Ink and Shadows(Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)(45)

Gertie and Hank must have done something to influence their fellow trolley riders, because the bookshop was busy from noon until two thirty. As Nora put away strays, she counted customers.

“We have seven customers and less than an hour until the midafternoon rush,” she told Sheldon. “I feel bad, but by the time I got to Soothe, I’d pretty much have to turn around and come back. I’ll call Celeste and let her know that I’m not coming.”

Sheldon, who had a sink filled with dirty mugs, didn’t bother to hide his relief. “That means I can go home, take a hot bath, and then spend the evening in a recliner with my heating pads.”

One look at Sheldon’s swollen wrists and knuckles and Nora knew that he was having nasty rheumatoid arthritis flares. She pointed at the wall clock. “You’re leaving now. Turn around. I’m untying your apron. Don’t bother arguing.”

“I won’t. Everything hurts.”

Nora pulled the bow loose and grabbed the apron before it could fall to the floor. When Sheldon turned back around, she wagged a finger at him. “You’re supposed to tell me when you’re hurting. I’d rather have you here for a few hours a day than in bed for days in a row. No acts of heroism. That was our deal.”

“Look who’s talking, Edna St. Vincent Millay,” he said. “You’re burning your candle on both ends so fast that you’ll be a puddle of wax by Halloween. You can’t fix your own problems if you’re wrapped up in your customers’ problems, Celeste’s problems, and Jed’s problems too.”

Nora cocked her head. “I’m not trying to solve a problem for Jed. His mom’s sick. I can’t change that. Or are you talking about something else? What do you know, Sheldon? Come on. Out with it.”

“Okay, okay!” Sheldon threw up his hands in surrender. “He called about twenty minutes ago. I couldn’t interrupt you because you were talking to that man who just lost his dog, but I know that Jed’s going to ask for something you can’t give him.”

“Like what?”

Shaking his head, Sheldon grabbed his lunchbox and headed for the door. “I am not delivering that message. No way. You’ll just have to call him back.” He paused to add, “From somewhere private.”

Even though Sheldon’s cryptic behavior put her on edge, Nora called Celeste first. She’d already missed half of her voluntary shift by that point, but Celeste told her not to worry.

“It’s been a slow day,” she said. “I know slow isn’t profitable, but it was nice to talk to people without being rushed. Those customers made me feel like what I’m doing is worthwhile.”

“It is,” Nora said, pushing aside thoughts of Lazarus Harper. “Listen, Celeste, I’m sure you’re tired at the end of the day, but my friends and I would really like to visit with you on Thursday evening. It’d be me, Hester, Estella, and June. We’ll just bring some food and sit and talk for a bit. What do you say?”

The pause on the other end of the line felt interminable. Finally, Nora heard a faint sniffle. Then Celeste whispered, “Okay.”

“Okay. Take care, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Nora was thrilled that Celeste had agreed to dinner, but her delight didn’t last long. As she walked to the front of the shop to call Jed, her anxiety returned full force.

When Jed didn’t pick up, she left a message saying that she was sorry she missed his call and that she’d definitely answer the phone the next time he tried to reach her.

What was Jed going to ask her? Did he want her to take care of Henry Higgins? Nora didn’t know how she’d manage a dog on top of everything else, but she’d find a way.

“It can’t be that,” she muttered as she washed the last mug. “Sheldon would have told me.”

The sleigh bells clanged, and seconds later, two boys raced past the ticket agent’s booth on their way to the children’s corner. Their mother, an avid reader and loyal customer, wasn’t far behind.

“Hey, Nora.” After taking a moment to catch her breath, she said, “I’d love a Louisa May Alcott for me, a book on Christopher Columbus for Max, and a book on life cycles for Davis. Progress reports go home next Friday, which means projects for everyone. Due Monday. Fun, fun!”

Other mothers and children arrived with similar requests, and the afternoon passed in a blur as Nora handed children books on sea voyages, shipbuilding, explorers, ecosystems, and weather patterns. She also rang up lots of Scottish romance novels.

“I wonder how Bill would look in a kilt,” one woman said to another as they headed for the door. “I could give it to him for Christmas.”

“Where would he wear it?” asked her friend.

The first woman put her hands over her daughter’s ears and said, “Where do you think? The bedroom!”

Her friend’s reply was lost in the clamor of the sleigh bells, but Nora took pleasure in the smiles on the women’s faces and the bags of books dangling from their hands.

The midafternoon rush never ebbed, and before Nora knew it, the workday was over. She’d just finished straightening the shelves and was preparing to lock the front door and turn off the light over the checkout counter when her phone rang. It was Jed.

“You’ve been on my mind all day,” Nora said. “How are you?”