Page 46 of Bea's Book Wagon
‘You’re on your own, there. Cushions are not my thing, I’m afraid,’ said Nathan.
‘I thought I might take Mum along,’ said Bea. ‘She’s been really supportive with this whole crazy idea,’ she said, gesturing towards the horsebox.
‘She might foot the bill, too, if you take her?’ said Nathan, wiggling his eyebrows.
‘You never know,’ Bea laughed.
‘It’s looking bloody good though, Bea,’ he continued. ‘I love the logo Jess designed, it’s actually starting to look like… well, a—’
‘Bookshop?’
‘Exactly. You’ve done a great job.’
‘No, we’ve done a great job, Nate,’ she said, taking a step towards him. ‘None of this would have happened without you, you know that, right?’
‘Ah, don’t be silly,’ he replied, waving a hand dismissively.
‘Seriously, if you hadn’t been there that day at Charlotte’s encouraging me, I don’t think I’d have gone through with buying it.’
‘You had Jess, too; she’d have talked you round.’
‘It was you, Nate. Once you told me I could do it, I just… believed you, I guess,’ she shrugged. ‘Does that sound weird?’
‘A little bit…’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Maybe?’
‘I guess it’s always been like that though, ever since school, I—’
‘Nate!’ called his mum, Sue, poking her head around the barn doors. ‘I’m ready now if you want to go and get those deliveries done?’
‘It’s fine, you go, I need to crack on with the painting anyway,’ said Bea, prising opening a tin of paint with a screwdriver.
‘Okay, I’ll see you later, though?’ asked Nathan.
‘Sure, I’m going to be here for the next few hours at least.’ Bea laughed.
‘Yeah, course,’ said Nathan, heading towards the door.
‘Right then,’ said Bea, taking a deep breath, ‘these bookcases aren’t going to paint themselves,’ she whispered, picking up a wide brush and dipping it into the thick, white paint. It was time to get started.
* * *
Nathan was struggling to concentrate on the road as he drove towards the Cosy Cat. Sue was chatting away animatedly, but he wasn’t taking in a single word she was saying. He couldn’t get his mind off Bea.
She’d said he was the reason she’d had the confidence to take on the bookshop project.
He was confused as to why his opinion mattered so much to her.
Why was it any different to Jess’s, or Archie’s, or Carol’s? What had she been about to say to him before his mum had walked into the barn.
‘It’s always been like that though, ever since school, I—’
What was she going to say? Was she talking about their friendship? Or something else?
He shook his head. Whatever Bea had been about to tell him, she didn’t get the chance to say it, and perhaps now he’d never know.
CHAPTER 13
‘Bloody hell, Sis!’ said Archie, surveying the pile of boxes stacked up in the garage. ‘You’ll never fit all these books in the horsebox.’
