Love in the Stacks – By Ashley Erin #3
“Hi, Mr. Markham.” Her voice shifts a little, taking on a tone that has my guard up. “I have some bad news. Unfortunately, the unit above yours flooded and it trickled through your ceiling. It’s a disaster.”
“Oh. Well, that’s okay, I am open to another apartment.” Pressing my lips together, I pull over and park alongside some little florist shop.
She clears her throat, her tone shifting again. “That’s why I’m calling. There are no other apartments. We have repaid your damage deposit, and I am truly sorry for this, but we’re full.”
Well, shit. She prattles off some different places, but none of them are in town. “It’s fine, I will find something.”
Hanging up, I type in Delilah’s address. She’s not expecting me, but with my rented moving trailer attached to my SUV, I don’t know what else to do. I’m supposed to be at the school Monday morning and I have nowhere to live.
The drive to her house is a blink of an eye. I think she said Thistle Creek has a little over fifteen hundred people, and everything is located within less than a ten-minute drive.
Parking outside her house, I take a moment to look at it. It’s quaint, the stone feature pieces making it look like a cottage from a storybook. She clearly maintains the property well. Everything is neat and tidy.
Her front door is a soft pink and her mailbox looks like a fairy house with a small sign that says “Delilah Graham” on it.
In my thirty-eight years, I never expected to just show up at someone’s door to practically invite myself to live with them, but I also never thought I would be living in a town with only two apartment buildings and a basically non-existent rental market.
I feel the start of a stress headache and knock on her door before I decide to just sleep in my car rather than ask for her help. I hate imposing, but I know she would be upset if I didn’t ask.
Delilah opens the door, concern etched on her face when she sees me. “David! I wasn’t expecting you until later. Come in. Is everything okay?”
I follow her in, my gaze sweeping over the tiny room to the side of the entryway. It’s floor to ceiling bookshelves, full of books. Of course she has a library in her house.
“My new apartment flooded and is no longer available for me to move in.” I put my shoes in her hall closet, frowning as I meet her gaze. “I don’t want to impose, but there’s nowhere else in town available. I have nowhere to go.”
She steps forward, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me close. “Of course you can stay. Before you get settled, why don’t you come have some lunch? I have lots because my new friend, Morgan, came by for a visit.”
She leads me to the back of the house. The entire house has the same cottagey feel as the outside, it feels very warm and welcoming.
Entering the kitchen, I smile at the woman sitting at the table. She’s very petite, and has a warm, kind face.
“David, this is Morgan. She’s actually a new teacher at your school. It’s great you’re here because now there will be a friendly face on Monday.” Delilah goes to the counter and grabs a plate while I sit at the empty spot at the table.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m the new principal.” I smile warmly.
The job at the school opened quite suddenly when the old principal fell ill and decided to retire.
“It’s nice to meet you as well.”
Delilah hands me the plate and sits down. “Morgan managed to find a rental house on a farm not too far from town.”
“I couldn’t help but overhear what happened. It’s definitely challenging to find space here.” Morgan shares some stories about the places she stayed and soon we’re done eating.
Not long after lunch, Morgan excuses herself and I’m left with Delilah.
She makes quick work of showing me around the rest of the house. There’s an office, two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. The basement houses a sweet media set up that I can’t wait to try out.
Delilah helps me bring in my necessities before settling into her library with a book while I unpack.
Despite her lack of hesitancy over inviting me to stay, I still feel a small wall between us.
It seems like she’s guarding herself, worried about getting hurt again.
It was hard on us both to go the entire month without seeing each other in person, but I don’t want to start our new beginning with unspoken questions.
I finish unpacking and head to the library. Delilah’s in an oversized chair under a blanket. Leaning against the doorframe, I grin.
“It’s summer and you’re in here under a blanket,” I tease.
She looks up at me, her lips twitching. “There’s something about reading in here that calls for a blanket.”
She marks her place, before setting aside the book.
