Emma looked around and he could almost see the wheels spinning in her head. “We could move several sections of books here, which would free up room over on the other side for a few reading nooks.”
“You could even set up a small area in the back for book events and author readings.”
“Oh, that would be fantastic!”
He loved seeing her face light up with excitement. She looked younger, happier. Her eyes sparkled and her smile seemed to brighten the whole room
For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine what it would be like if she could always be this happy and carefree. Too soon, her excitement seemed to ebb away. Her shoulders slumped slightly, and a small furrow appeared between her brows.
“It would be so much work, though. And I’m not sure Mom wants to put that much money into the bookstore right now.”
“She asked you to come home to revitalize the place. She has to expect some degree of capital outlay as part of that.”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to her.”
He wanted her to have this. He wanted her to succeed in Wood Briar and make a new life for herself and her daughter here.
“My evening schedule is pretty open right now, except for Sundays when I go to see my mom and Wednesday nights. That’s when I play on the Lucas Construction softball team. On the other days, I usually work till about seven but I could come here after that.”
She sent him a long look and he didn’t miss the shadow of wariness there, as if she didn’t know how to deal with someone offering to help her. His chest ached at the thought of her trying to handle everything by herself for so many years.
“Why are you being so nice to me? Is it because you feel like you owe my mom?”
Her mother had nothing to do with it. While he did owe Rosie for channeling his youthful restlessness into work he loved that provided a comfortable living, he wanted to help Emma for her own sake.
“I love the bookstore and agree it definitely needs a refresh. I want this place to be here for a long time,” he said.
And I want you and Olive to be here for a long time, too.
“I can come tomorrow and help you paint the wall. If you give me the paint color you’re using, I can pick up a can or two of the same color for the bookshelves.”
“That would be great,” she exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement. “I don’t know how I could ever repay you for all your help.”
He could think of several ways but decided it probably wouldn’t be wise to mention any of them.
He wanted to do more to ease her burden somehow. But he knew Emma well enough to understand that she wouldn’t accept charity or pity.
For now, he would focus on one bookshelf, one wall, one day at a time. And maybe, just maybe, he could help bring some of that light back into Emma’s eyes and help her feel like she truly belonged back home.
Chapter Nine
Rosie
At the end of a long week, Rosie walked into the Lucas Construction office, grateful for the comfortable familiarity of the place.
How much of her life had she spent inside the walls of this sturdy brick building at the edge of town? Over the past several years—after she had been forced to step in to save the company—she had been here nearly every day.
It wasn’t the life she might have chosen for herself, but she was still proud of all they had achieved.
Inside the door, the first person she greeted was Pam Clarke, who had been with the company nearly from the beginning. Pam handled the accounts receivable, payroll and office admin. Rosie considered her both her right and left hand.
“Morning,” Pam said without looking up from her computer. “Happy Friday.”
Rosie paused beside her desk. “How’s Phoebe today?”
Phoebe was one of Pam’s two cats, both as beloved to her as children. Worry creased the other woman’s brow as she finally saved whatever she had been working on and looked up.
“Not great. I was up all night with her. She threw up twice.”