Lindsey knew she was better off without him, but still it chafed to be tossed aside after five years of thinking she had found the one, especially when her career had been on the skids as well. She shook her head, refusing to dwell in the past. She had a good job in a nice town where she was surrounded by friends. Where was the down?
“Here you are, dear.” Nancy handed back Lindsey’s scarf, and it was all perfectly tidy, with the extra rolled into a neat little ball. How very annoying.
There was a sharp knock on the door, and Lindsey turned, expecting to see Ms. Cole, one of her crankier library employees, standing there with her usual scowl of disapproval, but no, it was Carrie Rushton.
Carrie was a nurse at the local hospital and an übervolunteer in the community of Briar Creek. She was on several boards and committees and always seemed to be busy doing something for someone.
“Hi, Lindsey. I hate to interrupt,” she said, “but could I talk to you?”
“Absolutely.” Happy to put her crochet aside so as to not risk tangling what Nancy had untangled, Lindsey carefully tucked it into her project bag.
She rose to her feet and crossed the room in a few strides.
“What can I do for you?”
“Well.” Carrie paused and bit her lip. It looked as if she was trying to decide what to say. “Could you come to our Friends of the Library meeting tonight?”
Carrie was wearing her scrubs under her winter coat, so she was either on her way to or from work. Her long, dark-brown hair was knotted at the nape of her neck and was just beginning to show streaks of gray, while hints of wrinkles had begun to form in the corners of her eyes.
She was on the short side of medium in height, and her figure was gently rounded, as if she had been built specifically for giving hugs. She had a maternal softness about her that Lindsey was sure was one of the reasons she was such a popular nurse.
“Yes, I can make it,” Lindsey said. “Any particular reason?”
Carrie let out a worried sigh. “We’re having the vote tonight.”
“Do you think it’s going to get ugly?”
“With a capital U,” Carrie said.
Lindsey nodded. Now she understood Carrie’s look of dread.
Berkley Prime Crime titles by Jenn McKinlay
Library Lover’s Mysteries
BOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING
Cupcake Bakery Mysteries
SPRINKLE WITH MURDER
BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF
Books Can Be Deceiving Page 23