Chapter Four #2
He couldn’t approach the other customers now, when it was clear one of them was definitely not a fan of his work—and that
she likely would know he had overheard her.
Andrew looked around, wondering how he could escape the bookstore with his son still in the bathroom and his daughter engrossed
in finding bookish treasures.
“I can’t believe you don’t like them,” the one named Em said. “I think the whole Starbound Chronicles series is amazing. The
world-building is unbelievable, the plots are gripping and his dialogue cracks me up. You’ve never been a big fan of fantasy
novels. Is that why you don’t like his books?”
“It’s not my favorite genre but there are some fantasy novels I enjoy. I just don’t like overexposed male authors who tell
the same trite story again and again, with wooden female characters who are basically one-dimensional nerd fantasies. Andrew
Morgan writes love scenes like he’s never even met a real woman.”
The other woman laughed. “You must not be paying attention to the tabloids lately. Andrew Morgan has definitely met a woman.
Didn’t you see he was hot and heavy with Willow Voss? They were seen everywhere a few months ago.”
The other woman snorted. “Publicity hype. That’s all. I find it more than a little coincidental that the leading actress of a new movie franchise had an apparently tumultuous relationship with the person who wrote the book the movies are based on. They were just trying to get attention.”
“Mom, I don’t think they really needed attention. The first movie broke box office records, and it’s still breaking them.
The second one is going to be even bigger when it comes out at Christmastime.”
Andrew was still trying to figure out how to extricate himself from the unbelievably awkward situation when the two women
moved closer, still concealed from him by the tall bookshelf.
“I would love to have him do a signing here at the store,” the younger woman said. “Wouldn’t that be epic? I wonder if he
might consider it during the busy summer months, when all the tourists are here.”
“I doubt that will happen. We’re a small fish in a big publishing pond.”
“We are the only bookstore in town. As he’s our new celebrity author, I would think he might want to have a good relationship
with us. Plus Grandma is friends with his mom. That has to count for something.”
He should leave, grab his kids and sneak out the door before these women saw him. He didn’t want to embarrass either of them.
The only trouble with that was Zara was scouring the shelves for a book, and her brother was still in the bathroom.
Andrew slunk down, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. He turned his face toward the shelves until he realized he
was fiercely concentrating on a selection of books about coping with menopause.
To his vast relief, the women’s conversation shifted to other subjects. Andrew headed over toward the bathrooms as Finn came out.
“Did you wash your hands?” he asked automatically.
His son nodded, shaking off his still wet palms. “Where’s Zara?”
“She’s looking at the horse books. What are you looking for?”
With luck, his son would say he didn’t need a book and they could wrap up this excruciating bookstore visit.
“I want another Star Wars Origami book. Can you help me find it?”
“Sure thing.”
Since the two women seemed to have moved to another section of the store, he directed his son to the children’s area. Finn
quickly found several books he wanted to peruse, including the clever book that taught readers how to make origami versions
of popular Star Wars characters.
Andrew had returned to the research section right as the two women walked around the endcap into his aisle.
Even if he hadn’t heard the younger one refer to the other one as Mom, he would have known they were related. Both women were
remarkably pretty. They shared the same green eyes, the same delicate features, the same auburn hair, though the younger one—the
very insightful reader who loved his books, apparently—had purple-tipped highlights, several piercings in her nose and her
lip, and a tattoo of a crescent moon on one arm and an iridescent dragon on the other.
“Oh!” The older woman drew up short. He saw a dawning look of horror cross her striking features. “You’re Andrew Morgan.”
With all his heart, he wished he could deny his identity in that moment but that would be stupid. “I am. Hello.”
He offered a smile, his polished meet-the-readers kind of expression—the one that concealed all the struggles and strains of life.
Maybe she would assume he hadn’t overheard their conversation. He had no problem going along with that. With luck, they could
avoid any awkwardness.
“Welcome to Wood Briar,” she said. “I had heard you were moving to town. My mother is friends with your mother. She’s been
so excited to have you return.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Why would your mother possibly care about me moving to Wood Briar?”
She grimaced. “Not my mother. Your mother is the excited one. Nancy has been talking about it nonstop. She’s so thrilled to have your children close to her
again.”
Being near his mother had been one of the main reasons he had decided to settle here. Nancy had been extolling the virtues
of the area since she moved here herself on a whim several years after his father died.
During the final days of Tracy’s illness, Nancy had moved down to California temporarily to help him out with the children.
He would be eternally grateful to her for that. Her calm presence had been a lifesaver.
His mother had talked about moving down to California permanently to be closer to them, but he could sense the reluctance
in her voice every time she brought it up, so he had managed to dissuade her. She had made a life here, with a tight group
of friends who looked out for each other. He didn’t want to take her away from that. She deserved to find whatever peace she
could after being married to William Morgan all those years.
After the fire destroyed his house, moving here to be closer to her had made sense.
He still didn’t know if he’d made the right decision. The endless chaos of the house renovation along with Zara’s negative attitude made him question everything, but he supposed only time would tell.
“My kids are looking forward to being close to their grandmother.”
