Love lies and literature, p.1
Love, Lies and Literature, page 1
part #1 of Blueberry Point Romance Series
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, locales, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to real life events, places or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except in the case for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, without written permission from the author and publisher.
Love, Lies and Literature
Copyright © 2023 D.E. Malone
All rights reserved.
Cover designed by Blue Water Books
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
A Special Letter to Readers
Acknowledgments
Also by D.E. Malone
About the Author
Chapter One
Romance Is In the Air.
Cora Martin chuckled to herself after reading the cryptic heading on the day’s agenda for the library staff meeting.
Romance, indeed.
She leaned against the wall next to the employee mailboxes in the empty conference room, trying to decipher its meaning. Her boss and the head librarian at Broman County Library, Betty Gunderschott, loved spicing up the weekly meetings with mysterious agenda topics. It was her way of injecting a little excitement into the hourlong gathering.
Cora scooped the rest of the agendas from her mailbox and set one in front of each seat at the long oak table. Then she turned her attention to making coffee on the counter at the back of the room. Footsteps scuffed across the carpet behind her. Cora glanced over her shoulder to see the part-time library assistant pull out a chair and drape her jacket over its back.
“I see you found the agendas. Any idea what Betty is up to this time?” asked Jill Pegonas. An assistant librarian herself, Cora had five months seniority on Jill. They’d both settled in Hendricks at roughly the same time, Jill coming from across the lake in Houghton, Michigan, and Cora from Texas.
“Not a clue. You know how she likes to keep us guessing.” Cora turned the coffee machine on and tore open a sleeve of Styrofoam cups. She stacked cups on a wooden tray then filled two small bowls with individual creamers and sugar packets. “I’ve given up trying to figure out her hijinks in advance. You know how she adores the element of surprise anyway.”
Jill stifled a yawn behind her hand. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this much excitement on a Monday morning.”
Outside, the rising sun cast its long shadows across downtown Hendricks. There was an ample amount of foot traffic in front of the library for eight o’clock. People tended to walk empty-handed one way down the sidewalk and a short time later, retrace their steps holding a cup from Two Tree Coffee down the block. Between the buildings across the street, Cora caught a glimpse of Lake Superior. Today its moody presence was a calming steely blue.
Cora sighed. She had a list as long as her arm for the week. Moving the furniture and books from the children’s section back to their rightful places topped her agenda since repairs from a water leak were finished. There was story hour today and one on Friday. She also looked forward to her weekly check-in with the library program students she’d been paired with from the university mentorship program.
She moved aside so Jill could slice herself a piece of the butter pecan coffee cake Cora had baked late last night. The new recipe was a little more involved than she had bargained for. It was a keeper for her recipe binder now that she’d sampled it, but like most everything Cora took on, time-consuming.
Cora handed Jill a plate. “I’m game for anything as long as it doesn’t involve animals.”
Jill snickered. “I can’t imagine why.”
“I like animals; I really do. It’s the cleaning up part that I can do without.”
“You should ask the board members for a raise if next year’s programs involve fur and feathers.” Jill examined the coffee cake after she took her first bite. “This is amazing, Cora.”
“I’m glad you like it. New recipe.”
For Christmas last year, Betty had hired Del Arbuckle, the local auctioneer, to dress as Santa and surprise the employees and board members with book-themed gifts he pulled from a sack. He’d brought his Jack Russell terrier, Smidge, who wore his little felt reindeer antlers like a champ. Only, Smidge somehow got into a box full of pastries from Debi’s Donuts. A half hour later, Smidge decided the donuts didn’t quite agree with his tummy, so he left a trail throughout the boardroom. Cora spent the rest of Del’s visit cleaning up after Smidge and then trying to contain the furry tornado while his owner passed out candy canes to library patrons in the foyer. Betty had named the agenda item for that day’s meeting simply Holly Jolly. Cora felt anything but jolly about cleaning up after Smidge.
“Remember when Betty commissioned that ventriloquist and his dancing chicken for the summer reading program?” Jill poured a creamer into a cup then leaned against the counter to wait for the coffee to finish brewing.
Cora winced. “How can I forget? I had to clean up chicken droppings and Froot Loops from the patio after everyone left.”
Chuckling, Jill shook her head. “I’ll never look at Froot Loops again without thinking of a chicken in a rainbow-colored tutu.”
“Nor I.”
“You did volunteer.” Jill pointed a coffee stirrer at her. “You volunteer even before there’s a job to be done.”
It was true. Cora was happiest when she stayed busy. Being idle never served her well. There was no better feeling than checking things off her daily lists and working herself into a solid seven hours of sleep every night. Staying busy with work and projects compensated for what little social life she had.
