CHAPTER NINE
It had been over a week, and no one had claimed the stray cat. But Faith had already known nobody would. She’d named him Tiger and was pretty sure he was her mom reincarnated, come back to help her run the business.
Wednesday and Thursday were Faith’s regular days off from the salon. Which was why she had the morning free to work the register at the bookstore when Brandon called in sick. Things like this made her more and more confident in her decision to stop taking hair appointments.
Today will bring big news. Potentially upsetting, but think it through before you react . Faith finished reading her horoscope and set down her phone. Great .
The front door bells jingled, announcing a customer.
“Morning, Mrs. Baker,” Faith greeted. “Anything I can help you with?”
“I need a few books,” she said. “One for my granddaughter, who’s just learning to read, and a couple for my husband, who needs something to keep his mind off his chemo.” Faith knew nothing of grandchildren but lots about chemo.
“I’m sorry Mr. Baker is going through that,” Faith said. “I know how hard it can be.”
“Of course you do, dear. We all miss her.”
Faith nodded. She’d had plenty of time to come to terms with her mother’s passing. The sickness dragged out forever, and the end came as no surprise. But it was still sometimes jarring to remember she’d never see her again.
Tiger jumped onto the counter and nudged Mrs. Baker’s arm. Almost as if mentioning her mom had summoned him, further confirming Faith’s suspicion.
“What have we here?” Mrs. Baker stroked the cat. “Who’s this?”
It’s my mom , Faith thought, but didn’t say. That was crazy, even for her. “His name’s Tiger. He’s Page Turners’ new mascot.”
Mrs. Baker roamed the shop, picked out several books, and brought them to check out.
“Thank you, dear. It’s amazing how a good book can change your outlook—lift you up when you’re down or just take you to another place when you need a break from real life. I hope you keep the store going. It meant the world to your mom, and it means a lot to many of us in the community too.”
“That’s the plan,” Faith said. “If you have any suggestions of books you’d like me to stock, I’m open to ideas.”
Mrs. Baker leaned in close. “More vampire romance,” she whispered. “The ones with discreet covers.”
Faith smiled. “You got it.”
When Irene came in after noon, Faith retreated to the office.
She kept a running list of ways to enhance revenue and tried to make a little progress every day.
Tonight, her friends were coming over to help move shelves and clear space for the reading nook. The furniture she’d purchased was being delivered the next day, and they had to make room for it.
Several boxes of new books would also be arriving in the following weeks. Popular titles and bestsellers, the stuff tourists were always asking about. It was just one of her ideas to turn the store profitable.
Another was book merch—sweatshirts with clever sayings about reading, coffee mugs, bookmarks, candles, and candy bars. Gift-y items were easy to mark up and should also generate some cash flow. Especially with the holidays approaching.
Faith planned to put together pre-made baskets where someone could just buy a book, plop it into the basket, and voilà! The perfect gift.
Tiger wandered over and pawed at the bottom drawer of the desk.
“Hey. What are you doing?” Faith said. “You’re gonna scratch the wood.” When he wouldn’t stop, she opened the drawer. “See, it’s just papers and files.”
Tiger raised both paws to the lip of the drawer, peering inside. “Last time you did this, you led me to a good book. What’s in here that’s so important?”
Faith started pulling out the drawer’s contents. It was deep, meant for hanging files, but her mom had just stacked papers, notebooks, and binders.
When Faith reached the bottom of the pile, she found a pretty leather notebook. Tucked in the back were three sealed envelopes. Curious, she pulled them out. Each had a name, handwritten on the front.
One said, “Faith.” Another, “Eddie.” And the third, “Gary Jeffreys.” The two for her and her dad tracked, but she’d never heard of Gary Jeffreys. And there was nothing for Hope or her older sisters. If this was something she’d done after getting sick, Faith would’ve thought there’d be envelopes for everyone. And why hadn’t she given these to old Mr. Gowan with her estate documents?
