Just One Look (Castleton Hearts)

I wanted to tell her that I was going to see the bookstore tomorrow, but I didn’t. I’d tell her after.

Theo and I talked back and forth for the rest of the night, and I kept getting interrupted while reading to answer her messages. Interesting that she was much more talkative via message than she was in person sometimes. Maybe it was easier for her to communicate that way.

It was progress, and I’d take it.

“Hi, I’m looking for Sarah?” I said the next day when I walked up to the counter at the charming little bookstore. It sat in a sweet brick building in the downtown area, right next to a bank and a coffee shop.

“I’m Sarah, what can I help you with?” The woman at the counter said with a bright smile.

“Oh, I’m Kendra, I sent you a message on your website.”

Her face brightened even more. “Kendra, nice to meet you.” She shook my hand over the counter. There were several people browsing the shop, but she came out from behind the counter to talk to me.

“So, you said you were thinking about opening a bookstore?” Sarah asked.

“Potentially. I’m wondering if it’s something I even want to attempt at this point. I’m looking to make a career change and I’ve had a passion for reading all my life,” I said.

Sarah listened to me and nodded. “Same for me.” She was interrupted from going further by someone needing some help with the puzzles in one corner. I wandered around, looking at the space while she helped the customer, and then a mom who was looking for books with her two kids.

“Never a dull moment around here,” she said, going to organize a display.

“I can tell,” I said. “How long have you been in business?”

Sarah told me that she’d gone to college and gotten an MBA due to pressure from her parents, but when it came time to get a job, she started working as a bookseller and had saved and then had gotten an inheritance from her grandfather which she used to open this shop five years ago. My mouth almost fell open at how similar our stories were.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s a lot of work, it’s often thankless, and you’re not going to be rich,” she said. “Are you prepared for that?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I said, and she nodded.

“I’m happy for you to do a whole shadow day with me. See the back-office stuff, learn the register, all that,” she said.

“That would be seriously amazing, I really appreciate it.”

“Of course. I’m happy to help,” she said, and I followed her around for a little bit longer until the store got busy and I was taking her time away from customers.

“I’ll let you deal with all this,” I said.

“See you on Friday,” she said, waving as I pushed through the door. Before I left, I decided to get an iced coffee next door at the café. I had thought about the fact that I might need to have a café and a bookstore combined, which would add a whole other dimension. Then there was finding a space, securing it, potentially doing renovations, the list was endless. Instead of giving me a headache, the idea of doing all those things was scary, but energizing. I wanted to learn everything.

Still on a high from the visit to the bookstore, I ended up stopping at Theo’s to see what she was up to.

“Friends drop in on their friends,” I told her when she came out of the office and into the showroom. Scout ran over to me and sniffed my pockets for treats.

“I don’t have any with me, I’m sorry,” I said, getting down to give him plenty of pets to make up for the lack of treats.

“Do friends bring their friends afternoon coffee?” Theo asked, raising one auburn eyebrow.

“They can,” I said. “You want a donut too?”

“You don’t have to bring me coffee. You’ve done it plenty of times now,” she said. “How about I make you some?”

“I’m good on coffee, but do you have any chocolate?”

Theo nodded. “Let me see what I can do.”

I followed her into the office, and she pulled out one of the drawers in the desk. I gasped as she revealed a chocolate stash of epic proportions.

“Theo Harmon, you are a chocolate fiend,” I said.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she said. “Grab whatever you like.”

I snatched a few gold-wrapped pieces and immediately unwrapped one and popped it into my mouth.

“Now I know where to come to get the good stuff.” Theo only had the most expensive kind of chocolate in her desk, and I filed that away in my mind for later.

“How’s your day going?” I asked, sitting down in one of the chairs and making myself comfortable.

“Typical bullshit, as usual,” she said, crashing into her desk chair.