Chapter 3 #2
“I’m not writing…” Darby paused. “Okay, fine, I see what you did there. Rarity, are you sure I can’t have Katie at the store?”
Rarity tried to hide her smile. “Okay, kids, stop teasing each other. If I have to turn this car around, I will.”
Jonathon poked Darby. “See what you did. Mom’s mad.”
“I didn’t make her mad, you did.” Darby stuck her tongue out.
“Did so,” Jonathon said as he leaned closer, staring at Darby.
“And on that note, we’re going to leave so we can open the festival booth.
Open the store at nine, and please, don’t kill each other.
Bloodstains are so hard to get out of hardwood.
” Rarity stood and snapped her fingers, calling Killer to her side.
She clicked his leash on. “Sometime tonight, Terrance is coming to get Killer and take him home before the movie. So if you see him and you have Killer, you have my permission for Terrance to leave with him. You don’t have to find me.
Just tell me when you see me. I think it’s going to be a madhouse here tonight. Here’s to a colossal day of sales.”
“Okay team, break,” Darby called out as she stood. “We’ll see you at five. Bet we outsell you.”
“You won’t even be close,” Katie challenged back.
“How much do you want to bet?” Darby pushed.
Rarity pulled Katie toward the door in front of her. “No betting allowed. I’m not running a back parlor casino here.”
At the park when she opened the festival tent door, Rarity had to admit, the guys had done a great job of setting up the off-site bookstore.
She set Killer up under the sales table and then went to adjust the piles.
They had young adult over with the thrillers and not with the kids’ books.
They were only open a few minutes before the first wave of customers hit.
Marc Billings wandered in when the customers started to slow near lunchtime.
He raised his hand and looked around the tent.
Then he came up to the sales table where Rarity had just finished with a customer.
He picked up a signed copy of his book on the front table.
“Hey, you guys take festivals seriously around here. I heard you were featuring the book here, but I thought they meant the actual bookstore.”
“No, we brought a little over half our signed stock of your book since there are probably a lot of people taking in the festival who are also here for the race. And then there’s the film festival that starts tomorrow too.
” Rarity waved at Malia, who had just come into the tent with their lunches.
“I used to close the shop on festival days, but I get people at both locations now. You should come to the book signing tonight. We’re hosting an outdoor showing of a horror flick. ”
“Darby mentioned that. You guys are too busy for me. When I raced, I trained all the time. Early to bed, early to rise. I kept the same schedule when I was writing the book. I tend to be a homebody, just getting out for signings and the races. It’s a lot slower of a pace.
” He nodded to Malia as she set the lunches on the back table.
“But it looks like you need to take a break. I’m going to wander over to the bookstore and say hi. ”
“Honestly, it’s either feast or famine here too. You just arrived in our busy festival season.” Rarity handed him a flyer for the signing and showing that night. “Seriously, come to the event tonight. Darby will be there.”
He blushed, and Rarity knew that he liked the bookseller for more than her friendship as he’d navigated his author signing that week.
As he walked out of the tent, Malia stood next to Rarity. “Darby wasn’t wrong. He’s gorgeous and nice. Now I feel bad that I missed his signing. Is the book good?”
“From what I read, yes. And now that I’ve met him, the voice matches his personality. Laid back, but thoughtful. Is Darby interested?” Rarity went over and pulled her sandwich out of the bag as Killer watched from under the table.
Malia shrugged. “You know Darby. She flits from one thing to the next. I think she’s still a little worried about that guy from Scotland.”
“Does she think he was the one who broke into her house? That he followed her here?” Rarity didn’t like the sound of that at all. Darby had been frightened by the message left in her mail. “Was everything all right last night at the house?”
“We had a blast. Katie swam for hours, so we hung out at the pool until we could drag her away.” Malia poked Katie’s arm.
“That’s not true,” Katie complained. “You all were drinking. I wanted to enjoy that pool as long as possible. It’s beautiful.”
Rarity smiled at the younger version of herself. “I know the value of a good pool. It’s my happy place, especially swimming in the morning. And at night after a stressful day.”
“So basically, anytime. No wonder the two of you get along so well,” Malia teased as she checked her watch. “I’ve got to drop off food at the bookstore, then get back to work. I’ll be there tonight right at six, though.”
