Chapter One – Aurora
Aurora
June
Storytime at the bookstore was always one of my favorite events.
It helped that I adored kids and had one of the best children’s sections in all of New York.
Okay, maybe not all of New York, but in the greater area of Moose Village.
The store was currently being remodeled in stages, so that I could stay open, and although it was a nuisance, we were making it work without interrupting any of the store’s events.
Jake and Opal Magoffin walked into the bookstore with Winnie Turner.
She was the two-year-old daughter of Liam and Hope Turner.
Hope and I had become friends not long after she moved to Moose Village with her husband, Liam, who had grown up here.
My heart instantly broke as I zeroed in on Winnie.
Hope passed away back in February from a battle with cancer, and I hated knowing she would grow up not knowing what a wonderful person Hope was.
I had been trying to help Hope and Liam as much as I could, mostly taking Winnie out and about to give Liam some time to do what he needed and to allow him and Hope to spend time together.
Toward the end of Hope’s battle, she had pushed me away entirely, and I hadn’t known why until Liam had told me one evening in the most horrible and embarrassing moments of my life.
I hadn’t spoken to him since that night.
That meant I hadn’t been able to see Winnie except for when she came to storytime, or if I happened to see Opal or Mary—Hope’s younger sister who had moved to Moose Village after Hope’s death to help Liam with Winnie.
Jake saw me and waved. I smiled and waved back. Jake was Hope’s father, and Opal was his wife. She used to own Batter Up Bakery but sold it to one of my best friends, Cadie, who recently became Cadie Carter after marrying Kian, Opal’s nephew.
Behind Jake and Opal, I saw Mary. When our eyes met, she grinned. The one person missing was Liam.
Again.
“Did you all come in for storytime?” I asked, rounding the counter and giving them each a hug before bending down to say hello to Winnie.
She wore a wide smile as she reached for me.
Her light blond hair was pulled up into pigtails, and her bright blue eyes sparkled with happiness.
She was dressed in a darling pink romper made of light material. “Rora!”
Glancing up, I asked, “May I get her out?”
“Of course you can,” Mary said, smiling down at her niece.
I lifted Winnie out of her stroller. She cupped my face with her hands and kissed my nose. She took one of my blond strands of hair and twirled it in her fingers. It was something she has done since I first started watching her for Hope and Liam.
“I have missed you, little angel.”
When I looked back at Mary, Jake, and Opal, they wore identical smiles, but something was wrong. “Is everyone okay?”
Mary replied first. “Yes. It’s all fine.”
Opal cleared her throat and turned away. Jake fiddled with his hat he had taken off. Clearly, they didn’t really believe that I bought that blatant lie.
Deciding I wasn’t going to dive into something I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, I said, “James is coming to do the storytime this morning.”
Mary’s eyes lit up. “He is?”
It didn’t take a scientist to see that Mary was attracted to James Quinn, who was a good friend of mine and also a police officer in town.
I wasn’t sure about how James felt, though.
Plus, Mary didn’t live in Moose Village permanently.
She had been staying with Liam since Hope’s passing to help him and had mentioned that she would soon have to return to New York City or risk losing her position.
She had taken a leave of absence, but it had been nearly five months since she had arrived.
“Aurora?” I glanced to see my younger sister, Lou, standing there. She was also the manager of the bookstore. “We’re almost ready to start. James is here. He’s in your office.”
Turning to Mary, I held out Winnie. “Find a good seat, and we’ll chat before you leave.”
Winnie went to Mary, and the four of them set off for the children’s side of the bookstore.
“Thanks, Lou,” I said, squeezing my sister’s arm. “Oh, will you make sure the drinks and snacks are all set up for me? I know Granny was going to do it but…”
Lou grinned. “I’ll check on it all.”
Where I had blond hair, Lou had brown. My eyes were blue; hers were the color of a meadow in early spring. We both favored our mother with our looks, and our father with our personalities.
Granny Larson was our great-aunt and had been working at the bookstore since my grandfather first opened it. Her first name was Minnie, but she preferred to be called Grans or Granny.
I quickly made my way back to my office. When I opened the door, I saw James sitting behind my desk, his feet kicked up, and a Yoo-hoo chocolate milk in his hand.
Folding my arms over my chest, I glared at him. “Those are for the kids, you know.”
He finished it off. “Lou brought it for me.”
I pushed his feet off my desk. “Of course she did. She’s been crushing on you since she was ten!”
James stood. “Can I help it if I’m charming, good-looking, and wear a uniform?” He leaned closer and whispered, “I think it’s the uniform.”
“Has to be because you have zero charm.”
He feigned hurt. “That wounds me, Aurora.”
“James, stop messing around. Are you ready for storytime?”
With a huff, he replied, “Of course I am. This is what, my sixth time? I’ve got Gavin beat after this one.”
“Is it a contest?” I asked with a laugh. Gavin was James’s younger brother.
“Hell yes, it is. Better watch out, though, Betty Lou is going to say we’re having a fling.”
I rolled my eyes but smiled. “They would all fall over if they knew we had slept together.”
James laughed, but his eyes softened. James had been there for me one night a few months back when I had really needed someone to help me forget the awful day I had and the harsh words that had been spoken to me by Liam, who I had thought had been a friend of mine.