“How are you liking Stormhaven?”
“Stormhaven? Seriously? That’s where you’ve moved?” Her daughter looked astonished at that information as she gave the older
woman a look Andrew couldn’t interpret.
He frowned. “I’m afraid it’s not so much a haven right now as a disaster. We’re in the middle of a construction zone. It will
be nice when it’s done, but right now we’re squeezed into a couple of rooms above the old carriage house. The renovation is
taking much longer than I expected.”
“I know. I’m sorry about that.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Oh.” She looked flustered. “I should have introduced myself. I’m Rosie Lucas.”
He narrowed his gaze at her. “Rosie Lucas, as in Lucas Construction?”
“Yes, that’s right. And this is my daughter, Emma.”
“You need to do a hell of a lot better job meeting deadlines,” he said. “I was led to believe most of the work would be done
before we moved here.”
He sounded like an ass, but he didn’t really care. Rosie Lucas hated his books and apparently she was also responsible for the current chaos in his living situation.
The woman looked chagrined. “I’m really sorry we’re behind schedule but everything turned out to be more complicated than
we expected. It’s a big job. The place has been abandoned for years. It takes a great deal of effort to bring it back to its
full glory.”
“And money,” he grumbled. “Every time I turn around, the costs for things have gone up.”
“Things are tough right now in this economy. Construction material is harder to get and costs twice as much. Believe me, my
subcontractors are frustrated, too, which is another big reason for the delays. But I think we’re back on track now. I’m hoping
another few months and we should be done.”
Great. Another few months of trying to focus on meeting his deadline with subs coming in and out.
“And you’re living there in the midst of the work?” Emma said. “Is there anywhere for you to write?”
“Not really. Eventually I’ll have a very nice office in the turret of the house but it doesn’t have paint or carpet right
now, so I’m mostly working at the kitchen table after the kids are in bed.”
“Oh dear.” Rosie looked distressed. “Maybe we can prioritize that and at least get you a decent workspace sooner rather than
later. I’ll talk to Bryce, your project manager.”
He did like Bryce Kendall. In every interaction he’d had with the guy, he found him knowledgeable and hardworking, dedicated
to restoring the old house to its former glory.
“I would appreciate that,” he said, holding back his sarcastic rejoinder that he was paying them to finish on time and thus
far Lucas Construction had failed miserably.
To his great relief, Finn wandered over from the children’s area at that moment.
“I found the book I want, Dad.”
“That’s great.”
His son, invariably friendly, turned to the two women. “Hi. My name is Finn. What’s yours?”
Rosie smiled at him with far more warmth than she had shown him. “My name is Rosie and this is my daughter, Emma. We’re your
neighbors, actually. We live down the street from Stormhaven. We’re in the house with the red door.”
“And all the flowers! My sister said it looks like a fairy garden.”
“That’s right.”
“Mr. Morgan, I have to say, I love your books!” Emma said after a moment. “My mom and I were just talking about them.”
Yes. He was aware. He glanced at Rosie and saw her cheeks suddenly matched her name. “Were you?”
“You have a huge readership here in Oregon. Since you’re our new celebrity author, we would love to have you do a signing
here at The Rainy Day Bookshop once you settle in.”
His confusion must have shown on his features because Rosie cleared her throat.
“Did we forget to mention that I own the bookstore?”
“Do you?” He should have known. She obviously had poor taste in books, and the general air of neglect of the bookstore reinforced
that.
“I’m what you might call a silent owner. I’ve been busy running Lucas Construction for the last few years, so my mother has
taken over the bookstore.”
“Grandma had an accident a few weeks ago, so I’ve moved back from Las Vegas to help out,” Emma informed him. “We are going
to be making some changes and one of those is hosting more book events. I would love to have you be the guest author for our
grand reopening.”
“What changes?” Rosie did not look thrilled at the prospect. “What grand reopening?”
“Cosmetic, for the most part,” Em said. She looked nervous suddenly. “I was talking with Bryce about some things we could
do to brighten things up.”
She turned back to Andrew. “What do you think? Would you be willing to be our first featured author?”
He tried to do his part to support indie bookstores but right now he had enough on his plate. “I don’t want to commit to anything at this point, while my life is so chaotic.”
“Fair enough. I’ll talk to you again when Stormhaven is renovated, shall I?”
“Sure.”
Andrew forced a polite smile, but inwardly he was already looking for an escape route. The last thing he wanted was to be
further entangled with this bookstore or its owners. He had come to Oregon seeking solitude and a fresh start, not to be roped
into local events or forced interactions. Yet as he glanced between Rosie and Emma, he realized with a sinking feeling that
avoiding them entirely might prove impossible.
Rosie owned both the bookstore and the construction company working on Stormhaven. Her daughter seemed eager to involve him
in their plans. Andrew found himself trapped in a web of small-town connections he hadn’t anticipated.
As he returned to help his kids make their final selections, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that the peaceful life he
had hoped to find here was already more complicated than he had bargained for.
He would need to find a way to maintain his distance without burning bridges—a delicate balance he wasn’t sure he was prepared
to strike.