Page 26 of Crazy in Love

She kept a running list of ways to enhance revenue and tried to make a little progress every day.

Tonight, her friends were coming over to help move shelves and clear space for the reading nook. The furniture she’d purchased was being delivered the next day, and they had to make room for it.

Several boxes of new books would also be arriving in the following weeks. Popular titles and bestsellers, the stuff touristswere always asking about. It was just one of her ideas to turn the store profitable.

Another was book merch—sweatshirts with clever sayings about reading, coffee mugs, bookmarks, candles, and candy bars. Gift-y items were easy to mark up and should also generate some cash flow. Especially with the holidays approaching.

Faith planned to put together pre-made baskets where someone could just buy a book, plop it into the basket, and voilà! The perfect gift.

Tiger wandered over and pawed at the bottom drawer of the desk.

“Hey. What are you doing?” Faith said. “You’re gonna scratch the wood.” When he wouldn’t stop, she opened the drawer. “See, it’s just papers and files.”

Tiger raised both paws to the lip of the drawer, peering inside. “Last time you did this, you led me to a good book. What’s in here that’s so important?”

Faith started pulling out the drawer’s contents. It was deep, meant for hanging files, but her mom had just stacked papers, notebooks, and binders.

When Faith reached the bottom of the pile, she found a pretty leather notebook. Tucked in the back were three sealed envelopes. Curious, she pulled them out. Each had a name, handwritten on the front.

One said, “Faith.” Another, “Eddie.” And the third, “Gary Jeffreys.” The two for her and her dad tracked, but she’d never heard of Gary Jeffreys. And there was nothing for Hope or her older sisters. If this was something she’d done after getting sick, Faith would’ve thought there’d be envelopes for everyone. And why hadn’t she given these to old Mr. Gowan with her estate documents?

She flipped hers over. No date or anything to tell how long it had been in the drawer.

Faith set the notebook and letters on the desk, put the rest of the stuff back in the drawer, and closed it. Tiger had gone to the big chair and sat, staring intently at Faith.

“Did you want me to find this?” she said. “No. Never mind. Don’t answer that. I’ve got to quit talking to you.”

She tried to refocus on the book catalog she’d been looking through, but the pink envelope seemed to have grown eyes and wouldn’t stop glaring. “Fine.” She picked it up, ripped open the edge, and pulled out a single sheet of paper. Holding her breath, she read the few paragraphs that would change her life forever.

In disbelief, she stood, grabbed her yoga mat, and practically ran out of the store, telling Irene she’d be back in a few. Across the street, in the town plaza park, she rolled out her mat and sat, immediately starting with some breathing exercises to calm herself down. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

Too much was happening all at once—her mom dying, getting saddled with a bookstore on the verge of collapse, Hope pulling away, her dad on the brink of starvation. And now this!

She needed to get a grip. She ran through a few poses until her mind and muscles loosened. Tiger sauntered over and sat next to her.

“You. Did you follow me out here?” she asked the cat. “Why’d you make me look in that drawer? Did you know what was in there? How could this be? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Mid-downward dog, someone behind her cleared their throat. Without moving, she opened her eyes, looked between her legs, and saw an upside-down Nick Walker. He sat on a park bench, an open book on his lap, staring at her like she’d lost her mind. Which was a distinct possibility.

“Does the cat ever talk back?” he asked.

Oh. Just her luck. She crumpled out of her pose, releasing her breath. “Of course not. How long have you been sitting there?”

“Over an hour. Long before you got here. You should be more aware of your surroundings.”

She rolled up her mat and walked to the bench. “Oh, you like the book I picked?”

“I do. Thanks for dropping it off.” He closed it, using his finger as a bookmark.

“Wow, you’re almost done with it. You must read a lot.”

“I do not lack spare time these days. So, what’s got you so upset?”

“Why would you think I’m upset?”

“Caught a bit of your mumbled ramblings. And don’t people do yoga to relax?”

“You should try it. I teach a class right here in the park. Tuesdays at four o’clock. It would help align your moons.”

---