Cora filled Jill’s cup before she topped off her own mug. She took a sip, glancing through the window over her cup, and did a double take. A familiar face passed by the window, heading toward the front entrance, disappearing as fast as they appeared. The split-second glimpse threw Cora so off-kilter that coffee sloshed over the side of the mug. A few drops dotted the tops of her new ankle boots.
“What’s wrong?” Jill asked.
Cora ducked her head, turning her attention back to the refreshment table for a napkin while her heart galloped into her throat.
“Oh, nothing. I thought I forgot to feed Poe this morning.” Cora waved her hand. “Mondays.”
She crossed the room to the other window, which offered a better view of the main door. Her heart flipped before it reversed course and plummeted into her stomach.
Sure enough, Evan Hollis’s grimace was plain to see even from his profile. With one hand tucked deep into his pocket, he pulled open the door to the library and slipped inside. Even with a frown, Evan turned heads. Cora swallowed.
“There is something wrong.”
Cora turned away from the window. “Huh?”
“You’ve frozen like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that...Poe gets destructive when he’s hungry. I left bills on the table. He likes to toss them all over...” Her voice trailed off at the sound of her own weak excuse.
Jill came up alongside of her. “Who do you see out there?”
“No one.”
“If you need to run home, I—”
Cora waved her off. “No, I’m sure I fed him, but thanks. I could have used another hour’s worth of sleep is all.” She dabbed at the coffee spots on her boot with a napkin. “Say, who else did Betty invite to this meeting?”
“Besides the three of us, I know she invited Donna Marconi and Darcy Stetman. Darcy already said she couldn’t make it. Someone on the kitchen staff called in sick, so she’s helping with the breakfast buffet herself. The inn is chock-full.”
“It was booked on a Sunday night?”
“Autumn colors. You should know that by now. How long have you lived in Hendricks?” Jill teased.
This would be her sixth autumn since moving from Austin. And after all this time, she still wasn’t used to the tourists coming to witness the changing leaves. Cora guessed it was similar to the draw of the bluebonnets during spring in the Hill Country.
“Oh, and what’s-his-name? From Dog-Eared Books.”
“Evan Hollis?” Her pulse still thrummed from catching a glimpse of him. Now they’d be sitting at the same table.
“Yes, him.”
“Why would Betty invite him?”
Jill gave an exaggerated shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine. Although—” Jill fluttered her eyelashes, feigning a swoon—“maybe Evan has something to do with the agenda’s heading. He is pretty dreamy.”
Cora turned back
Jill sat, the chair’s legs scuffing softly against the carpet as she pulled herself closer to the table. That, as well as the hum from the radiator in the room, were the only sounds in the library. When Betty greeted Evan in the lobby seconds later, their voices were loud and clear.
Jill said something, going on in the way Jill usually did, giving commentary about something long forgotten, asking a question and then answering it herself. It was easy to tune out Jill sometimes when Cora got lost in a task.
She sat down next to Jill, flipping to a blank page in her notebook. Cora was so focused on the deep, honeyed timbre of Evan’s voice in the other room that she missed Jill’s question.
“Helllo?” Jill said, snapping her fingers near Cora’s ear.
“Sorry. What did you say?”
Jill shifted in her chair and gave her a sympathetic look. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong, Cora? I’ve never seen you this distracted.”
Even Cora heard the nervous energy in her chuckle. “I’m a little preoccupied with Betty’s secret, I guess.”
And that was no lie. It was like a cruel joke, Betty’s Romance Is In the Air heading, now that she expected Evan Hollis to walk through the boardroom door at any moment.
Chapter Two
Evan Hollis caught his reflection in the double doors as he approached the Broman County Library and slowed. One side of his jacket collar stood at attention; the other was folded against his neck. His hair was a wind-whipped mop from the short drive across town with his windows open. He’d paid the price for soaking up the unseasonably warm October air. Fall in the Northwoods usually meant frosty mornings and snowstorms, not fifty-degree temperatures. But no complaints.
He did a quick sweep, righting the collar and raking his hand through his hair before he opened the door and slipped into the library’s airy foyer. He scanned the room for a familiar face, but he didn’t recognize anyone. His regular job as a software engineer meant he usually spent long, quiet days at home, not tending the family bookstore for his wayward sister or attending library meetings. And this meeting was a first for him and a mystery as to why he’d been invited.
“Evan. Over here!”
Betty Gunderschott, the head librarian, hovered behind a bank of computers to his left, helping two young patrons. She waved when he spotted her.
Evan walked over to her while she finished tapping on one of the keyboards.
