Hidden Library by Stephanie Van Orman

Author:Stephanie Van Orman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, YA, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, Witches, New Adult
Publisher: Stephanie Van Orman
Published: 2022-07-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Frowning Down

Veda

I had a date with Salinger that night. I was spinning at my spinning wheel waiting for him. He was late.

Hattie sat down on the bench, picked up a pair of clips, and started working a nearby fleece.

“Thank you. I hate wool clips.”

“I know. When a girl spins as well as you do, it seems a crime to make her do the clips. I haven't done this since I was a teenager.”

“Does it bring back bad memories?”

“Everything brings back bad memories. Doesn't matter though. I'm here with you now instead of back there with them. This house is nicer than the house where June and I grew up. There are not eight witches inadvertently ripping the walls apart.”

Hattie had been living under my roof for two weeks, but she was less trouble than I imagined. She made no mess and though her clothes were a vibrant kaleidoscope when she arrived, she had been settling into a watercolor palette. Sometimes I came into a room and her clothes matched the wallpaper so well, I didn't notice her.

“Has June talked to you about selling the house lately?”

“No.”

“June can't afford to buy it from you by herself, but she and I are thinking of buying it together and letting you stay on. What do you think of that?”

I felt myself tearing up. “I would love it. Are you sure you don't want a different house, a better house?”

“Yours is across from the school, which pleases June and I’ll like it here if I can get a cat.”

I nodded, thinking how nice it was that we would be able to please everyone.

The doorbell rang.

“Is that Salinger?”

“I think so.” I answered the door.

It wasn't Salinger. It was a delivery man with a vase of white roses. I thanked him and brought the flowers in.

“Your boy sent flowers rather than coming? Probably not because he wanted to. He must have been held up,” Hattie commented before making another pass with her wool clips.

The note attached to the roses read, ‘This doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind.’

I felt my lips curling. Pretty evocative seven words.

Two days later, I was supposed to have another date with him. This time, a fruit basket was delivered. I liked it, but I wondered what could be keeping him from our date. Instead of worrying about it, I packed myself off to Cold as Stone. I could have gone to the yarn store instead, but Pearl's mother was less hostile toward me than the other aunts. I planned to show up and offer to work in the shop for free that evening so Pearl's parents could have the night off.

Cold as Stone was the last shop in a line of stores in an outdoor strip mall. I liked to go there, even if it meant working for free because there was so much to do there. The displays always needed refreshing and unlike Pearl, the items in the store didn’t resist my attempts to tidy them, improve them, and show them at their best.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.