“You’re all settled?” Her expression is relaxed. Maybe I’m reading too much into my perceived tone of her messages, but I need to be sure.
“I am… Are you sure this is okay? Things have felt off the past month.” I move to sit on the edge of her chair, wanting to be closer to her.
She crosses her legs, leaning forward. “Of course things have felt a little weird. We went from not seeing each other in four years, to naked, to agreeing to trying again… and then you were gone. And all our plans kept being cancelled. But that doesn’t mean we’re not okay.”
Delilah shifts closer, wrapping her arms around me.
“I’m glad. And you’re positive me staying here is okay?” I press again, noticing she bypassed the question.
She presses a kiss into my back. “Sure. Look, we may as well see where this goes and jump in. It doesn’t make sense for you to lease an apartment when we know you’re going to be here most of the time anyway.”
Turning, I pull her into my arms and kiss her. “I like that.”
DELILAH
Boxes fill the empty spaces in my home, making it feel exceptionally cramped.
David has been here for a week now and they’re slowly disappearing as he unpacks, but now that he’s in full swing at the school, it feels like all progress has stopped.
I’m crazy about the man, but it’s been harder than I expected to share my space.
My carefully cultivated décor now has anime figures amongst my whimsical choices. I don’t mind it so much, they’re actually very cute and I love it so much, but I never thought we would have our first fight living together over whose dishes to keep.
David had to leave for work before we could resolve that.
Instead of doing what I want, which is bake, I end up in my library. It was an amazing workday and I don’t want to feel frustrated by my home. This room is the only room that remains untouched.
I finally got my promotion and a set of keys. It comes with a decent raise and I can implement some ideas my good friend Evie has done at the Mistik Ridge library.
Sighing, I can’t even get into my book. Fighting with David is the last thing I want and maybe I was feeling a bit touchy this morning when he suggested we donate my pots and pans in favor of his.
My family didn’t help me when I first got started, and those pots and pans were the first new kitchen items I saved up to buy, everything else purchased second-hand.
The front door opens, the sounds of him coming in the door and hanging up his bag and putting his shoes away. The man is tidy and he always helps cook dinner and clean. Maybe I’m being too hard on him. It has only been a week.
He pauses in the doorway of my library. “Hey.” His voice is soft.
“Hi. How was your day?” Smoothing my blanket, I gesture for him to join me.
David sits on the edge of the seat. “I think I’m making headway with the faculty. The previous principal was very loved, but worked differently than I do. It was overall good. Yours?”
I know we need to talk about this morning, but something softens that we can check in with each other first. This will work. “I got my promotion.”
His smile is wide as he pulls me into his arms. “That’s great, sweetheart.”
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I’m quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry I was so stubborn this morning.”
His chest vibrates as he chuckles. “I was too. I thought of a compromise.”
“You did?”
He nods. “Yeah. I thought we could keep your dishes since they match the kitchen so well, and donate mine. And we can keep my pots and pans since they’re newer and donate yours.”
The idea is good and it’s ridiculous that we even fought over them this morning.
“That sounds good. And we can do the same for other duplicates. I want this home to be yours, too. I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the change, and tripping over boxes put me in a bad mood. It wasn’t fair for me to be so bitchy. ”
He tightens his hold, kissing me softly. “It’s okay. And I promise to have the rest of my boxes dealt with on the weekend. Even if they have to go in storage.”
Leaning back, my brows pinched, I shake my head. “That won’t be necessary. Take the office. I hardly use it and you need a space that’s yours too.”
“I can’t.”
“You can and you will.” Glaring at him, my lips twitching, I wait for him to agree. Once he does, I smile. “Good. See, this will work.”
He adjusts us in the chair so we’re cuddled in. “We had our first fight and I think we handled it very well.”
Giggling, I lean back and eye him. “That means we need to have make up sex.”
“Now?” He smirks.
“Definitely now.”
DAVID
One Month Later
Flipping a burger, I smile at Delilah as she shows Morgan and Nathan around our newly completed fire pit area. They’ve become extremely close over the past month, Morgan excited to have someone in town she can rely on.
