Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Life was unreal sometimes.
If someone had told Zach a month ago that he would be taking Ava Harper on a date, he would have laughed in their face. But now he could barely keep himself from whistling as he buttoned up his light-green shirt.
He’d turned his uncle’s words from earlier over in his mind, looking for flaws, but the recipe seemed sound. He just needed to work on putting it into practice. Starting tonight.
He checked the mirror in Ollie’s bathroom. His dark hair stood on end as if he’d been in a hurricane. Nothing a comb couldn’t handle. He dialed Ollie downstairs at the bookstore and put the phone on speaker while taming his hair.
“Hey, man. How late are you open tonight?” Zach dunked his comb under the tap.
“I’m just about to close up. Why?”
He ran the dampened comb through the worst of his hair. “Shoot. I was hoping to walk down there in a few minutes.”
“Are you looking for something specific?”
“Do you have a cookbook section?”
“Yeah, we have a small one. Mostly for local stuff. But there’s all kinds of things.”
“Any chance you’d stay open late for your favorite brother?” He turned his head, checking the sides. An errant lock stood straight out, refusing to be tamed.
Ollie laughed. “Don’t let our other brothers catch you saying that. If it’s for a good cause, you can convince me.”
The memory of Ava’s smile and the sparkle in her gray eyes filled his thoughts. “Oh, it’s for a good cause all right.” Funny, he didn’t really want to share with Ollie what that cause was. Must be a knee-jerk reaction to the teasing he was sure to endure.
“Need a recipe for the second half of the contest?”
“Not exactly.”
“Zach, I’ve known you all my life.” Ollie’s voice lifted. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Fine. I’m taking Ava on a date, and I thought we could start at your bookstore.”
“A date?” Zach was pretty sure they could hear his brother’s crow over in Port Joseph. “I knew you liked that girl.”
Zach finished his hair and smiled at his reflection in the mirror. It came out more like a wince. “She’s pretty, she’s kind, she’s hardworking, and she has a razor-sharp wit. What’s not to like?”
“You’re playing it casual, but I know how weird this must be for you. You said yourself that Ava was the one who wrote that critical review of your restaurant all those years ago.”
“She actually apologized for that. I forgave her. Am forgiving her.” Zach put both of his hands on the bathroom sink.
The cool porcelain anchored his hands from running them through his freshly combed hair.
“I don’t really know the semantics, but I’m trying to move past that.
Ava is a cool woman, and I want to get to know her better. ”
“I’m proud of you. Forgiveness like that isn’t easy. I definitely think this is a good cause. I’ll hang out until you get here.”
“Thanks, brother.”
As Ollie was hanging up, Zach heard him holler. “Eliza, turn on the romantic lighting and mood music—my brother’s bringing a date.”
Zach’s smile stayed firmly in place across town, through the lobby of the Grand, and all the way until he knocked on Ava’s door.
She opened it, and his breath caught. Ava’s lavender sundress nipped in at the waist, then flowed out and skimmed the middle of her shins.
She’d topped it with a light-gray sweater thing. A little gray purse hung over one arm.
“Wow.” His heart beat double-time.
“I hope that’s a good wow.” A line appeared on Ava’s brow.
“Definitely a good wow. You look amazing.” Zach held out his hand. Ava took it, and he led her out into the hall before coaxing her into a spin. “My sisters would approve of the twirl on that dress.”
“Every girly girl loves a good twirly dress.” Ava squeezed his hand. “You clean up nice yourself. I always like your chef’s whites, but that shirt is doing all kinds of good things to your eyes.” Ava’s eyes sparkled. Adorable. “What do you have planned for us tonight?”
“Are you always this impatient?” They walked down the stairs and out the door. The early evening sunlight still warmed the air.
“What? I can’t ask what you have planned?” She put a hand to her hip.
“Maybe you could extend a little trust. Weren’t you listening to the pastor at the park?”
She barked a laugh. “Fine. I’ll trust you.”
His heart soared, a lightness flooding him at the unexpected words.
“First stop, the Island Bookstore.”
“Oh, I love a good bookstore. That’s the one your brother owns?”
“Yep. The only one on the island. He’s keeping it open for us, so we’d better leg it over there.” He glanced down at her feet. “Will those shoes be okay for walking?”
She looked down. “They should be fine for tonight. I knew about the no-vehicles thing here on Jonathon Island, so I tried to only pack my most comfortable shoes.”
“Shoes, plural? How many did you bring?”
“None of your business.”
Their chat carried them through the grounds of the hotel and down to Main Street.
