13. Aurora
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Aurora
The shop smelled like grease, metal, and something citrusy. Probably Mason’s cologne or soap.
It was warmer inside than I expected as he worked under the hood of my car, sleeves pushed up, forearms flexing as he tightened a bolt.
I should have been thinking about my car.
About how soon I could get out of Medford.
Instead, my eyes wandered.
The garage wasn’t messy, but it had that organized chaos feel, like everything had its place even if it didn’t look that way. Tools lined the workbenches, and a few jackets were tossed over a chair in the corner. A half-empty coffee cup sat next to a pile of invoices.
And then I saw it.
Something small. Unassuming.
But so wildly out of place, I stopped mid-step.
A brass key.
Not just any key. A Page Turners key.
I knew that design—ornate edges, slightly worn, the same kind I’d found in my uncle’s basement—although I hadn't yet found what it unlocked.
My stomach clenched. What the hell was it doing here?
I reached out and picked it up, the cool metal pressing into my palm.
“Mason,” I said slowly, turning toward him.
“Hmm?” He didn’t look up, still focused on the engine.
I held the key up. “Why do you have this?”
That got his attention. He straightened, wiping his hands on a rag before glancing my way. His brows pulled together.
“What is it?”
I turned it over in my fingers. “This is from Page Turners.”
Mason’s frown deepened as he stepped closer, leaning in to get a better look. “You sure?”
I shot him a look. “I’m the one who owns the place, aren’t I?”
He huffed a short laugh but took the key, rolling it between his fingers. “Huh.”
“That's all you’ve got to say?” I crossed my arms. “Why do you have a key to something in my bookstore?”
Mason shook his head. “I don’t. This isn’t mine.”
I studied his face, but he looked as genuinely confused as I felt. “Then what's it doing here?”
“No idea.”
He glanced around the shop, like the answer might be hiding somewhere in the oil-stained floor or between the toolboxes.
A prickle ran down my spine.
First, the weird discrepancies in my uncle’s paperwork, then the strange interaction with Hank Lawson, and now this?
Something wasn’t adding up.
I exhaled sharply. “You think Ethan or Owen left it here?”
Mason rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe. But why the hell would they have a key from Page Turners?”
I had no answer for that.
I swallowed, my grip tightening around the key. What the hell was going on in this place?
Before Mason could say anything else, my phone rang, the sharp buzz making me jump. I pulled it from my back pocket, wincing at the name on the screen.
Daniel Parker.
Shit.
Mason raised a brow. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, but I doubted I sounded convincing. I took a few steps away, inhaling deeply before answering. “Hey, Daniel.”
“Aurora.” His clipped tone sent a familiar wave of anxiety through me. I hated that tone, it never led to anything good. “What the hell is going on? I thought you’d be back by now. We have a meeting with Sterling and Co., remember?”
Crap. I’d forgotten. “Things have been a little hectic.”
“That's putting it lightly,” he said. “You’ve been gone a long time now, Aurora. You were supposed to wrap things up there, not settle in.”
My jaw clenched. “I’m not settling in. I just need a little more time.”
It’s not like I hadn’t been working from home—answering emails, offering suggestions—even though we had agreed on an unpaid leave for as long as I needed. Sure it's taking me longer than we both expected but…
“You don’t have more time,” he snapped. “We’re drowning without you. Carter botched the last campaign, and the clients are getting antsy. We need you back in the city. Now .”
I turned away from Mason’s curious gaze, gripping the key so tightly it bit into my palm. “I told you, I’m handling things here.”
“Well, handle them faster,” Daniel bit out. “You have a life here, and a career if you want one. You need to take this seriously.”
It was a future I had been working toward for years. But now, the idea of going back didn’t light me up the way it used to.
“I'll be back soon,” I said, though the words tasted like a lie.
Daniel sighed. “You’d better be. And I want to be kept more in the loop about things."
The call disconnected, leaving a hollow silence in its wake.
I turned back to Mason, my pulse thrumming. His gaze was steady, assessing.
“That sounded fun.”
I forced a tight smile. “My boss.”
“You in trouble?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
He tilted his head, studying me. “You don’t sound like someone who wants to go back.”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know that either.”
And that scared me more than anything.
The afternoon sun danced over Pinewood Dog Park, stretching long shadows across the grass.
Biscuit, Lila’s overly enthusiastic corgi, was currently zooming in wild circles, tongue lolling, while Lila and I sat on a bench near the fence.
It was nice of her to invite me for a walk. I really needed some fresh air and a friend.
Someone to talk to about everything.
“So,” Lila said, stretching the word out. “I don’t know nearly enough about you, Aurora. Tell me about your life. You know, before you came here.”
