Chapter Six
Six
A Pearl of Wisdom
from Renny Russo
“Broken hearts are capable of loving again.”
Tallulah
The morning at work had flown by, barely giving me any time to worry about the situation at home.
The main reason it’d gone by so fast was because the library had been gossip central where Evanthe’s nephew was concerned. Word had spread about Jake’s arrival in town, and everyone who came in wanted to talk about him. Nettie, Isabel, and I had fielded questions left and right.
Yet each time the doors whooshed open, I glanced up, hoping Jake himself would walk in. But only because I’d put the puppy-training book on the hold shelf, and I couldn’t keep it there forever. Also because I was hoping he could tell me a little bit more about Evanthe.
I only knew a few bits and pieces that I’d collected through the years.
Like how she’d been born and raised in Forget-Me-Not.
And had been best friends with Mamaw. She had no siblings, which meant Jake had to be related through her marriage to Dale Kilburn.
She had no children, though she often referred to the library as her baby—and treated it as such, doting and caring.
She always made sure it had what it needed, fought for its budget, its upgrades.
And vowed she’d never leave it willingly, so never entertained talk of retirement.
Absolutely refused to consider it, and eventually the library board stopped suggesting it.
With Evanthe, one always knew when to surrender.
She’d worked here at the library for what seemed like forever and was also on the board of just about every local charitable organization around. In addition, she owned many local rental homes, all inherited from her husband when he passed away. He’d been a real estate investor. A mogul, really.
I knew from one of the many gossip sessions this morning that Jake had moved into one of those rental houses just this past Sunday. And because Evanthe’s rentals were almost always long-term leases—at least a year in length—there were already plans to send the welcome wagon to his new address.
I couldn’t help thinking Better him than me when it came to the rental because Evanthe was a stickler about rules. Since there was very little bend in her backbone, I couldn’t even imagine how strict she’d be as a landlord.
When Jed Rubin, the seventy-five-year-old library custodian, had passed by Isabel, Nettie, and me without adding anything to the conversation, I narrowed my eyes on him, suspicious.
Dressed in his usual uniform of a pale blue Forget-Me-Not Library polo shirt, khaki cargo pants, and brown leather work boots, Jed was tall as a flagpole and just as thin. He kept his salt-and-pepper hair buzz cut short, and his sky blue eyes danced as he pretended to zip his lips.
Since gossiping was one of his favorite ways to pass the time, I could only think of one reason why he’d refrain from adding his two cents.
Evanthe.
He was sweet on her. Had been for years, according to Nettie and Isabel, but was too shy to act on it. No one dared ask Evanthe if she knew of his feelings.
Well, that wasn’t quite true.
Shortly after I started working here, a sweet young high school volunteer had asked Evanthe if she’d ever consider going on a date with Jed. In reply, she’d received a dressing-down about appropriate workplace conversations that still rang in the rafters if you listened carefully.
Not long after, the girl found another job at the Lickety Split.
By one o’clock, Isabel had already gone home for the day—her part-time hours varied wildly.
I’d finished setting up a food-related display ahead of the Flour Festival, where the library would have a vendor’s booth, selling sweet treats and library-branded merchandise.
And I’d also thwarted at least a half a dozen attempts by Deckle to knock a book off a shelf.
He’d finally given up, kicked a cup of pencils off the circulation desk instead, and gone for a nap in a puddle of sunshine.
I was on my way to the break room to eat lunch when I heard Nettie talking to someone.
She was saying, “Perhaps suggest yoga? It might work wonders. Have you ever tried it, darlin’?”
Her bold voice carried through the stacks easily enough. Out of curiosity, I detoured, following the sound, wondering who was on the receiving end of her wisdom today.
“Not that I can remember,” a woman said.
The voice sounded slightly familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
Then I heard Vera Ingleby say, “I’ve been thinking about taking up yoga myself. I sat down to weed one of my flower beds last week, and it darn near took me five minutes to stand up again.”
Vera didn’t come here too often—she was an avid audiobook reader and checked out books via an app connected to the library so she could listen to the books on her tablet. Yet I wasn’t surprised she’d shown up today. She was the biggest gossip around. No doubt she was curious about Jake as well.
Nettie said, “I’ll ask Isabel if there are still spots open at the class she takes at the community center. We could sign him up and trick him into going. It would serve him right after bamboozling us into going on that bird-watching tour in the middle of a swamp that one time.”
“A swamp? Really?” the unknown woman asked.
Vera sniffed. “It was a lake, not a swamp.”
As I rounded a bookshelf, I stopped dead in my tracks. The person Nettie and Vera were talking to was Juliet.
I backed up before they saw me, though once I had, I didn’t know why it had been my first instinct. Maybe because I was slightly ashamed of wanting her out of the house. Honestly, I was feeling a mite guilty about it.