“Ollie’s store is on the other end of the main drag.” Zach dropped Ava’s hand. Walking down Main with Ava was one thing, but holding hands felt too exposed.
“Oh, good. That’ll give me a chance to take a few snaps for my newspaper article.”
As they passed Kelley’s Bar & Grill, a scruffy Jack Russell terrier ran out from between the buildings. He stopped in front of them and sat on his haunches, tipping his head to the side.
“Hello.” Ava bent down and scratched him under the chin. “And who are you?”
“That’s Jack.” Jack leaned into Ava, tail wagging. “He’s kind of the town dog. He doesn’t belong to anyone, so everyone feeds him.”
Jack yawned and trotted off.
“He’s very cute.” Ava straightened up. “A dog like that in Chicago would get taken to the pound.”
“One thing that is true of Jonathon Island is that they take care of their own.” Saying the words out loud made them ring true.
But if it was the case that Jonathon Island cared about people, why didn’t he feel that way?
Could it be only in his own mind that they judged him poorly?
Maybe he’d taken the heavy emotions the town had felt after the Grand burned down too personally.
Other than that poor attempt at a joke by Isaac Kelley and the dig the old-timer had gotten in at Dani’s wedding, everyone had been genuinely kind to him recently.
They fell silent, pausing a few times for Ava to take some photos.
Light spilled from the window of Oliver’s bookstore, welcoming them. Ollie stood at the door in a T-shirt and jeans, bow tie at his neck, holding it open.
“Hello, sir, madam. Welcome to my establishment.” He bowed at the waist before extending an arm to point the way. “Please make yourselves comfortable. We have the very finest selection of books for you this evening.”
Eliza stood with a towel over her arm. She held a cookbook with both hands, extending it as though it were a wine bottle. “Vintage 1982. I think you will find that the flavors are very complex.” The cover featured a grandma-type woman in a frilly apron holding out a chocolate cake.
“Ha ha.” Though heat crept up the back of his neck, Zach couldn’t wipe the smile from his face.
“Very funny. Ava, I apologize for my brother. He thinks he’s hilarious.
Apparently, he’s dragged Eliza into it too.
” Though, this lighter side of Ollie was new.
Last time he’d been home, Ollie had been…
grouchier. Maybe it was Eliza doing the influencing.
Ava laughed. The sound, light and carefree, went directly to his heart. “Don’t worry about it. I like being teased. I never had siblings, so it’s fun to be treated like I belong.”
Ollie moved to stand next to Eliza. “Seriously, guys. We’ll leave you to it. Want me to direct you to a certain shelf?”
Zach glanced down at Ava. He still hadn’t told her what they were up to.
“Cookbooks.” A black-and-white patterned runner drew a line over the dark floor to the register.
Rows of bookshelves stood behind a large round table displaying the dark jewel-toned covers of the book series by the fantasy author Victor Holt.
Pendant lights lit the space. Ollie had done well for himself.
“We have a bunch of them over on that shelf.” Ollie thumbed toward the back of the store. “Help yourself.” He grabbed Eliza’s hand, and the two of them disappeared somewhere else in the store.
Zach led Ava to the shelf of cookbooks. Ollie wasn’t kidding. On the shelf a wide variety of options waited in a line.
Ava tugged at one. Blueberry Delights. She showed him the cover. A lattice-topped blueberry pie sat on a table surrounded by lilacs. “Yum.”
He ran a finger along the shelf. “How about 32 Ways to Use Spam?”
“Gross. That’s not a real thing.”
He grabbed the book and showed it to her, the iconic blue-and-yellow can featured prominently on the front. They laughed. As he replaced the book, he found one that might be what they needed. A French cookbook from this year. He flipped it open and checked the table of contents. Jackpot.
“See anything you like?”
“These are all Greek to me,” Ava said. She handed him a copy of The Greek Table, A Mediterranean Cookbook. “Seriously, though. I’m not sure what I would do with a cookbook.”
“You’re a smart cookie. I know you can learn to follow a recipe.” He tucked the Greek cookbook and the French one under his arm and headed for the checkout. “We should let Ollie close up.”
Ava trailed behind him.
After they paid, they went next door to Doug’s Market. What the old-fashioned grocery store lacked in selection, it made up for in charm. Stepping inside was like stepping back in time. Thankfully, they had an excellent cheese counter.
Gary Jacobs, a fiftysomething man who looked like he’d be more comfortable as a football linebacker than a cheesemonger, waited to help them.
“I need some ricotta and a pound of Parmesan,” Zach said. “And then can you point me to the flour?”