She flipped hers over. No date or anything to tell how long it had been in the drawer.
Faith set the notebook and letters on the desk, put the rest of the stuff back in the drawer, and closed it. Tiger had gone to the big chair and sat, staring intently at Faith.
“Did you want me to find this?” she said. “No. Never mind. Don’t answer that. I’ve got to quit talking to you.”
She tried to refocus on the book catalog she’d been looking through, but the pink envelope seemed to have grown eyes and wouldn’t stop glaring. “Fine.” She picked it up, ripped open the edge, and pulled out a single sheet of paper. Holding her breath, she read the few paragraphs that would change her life forever.
In disbelief, she stood, grabbed her yoga mat, and practically ran out of the store, telling Irene she’d be back in a few. Across the street, in the town plaza park, she rolled out her mat and sat, immediately starting with some breathing exercises to calm herself down. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
Too much was happening all at once—her mom dying, getting saddled with a bookstore on the verge of collapse, Hope pulling away, her dad on the brink of starvation. And now this!
She needed to get a grip. She ran through a few poses until her mind and muscles loosened. Tiger sauntered over and sat next to her.
“You. Did you follow me out here?” she asked the cat. “Why’d you make me look in that drawer? Did you know what was in there? How could this be? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Mid-downward dog, someone behind her cleared their throat. Without moving, she opened her eyes, looked between her legs, and saw an upside-down Nick Walker. He sat on a park bench, an open book on his lap, staring at her like she’d lost her mind. Which was a distinct possibility.
“Does the cat ever talk back?” he asked.
Oh. Just her luck. She crumpled out of her pose, releasing her breath. “Of course not. How long have you been sitting there?”
“Over an hour. Long before you got here. You should be more aware of your surroundings.”
She rolled up her mat and walked to the bench. “Oh, you like the book I picked?”
“I do. Thanks for dropping it off.” He closed it, using his finger as a bookmark.
“Wow, you’re almost done with it. You must read a lot.”
“I do not lack spare time these days. So, what’s got you so upset?”
“Why would you think I’m upset?”
“Caught a bit of your mumbled ramblings. And don’t people do yoga to relax?”
“You should try it. I teach a class right here in the park. Tuesdays at four o’clock. It would help align your moons.”
“Huh?”
“Your mojo is off,” she said slowly, as if talking to a child. “Never mind. How was driving with Hope the other day?”
“It was fine. You’re changing the subject.”
“Busted.” She huffed out a laugh. “I just got some earth-shattering news. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with it.”
“I’ve been told I’m a good sounding board.”
Should she tell him? Could she? “I haven’t even told Tess yet.”
“Suit yourself.” He shrugged.
Maybe it would be wise to get an unbiased opinion. Someone with no ties to her or her family. Someone completely objective.
“My dad’s not my dad,” she blurted. There. It was out now. No taking it back.
He cocked an eyebrow, and she sighed, plopping down next to him on the bench. “I found some sealed envelopes buried in my mom’s desk. One with my name on it and one with my dad’s.” She put air quotes around dad. “And a third with some other man’s name who, according to my letter, is my actual father.”
“She left notes?”
Faith shrugged. “I think she wrote them a long time ago and probably forgot all about them when she was sick.”
“No deathbed confession?”
“Yeah, don’t get me started on that. What if I’d never found the letters?”
“She must have had her reasons.”
“Anyway, I assume the other letters inform my dads. Apparently, she was pregnant when she met Eddie—that’s who I call dad. He must not know either. And I’m not sure I should tell him. Especially right now.”
“So close to her death?”
“He’s already having trouble with that.”
“So, did she name your father?”
“Yes. I’ve never heard of him.”
“Do you want to meet him?”
“I have no idea. The information is still sinking in. As an uninterested party, what do you think?”
“Tell Tess. She knows you better than I do.”
“Okay, but what would you do?”
“Honestly, I’d want to find the guy out of sheer curiosity. If nothing else, to get a health history.”
