Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“I’d love to,” Amy said with the glee of a child on Christmas morning.
“Could you divide them into piles for me, contemporary, historical—” Kate laughed. “You know the various romance sub-genres better than I do.”
“No worries. I’ll get it done for you.”
“And I’d like to purchase one of those books on the history of Willow Lake,” I said, reminding Amy of why we were there.
“You can skim it while I see to the romances,” Amy said.
Kate gave a nod to a small table near the staircase. “Grab one. The box of romance books is in the romance room. Relax and take your time. I appreciate the help. If you find any keepers, they’re on the house.”
That got Amy even more excited to dig into the box of romances.
Amy and I headed up to the second floor. The romance room contained old romance novels and a spattering of new romances, romance DVDs, and Kate had recently added old perfume bottles and evening bags from a bygone era.
“I love how Kate keeps adding to the rooms to give them their own style,” Amy said and nearly screeched with delight when she spotted a sizeable box.
“We can’t be here all day,” I warned.
“You can go when you want to. I’ll find a ride home,” Amy said and rushed to the box that you would think was loaded with gold.
I shook my head, reminding her of our plans, “Lunch.”
She turned a pleading grin on me. “An hour, no more.”
What the heck? It would give me time to see what the history of Willow Lake had to tell me.
I nodded and walked to one of the big comfy chairs, the chintz faded with time but no less comfy. I barely sat when my cell rang. It was Ian.
“Josh called you, didn’t he?” I said in lieu of a greeting and laughter told me I was right.
“He’s mad, Pep, so I’d watch out. Your dad wouldn’t let Josh or the other officer in the police station. He sent them home to get rid of the stench.”
“That’s on my dad since he made them collect their information, smart sheriff that he is,” I said with a chuckle.
“I can just see the grin on your face. But beware, your brother is not a happy person. However, I was thrilled to hear how Mo protected you and Amy.”
“He didn’t waste a minute. He kept the bikers at bay with vicious snarls and snaps,” I said with pride.
“What provoked him?” Ian asked.
She knew he wasn’t going to like what she told him, but they were honest with each other, and she wanted to keep it that way.
“The leader’s approach was a bit overzealous, and I don’t think Mo liked when he called me gorgeous.”
He snarled almost as bad as Mo. “I dinnae like that either.”
His Scottish accent got a bit thicker when he got annoyed, which he didn’t do easily.
“I didn’t care for it myself,” I said.
“So, you sprayed him with skunk spray?”
“No, I skunked them because the other two bikers who approached with the leader pulled knives on Mo when he started snarling.”
“Knives? Josh dinnae mention anything about knives.”
“No worries, Ian, all turned out well,” I assured him though I did understand his concern since it could have turned out differently. And so that he didn’t linger on the incident, I told him where Amy and I were and why we were there. “I was just about to sit and look through the book when you called. Amy and I intend to grab some lunch when we finish here, then I’ll head home.”
I wasn’t prone to making Ian aware of my every move, but I didn’t want him to worry needlessly.
“Thanks for letting me know, Pep, I appreciate it. I’ll see you later. Love you.”
“Back at you,” I said and darn if my heart didn’t flutter.
“It feels good being in love, doesn’t it,” Amy said, staring at me as she clutched two paperback books to her chest.
“It shows that much?” I asked, but I actually didn’t mind.
“It does and I am so happy for you.”
“Okay, enough sloppy romance stuff, back to work,” I ordered, smiling. “An hour is all I can do before my stomach starts protesting.”
“Perfect, I’m dying for one of Zelda’s thick, gooey grilled three-cheese sandwiches.”
“With coleslaw and lots of pickles on the side,” I said, my mouth already watering.
“I’ll hurry,” Amy said and returned to sorting through the box of romances and stacking several to keep.
I found myself more interested in the book than I expected. “Did you ever wonder what happened to Verbena Willow?” I asked.
“She died young of an illness,” Amy said, setting another book aside for herself before taking another handful of books out of the box.
“That’s the answer everyone gives but nothing has actually been written about the illness. Had she been ill long? Were there other illnesses in the town at the time? What was it that claimed her life at only ten years old?”