“But you’re okay? Both of you? That must have scared you to death. Where did this happen?”
I made a face again. “That’s what made it such a mess. Connor was planning this nice dinner for us so we were heading out of town and were in the middle of nowhere. It was going to take a little while for the tow truck to get to us.” That was when I filled her in about Linus’s involvement.
Luna clapped a hand over her heart. “That guy! He’s the best. He even had Ivy with him?”
“He’d been taking her to the dog park when the weather turned,” I said.
“So you and Connor took a rain check, I guess? No pun intended.” Luna chuckled, regardless, at the pun.
I nodded but must have shown my lack of enthusiasm because Luna’s voice dropped to a whisper and she said, “But you’re not excited about it? Did anything else happen?”
I shrugged. “Not really. I don’t know—I kind of felt like I was being railroaded last night. I’d had a long day at work and all I really wanted to do was curl up with Fitz.”
“Yeah, but you do that every night, right? I thought the idea was that you were trying to get out of your shell a little.”
“Oh, it is. Like I said, I’ve been trying to do more things, get out more. But I’m just not convinced Connor is the right guy to do those things with. I mean, it’s good for me to push myself a little, but not great to feel like I wasn’t being listened to,” I said.
Luna said, “You mean you told him you didn’t feel like going out and he was just dead-set on his own agenda?”
“Well, not totally like that. I didn’t actually come out and tell him I didn’t want to go out.”
Luna put her hands on her hips. “That I believe. You don’t like speaking up.”
“I just realized he’d obviously put some time and energy into planning our evening, you know? He was all dressed up for one.”
Luna made a face. “Which was probably even worse if you didn’t want to go out in the first place. Were you still wearing your work clothes?”
“Even worse—I’d gone ahead and changed into something more casual because the clothes I’d worn here yesterday had gotten dusty when I was weeding out some old books from the collection.”
Luna said, “So you were thinking you were going to just grab a casual meal with Connor.”
“Something like that. Then I saw he had this romantic evening planned or something. I don’t know—at least a nice evening even if it wasn’t going to be a romantic one. I didn’t want to disappoint him so I changed and we headed out. Then everything went downhill from there.”
Luna quirked an eyebrow. “It wasn’t just the weather?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know, Luna. I just wasn’t really getting the warm fuzzies last night. Like I said, it could have just been me and the mood I was in. But Connor was driving too fast and he’s just so over-confident and sort of showy. I found it all really irritating.” My voice dipped even lower than my already-low library voice. “It’s totally wrong, but I keep comparing him to Grayson.”
“Of course you do! Grayson is your crush.”
I gave her a rueful look. “Yeah, but it’s not like I’m in a relationship with him.”
“Just give it time.”
I snorted. “I’ve done nothing but give it time.”
Luna glanced behind me and then her eyes opened wide again. “Don’t look now, but Connor is coming straight over to this desk. I’ve just suddenly remembered I need to shelve some books.”
Chapter Fifteen
Luna quickly scooted out and I took a deep breath. I really didn’t feel like having any drama at work and I was being so productive and getting so much stuff knocked out. I didn’t want anything to mess with my mojo.
I kept my head stubbornly down until I heard Connor softly saying my name. Then I looked up and gave a small smile. “Hey there,” I said. “Did everything end up working out okay last night?”
Connor looked rueful. “Well, everything worked out as well as it possibly could, I guess. The car is being repaired at the shop and it’s probably going to be expensive. But what I mostly wanted to do was to come by and apologize to you.”
I sincerely hoped there wasn’t going to be an invitation to dinner after work. I just needed a quiet evening by myself this time and was definitely going to make that clear this time before there was another date set up. Plus, I’d definitely worked myself up about Connor last night, right or wrong, and I didn’t want to completely dismiss my gut reaction. Gut reactions exist for a reason.
“That’s really not necessary,” I said. “Accidents happen, right? All’s well that ends well.” I was, apparently, full of clichés when I was feeling awkward.
Connor shook his head and looked sad. “Unfortunately, it is necessary. I guess I’ve been on sort of a mission to impress you. Whether or not you want to be impressed.”
“I don’t need to be impressed. I just want to hang out,” I said. I was still, apparently, a little tongue-tied but at least I thought the conversation was going in the direction I wanted it to. Except there was one more point I wanted to make. “You’re my friend, Connor. We’ve been friends for a long while. Let’s just go enjoy each other’s company.”
Connor slowly nodded. He’d clearly picked up on the “friend” part. “Got it. Of course. Anyway, I’m sorry about everything last night. You looked super-tired and I sort of dragged you out. I didn’t pick a close place for us to go. Then I drove too fast for conditions.” He gave me a small smile. “Maybe next time we should just meet at the restaurant and go out for burgers or something.”
This was exactly what I needed to hear. But then, as I remembered from high school, Connor did seem to have a gift for saying the right thing when he needed to. That golden tongue of his had always seemed to get him out of tough spots when he got on the wrong side of a teacher. I said, “That sounds great. I’m sorry, too—sorry I wasn’t great company last night. You’re right—I was tired.” I hesitated. “When I’m tired, I’m not a lot of fun. But you’d just come off a shift and were full of energy.” I shook my head. “I’m not sure how you do that.”
