To Mend a Wandering Heart
Welcome to Bramblerest, our cozy but magical hamlet! To read more stories, click here.
Reggie was so happy, he almost whistled to himself as he walked down the street toward The Diner on Main.
A cool breeze rolled through, rustling the limbs of sidewalk trees and tousling the dew-touched flowers growing beneath them. Reggie smiled at a passerby, who smiled and nodded in greeting.
Ever since he had arrived in Bramblerest a few weeks ago, he’d been struck with how peaceful the town felt. And he hardly believed his luck that not only had he won the music competition at The Blarney Barrel, he’d also landed a job at Tail and Tome Bookery.
Granted, he got it because he defended Emma, the owner, against a burglar, and not because he’d filled out a job application. But he didn’t see why that should tarnish his accomplishment.
Better yet, Emma learning he was a shapeshifter had gone much better he’d hoped. Like he had told her that night, most people got scared when they learned he could turn into a big, black dog.
Reggie reached the front door of the diner and held it open for an older couple leaving.
“Good morning,” he said.
The pair returned the greeting before carrying on to their car.
Reggie liked the diner. It didn’t shoot for a particular theme, which made it feel homey to him. He slid into one of the squeaky red booths. The waitress, an older woman with a nametag reading “Maude,” walked up almost immediately.
“The usual?” she asked, pen poised over her notepad.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You sure you don’t want anything different?”
“I’m fine, ma’am.”
She shrugged and walked off.
The half-full diner buzzed with pleasant chatter and the clink of silverware, mugs, and glasses. The scent of bacon and coffee hung on the air. Reggie settled in to watch people walk by on the street outside.
In the next booth, a woman said, “Did you hear about the break-in at Tail and Tome Bookery?”
Reggie went still. If he’d been in dog form, one of his ears would have cocked. The break-in had been Monday before last, but it was still a subject of discussion, apparently.
The other woman at the booth replied, “Maggie, who hasn’t? They caught the guy, right?”
“Yes,” Maggie replied, “but I don’t think they caught everybody. The man they arrested was some wizard wannabe dropout, but I heard this stranger was hanging around the place. The same one that won the music competition at The Blarney Barrel last Saturday. And he’s now working at Tail and Tome. I saw him myself just yesterday.”
“So? It’s about time Emma hired someone new, though I wish she’d gone for a local.”
“Well, what if this stranger was in on the heist and now he’s going to rob Emma blind? Is it really just a coincidence—" Maggie stopped, her eyes widening as her gaze met Reggie’s.
Her companion looked over her shoulder and then turned away. “Is that…?”
Maggie nodded.
The back of Reggie’s neck burned. The two women got out of their booth and hurried to leave. But as they did, Maggie shot Reggie an ugly look.
Maude returned, setting his glass of water in front of him. “It’ll be a few more minutes on your eggs and toast. And I slipped you a side of bacon. On the house.” She winked and bustled off.
Reggie picked up the glass of water, only to set it down again.
He’d gone from place to place, job to job, for a while now. At first, it was because he loved to travel. His father had always said Reggie had a bit of wanderlust. But whenever Reggie tried to settle down, something always seemed to go wrong.
The last time he tried to settle down, some money went missing from a safe. A rumor circulated that Reggie was behind the theft. His boss hadn’t been able to figure out who the thief really was, and Reggie was the new guy, so it was almost logical that Reggie be fired.
The memory of his former boss’s words went through Reggie like a cold wind: Nothing ever went missin’ until you showed up, Reggie, and I got a pissed off management to calm down. I gotta look like I handled this.
Reggie looked around the diner, the tide of conversation less soothing and more menacing as he imagined a dark current of gossip painting him the villain.
Reggie arrived at the bookstore under the cloud of his worries. When he walked inside, Emma turned to him from setting up a new display and smiled.
Just like that, the sun came out. He smiled back.
“Good morning,” she said, adjusting a sign that read “New Arrivals.” “I was thinking I would teach you more about how our point-of-sale works. Are you up to it?”
“Sure,” he said. “I just want to put my coat away.”
“Go ahead.”
He walked down the center aisle, the familiar scents of the bookstore washing over him. In the back room, he hung his duster on a peg. Soot, the resident black cat, leaped out from behind a box. She stopped and arched her back.
