Page 34 of Grey
“Lemme take a jog around outside, then I’ll wait for Mrs. Fielder to get here.”
“Sounds good.”
She moved behind the circulation desk as he walked outside and trekked around the small building. After making sure the library was safe, he joined her to wait for Mrs. Fielder.
“Here, I pulled this for you yesterday but forgot to bring it home,” she said, sliding a book toward him.
“I love that you call the farmhouse home,” he said. He lifted the book. “Oh, it’s a book on homesteading.”
“You and the guys were talking about composting and setting up a rainwater collection system, and I remembered seeing this book. I thought it might give you some ideas.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Thank you, sweetheart, that’s so thoughtful. I’m sure it will be really helpful.” He looked at the table of contents, seeing a section on canning and freezing and setting up a home garden, and thought he could pass the book to Zara and Tris too.
He watched her work and played a game on his phone until Mrs. Fielder showed up, and then he said goodbye to his soulmate and her friend, and headed out. His stallion didn’t want to leave her, but he’d be back in a few hours for lunch, which couldn’t come fast enough.
Tuesday afternoon, Tatum shelved books while Mrs. Fielder helped a regular patron look for a book on gardening and then returned to the circulation desk. Normally, the afternoon would have more folks in and out, but the day had been unusually quiet, which had allowed Tatum to get quite a bit done.
She sat on the floor to shelve the books from the return cart, the stack slowly dwindling as she put each one in its place. Although she was working, she wasn’t really focusing on it; her mind was on Grey and the herd, and all she’d learned overthe last few days. She was thrilled with Grey asking her to be his mate, even though the word was still a little foreign to her.Matesounded so primal, but it also was exciting. She was part of a secret world, and she was trusted by her soulmate and his friends to keep that secret safe.
They’d discussed the herd’s mating ceremony, which was a little bit like a wedding and mainly involved her and Grey sharing vows of loyalty and love to each other, and the herd welcoming her as one of their members. It was a life that even in her wildest dreams she never could have imagined.
“You’re daydreaming again,” Mrs. Fielder teased from the circulation desk.
Tatum blinked and realized she’d stopped shelving books as her thoughts had drifted. “I was just thinking how much has changed in my life since I came here.”
Mrs. Fielder had been reading a romance novel, one of the classicbodice-ripperswith a busty woman and a man with long flowing hair locked in a heated embrace on the cover.
“It’s all for the better, right? You told me some things about your life before you came here, and it certainly seems like you’re a lot happier than you were when I first met you.”
“Definitely for the better,” Tatum said. She finished shelving the last books, then stood and straightened her slacks, tucking in her blouse that had come untucked as she’d been sitting on the floor. She put the return cart back behind the circulation desk and then leaned on the counter. “The town really feels like home.”
“Is that because of Grey? Or just in general?”
“Mostly because of him,” she said. “I’ve moved in officially. Last night we did the last of the packing of the cabin I was renting and I turned in the keys to the owner. Grey and his friends at the farm all feel like family to me, and I haven’t had that feeling for such a long time.”
“It’s funny how life works out. If you hadn’t gotten free of your asshole ex, you might never have come here. Cutting ties with your past has let you bloom like a crocus in the winter, pushing through extraordinary obstacles to become something beautiful and unique.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“It’s true. Not everyone is strong enough to start over on their own.”
“I wonder how I got the nerve to move away and start over myself sometimes. Thankfully, the Little River library job was the first one I saw when I decided it was time to move on.”
“I’m very thankful you answered the ad too. No one wants to work in small-town libraries because we can’t pay a lot. But the library is such an important resource, I’m glad you came here. It’s been wonderful getting to know you.”
“You too.”
The door swung open and they both looked toward it. Two men stepped inside, dressed in navy-blue uniforms with safety vests. The taller one carried a clipboard and the shorter one had a tool bag. They were both smiling, but there was something off about their demeanor, and Tatum swore that the whole atmosphere in the library changed.
It felt almost dangerous suddenly.
“Good afternoon,” the taller man said.
“Hello,” Tatum said. “Can we help you?” She cataloged their uniforms, seeing badges with the gas company logo on them.
He made a show of looking at his clipboard. “We need to ask you to evacuate. There’s a report of a possible gas leak in the area and we need to inspect the building.”
Tatum frowned, uneasy. She looked at Mrs. Fielder, who was also frowning.
