Chapter 21
Eleven long hours later, with a sigh of relief, Penny locked the front door of the bookstore and flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed.” Her feet were sore, her shoulders were aching, her brain was tired, and she was ready to crash — but she’d made it.
A very long day at The Tattered Page had come to an end.
Daniel, bless his heart, was still at it, busy shelving books that had just arrived.
Over the course of his long day, he’d not only turned himself into a box-unpacking and book-shelving machine, he’d manned the counter to ring up sales for countless customers and cheerfully answered questions about his own books from a steady stream of customers who recognized him.
He’d also fielded questions about his Christmas essay.
“I’ll be doing a press event tomorrow, right here at the bookstore,” he’d told folks who asked. “If you’re able to, please attend.”
Penny was about to announce that the work day was done when her phone buzzed. There was a text from Mom: “Casserole in the oven. Join us?”
Yes, most definitely, her stomach growled.
Followed by a thought that jolted her. Could I? Should I?
With a nervous flutter, she typed, “Okay if I bring someone?”
The answer came back instantly. “Of course!”
Daniel approached from the back, a book in hand. “Shelving done, except for this one. I think it’s a special order?”
Penny looked at it and nodded. “It goes on the shelf under the counter. I’ll call the customer tomorrow to let her know it’s here.”
As Daniel headed to the counter, Penny cleared her throat. “So, a question for you.”
“Ask away.”
“You hungry?”
He turned around and looked back at her. “Starving.”
“If you’d like, you’re welcome to join me for a late dinner with my mom and dad.”
His eyes lit up. “Really? You sure?”
“Very sure.”
“I’d love that. Thank you.”
Pleased that she’d asked and even more pleased that he’d accepted, she got herself bundled up. A moment later, she ushered him out the door, turned off the bookstore lights, and stepped into the cold winter night.
“I live about a six-minute walk away,” she said as she locked up. “Is your car parked nearby?”
“A block from the square.”
“We can either take your car or walk.”
“A walk sounds great.” He took a deep breath, enjoying the crisp air. “It’s nice being outside.”
“Agree. Especially after a day like today.” After crossing the street, they headed through the square. “I really appreciate you helping out.”
“Happy to. Thank you for letting me.”
“You just survived one of the busiest shopping days of the year — and you didn’t seem fazed by any of it.”
“Well,” he said with a smile, “there was that girl with the Santa questions.”
“Oh, gosh, yes,” Penny said with a laugh. “She pretty much boxed you in, didn’t she?”
“She got me good.”
“She and her mom come to the store often.”
“Are most of your customers regulars?”
“About half are and half aren’t,” she said, considering. “During the holidays we get a lot of folks from Eagle Cove.”
As they headed down a quiet residential street, Daniel gestured to a Victorian-era house with a brightly lit Christmas tree in the front window. “Beautiful neighborhood.”
“Most of the homes in this part of town date from the late 1800s to early 1900s, including the house I grew up in, which is just ahead.”
A moment later, they reached their destination. Daniel stood there for a moment, taking in the three-story Victorian.
“So this is it,” he said.
“This is it. I live in the in-law apartment downstairs. Mom and Dad live upstairs.”
They made their way up the porch steps. Penny pushed open the front door and stepped inside, Daniel following. “Hey,” she called out. “We’re here.”
From the kitchen, Dad poked his head into the hallway. “In here, honey.”
“Hang your coat on the rack,” Penny said as she shrugged out of her coat.
“I smell something great,” Daniel said as he hung his up.
“Mom made a casserole — not sure what kind.”
She led him down the hallway into the kitchen, where her dad was busy setting the kitchen’s small dining table and her mom was washing her hands in the sink.
“Welcome!” Mom said, looking over with a big smile.
“Introduction time,” Penny said. “Daniel, I’d like to introduce you to my mom and dad, Carmen and Bob Quinn. Mom and Dad, this is Daniel Bedford.”
“Pleased to meet you, young man,” Dad said, shaking Daniel’s hand. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Thanks for inviting me tonight, Mr. Quinn.”
“Please, call me Bob.”
Penny’s mom bustled forward and took Daniel’s hand in both of hers. “Ay, qué guapo,” she said, throwing Penny a mischievous glance.
Before Penny could object to this blatant act of maternal meddling, Mom turned her full attention back to Daniel and said, “Very pleased to meet you, Mr. Bedford.”
“Please, call me Daniel.”
Penny watched Daniel’s reaction carefully. Did he understand that her mom had just said he was handsome?
“And you,” Mom said, “can call us Carmen and Bob.”
“Thank you for inviting me to your beautiful home.”