I will admit, the school is a bit cliquey, but I hope to change that soon. It’s hard seeing some of my staff feel isolated, but I have to remain professional.
They come back up and Nathan joins me at the grill. “That looks great. I’ve been thinking about building something similar on the farm, but just don’t have the time.”
“I will send you the contact info for the guys who did the work. They’re great.” Nathan seems nice. Quiet, but down to earth.
Finishing off the burgers, I load the plate and carry it over to the newly purchased patio set.
Nathan sits next to Morgan. I see Delilah watching them with a thoughtful look on her face.
“How’s the farm, Nathan?” Delilah asks.
“Busy. Crops are good this year, which is nice. And Morgan fixed up my neglected veggie garden, which makes the entire property look much better.” Nathan looks at me, explaining, “It’s been a rough few seasons and my farm has taken a hit.
Since Morgan rented the suite above my barn, she’s been helping clean up the yard site. ”
“It can’t be easy to maintain everything on your own.” I don’t know much about country life or farming, but by the little bits Morgan has shared at school or when she’s visiting Delilah, I already knew the past several years had been hard on Nathan.
Delilah smiles at me as she digs into her burger. This lunch is her attempt at friend matchmaking with Nathan. She has spoken fondly of him for a while, her favorite cousin. Even though he is over a decade older than her, he was always kind and engaged when their families would get together.
“This farm has been in my family since the nineteen fifties. It will go through its cycle.” Nathan shrugs off the compliment. “How are you liking small town living?”
Exchanging a look with Delilah, I grin. “It’s okay. I’m not used to being greeted by people I’ve never met as though they know me. But coming here, reuniting with Delilah, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
She flushes a little. “We had some growing pains in the beginning, but now we’ve found our stride.”
Morgan’s phone dings. When she picks it up and reads the message, she gasps.
“What’s wrong?” Nathan’s immediately on alert.
“My ex just sent me an invitation to his wedding. With my ex-best friend.” She looks furious.
“Don’t go,” Delilah suggests. “Why subject yourself to that?”
She sighs. “I know I should say no, but it feels like letting them win. Like they know they got to me. But I can’t go alone.”
“I will go with you,” Nathan offers.
She gives him a small smile. “I appreciate that, but I want them to think I’ve moved on. That I found something better, and the sting of their betrayal is completely gone. I want to rub my happiness in their faces.”
Nathan squares up to her. “Okay. I will go and we can pretend we’re together. We could start now, that way you can post on social media and make it really believable.”
“I don’t want people knowing it’s not real here though. It would be so humiliating.” Morgan looks down at her hands.
I knew she was having a hard time here, but maybe it’s more than I thought.
Nathan lifts her chin with his finger. “Okay, so only the four of us will know it’s fake. For everyone else it will be real.”
She searches his eyes before nodding. “Okay.”
That evening after they’ve gone home and Delilah and I are in bed, she rolls over to look at me. “I’m so glad you moved here and we have our second chance.”
Pulling her into my arms, I hold her close. “Me too.”
She kisses my chest. “Lunch was interesting, hey?”
Chuckling, I meet her gaze. “Was lunch a friend setup, or more?”
“Maybe a little from column a and a little from column b.” She chews on her lower lip. “Morgan is scared to open herself up to anything and I think Nathan is too shy for his own good.”
“He didn’t seem shy to me.”
She smiles. “Only because he went into protective mode. We may need to help them along the way.”
“Meddler.”
“You love it.”
“I love you,” I say, cupping the back of her head.
“I love you too.” She tilts her head back, brushing her lips over mine.
When I walked into the Thistle Creek Public Library two months ago, I never expected to find love in the stacks, but I’m so damn glad I took this job and took the leap of faith that Delilah might have a place in my life.
She’s my forever.
I never expected to be locked in the library after hours, let alone with my ex.
He’s the one that got away, and now he’s telling me things are different and that he’s here to stay.