much Blaine and Miranda had meant to each other, their dream of growing old together. “Just improbable.”
There was a clattering sound in the background followed by accusatory shouts of “I didn’t do it. You did.” And “Not my fault!”
Crap. Grayson pressed a palm to his forehead. It was the cereal aisle all over again. Apparently, gravity was no friend of five-year-olds. “I’d better go clean up whatever they just destroyed. Please don’t ban us from the library,” he implored over his shoulder.
The boys met him in the doorway, their eyes wide. “It was a accident,” Sam said. “I just wanted to see the octopus.”
A large orange stuffed animal was on the ground, its eight legs in the air as if reaching for help. It was surrounded by children’s books that had no doubt been on display until Sam had reached for the octopus and knocked everything down.
“Thanks for the help,” Hadley said cheerfully. “The children’s room was next on my list. I was going to swap out the marine-life books for books about sports. Of course, I normally put books carefully back on the shelf instead of dumping them on the floor, but to be fair, your way was quicker.”
Sam and Tyler exchanged shocked glances.
“So we’re not in trouble?” Tyler asked.
“Accidents happen.” Hadley kneeled down to grab the octopus. “Just try to be careful with the books you take home. And never, ever mark in them with crayons or pens, okay?” After extracting that solemn promise, she rose. “All right...dinosaur time!”
She took each twin by the hand, and a few minutes later, each of the boys held a nonfiction picture book about dinosaurs.
“Oh, and this one,” Hadley said. “It’s about a dinosaur who has to learn to be more careful because he’s so big he knocks things over and steps on them without meaning to. Like a couple of junior T. rexes I know.”
Tyler laughed outright, then made a rawr noise at her; even Sam smiled shyly.
They all headed back to the circulation desk so Grayson could sign up for a library card, and the boys asked if they could look at the trains again while they were waiting. Since it was within his sight line, Grayson agreed. “Put your hands in your pockets, though,” he suggested. “So that you don’t accidentally leave any fingerprints on the glass.” Or shatter it somehow.
Hadley handed him his new card and the books. “They’re due in a week, but you can renew online if you want to keep them longer. Anything else I can do for you?”
“Actually, yes. But it’s a personal favor.”
She arched an eyebrow. “How personal are we talking?”
“Well, not like erotic-poem personal—”
“Grayson!”
“Shh.” He grinned, charmed by the pink that washed over her cheeks. “We’re in a library.”
Despite her glare, she was obviously fighting a smile.
“I’ve started interviewing for jobs,” he said, “and I’ve already been asked for local references. I don’t suppose...” It was difficult to voice the request, hypocritical to ask her to vouch for him considering how short-tempered he’d been with her in the past. Why had he been such a jerk? It hadn’t been Hadley’s fault that reports of faraway places set his teeth on edge. And it hadn’t been her fault that her steady boyfriend was an SOB—although Grayson had been disappointed someone with her smarts couldn’t see through the guy.
Maybe Grayson had been jealous of her standing in the community. Since the day his mom left him behind, he hadn’t felt as if he belonged in Cupid’s Bow, and with each passing year, he became more of an outsider. Hadley Lanier had been beloved by teachers and friends and teammates; she was probably adored as town librarian. People like her made it look so easy to fit in, but he knew what it was like to feel other people’s whispers like fire ants on his skin.
“Grayson? You okay?”
How long had he been standing here, scowling silently? “I don’t know what I am.” Dammit, he was supposed to be showing her his good qualities so she could rave about him to potential employers. He shook his head. “Being back here has fried my brain. I swear Cupid’s Bow brings out the worst in me.”
“That’s a shame, since it sounds like you’ll be here awhile.” She pursed her lips. “Were you about to ask for my phone number?”
“What? No, I—”
“To put down as a reference?”
“Oh. Yes. That is, if you’re willing.”
She held out her hand. “Got a phone on you?” When he passed it over to her, she typed in her contact information. “There. Now you have my number for job references and picture-book recommendations. Or to, um, invite me to lunch sometime. Maybe all you need to get along with Cupid’s Bow better is the right tour guide.”
Was she kidding? “I grew up here—not much you could show me I haven’t already seen.”
“Do you ever read mystery novels?”
“One or two.”
“They’re all pretty similar. Someone gets killed, someone figures out who dunit. It’s not like the format is a surprise. But they’re all different, too, because they’re told from different points of view. The reader gets to see the plot unfold through a new character’s eyes. Maybe you just need to see Cupid’s Bow from another perspective.”
He wasn’t convinced, but, for now, Cupid’s Bow was the boys’ home. He owed it to them to try. “What about tomorrow? Are you free for lunch then?” The question was surprisingly liberating. So much of his time since becoming the boys’ guardian had been spent planning, worrying, regrouping. It was a relief to do something as simple as ask an attractive woman to share a meal with him. “Or do you work all day?”
She stared for a second, as if expecting him to retract the invitation. “I, ah... Bunny Neill, the semiretired librarian who ran the place before me, makes sure I get lunch hours and every other Wednesday off. I’d love to—”
“Is it time to go yet?” Sam loudly demanded from the front entrance.
Grayson winced. “I’ll talk to him again about his library voice, I promise.”
“I’ll let it slide,” Hadley said with a grin. “But just this once.”
* * *
THE WALK FROM the truck to the community center got a lot longer when the boys got distracted watching roly-poly bugs on the sidewalk. Grayson didn’t mind. It was a sunny spring day, and Vi hadn’t texted yet that she was ready for her ride home, so he slowed his walk to a relaxed amble, letting the boys take their time.
When an older woman carrying a yoga mat exited the building, he scooted the boys to the side to let her pass. The woman nodded to Grayson with a smile, but then stopped short.
“Grayson Cox?”
“Um, yes, ma’am.” He tried to place her but it took him a moment to match the friendly woman in relaxed athletic wear with the history teacher who’d worn buttoned-up blouses and disapproving scowls. “Ms. Templeton?”
“That is you.” Her smile spread. “What a delight to have you back in town!”
It was? She must recall his eighth-grade history class differently than he did.
“Will you be staying long?”
“I think so.” He nodded toward Sam and Tyler. “I have an appointment to sign them up for school tomorrow.”
“Wonderful. If they’re half as bright as you are, they’ll—”
His bark of laughter was involuntary. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but are you sure