“I’ll save you a seat. I hear the next author is handsome as well,” Rarity called after her.
The rest of the day went by quickly. The one thing about having so much going on was that Rarity was never bored.
This new life she’d built had enough going on to keep her busy as well as a group of friends who were close enough to feel like family.
She looked around the mini bookstore and quickly found Katie, who was rearranging books and making notes on what they needed to restock.
The weekend was only just beginning, and there was going to be a lot of work from now until Sunday night.
She noticed a man walking through the book tables; he’d stopped at the children’s section.
He was younger than most dads who were looking for a book to take home to their kids, but maybe he had a niece or nephew whom he wanted to share his love of reading with.
Customers came in all sizes and ages. Another reason that Rarity loved the bookselling business.
As he was the last one in the tent, she went over to let him know that they were closing up.
“I loved that book as a kid,” Rarity said as she saw him pick up a middle grade mystery. “I always wanted to be the one to solve the mystery or find the missing relic. How old are your kids? Or is it for a relative?”
“What?” The young man dropped the book. He took a look at her, then ran out of the tent.
Rarity watched after him. She walked back to Katie. “My hair isn’t bad, is it? Or do I smell?”
“No more than the rest of us.” Katie reached out and pushed a wayward curl from Rarity’s face. “I think your makeup melted off. Why?”
“Just asking why I would have scared off a customer.” When Katie looked confused, she shook her head. “Never mind. Let’s start shutting down.”
After Rarity and Katie finished closing the festival booth and returned to the store, Darby was in the break room, listening to Mason Pike tell stories about his life.
He was older than Rarity had assumed—maybe in his mid-sixties—but that didn’t diminish his charm.
And he was focused on Darby. What was it about the ginger-haired young woman that intrigued men so quickly?
Maybe her makeup hadn’t melted off like Rarity’s.
Rarity quickly ate then went out to the alley to make sure everything was ready. She was soon joined by everyone but Darby and Mason Pike. He’d come out just before the talk was supposed to start.
The seats filled up fast. Rarity sold a lot of Pike’s books while they got ready for the show.
Archer and Jonathon were setting up the audio as well as making sure the projector was ready.
And right on time, Mason walked out of the back door and greeted Rarity, who was going to introduce him and his talk.
Darby fell in behind, her face red. When Rarity met her gaze, she shook her head.
Whatever was going on, she didn’t want to talk about it.
Rarity took Mr. Pike up onto the stage, and the festivities of the night began.
When he started talking, she moved back to the side where Darby and Katie were waiting.
“Okay, as soon as he finishes, we’ll move him to the signing table, and hopefully, he’ll be done before seven thirty when we start the movie.
If not, we’ll have him continue to sign books during the movie in the break room. Darby, do you want to handle that?”
“I’d rather not,” Darby said, her face turning a red that matched her hair.
“Okay. Katie?” Rarity looked over at her.
“Maybe Jonathon should handle Mr. Pike for the rest of the night,” Darby said before Katie could agree.
Rarity didn’t know what had happened, but if Darby felt that strongly, she’d support her decision. “Sure. Would you run up and get him off the hill? He can be the author wrangler for the rest of the event.”
The talk finished right on time, and Mason Pike was led by a smiling Jonathon to the signing table. Rarity watched as Mason looked around for Darby, but when he didn’t find her, he focused on the first reader holding the book out.
Darby came back from hanging with Archer when the signing line had ended and Mason Pike was inside, signing stock for the store. Jonathon came out and glanced at his watch. “He’s got about twenty more books to sign and then he’ll be out. Are we starting the movie now? Or waiting for him?”
“Start it now,” Rarity said. “I’ll make the introduction from the script he gave me.”
Once the movie was going and the lights had dimmed, Rarity realized that Mason Pike hadn’t rejoined them. She left her seat and went into the bookstore through the back door.
Mason was sitting at the table, his eyes shut.
Rarity shut the door behind her. “Did you want to watch the movie or just relax until the ending? I’m sure we’ll have some questions.”
Mason didn’t move.
“Mr. Pike?” Rarity went up and shook his shoulder. He fell over, and a large black spider fell off his chest.