He snorted. “My mother would say it was my hyperactivity. That’s just sort of how I am, I guess. When I’ve had a long day at work, I’m running on pure adrenalin. It takes a while for me to wind down and for it to wear off.”
There was some movement behind Connor and I craned my neck to see around him, thinking it might be a patron who needed some help. But it was Grayson, carrying a backpack and looking thoughtfully at us.
Connor turned to see what I was looking at and then gave Grayson a toothy grin. He jutted out his hand. “I keep running into you, don’t I? I’m Connor. I figure the universe is trying to tell us we need to meet each other.”
Grayson’s expression said that he very much doubted the universe had any such message for them. His face was somber as he carefully shook Connor’s hand. “Grayson,” he said briefly.
“Here to do some work?” I asked brightly. I felt there was a lot of underlying tension in the room and I couldn’t really work out why. Grayson seemed to have taken an immediate dislike to Connor, no matter how charming Connor was to him.
Grayson nodded. “A little research on a town history piece I’m working on.” He gave Connor a tight smile. “Hospital business bringing you here? Or are you here to check out books?” His tone seemed to suggest he found this highly unlikely.
Connor said lightly, “Oh, I might have Ann help me find something awesome to read while I’m here. I need to wind down a little after a long shift. But I’m mainly here to speak with her about our date last night.”
I felt a flush rise up from my neck and settle in splotches on my face.
Grayson nodded stiffly and said, “Got it. Well, it was nice to meet you, Connor. I better head off and get this research done.” He stalked off and I watched him thoughtfully.
Connor had already shifted back to focusing entirely on me again, which made me shift
uncomfortably in my chair. “Anyway, I thought maybe I could make it up to you? Are you doing anything tonight after work?”
I immediately shook my head and said, “I need to have a quiet night tonight, Connor. I’m going to be as boring as I possibly can—it’s going to be me, Fitz, a book, and a bowl of grits for supper.”
There was a brief flash of irritation in Connor’s face before he quickly gave me his winning smile again. “Got it. Well, I can’t blame you. After last night, you’re probably ready for something less exciting.”
“I’m sorry how everything went last night. I hope your car will be okay.”
He shrugged. “They seemed to think they could get it back to the condition it was in before. Anyway, that’ll teach me to take it slower when the weather’s bad.” He gave me a rueful smile. Then he added, “I really don’t even care about the car. I’m just glad you’re okay. The car can be replaced. You can’t.”
This tempted the first real smile I’d given him that morning. When I glanced up, I saw Grayson was watching us from across the room before he quickly turned his focus back on the pile of books in front of him. “Thanks, Connor. Did you want me to give you some tips for things to read while you’re here?”
“Tell you what—can you email some to me? I’m working my way through a book now that I’m not crazy about but I want to try to finish it. Maybe I can pick out one of your recommendations the next time I’m here.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “I keep a running list, so that will be easy enough.”
“Why am I not surprised?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
I saw Pris, Ellie’s sister, coming in the library door. She had her daughter with her—an absolutely adorable little girl with blonde pigtails. Pris raised her hand to wave with a smile and Connor said, “I’d better run and let you work. I’ll call you soon, okay?”
I nodded and he left as Pris and her daughter came up to the desk.
“How are the two of you doing?” I asked.
“We gettin’ books,” the little girl murmured, putting a finger in her mouth and looking shy.
“Would you like to meet our library cat?” I asked her, looking up at Pris to make sure it was okay. Pris nodded.
The little girl’s eyes grew big and she nodded solemnly. I glanced around and saw Fitz lying in a sunbeam and gave him a call. He immediately lifted his head and trotted our way. I came around the desk and stooped down next to Pris’s daughter. “His name is Fitz,” I said. “He loves to be petted. Here’s how we’re super-gentle with him.”
I showed her how to pet him and the little girl gently scratched him under his chin until Fitz’s whiskers quivered. He gave her a grateful look and bumped his furry head against her leg, making her giggle.
As she became absorbed in the cat, Pris said quietly, “Thank you, Ann. It’s been something of a rough morning. I was looking for a way to distract Melissa after telling her about Ellie.” She sighed. “I’m not sure I did the best job explaining that. But I’m still trying to figure it all out, myself.”
“Of course you are,” I said sympathetically. “Is Melissa here with you for a while?”
Pris shook her head sadly and said in a quiet voice, “No, just for one night. My ex-husband is taking her back tomorrow.” She glanced at Melissa to make sure she wasn’t listening and then added softly, “It breaks my heart every time she leaves. It’s almost worse than not having her be here at all.”
I saw Pris tear up and said quietly, “I’m so sorry. I really hope things start looking up for you soon.”
She quickly swiped at her eyes with her sleeve and gave me a quick smile. “Thanks. It’s been a rough year so far. I just keep thinking that the court is going to have to understand, right? A daughter needs her mother. I’m well-aware her father is better off financially, but surely they’re going to take the emotional side of things into account.”
“I’m sure they will,” I said in a comforting voice, although I wasn’t sure at all if that was the case.
