Chapter 60
D enny unlocked her little bookstore, wedged between two larger businesses—a bakery and a hardware store. She felt like a stranger in her own shop.
She scanned down the aisles and attempted to see it the way a customer would. With stacks of books in the aisles, disheveled and homely were the words that came to mind. She could cry. She reprimanded herself for ever leaving it in Agnes’s care. Because only Denny loved this little bookstore. As she sorted through a pile of books, she recalled the day she’d arrived, and the unsettling phone call the hotel had received from a couple named Campbell, who were not impersonating her parents. Turned out they were stuck in a tour bus on the other side of the icy bridge and only wished to cancel their reservations.
And if Denny hadn’t gone to the Isle of Skye, she never would have met Alec. There was no getting around the fact that she loved him.
The store’s landline phone rang, startling Denny. She picked it up and said, “Hello, the Open Book.”
“Denny,” Alec said, “I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you fiercely.”
“I feel the same way.” Denny’s patience was being put to the test.
“I can’t wait to see you. I’m counting the days.”
Denny looked at the wall clock. “I’m counting the hours.”