We had told each other we didn’t want to regret it, that it was a one-time thing, and to this day, it hasn’t ruined our budding friendship.
He took my hand. “I still don’t regret it, you know.”
“Me either, but we make better friends.”
James placed his hands on my shoulders. “We didn’t do anything wrong. We were two friends who were lonely and needed someone.”
I nodded. “I know. I know.”
He bent down and looked into my eyes. “Have you spoken to Liam since then?”
With a shake of my head, I replied, “No, and it doesn’t matter. He clearly doesn’t think I was a friend to him or to Hope. But enough of that. Ready to read a story?”
James was the type of friend every woman needed. There was something about having a guy friend. When you didn’t want to share your feelings, they got it. So when I said enough of Liam Turner, he moved on.
James clapped his hands. “Show me the way. Can I pick the book?”
Without looking back at him, I replied, “Not on your life.”
“Another successful storytime,” Granny Larson said, patting me on the arm. “James is so popular with the moms, isn’t he?”
I glanced over to where five or six moms surrounded him. Now and then, one would laugh and gently touch his arm.
“Lord, they don’t even try to hide it, do they?” I said with a shake of my head.
Granny laughed. “Not at all. Look at the ones whose husbands decided to come. They look pissed.”
I had to cover my mouth with my hand to hide my laugh.
“Poor Mary, off to the side, looking on with those big doe eyes. Have they been introduced?”
I looked at her. “Of course they have.”
Her brows went up. “Have they?”
“Yesss…ohhh…right!”
“Right!” she smiled, then winked. “Go before the poor thing leaves.”
Nodding to my great-aunt, I made my way through the group of people to Mary. “Where is Winnie?” I asked.
“Oh, my dad is showing her some books. Whichever one she picks, he’s going to buy for her.”
I smiled. “I like his thinking!”
“Come on, let me introduce you to James.”
Confused, Mary went to say something but I tugged her behind me through the group of moms.
“Did you ladies enjoy storytime?” I asked with a pleasant voice.
They all turned to me and forced fake smiles. Some might have been genuine, but I wouldn’t have placed a bet on any of them.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to grab James. Thank you for coming. We look forward to seeing you next week! The mayor will be here to read to us.”
I swore I heard someone whisper, “No, not the mayor.” Luckily, my best friend Harper wasn’t around this time because the mayor was her father.
The women dispersed, and I drew Mary up next to me. “James, have you been introduced to Mary? She’s Jake’s daughter and Hope’s younger sister.”
James smiled at Mary, then turned to me with a confused look on his handsome face. “I know Mary, Aurora. I’ve talked to her before.”
Mary cleared her throat and looked down at the floor. She was a cute little thing with her light brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and soft blue cotton dress that did little to hide her curves.
I laughed, then hit my forehead. “Oh my gosh, I don’t know what I was thinking. Of course, you’ve met. James, did you know Mary works in forensics?”
His brows shot up. “You do?”
Shrugging, Mary nodded. “I did back in New York City. I’ve taken a leave of absence to help Liam.”
“That’s really great of you to do,” James stated.
Mary smiled. “Thank you. My time is up, though, and they told me I have to come back or my position might be filled by someone else.”
I turned to look at her. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah,” Mary said, nervously wringing her hands together.
“Liam keeps telling me he’s good and doesn’t need any help, but I’m worried he might not be able to do it on his own.
If things were different, I would at least like to have a small place here in Moose Village so I could be close by.
My sister asked me to move here before she passed.
Actually, she made me promise, but I need a job to do so, Liam pays me, of course, but it’s nothing like what I get paid back in New York. ”
I put my hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Mary. Did you say Hope asked you to move here to Moose Village?”
She nodded. “She told me and Liam she didn’t want anyone other than family to watch Winnie.”
My mouth fell open. “That has to be stressful for you, but Liam will be okay and so will Winnie.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “I hope so. I hate breaking my promise to her.”
“It was kind of a crazy request from her, Mary,” James stated. “I’m sure it was the disease talking at the end, and she wouldn’t really expect you to honor that promise.”
I nodded.
Mary simply shrugged.
“Well,” I said, unsure of where to take the conversation now. Luckily, James came to my rescue.
“I would love to hear more about what you do, with me being in law enforcement and all. Would you like to grab dinner tonight?” James asked.
Mary and I both looked at him. She wore an expression of utter shock, while I wore a smile. I almost answered for her, but she recovered quickly.
“I would love to.”
James nodded. “Great. I’ll get your number and we can discuss the details.”
I stood there, bouncing my gaze between the two, as if I were watching a tennis match. When they both looked at me, I laughed. “Right! I’ll just leave you two.”
It took everything I had not to sprint back to the counter where Granny was. “Oh my gosh! He asked her to go out to dinner tonight!”
She smiled. “I knew it! I knew he liked her. I could tell.”
Frowning, I asked, “How could you tell?”
“A woman my age just knows these things.”
“Granny,” I sighed. “You’re sixty, that’s not that old.”
“That’s right. And when you reach sixty, you’ll be able to say and do whatever you want as well.”
Laughing, I replied, “Touché.”