Pris continued in her low, anxious voice, “My lawyer said the court wouldn’t like the fact I moved away. But what else could I do? I didn’t have a job when our marriage broke up. I didn’t have any money independent of my husband and he wasn’t going to provide me with any, that’s for sure. I needed to move in with family and that meant Ellie. Ellie, bless her, took me in.” Pris made a quick swipe at her eyes, pushing an errant tear away angrily.
“It was the most responsible thing to do,” I said. “After all, I don’t think the court would like it if you were homeless, right?”
“Exactly,” said Pris eagerly. “That’s exactly right. I was pushed into moving away. Pushed into dealing with these sudden, really dire circumstances. But I talked to my lawyer yesterday afternoon and now he says it’s a problem that I don’t have any ‘family support’ here in town, since Ellie is gone. He said my ex’s lawyer is definitely going to bring up that I’m involved in a murder investigation. They’re going to play all of this up. I really need this case to be solved quickly. I’ve been checking in with Burton every day.”
“What has Burton told you?” I asked.
Pris shook her head, looking discouraged. “Either he doesn’t know anything or can’t say anything. I don’t get a real feel for it, either way. I’m just worried my ex’s lawyer is going to imply I’m somehow involved with Ellie’s death. Or Frank’s. That I’m a suspect or something.”
“Do you think the police are treating you like a suspect?” I asked. I figured I actually knew the answer to this one—of course she was a suspect. She was living with Ellie. A murderer is quite often someone the victim knew really well. Like a family member. I knew Ellie and Pris had been squabbling with each other. “Were they asking about your alibi or anything?”
Pris glumly said, “I was at home during both of their deaths. The cops are acting like they’re connected crimes. When Frank died, I was just boxing and bagging Ellie’s stuff up. The problem with alibis is that you never know in advance when you might need one.”
I said softly, “Again, I’m so sorry about Ellie’s death. I know how close you two were. I wish I’d had a sister. It was sort of lonely being an only child.”
Pris snorted and waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t believe that she and I had the perfect relationship. As an only child, you might have an idealized view on siblings. Ellie could be hard to deal with. We fought like cats and dogs sometimes.” She suddenly grew somber and said, almost to herself. “We had an argument the morning of the day Ellie died over something so stupid. I’ve been beating myself up over it. It just makes me feel so guilty that we were fussing over dumb stuff when I could have been enjoying the last time I ever saw her.”
“Arguments happen,” I said. “You had no idea that was going to be the last time with Ellie. It shouldn’t have been the last time with Ellie.”
“I guess. I wanted to borrow her car, that was all. She told me I was a bad driver and wouldn’t let me borrow it.” She snorted at this, but then gave a sob. “Like I said, it was always silly stuff with us.”
Pris looked down at her daughter and ran a hand through her hair as she regained her composure. I said to the little girl, “Do you like Fitz?”
She turned her sweet face up to me and smiled. “He’s so sweet.”
I said, “Would you like me to take a picture of you two together?” I glanced at Pris to make sure this was okay and she nodded, looking pleased.
“Do you want me to take it with your phone? Or I can take it with mine and then email you the picture,” I said.
Pris patted her pockets and looked rueful. “Typical me. I left my phone in the car. Do you mind emailing the picture?”
“Not a bit.” I walked around the desk and squatted down, taking several pictures of Fitz and Melissa. I let Pris choose her favorite and then type in her email address and send it.
“Hope you both enjoy the library today,” I said. “I bet Luna can help you find some great books.”
&nbs
p; A short while later, it was time for our tech drop-in. Like every first program, I was a little nervous, wondering if people would show up. But I needn’t have worried—right before the event, there was a steady stream of patrons coming in with phones, tablets, and laptops and heading over to the computer room.
Then I was nervous wondering if Timothy had made it in. I probably could help out with a lot of the issues patrons had, as long as it was all fairly basic. But I’d feel a lot better if Timothy was there to navigate through the tougher issues.
I let out my pent-up breath in relief when I saw not only was he already in the computer room, he was helping a patron with an issue. He glanced up and gave me a grin and a wave when he saw me and I waved back at him. Then I started helping a woman who was having a problem logging in.
We actually had to run over a little bit because there were a couple of other people who’d come in later. I felt bad about having Timothy stay later than I’d said since he was just volunteering. But he was able to speedily fix the issues the patrons had and they left happy.
“Thanks so much for this,” I said. “There’s clearly no way I’d have been able to handle this event on my own. We ran over with two of us.”
“No worries, I didn’t mind. Besides, like I said, volunteering really looks good on my college applications and this is a different kind of volunteering than most students have. Anyway, it felt good to be able to help people. Most of the stuff was super-easy to fix.”
I snorted. “Well, it probably seemed super-easy to you, but I bet it was an insurmountable problem to the people you were helping. They weren’t able to get into their email or their social media or some of them even to log into their computer at all. So you were a huge help to them.”
Timothy seemed to light up at the praise and was walking on cloud nine when he left the library. As he was leaving, Burton was coming inside. He walked up to me as I was finishing tidying up the computer area.
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