“I’m so happy you made it,” she said as she squinted at the monitor in front of her. Betty reminded him of his mother with her salt-and-pepper bob and fondness for colorful cardigans.
“Thanks for inviting me. Though I admit I’m not sure why I’m here.”
She straightened and patted his arm reassuringly. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
“If you need help with your computers—”
Betty peered at him over her glasses, which had a habit of falling to the tip of her nose. “It’s nothing to do with computers. Your sister insisted I invite you. And everyone here is just as much in the dark as you are, so don’t feel like the odd potato out.”
Evan smiled. He’d gotten used to Betty’s funny metaphors in the handful of times he’d been in her company. She liked to visit Dog-Eared Books on Tuesdays when he put out new inventory. “So Lori knows what you’re up to or I wouldn’t have been summoned, right?”
Betty gave him a wry smile. “My surprise directly impacts the bookstore, so I had to tell her. I couldn’t possibly leave her out. And since you’re at the helm until she and Sam make their way back home—” Betty swept her arms toward him—“well, here you are.” Her eyes twinkled.
He chuckled. “Yep. Here I am.”
Betty let out an exaggerated sigh. “I keep thinking about what fun she and Sam must be having. What I wouldn’t do to take off for Europe for two months. Have you heard from her lately?” Betty squeezed the boy’s shoulder as a signal he was on his own and motioned for Evan to follow her.
“Once a week. Sometimes twice.” He shrugged. “She must think I’m going to burn down the store or sell all the books at wholesale, I guess.”
Betty laughed, a hearty gargle. “Oh, she wouldn’t have asked you to run the show over there if she thought that. That place is Lori’s baby.”
He grinned. Of course Lori trusted him. But he couldn’t help but try to elicit Betty’s infectious laughter. Heads turned when she was in high spirits.
When Betty’s email popped into the inbox at Dog-Eared Books, Evan’s heart had quickened when he noted the subject line—Romance Is In the Air. For a second, a certain assistant librarian’s face popped into his mind, but he shrugged it off. Unfortunately, that ship had sailed. Or maybe “sunk” was a more accurate word.
“If you’d like to head into the boardroom, I’ll be in there shortly,” said Betty, motioning to the half-opened door across from the children’s section. “The meeting shouldn’t take more than an hour, tops.”
That was ideal. Dog-Eared Books opened at ten. There’d be time to run back home, refill his coffee thermos, and shoo his Labrador retriever, Axel, into the car. If he wasn’t ready for business by ten o’clock sharp, Lori would find out somehow. Small town and all.
Voices inside the room raised the hairs on the back of his neck. No amount of mental preparation made it easy to go face to face with Cora Martin again. Not after their unfortunate…ah, meeting three weeks ago. To call it a date would be stretching it. It had been a disaster.
Well, here we go.
He made it two steps into the room before Cora spotted him. The coffee pot she held mid-pour tilted at a precarious angle, so much so that Jill Pegonas hurriedly took it from her and set it back on the counter while clenching her teeth.
“Evan,” Cora said softly. “Hi.”
Jill dabbed where coffee trickled over the side of her full mug as she found a seat at the table. “You’re dangerous with that thing this morning,” she said to Cora under her breath, though Evan caught every word. Cora glanced quickly at him while turning a light shade of pink.
“This meeting must be a big deal if Betty invited the bookstore owner’s brother,” Jill said. “You wouldn’t have an idea about what she has up her sleeve, do you?”
He nodded at Cora and smiled, thankful for Jill and her brazen sense of humor. It saved him from staring stupidly at the lint on the carpet or the nature print across the room, avoiding Cora’s penetrating gaze at all costs.
“Not one.” The words came out as a croak. He’d apparently left his voice in the car.
“Find a spot at the table,” Cora said. “Unless you’re coffee. I mean”—she laughed and looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head. “Unless you want coffee. It’s over here.”
Anything to keep busy. Evan brushed his moist hands against his back pockets as he made his way across the room. His only consolation for feeling like a fool was that Cora seemed out of sorts too.
As he stirred cream into his mug, Betty and Donna Marconi appeared. Evan noted all eyes were on Betty, who looked positively impish. Apparently, she loved the air of mystery she’d created surrounding this meeting.
“Thank you all for showing up bright and early. I know every one of you is busy, so this meeting will be as brief as possible.” Betty’s usual bright expression was especially rosy. “I’ll cut to the chase since I’ve already been mysterious enough and your patience won’t stand much more. I’ve lined up a speaker for the library who’ll be coming in less than two weeks. He’s also interested in making the most of his time in Hendricks for the weekend, so he’s hoping to do a book signing”—she looked at Evan when she said that—“and to also meet with the book club.”