“Whoa,” he said. “You did scare me.”
Soot stared at him for a moment before shooting off into the main store. Chuckling, Reggie walked back out to the front again.
Reggie liked to read, so that was part of why he loved his new job. But after he took his place behind the counter, it wasn’t the shelves of books capturing his attention, but Emma’s pretty, green eyes and her strawberry-scented shampoo.
He already knew how the cash register worked, so he only half-listened as she pointed out all the buttons and tabs on the touch screen. He kept trying to catch another glimpse of her eyes. He was trying to decide if they were more of a deep jade or emerald.
“Are you listening?” she said, laughing.
“What?” He raised his brows, feeling his face heat up.
“You look like you’re a million miles away. Did you hear anything I said about how to process a return?”
“Um. No. But I know how to do it.”
“Then show me.” She walked around the counter and picked up a book from the New Arrivals display. Coming back, she put the register into training mode and marked the book as sold. The machine spat out a receipt, which she tore off.
However, instead of handing him the book and receipt, she walked away, leaving through the front door. After a second, she came back inside. She paused, looking at him expectantly.
Puzzled, Reggie frowned. “What?”
“You’re supposed to greet me.”
“Oh.” He fought to keep a smile off his face. It had been a while since he’d met someone who was willing to play.
“Let’s try again.” She went back outside.
Soot slid out of the stacks, edging closer to Reggie. She was trying to be sneaky, so he didn’t let on that he saw her from the corner of his eye.
Emma walked back into the store.
“Welcome to Tail and Tome Bookery,” Reggie intoned. “How can I help you?”
Emma approached the counter. “I need to return this book, please.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, miss. Do you have your receipt?”
“Yes.” She handed over both book and receipt.
He checked the date. “Oh, good. You have a month to return a book, and you are just in time.”
Emma leaned her elbows against the counter. “So, you were paying attention.”
“What was that, miss?” He scanned the receipt, fighting back his smile.
“Oh, nothing. Have you been working here long?”
“Not long. Only a few days. Mostly, I do security, but my boss has me working out here today.” He scanned the barcode on the back of the book. Out of curiosity, he glanced at the title: Vanishing into the Night: Tales from Baxton County. It looked interesting.
“Is your boss nice?”
He looked at her and decided her eyes were more emerald than jade. “She’s the best.”
A beat of silence passed between them before he tore his attention away, returning it to the touch screen. Emma straightened, tapping her fingers lightly on the counter and staring hard at the stack of bookmarks on the counter.
“Do you want this put back onto your card,” he said, “or would you prefer store credit?”
“Store credit,” Emma said. “You can get some practice doing that, too.”
This time, he did smirk a little as he swiped a card, loading it with fake store credit. A couple more taps on the touchscreen and the faux transaction was complete. He slid the card over.
“Thank you for coming to Tail and Tome Bookery. Come back soon.”
Emma laughed. “Thank you. But you forgot to tell me how much store credit was on here.”
“Oh.” His face turned solemn. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re fine! It’s a lot to keep track of.”
“Right.” He shifted from one foot to another. “Have you started looking for a place, yet?”
“Ready to move out of the Silver Crescent Inn?”
He looked down at his hands on the counter. “Well. No. It’s fine. I’m not hurrying you.”
When Emma had offered the job, she’d also offered a place for him to live. She intended to move out of the apartment over the store to a house of her own, and he could take over her old place. Right now, he was staying at a local motel while she house-hunted.
Now, he felt a little foolish for sounding like he had been rushing her. He simply was anxious to be out of the motel before he ran out of money.
“I was teasing you, Reggie!” She walked around the counter. “I’m re-thinking a house, though. Maybe an apartment, instead? Anyway, it’s still going to be a bit, I think. Oh, Carrie will be coming in to work around lunchtime, so you can go back to the Crescent to rest before your rounds tonight.” She took the cash register out of training mode and cleared the card so that its balance read zero again.
Reggie’s “rounds” consisted of spending the night in the store in his dog form. He’d done it a few times already and had interspersed wandering the store with naps. Besides, being a shapeshifter allowed him to go with less sleep than a normal human. He didn’t really need to rest up, but he felt touched by Emma’s concern.
Soot launched herself from the shadows, pouncing on Reggie’s bootstrings.
