Page 43 of The Story of Us
She scratched behind his ears and he purred, long and loud.
“Aw, good boy.” Jamie held him up so that the two of them were eye to eye. “Okay, Eliot. What’ll we do if we can’t save this place, huh?”
Eliot blinked his glittering cat eyes, taking it all in. Jamie couldn’t imagine what he would do all day if he couldn’t come to True Love. He was much too social to be stuck at home all day. If the store closed, numerous people, plus the world’s sweetest cat, would suffer. Not just Jamie.
But she couldn’t think about that right now. She’d been thinking of little else all day, to no avail. Right then, she just needed a break from it all.
“There you go, bud.” She tucked Eliot inside his carrier and zipped it up tight, for once anxious to get home and try to forget about True Love for a while.
But as she reached for her keys in the flowered china dish by the register, her gaze snagged on The Story of Us box. She’d tucked it by the register so she could read the rest of Mary and Harris’s letters, but she hadn’t found the time. Maybe a little non-fiction romance reading was just what she needed tonight.
She slid the box toward her and flipped it open. Just one letter, then she and Eliot would go home for some serious couch time.
Darling Mary. Words alone cannot express how grateful I am that you did not listen when I told you not to write. Each story you relay to me of the people back in Waterford reminds me anew what it is I’m fighting for—it is love.
How could she stop there? Impossible…
An hour later, post-bubble bath and tucked under her favorite flannel blanket in her pink heart–patterned pajamas, she opened the next. And then the next.
Each one was a love letter, not only between two people who’d fallen for each other, heart and soul, but also to the people of Waterford…to the town itself.
Though we have been apart for what feels like ages, my love for you remains ever steadfast, ever true. Please keep the stories coming, my dear. Your words inspire me and bring me hope.
Love,
Harris
Once Jamie had read them all, she started over again from the beginning. She wished the town council could see all of these heartfelt words. She wishedeveryonein Waterford could. Maybe then they wouldn’t be so quick to erase over a hundred years of the community’s history.
Wait.
She sat up straight, heart pounding with adrenaline. A sleepy Eliot peeked at her through heavy eyelids.
Therewasa way for everyone to see these letters, and Jamie knew precisely how to make it happen. She searched for her cell phone among the folds of her blanket until she found it, then fired off a text to Lucy.
Meet me at the bookstore early. I have an idea.
Chapter Thirteen
Agood night’s sleep and abouta thousand photocopies later, Jamie felt completely reinvigorated and ready to fight for True Love.
After giving Lucy a rundown of the letters, they’d zipped over to the mail center down the street to make copies of the two most sentimental missives between Mary and Harris and purchase stacks of pink and gray envelopes. Then they came back to the store and formed a two-person assembly line to get the copies folded and inserted into the envelopes. Copies of Mary’s letter went into the pink envelopes while Harrison’s went into the gray ones.
“So, we’re going to keep half the copies of these letters here and take the other half to the Fire and Ice Festival,” Jamie said, reaching for the embossing stamp and sealing wax they were using to give the letters the perfect vintage touch.
“Bring people from there to here.” Lucy grinned.
Jamie nodded. “And here to there.”
“So they can read what happens next.” Lucy finished stuffing her stack of envelopes and reached for more.
The Fire and Ice Festival was the perfect opportunity to showcase the letters. The festival brought more people to the area than any other Waterford event, plus the timing was perfect because the town council vote on the Ridley design was scheduled for February fourteenth. Since the festival took place right before Valentine’s Day, Mary and Harrison’s letters would have maximum impact.
Jamie got chills just thinking about it. Mary and Harrison had been the original owners of the bookshop, and now they just might be the ones who ended up saving True Love. She couldn’t imagine a better happily-ever-after ending.
Joy welled up in her heart. They could do this—they could save the business district. “Exactly. Yeah, I want these letters to inspire people and help them reconnect with the town’s history. Maybe then they’ll be less eager to tear it down.”
Her hands stilled as another idea hit her, and the envelope she was holding fluttered to the floor.