I sighed, rolling my coffee cup between my hands. “There’s not much to say.”
Lila gave me a look. “Aurora.”
I groaned. “Fine. My boss is pissed at me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was only supposed to be gone a few days, and now it’s been… longer. And I’m not even done yet.”
Lila let out a low whistle. “Damn. Yeah, I can see why they’d be mad. But come on, you're a marketing executive, right? Don’t they have a million of you in the city?”
I let out a dry laugh. “Not quite. And not ones who handle my accounts.”
She raised a brow. “So, what? The whole company will collapse without you?”
“Honestly? No,” I admitted. “But it feels like it will. That's the thing about my job. It’s all high pressure, all the time. If I don’t answer emails within an hour, people act like the world is ending.”
Lila frowned. “That sounds awful.”
I let out a breath. “Yeah. I mean, I thought I loved it. I’ve spent years working my way up. Late nights, early mornings, pushing harder than everyone else. And now?” I stared down at my coffee. “Now I’m not even sure I like it.”
Lila didn’t say anything right away, just watched me with that sharp, knowing look of hers.
“How come?” she finally asked.
I contemplated before admitting, “Because for the first time in years, I’ve had a chance to breathe . A moment away from it all. And I’m realizing that my whole life is work. I don’t really have anything else.”
Lila’s expression softened. “No friends?”
I swallowed, feeling a little ridiculous. “Not really. I mean, I have work friends, but outside of that? I don’t know. I’ve been so focused on my career that I never really thought about it.”
“Wow.” Lila nudged me gently. “That's kinda sad, babe.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Yeah. I’m starting to figure that out.”
She tilted her head. “So, what now?”
I exhaled. “I don’t know. Part of me feels like I should go back. But another part of me—” I paused, staring out at Biscuit as he happily pounced on a leaf. “Another part of me doesn’t want to. Is that crazy?”
Lila grinned. “Sounds to me like Medford might be growing on you.”
I bit my lip, thinking of the bookstore. The people. The Grady brothers.
Maybe it was.
“But things aren’t easy at Page Turners either, you know?”
“You having trouble selling it?”
“It’s not just that.” I sighed to myself. “It’s weird. I feel like things are off .”
She arched a brow. “That's cryptic.”
I toyed with the lid of my drink. “I found a key today. At the auto shop.”
Lila took a sip of her iced tea, waiting.
“It was from Page Turners. I found the same one in my bookstore basement.”
That got her attention. “And what the hell was it doing there?”
“No clue.” I shook my head. “Mason swore it wasn’t his, and he seemed as confused as I was. He said he’d ask his brothers.”
Lila hummed. “Hmmm, that is odd. But maybe it’s just, I don’t know, one of those small-town things. Everyone knows everyone here.”
I shot her a look. “That's not comforting.”
She grinned. “I wasn’t trying to be.”
I sighed, stretching my legs out. “Something’s off, Lila. First, my uncle’s finances don’t make sense, then there's the whole Hank Lawson situation, and now a key to my basement shows up at the Grady boys' garage?”
“You think there's a connection?”
I chewed on my lip. “I don’t know. But my gut says yes.”
Lila tapped her nails against her cup, watching me closely. “So what's your next move?”
I let out a slow breath. “I don’t know.”
She snorted. “That's not like you, is it?”
I blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
Lila tilted her head. “You seem like the kind of woman who always has a plan. Who always knows what to do next. And now you're just floating.”
She wasn’t wrong. That was exactly how I felt untethered, uncertain, stuck between two lives that didn’t quite fit anymore.
“I guess I am,” I admitted.
She leaned back against the bench, crossing one leg over the other. “Well, floating’s not a bad thing, you know. Sometimes you need to drift a little before you figure out where you're supposed to land.”
I exhaled sharply. “That sounds poetic, but it also sounds like a good way to crash and burn.”
Lila laughed. “Maybe. But if you're already questioning everything, do you really want to go back to a life that doesn’t feel right?”
I opened my mouth, but no answer came. Because I didn’t know.
And that was the scariest part.
Biscuit came bounding over, his little legs moving at lightning speed, and jumped onto my lap, wiggling excitedly.
Lila smirked. “Even Biscuit thinks you should stay.”
I huffed out a laugh, rubbing behind his ears. “I bet Biscuit thinks I should just hand-feed him treats all day.”
She shrugged. “Hey, maybe that's the life lesson here. Forget marketing—stay in Medford and run a dog bakery.”
I snorted. “Now that's insane.”
Lila grinned. “Okay, so what about Page Turners?”
I didn’t have a response for that either.
Because deep down, I knew she had a point.