“Oh!” Emma jumped. “Soot, I didn’t see you there!”
“She’s been stalking me, I think,” he said. “She jumped out at me when I went to hang up my coat.”
“Did you act surprised?”
“Of course.” He bent down and gave Soot a scratch behind the ears. Soot batted at his hand before skittering off into the bookstore aisles.
The door opened, and a small clutch of elderly ladies wafted into the store.
“Welcome to Tail and Tome,” called Emma.
The ladies waved at her but were more focused on the latest romance titles.
“Well,” she said, “I have to go through some paperwork. Call me if you need me.”
“Sure thing.”
He watched her walk away, noting how the strawberry scent lingered.
The delivery woman wore a green polo shirt. On the upper left corner, in curling, pink script, were the words “Julia’s Herbiary.” She held a large brown paper sack, the top folded in, and a clipboard.
“I have a delivery for Emma Gladstone,” she said, approaching the counter.
“I’ll take it,” Reggie replied.
“Sign this.”
He scrawled something that looked vaguely like a signature on the sheet. The woman thanked him and walked out, leaving the bag behind.
Reggie started to open the bag, only to stop. This was Emma’s delivery. She might not approve of him prying into her business. His nose, though, picked up on a variety of herbs. He breathed in—and sneezed, burying his nose into the bend of his arm just in time.
He picked up scents of catnip, lemon balm, peppermint, and what might have been black tea. But there were other scents he didn’t recognize. Rosehip, maybe? Red clover?
No one waited to be helped, so he took the bag into the back.
In the back room, several boxes sat open, and books were stacked on the large round table. A few shipping manifests lay scattered on the floor. However, Emma was nowhere in sight.
A spark of unease rippled through Reggie’s stomach. He paused to scent and listen. Overhead, Emma’s footsteps creaked the boards. He relaxed and set the bag on the table where she would see it before going back out front.
“Oh, no!”
Reggie’s head jerked up at Emma’s faint cry.
“Can I have that?” asked the short man across the counter, oblivious to the noise from the back.
Emma hadn’t cried out loud enough to be heard by most people. Reggie, of course, wasn’t most people.
Handing over the bag of purchases, he said, “Come again soon.”
Another woman walked up to check out, but he shook his head, saying, “I’ll be right back.”
The woman frowned. “But—”
Reggie was already striding away, down the central aisle and through the slightly ajar door into the back room. He halted, blood draining from his face.
A large rip rent the brown paper bag’s side, white packets spilling from it. One packet had been knocked to the ground and torn open, its green contents scattered across the floor. In the middle of the mess, Soot blinked up at them, her pupils blown wide.
“Oh, gosh,” Reggie said. “I’m-I’m so sorry. I put that bag there. I didn’t mean—”
A small sound escaped Emma, something like a sob. He turned to her.
Emma stood with one hand on her hip and the other against her mouth. Her face was turning pink.
Reggie’s stomach sank. He didn’t think Emma was the type to get upset over a simple mistake, but it had been a waste of money, after all. He shouldn’t have left that stupid bag there.
Emma dropped her hand and laughed.
Reggie frowned, torn between dizzying relief and confusion.
“It’s okay,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “The catnip was for Soot. I was going to make her tea with it. But I guess she smelled the nip through the sack and couldn’t wait.”
Emma walked over and inspected the other white bags. “None of the other herbs and teas have been gotten into, which is good.”
“I left it there. I can clean up the mess.”
“Oh, no, let her have it for the moment. I—” She looked up. “Reggie, what’s wrong?”
He felt the tips of his ears turn warm. “N-nothing. I just hate that I caused a mess.”
“You didn’t know better. Besides, Soot was the one who made the mess. If she could use a broom, I’d make her clean it up.” Emma waved at him. “You can go back up front. I’ll take care of it once Soot is done flying high.”
Slowly, he nodded and returned to the register. The same woman was there, glowering.
“Everything all right?” she asked, her tone tart.
“Hm? Oh, yes, ma’am. The cat got into the catnip.”
“A cat in catnip? How shocking. What even made you tear off like that?”
“I heard Emma cry—”
“I heard nothing of the sort.”
He glanced at her but didn’t say any more as they went through the transaction. The woman snatched the bag from his hand and was gone before he could tell her to come back again soon.
