Page 9 of The Troublemaker
“Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”Hayes cups his ear and bends closer.
Decker and Foster lean in too, and we close ranks around each other.
“Fuck yeah!”
Hayes faces me with a big smile.“There you go!”He hits me in the chest.
We’re all hyped up, and for the first time, I do believe that I can do this.I’m practically jumping up and down in place, revved up from my captain hyping me up, when I glance down the aisle to see all the kids and women staring at us with their eyebrows raised.
Lake sighs.“I am not with any of you.”She walks away, Lincoln following her.
“You about done now, boys, because I think Tanner is hungry.”Penelope is holding him in her arms.
And then all the doubts come crashing down again.
ChapterFour
Hadley
Whit wants to meet me at The Story Jar to discuss the business.He’s the executor for my grandma, so he’s supposed to help me through the transition of ownership.
As soon as I enter the small children’s bookstore, a quiet sense of nostalgia and coming home settles over me.Suddenly I’m back to being seven years old, wandering around, picking up books and reading instead of helping my grandma restock or reshelve the books.
How many stories have I lost myself in under this roof?
Somewhere in these aisles is where I first learned that if you open the right book, you can disappear into another world, another life.
She’s still got the giant fake tree in the corner, where she would do story time every Saturday and two afternoons during the week.The rug with small circles for people to sit on is there, but more times than not, the kids would be shoulder to shoulder to hear her read a story about a train determined to make it over the mountain, a monster afraid of the dark, or a princess who refused to wait for a prince.
“Hadley.”Vera comes out of the backroom with an arm full of books.“Congratulations.I hear she’s yours now.”
I soak in the space one more time, unable to believe that it’s actually mine.Or almost mine.“Well, not yet.”It won’t be mine until after a year, and even then, I’m not sure I deserve it.
“Oh yes, well, your grandmother could be a little old-fashioned at times.”She laughs and puts the books down, opening her arms as she breaks the distance between us.“But it will be yours.I’m sure of it.”
I cling to Vera, almost as though holding my grandma’s dearest friend is an extension of her.“I should’ve been here.”Tears fill my eyes.
“Nonsense.She always bragged about you to all the children.Her granddaughter who was living a million stories as she traveled the world.”She pulls back and holds my upper arms, staring into my eyes.“Stop the tears.She’d be mad at you for being upset.She lived a good life.Said so ten times a day every day.”She hugs me one more time before she steps away as if washing her hands of my guilt.
Picking up the stack of the books, she takes them to the window and arranges the display.I’d walk over to help her, but I’d only be in the way.There’s a lot I still need to learn around here to really take it over.
“It looks exactly the same.Vera…” I say, seeing how she’s been here all these years.She loves this store as much as I do.
She must hear something in my voice because she glances up but shakes her head.“No.I’m much too old.This place needs some youth injected into it.”
Guilt hits me deep in my belly.“Are you sure?”
“Positive.But I’m here at your disposal.”She goes back to fixing the display, and I watch her, hoping to learn.
“Thank you.”
“Of course, dear.”
Whit waves through the window and comes through the door.His messenger bag is slung crossways over his chest, and he’s wearing a suit because I’m pretty sure my brother’s closet only contains rows of suits.But he also has three coffees and a bag of bagels from Hero’s Coffee Bar.
“Look at you, you hero.”I snatch the brown bag out of his hand.
“I figured we’d start today off on a good note.”He smiles and places the coffees on the counter, next to the vintage national cash register that’s only there for show.“Vera, how are things?”
