fit dress suit to work, had her silver-dusted black hair cut short, and commanded everyone around her with authority. Even when the storm had set them back months, Ms. Wesley simply shifted gears and implemented contingency plans. They’d sent out bolts of fabric from storage of successful past years’ holiday collections so early customers could get their hands on something .

Showing the last few samples to the group she was on the call with, Ms. Wesley checked the tags and then turned to Scarlet. “Why is the cost per yard of this one so high?”

Scarlet glanced at the fabric swatch. The cabin scene tessellation was one of her favorites because of how the snowy mountains blended into the clouds and the winter fields of the adjoining scene. “The metallic flake used to make the snow sparkle went up in price this year.”

Ms. Wesley slumped. “This is going to have to be moved to Premium Fabric. I need a different cabin print by tomorrow to replace this one in Standard.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Scarlet was exhausted from the constant reworking. It seemed nothing was good enough. Ms. Wesley couldn’t seem to accept what was put in front of her. In the back of her mind, she’d known Ms. Wesley would find some reason not to find the thirty she needed within the sixty options. “You want me to design a new one in one night?”

“We don’t have time for that. Check the past textiles for something similar. We’ll change the colors. Just make sure it’s a Standard Fabric, a print on a plain weave, for quilting.” Ms. Wesley pushed a stack toward Scarlet with a hand motion that said they were a no-go.”

Scarlet was disappointed to see some of her favorites hadn’t been picked. But it didn’t matter. Scarlet hadn’t bought any of the fabrics they worked with in years. She rarely had time for hobbies, let alone a vacation.

The way Ms. Wesley spoke on the phone made it clear that she was too busy to answer Scarlet’s questions about the fabrics. So Scarlet left and went to her desk to sort through the fabrics on file, and see if she could come up with a Standard cabin print.

Her phone hummed with a text. In frustration, she drew it out and looked at the screen.

Hi, Scarlet. This is Lalia, a friend of your aunt’s. Mr. Shorboro just wants to know when you can come visit. He’s looking to take his three-month trip to Greece soon to visit family. He’s not great with texting and stuff. Any chance you can make it by next week? He’s planning to leave next Friday and really doesn’t want to change his plans because a relative of his is sick, and it doesn’t sound like the prognosis is good. The sooner you can get here, the better.

Scarlet slumped in her seat and sighed.

Across from her, Thea gave her an intense inspection. “Are you still dealing with your aunt’s executor?”

“Haven’t started yet, but it sounds like he’s leaving the country for a while.”

Thea smoothed her ponytail with a hand and shrugged. “You should go. You haven’t taken time off in over a year. You’re long overdue for your two weeks of vacation. I’ll cover for you.”

Scarlet liked the idea and felt it was important. Knowing Thea was onboard was helpful. “Maybe you’re right.”