Reggie’s coworker Carrie arrived just after noon to take over the store.
However, instead of walking all the way back to the Silver Crescent Inn, he crossed the street to Purrs McBarkin. He had considered going to Julia’s Herbiary a block over, but the boutique pet store was closer.
Inside, a thin man behind the counter greeted him. “Anything I can do for you, just let me know.”
Reggie hesitated by a display of dog treats. The various smells of foods and other products were a little overwhelming. “Um. Where is your catnip?”
“Oh, that’s down that aisle, along the wall.” The worker pointed.
“Thanks.” Reggie took a step, then stopped. “Ah. Is there a special kind to use to make tea?”
“All of the loose catnip I carry here is safe for consumption. You’re making a little treat for your kitty?”
“Sort of. It’s for my, um, friend. A gift.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” The man smiled.
Reggie nodded and walked away. It wasn’t hard to find the catnip, now that he was pointed in the right direction. He smelled it before he reached the shelf. Browsing the selection, his gaze fell to the prices, and he grimaced. But it was only right that he replaced what had gotten spoiled.
He picked out a small container and started back to the front of the store.
“You will not believe what happened to me.”
The familiar voice stopped Reggie in his tracks. He looked to his left, over stacked bags of cat food, to the aisle on the other side. The angry woman who had left the store earlier stood with another woman.
“What?” the other woman asked. She picked up a can of food, read the label, and set it back down.
“I was in Tail and Tome this morning and the new worker there was so incredibly rude. He just walked off from me! And then claimed the store cat had gotten into some cat nip, as if that was a real emergency. It’s not like there was any shouting or anything. I certainly didn’t hear any.”
“Oh, that’s not the half of it,” her companion replied. “That man showed up around the same time as the burglaries. There’s a rumor that he was involved.”
“Oh, my word. Do you think Emma knows?”
Face burning, Reggie strode back up to the front of the store.
“Find everything all right?” the store employee asked.
Reggie grunted.
“This is a good choice. Should make a great tea.”
Reggie glanced over his shoulder, back the way he came. The two women were still in deep conversation.
“And you remember the code?” Emma said. She stood at the back door, grasping her overnight bag with both hands. She worried at her bottom lip with her teeth.
Behind her, her best friend Jenny waited in a little blue Honda in the loading zone.
“I remember,” said Reggie.
“And the newspaper delivery comes—”
“At six a.m.” He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way. “I also remember when Soot likes to eat and where to find her food. Oh, I bought catnip to replace what was spoiled. It’s in the cupboard with her treats.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. It was my mistake.”
“But an understandable one. I worry you’re too hard on yourself. But I appreciate it. And I bet Soot will, too.”
“Anything to keep her happy.”
Jenny honked her horn.
Emma rolled her eyes. “You know, it’s not like the pizza is going to vanish from the back.”
“Well, you did say that you two haven’t had a Friday girls’ night in a long time.”
“And Jenny is always very serious about getting her weekend started. Um. Okay. Call me if something happens.”
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“Please?” She raised her brows. “I left my cell number by the phone.”
Reggie gazed into her eyes and felt something in his heart soften. He smiled. “I promise. If it’s important.”
She smiled and nodded. “See you tomorrow morning.”
Soot ambled over and sat by his feet. Emma gave the kitty one scratch between the ears before walking over to Jenny’s car. She dropped her bag into the back and got in. Emma waved as Jenny backed up.
Reggie waved and watched them leave. He looked down at Soot, whose tail flicked back and forth.
“It’ll be fine,” he said, though that was meant more for him than the cat. “You and I can have a critter’s night.”
Soot flounced back inside, disappearing behind some boxes.
Emma had mentioned she’d left Reggie some food in the employee fridge. It wasn’t until he pulled the Tupperware from the fridge that he realized she’d made him a whole meal. On it was a sticky note that read, “A guard deserves his dinner! -- Em.” It was baked chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans.
He stared at it for a full thirty seconds before peeling the note off. He went to crumple it, then paused. After a moment of thought, he folded the note, sticky side against the back, and tucked it into his pocket.
After supper, he cleaned up the store and the back, read a little, and played with Soot. Outside, Bramblerest’s nightlife descended as clumps of people and couples strolled down the street on their way to restaurants and bars.