“That sounds exactly like what Tess would say. So pragmatic.”
“Did your mom mention whether your bio dad knows about you?”
“Hm. I’ll have to reread the letter to see if she said one way or the other. The fact that there’s an envelope for him makes me think not. What if he’s a terrible person, and that’s why she never mentioned him?”
“What if he’s rich and has no other children to leave his fortune to? What if he was married, but his wife couldn’t have kids even though he desperately wanted one? What if he has five sons but always wanted a daughter? Could be anything. That’s what I mean about being curious.”
“If you had a daughter floating around in the world, would you want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Tiger jumped up between them and put a paw on Nick’s leg. He moved the book and allowed the cat to curl up on his lap.
“Uh. Make yourself at home,” he said as Tiger did just that.
“See how easy he is to talk to?” Faith said with a smile. She stood. “People are right. You’re a decent sounding board. You gonna be okay getting home?”
“Yes. Thank you. Good luck.”
She walked back to the store. It was full of little kids listening to story hour. The joy on their faces warmed Faith’s heart. Every day, she caught glimpses of why her mother loved this place so much. Books affected people in so many ways. They could be a source of information, an escape from pain, a distraction from the troubles of the world, and sometimes, just a frivolous, fun way to spend an evening.
She wandered through the stacks, breathing in the scent of paper and glue binding—that new-book smell. Indescribable, but distinct. Maybe cutting hair wasn’t her true calling after all. Maybe her mother had known better than Faith that she needed this place as much as it needed her.
After closing, she met Alex, Juliet, and Tess at Karla’s for dinner. Still unsure how she was going to handle the letters, she kept her mouth shut. Also, it was only fair she tell her father before anyone else.
Over meatloaf and mashed potatoes, they discussed more trivial things.
“I’m down to my last few hair appointments,” Faith announced. “Be done by the end of the week.”
“Wow,” Juliet said. “That’s big news. You okay with it?”
“I think so,” Faith said. “The store’s growing on me.”
“It will be a lot easier to focus on one thing at a time,” Tess said.
“Yes. I’m also getting back on the dating horse,” Faith said. “Got a coffee date tomorrow with a guy from New Hampton.” Out-of-town men were a must. First, because there were no dateable men in Green Valley Falls. Second, it made it easier to avoid them when things inevitably didn’t work out.
“Good for you,” Alex said. “’Bout time you did something for yourself.”
“Your dad getting along better then?” Juliet asked.
“The widow Hickman came by with food on Sunday.” Faith raised both eyebrows, indicating she suspected an ulterior motive to the gesture. “I have a feeling Irene spurred that.”
“You think Irene’s matchmaking?” Alex asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Juliet said. “She does have a bit of a rep in town for that kind of thing.”
“No way Eddie’s ready for dating yet,” Tess said.
“No,” Faith agreed. “I can’t picture him dating at all.”
“That’s ’cause he’s your dad,” Alex said. “I will say, Mrs. Hickman makes a dang good chocolate cake. He could do worse.”
Faith threw a french fry at her, which she caught easily, and popped into her mouth with a wink.
“You gonna wanna move back anytime soon?” Tess asked. “I took Nick to the doctor yesterday morning, and he’s been skulking around ever since. It’s getting old. I’d be glad to boot him.”
“Where would he go?” Faith sipped her drink.
Tess shrugged. “Back to my folks?”
“We’ll see,” Faith said. “I’m not quite ready to leave my dad to his own devices just yet.”
Her new worry was that the scandalous paternity news would cause a relapse in any progress he’d made. No, she’d better stay with him a little longer.
After dinner, her friends helped her at the store and went home. Finally, with a moment alone to really dissect this recent development, she decided she should give her dad his letter. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon. He had a right to know.
Contacting her birth father could go on a back burner until she was sure it wouldn’t upset her dad. Plus, she had enough on her plate already.
There were a million things to think about, but it was Nick Walker’s face that floated through her mind as she drifted off to sleep.