“The pleasure is ours.” She relinquished her hold on his hand. “Dinner’s almost ready. Penny, why don’t you give our guest a house tour?”
“Sure,” Penny said, throwing her mom a don’t-you-even-try-to-do-your-meddling-thing glance. “This way.”
Daniel followed her into the family room.
“Listen,” she said, whispering. “I apologize if my mom just made you uncomfortable.”
Daniel smiled, amused. “Because I’m so guapo?”
Penny stared up at him, not sure how to respond, then gave up and let out a laugh. “I warned you about the meddling energy up here.”
“You did.”
“I promise I’ll sit Mom down and give her a stern talking-to.”
“After dinner, please,” he said, still grinning. “That casserole smells amazing and I am hungry.”
“Okay,” she said, giving up. “House tour time. This is the family room, with a nice big couch and a comfy recliner that is mine when I’m here. In the morning, the back windows let in a lot of sunlight.”
“So basically the TV room,” Daniel said.
“And when my brothers Jorge and Ramon are here, the videogame room.”
“You’re the oldest kid, right?”
“By two years. My brothers are identical twins and live in Miami now.”
“What do they do?”
“They’re commercial pilots and just started an aircraft parts business.”
She led him out of the family room and down the main hallway. “There’s a half-bath tucked beneath the stairs and the rest of the floor is the dining room, living room, and a small study.”
“The place seems really comfortable,” he said as they walked through the rooms.
“Upstairs,” she said, “are three bedrooms and one bathroom.”
His eyebrows rose. “One bathroom for five people?”
“I know, right? The stories I could tell. Three teenagers, two grownups, one bathroom — a constant battle.”
He chuckled. “How about the in-law apartment?”
“That’s fairly new. It used to be a storage room. Mom and Dad put it in after I left for college.”
From the kitchen, Mom yelled, “Dinner’s ready!”
“On our way!” Penny yelled back.
When they got back to the kitchen, Mom was setting the casserole on top of the oven.
“That smells so good,” Daniel said.
“Thank you,” Mom said. “It’s easy to make. Ground beef, chili beans, tortilla chips, sour cream, cheddar cheese, green onion, tomatoes, and salsa.”
Dad said, “What can I get you to drink, Daniel?”
“Water’s fine, thanks.”
“Ice?”
“No thanks.”
“Penny?”
“Same.”
Dad gestured to the small dining table. “Have a seat.”
As they settled in, Dad brought their waters, followed by a basket of dinner rolls and a tossed salad. Mom brought the casserole to the table and scooped hearty helpings onto four plates.
Eagerly, everyone dug in.
“This is so good,” Daniel said. “Totally hits the spot.”
“You had a very long day,” Mom said. “What was it like for you, working at the bookstore?”
“Busy, relentless, and surprisingly fun.”
“Fun?” Mom asked. “Do tell.”
“I like learning new things, and today, thanks to Penny, I got a taste of what it’s like to work in a bookstore. I also met several readers of my books, which is always nice.”
“Daniel was a total trouper today,” Penny added. “We had four shipments and he got every single book unpacked and shelved before we locked up.”
“Good job, young man,” Dad said.
Daniel smiled.
“You know,” Mom said, “today’s a big day for us, too. It’s not every day that a best-selling author joins us for dinner.”
“Your latest book has done exceptionally well,” Dad said. “Books like that don’t come along often. It’s been out for … going on two years?”
Daniel nodded. “I’m very grateful the book has done so well.”
“What’s striking is how consistently strong the sales have been. It’s not something we typically see.”
“It means that people are reading your book and telling people how much they love it,” Mom said.
“I hope you’re right,” Daniel said. “Holly and Gabe told me that you opened The Tattered Page more than forty years ago?”
Mom and Dad looked at each other and smiled.
Here we go, Penny thought with a surge of affection. The bookstore’s founding was part of the family lore, a tale that her parents never tired of telling and that Penny never tired of hearing.
“It was a beautiful fall day, forty-three years ago,” Dad began. “The air had that wonderful smell of autumn.”
“Forty-three years,” Mom said with a laugh. “I can’t believe it was so long ago.”
“We’d driven up from Boston to see the fall foliage.”
“The leaves were so beautiful, so rich, so incredible.”
“By chance, we stopped to stretch our legs in a town we’d never heard of — a tiny town called Heartsprings Valley.”
“He thinks we stopped by chance, but it was fate.”
Dad chuckled. “We decided to take a walk around the town square and came upon a store that had recently gone out of business. And we got curious.”
“The store was calling out to us,” Mom said. “I could feel its pull.”
“We’d been talking about starting a bookstore but hadn’t settled on where.”