Reggie set the security system in the back. Then, he took off his boots and changed forms, his body leaning into the magic born into him. Unlike cursed werewolves who tore through their clothes and turned into slavering beasts, Reggie simply went from being human to dog. Where his clothes went, he wasn’t sure, but they reappeared on him when he changed back.
That had taken practice. The first few times, his clothes never came back. Reggie remembered his mother complaining about all the clothes she had to buy for her youngest.
He put the thought of his mother out of his mind and paced around the store, nose to the ground.
Everyone who had come through the store had left a scent marker behind. It was like a storybook of its own, telling him about the places the people went, the animals they owned, and any illnesses. Once a person who was in self-help had cancer, for example, and Reggie hoped the person would get better.
He spent some time lying in the front of the store, watching people walk past the big windows. Then, he walked around again, listening and sniffing, only to return to the front of the store.
Fewer and fewer people passed until none no longer did. The night deepened. Tired, he trotted to the back and curled up under the table. A big bed would have been nice. He made a mental note to buy one from Purrs McBarkin the next time he got paid. He wished he had thought to look at a few while he was there.
The memory of the two women gossiping about him made him shiver. Emma was a great boss, but Reggie was beginning to doubt the townsfolk would ever let him come out from under a cloud of suspicion.
Shifting a little, he made himself comfortable for his little nap. If anyone tried to break in, he knew he would wake up. And that was what Emma wanted, after all. A bit of extra security on top of the alarm.
He heard the soft sound of footpads drawing near. He opened an eye. Soot came out of the dark and curled up beside him. Reggie let his eye drift closed.
Reggie dreamed of running down the beach, the waves lapping against his paws. The salty air brushed through his coat. Ahead of him, a figure waved, beckoning him closer.
A scraping sound shattered the dream.
Suddenly alert, he sat up, tilting his ears to listen.
Someone was moving around in the alley by the store. Hopping onto all fours, he trotted into the office to look at the camera feeds. Sure enough, there were two people with spray cans, painting the side of the building.
Reggie doubted very seriously that Emma was having a mural painted at one o’clock in the morning.
He quickly changed back to human so that he could access the security pad, disarming it to allow him to leave. He opened the back door and stepped out into the warm night. As soon as the door slipped closed behind him, he shifted back. He trotted over to the corner of the building.
It was a broad alley, almost big enough for a car to drive down. A streetlamp shed enough light to allow the two vandals to see what they were doing.
Reggie barked, the sound booming and echoing off the brick walls. The two people flinched, one of them dropping a spray can. They turned to him.
It was a pair of teenagers, both girls. Reggie barked again, putting a little snarl into it. He took two steps forward.
The girls ran, abandoning their cans of paint. He gave chase, stopping at the mouth of the alley, and continued to bark as the girls ran down the street. They turned a corner and disappeared.
Reggie opened the store at nine a.m. and wondered when Emma was coming in. Though, the longer she took, the more time he had to work out what to say about last night’s vandalism.
He hadn’t called the police, but now he worried he should have. Wouldn’t they need the report for insurance?
But it wasn’t that bad of damage. He’d gone outside to look at the wall in the light of day with his human eyes. It looked like the girls had been in the middle of painting a meadow scene, which he thought was an odd choice for vandals.
And then there was the fact that Reggie had promised to call Emma if something had happened.
How angry would Emma be that he hadn’t prevented the vandalism and that he had broken his promise? He mentally kicked himself for going to sleep. Here it was, the big screw-up, and his job wasn’t even a week old yet.
He heard the back door open, followed by Emma’s voice as she greeted Soot. Reggie took a deep breath.
The bell over the door chimed as a balding man walked in.
“Welcome to Tail and Tome,” Reggie said.
“Hi, there.” The man walked up to the counter. “Is Emma Gladstone in?”
“She is. I’ll go get her.”
In the back, the door leading up to the apartment stood open. Reggie paused at the bottom of the stairs.
“Emma?” he called. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Footsteps approached and she appeared at the head of the stairs. “Oh? I’ll be right there.”
He nodded and went back out front. To the man, he said, “She’s on the way.”
“Good. Good.” The man stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered over to a display of thrillers.