Juliet cleared her throat. “I hate to rush off, but Tenn’s waiting on me. Can someone give this to Tallulah?”
I was leaning as far as I dared in order to see what she was holding when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Deckle had wandered over and was watching me eavesdrop. If his narrowed golden gaze was any indication, he was judging me.
And I was coming up short.
I frowned at him.
His tail swished.
“You’re the most annoying cat I’ve ever encountered,” I whispered.
He flattened his ears and looked at me like I might be the most annoying person he’d ever encountered.
We glared at each other for a long moment before I finally gave in.
Gritting my teeth, I rounded the corner once again. “Oh, hey, y’all. Juliet? What’re you doing here? Is everything okay?”
Deckle hopped up on the shelf next to me, and I swear he rolled his eyes. Why I suddenly felt like he was my conscience, I wasn’t sure.
“Everything’s fine,” she said, eyeing the cat with a good measure of astonishment. “I wanted to give this to you. I saw it at the market just now.”
She passed over a crinkled piece of paper, then held out her fingers for Deckle to sniff. He immediately pushed his head into her palm, and a wave of irrational jealousy swept through me.
Nettie and Vera leaned in for a closer look at the sheet of paper. A LOST DOG flyer.
“Poor sweet thing,” Nettie said, then read aloud the description at the bottom of the page. “‘Missing six-month-old Lab mix. Her name is Daisy, but she refuses to answer to it. One-hundred-dollar reward if found. Call Jake at—’”
Call Jake. The only Jake I knew around here was Evanthe’s nephew.
“Isn’t Evanthe’s nephew named Jake?” Nettie asked, as if reading my mind. “And wasn’t he in here just yesterday looking at puppy books?”
I nodded. Katy was going to be heartbroken.
Not that I’d been planning to keep the dog. Nope. No way. My hands were full enough already. But still. I hated disappointing my daughter.
“There’s no such thing as a coincidence,” Evanthe said, practically appearing out of nowhere without even the cool breeze as warning. She zeroed in on Juliet. “I don’t believe we’ve met, dear. I’m Evanthe Kilburn.”
“Ev-ahn-thay,” Juliet said, repeating it phonetically. “What a beautiful name.”
“Thank you,” Evanthe said with a pleased smile.
I quickly introduced Juliet.
“Juliet’s from Michigan,” Vera added, as if it were a foreign land. “Her car broke down yesterday in front of Tenn’s house. There was a puff of smoke and all.”
Evanthe clasped her hands together and leveled a steely gaze on Juliet. “What color was the smoke, dear?”
She blinked like a deer in headlights. “It was blue.”
Immediately, Deckle jumped into Juliet’s arms and started purring softly.
“Does the color matter?” Juliet added, holding Deckle like he was her sanity.
Guilt washed over me. Juliet was hurting, and I should’ve been more welcoming.
Nettie looked like she was holding back from giving Juliet a hug. Her voice was low, gentle, when she said, “Let’s just say it offers a clue as to why you’re here in Forget-Me-Not.”
Juliet looked at me, her eyes troubled. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s not really comprehensible,” I said, my voice thick.
I wished I were sitting in the break room eating my PB&J.
Instead, here I was, wanting to swoop in, wrap an arm around her, and promise her that it’d all be okay.
Those promises weren’t mine to make, though—she had to realize it on her own.
So I stood still. Frozen. Not sure what to do.
Because suddenly she didn’t feel like such a stranger any longer.
Evanthe reached over and plucked Deckle from Juliet’s arms. “Please feel free to make use of the library’s services while you’re in town. There are guest passes available at the desk.”
Vera snapped her fingers. “You’ll have to join us for book club here on Saturday night. Six thirty, in the community room. We’d love to have you.”
“I’m not sure—” Juliet began.
“No, you must,” Nettie insisted.
Vera tucked a lock of pale hair behind her ear. “It’s pointless to argue. We’re quite persuasive.”
Juliet opened her mouth, then closed it again. Confusion—no, utter befuddlement—flashed in her green eyes. It was no surprise when she jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “I need to get going. It was nice meeting all of you. Bye!”
With that, she turned and fast-walked to the door without looking back.
I handed the flyer to Evanthe. “By any chance, is your nephew Jake missing a dog?”
She scanned the page, her face morphing into a scowl, complete with a full lip pucker and pinched nose. “May I keep this?”
“Sure,” I said, wondering at her icy tone.
With a nod, she pivoted and walked away, Deckle in her arms, linen billowing behind her.
I glanced at Nettie and Vera. They shrugged.
Then I realized I hadn’t told Evanthe that we’d found the puppy so she could pass on the news and Jake could pick up the dog. Daisy. Oh, how Katy was going to love that name.
I didn’t particularly want to run after Evanthe to let her know. Not with her current frosty mood. So, it was a good thing I’d already committed Jake’s phone number to memory.
I’d simply call him myself.