Murder Between the Pages, page 21
“Doesn’t he have a job?”
“He calls himself an ‘entrepreneur.’” Jessica harrumphed. “I call him a bum.”
Nina turned again to the window, pushing aside the curtain. Ellie was bent into the wind, her yellow slicker billowing out behind her. Nigel’s bushy tail drooped, displaying his lack of enthusiasm for the outing.
Nina propped her hands on her hips. “Someone should go and bring Ellie and Nigel inside.”
Jessica shook her head. “She wouldn’t come until she was ready. She can be stubborn, especially if she’s having one of her spells.” She leaned closer to the window and pointed a forefinger. “Oh, look, not to worry; they’re turning and heading back.”
Sure enough, as Jessica spoke, Ellie wheeled around to head in the opposite direction. Nigel, his tail wagging, scampered after her.
“She’ll be okay now.” Jessica smiled. “We’d better get back to work.”
As she turned from the window, Nina caught her reflection. Strands of her shoulder-length, brown hair escaped the loosely-tied ponytail and hung like exaggerated commas around her face. On some women that might look chic, but on her the tendrils looked messy. But, then, who could keep a hairdo in this wild weather?
She caught her grandmother’s reflection. Jessica could. Her curls were never out of place. The only variation with her hair was the shade, which changed from reddish blonde to red, depending on her whim.
But Jessica was right—they’d better get back to work. As the managing librarian of Richmond, Washington’s Seaview Library, Nina used her expertise to establish a library at Marley Manor. Today, in the initial stages of the project, she and Jessica unpacked boxes of donated books and stacked them on several long tables in the center of the room.
Around the room’s perimeter, newly constructed, floor-to-ceiling shelves stood ready and waiting to be filled. The smell of recently applied oak stain lingered in the air. Several groupings of comfortable chairs and reading lamps completed the furnishings. “This space will make a lovely library,” Nina commented as she crossed to the table where they’d been working.
“You are so nice to organize it.” Jessica made a sweeping gesture that included the entire room.
“You know books and libraries are my passion.” Nina reached into a box and pulled out several hardcover books. “I hope we get enough donations to fill the shelves.”
“Not to worry, dear.” Jessica picked up a knife and slit open a box. “Director Marshall applied for a government grant. Plus, he’s set up a Library Fund, and residents are already contributing. You’ll have a budget to buy books to your heart’s content.”
Nina looked up and grinned. “Really? That’s good news. Current titles will round out the collection.”
“I put a sign-up sheet on our bulletin board downstairs asking for volunteers. The next time you come, we should have a crew to help us…Oh, look, here’s an Agatha Christie I haven’t read.” She held up a book. “I’ll be the first to check it out.”
The muffled ring of her phone grabbed Nina’s attention, and she hurried to the chair where she’d left her shoulder bag. Digging into its voluminous depths, she pulled out the phone. “Hey, Nina.”
Stephen Kraslow’s deep voice resonated pleasantly in her ear. Stephen was from New York City, having left his job as a journalist to assume ownership of Richmond’s weekly newspaper, The Richmond Review. “Hello, Stephen. What’s up?” She hoped he wasn’t canceling their evening together. She looked forward to being with him.
“About dinner tonight—”
Oh oh, he was canceling. Her shoulders slumped. “You don’t want to get together,” she blurted. “You have something else to do—”
“Nina, stop jumping to conclusions. No, instead of eating at your place, I thought we could go out.”
“Why? I know I’m not the best cook in the world, but—”
“Going out has nothing to do with your cooking. I have something I want to discuss with you.”
Something to discuss that required neutral territory. What could that subject be? Nina’s stomach tensed. “Do you have a restaurant in mind?”
“How about Henry’s, at the harbor?”
Henry’s was one of their favorite places. “Okay, but what do you want to talk about?”
“Uh uh, not until dinner. Can you meet me at seven? I can get away by then.”
“All right. I’ll be there.” Nina hung up, biting her lip. Noticing her grandmother’s gaze, she forced a smile. “That was Stephen.”
“So I gathered. You two still playing ‘your place or mine’?”
Nina tucked her cell phone into her purse. “Come on, Gran, we’ve been seeing each other for only six months.”
“I married Tyler after three months and—”
“I know; you lived happily ever after.” Nina finished a sentence she had heard often enough to know by heart. “A short-term courtship worked for you and Granddad, but I’m too cautious to jump into a committed relationship after only a few months.”
Jessica placed the box she’d emptied under the table and picked up another one. “I didn’t think you would commit to a relationship, period.”
Hearing her grandmother’s dry tone, Nina shrugged. “Okay, so I admit to being a little scared of commitment. Stephen hasn’t proposed marriage, anyway.”
“Maybe tonight’s the night.” Jessica slit open the new box.
“I don’t think so. He’s not ready.”
“How long since his wife passed away?” Jessica stacked books on the table.
“Two years.” Dating a widower was a new experience.
Jessica pulled another handful of books from the box. “That length of time seems long enough to adjust. If I were you, I’d be prepared. Wear something romantic and fix your hair nice.”
Her grandmother’s suggestion lingered uneasily in Nina’s mind. What if Stephen planned to propose tonight? What would her answer be? Did she love him? She certainly admired him and enjoyed his company.
But her mother’s marriage ended in abandonment, and Nina’s few relationships all failed, leaving her more than a little afraid of commitment. The truth was, the idea of marriage scared her to death.
A word about the author…
A resident of the Pacific Northwest, Linda Hope Lee writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and mystery novels. She also enjoys watercolor painting, photography, collecting children’s books and anything to do with wire-haired fox terriers.
http://www.lindahopelee.com
~*~
Other Titles by this Author
Dark Memories
Finding Sara
Loving Rose
Marrying Molly
The Red Rock, Colorado Collection
Under Gemini
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Linda Hope Lee, Murder Between the Pages