Reggie tapped his hands on the counter and watched him. The man smelled like paint, charcoal, and turpentine. Reggie wondered what sort of artist he was.
Emma entered the front. “Mr. Henson! How are you?”
“Doin’ fine.” Mr. Henson smiled and held out a hand for Emma to shake. “I came here to help you, actually.”
“Oh?”
“Two of my students were out on one of their missions and got spooked by a dog in the alley by your store.”
Emma’s face fell, her eyebrows going up. “Really?”
“Yes. Now, I know they weren’t supposed to be out that late, and I got on them for that. They know better now. But I thought you would want to know there’s a dangerous animal on the loose. I’ve already informed Animal Control.”
Emma glanced toward Reggie, who felt his own gut going cold.
“Oh. Oh, Mr. Henson. Um.” She licked her lips. “Thank you for letting me know.”
“You’re very welcome. Also, I think one of the girls dropped her bag? And they left all their paints behind.”
“Reggie, do you know anything about this?” Emma asked, turning to him.
For a second, Reggie’s mind went blank. Then, he cleared his throat. “Yes. I-I saw the bag and the spray paint. It’s all in a box in the back. Under the table.”
“All right. Mr. Henson, why don’t you come with me, and we’ll get the girls’ stuff. And maybe we can arrange for them to come back during the day?”
Mr. Henson, following her, said, “That would be great. How does next Tuesday sound?”
The pair chatted as they walked into the back. Reggie stared down at his hands, turning into a statue while they were in there.
After a while, Mr. Henson left with the box of paints and the bag.
As soon as the door closed behind the artist, Reggie said, in a low voice, “I was going to tell you, Emma.”
“Did you really bark at those girls?” she asked. She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you promised to call if anything happened.”
With a sigh, he explained taking a nap and waking to hear someone in the alley. “I only meant to scare them. I was never going to hurt them. And I’m sorry I didn’t call. It’s just that I didn’t want to ruin your night and I didn’t think there was anything you could do.”
“Reggie, that was for me to decide. Not you.”
“I’m sorry.” He drummed his fingers. “Was that their father?”
“No. That was Mr. Henson, the art teacher at Bramblerest High.”
Reggie nodded, remembering seeing the school name and crest embroidered on the bag.
She continued: “He’s the one responsible for the East Side Easels forming.”
“The…what?”
“It’s a sort of art gang.” She crooked her fingers into bunny quotes around the word ‘gang.’ “It’s not a real gang, of course. They go around and randomly paint murals. They call them “missions of beauty.” Mr. Henson came up with the original idea and his students just ran with it.”
Reggie frowned, because something about that struck him as odd. He liked to learn the layout of any town he was staying in, and something about “east side” didn’t sit right with him. It took a few seconds to click.
“But,” he said, “the school is on the west side of town.”
“I know. I guess they couldn’t think of a good alliteration for ‘w.’ But it’s okay. It’s kind of an honor to get picked.”
Reggie’s shifted from one foot to another. “Emma, I scared those kids pretty good.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s all right.” She smiled at him. “It really is okay. You didn’t know, and I didn’t think to tell you.”
“You’re not mad I took a nap? Or that I didn’t call you?”
“Reggie, I was never expecting you to stay awake the whole night. Just having you here in case someone got in is enough. I’m disappointed you didn’t call me. I need you to keep your promises.”
Reggie nodded. “I will. But what about Animal Control?”
“We’ll just have to be careful. Though, if people knew you were a shapeshifter, then we may not have to worry.”
He shook his head. “I know you’ve been very accepting, but I’m not sure about the rest of the town.”
Emma frowned. “If you’re sure…”
“I am. Anyway, did you have fun at Jenny’s?”
“Oh, loads. We watched rom-coms. My favorite will always be You’ve Got a Missive.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s a bookstore!”
“Oh.” He laughed. “Of course.”
“Thanks for coming to Tail and Tome,” Reggie said. He smiled down at the little girl, who shyly hid her face against her mother’s skirt.
The mother laughed, thanked him, and walked out with their new purchase of chapter books.
Emma walked up, bearing an armload of brown-paper-wrapped books. “I’m finally getting around to refilling this turnstile.”
“What is it?”
“It’s called a Blind Date with a Book.” She handed him one. “The idea is that you take a chance on a book without seeing the cover or title, going off bare bones information.”
He looked at the front. The “title” was, And They Were Roommates! Underneath, in bullet format, were “friends to lovers,” “fake dating,” “New York City,” and “sweet but not spicy.”
“Huh,” he said. “Is there—”
The jingling of the bell over the door cut him off. Smiling, he turned toward the new customer, only for his smile to fade away. The scent of the woman’s anger hit him before she finished crossing the room to him.
It was the woman from yesterday. Her face was taut, and her dark blue eyes were wide. She stopped a few feet from him and crossed her arms.
“I demand to speak to Ms. Gladstone,” she barked.
“Um.” He shifted his gaze over to Emma.
“I’m right here, Mrs. Avery,” Emma said. She came to the front of the counter and carefully unloaded her armload onto it.
Reggie quickly caught a few books that wanted to spill to the floor. Together, they made sure the pile was going to stay right where they wanted it.
Emma faced Mrs. Avery. “What can I do for you?”
“I came here to lodge a complaint against your employee.”
“Oh?”
“Yesterday, he was very rude to me. I was in the middle of wanting to purchase my books when he suddenly ran off with no explanation. And then when he returned, he said the cat had gotten into the catnip, as if that was some great emergency.” Sarcasm dripped like venom from her tone. “And, you should know, dear, that I have been hearing some awful rumors about this man, about how he arrived around the same time as those robberies, that he had even been seen here right before one, so we can’t be sure he wasn’t involved in some manner. My dear, how could you be so naïve as to even hire him?”
During the entire barrage of words, Reggie had been slowly pulling into himself. And now, he waited for it. For Emma to soothe her customer’s fears with reassurances that she would take care of it. And then Emma would take Reggie into the back and tell him his services were no longer needed, that they had to think of their customers who weren’t comfortable around him. She’d reassure him that she would give a good reference, and that would be it.
No more eyes that were more emerald than jade. No more playing with Soot. He gritted his teeth, fighting against the tears that wanted to burn his eyes. He hadn’t cried in a long time, and he wasn’t going to start now.
“I am not naïve,” Emma snapped.
Reggie lifted his head, eyes widening.
Emma continued: “You don’t know what happened the night the thief was caught. I was there, and I assure you that Reggie had nothing to do with it. And just because he’s a stranger doesn’t make him bad. Furthermore, I ran a background check, as is required by town ordinance. It came back just fine.” She started to walk forward, forcing Avery to back up toward the door. “I trust Reggie, with my store and with my life. And he came to the back yesterday because he heard me call out. I’m sorry you didn’t hear it, but he did. He didn’t know what was happening, and he was making sure I was all right, which is part of his job, I will have you know.”
Emma stopped. She pointed over Avery’s shoulder, at the door that was a mere two feet away.
“You may leave now, Mrs. Avery,” she said.
Avery lifted her chin. “Well. I will. And you’ll be assured I will not be back. I can order my books just as well through WebMart.”
“If that’s what you want.”
Mrs. Avery looked Emma up and down before fleeing through the front door.
“There,” Emma said, turning. “I’ve never liked that old scarecrow any—Reggie, what’s wrong?”
His eyes were watery. He quickly scrubbed them and cleared his throat. “Nothing. Do you want help putting these on the turnstile?”
He walked around the counter, but when he reached to pick up a book, her hand touched his, stopping him. Reggie looked down at her.
“What’s going on?” she said.
“I’ve been hearing the gossip around town,” he admitted. “And my last boss fired me because he needed someone to blame for some missing money, so I-I’ve been a little worried.”
“Reggie, I know you weren’t involved with the burglary. And I don’t care about gossip.”
“But it’s gossip, Emma. People like to spread it. They don’t know me.” He dropped his gaze. “It might be easier if I left.”
She studied him. “Do you want to leave?”
“No!” He shook his head. “I do like Bramblerest. There are nice people around and I like working here.” And he liked Emma, but Reggie didn’t think an employee could say that to his boss.
“Then, you stay. And I’ll defend you to anyone who comes along.”
“I’ve made some mistakes. The-the catnip and the mural. The promise I broke. That woman probably wouldn’t have gotten so mad if I hadn’t walked off.”
“Maybe. But you walked off because you were worried about me. The catnip thing was an honest mistake, and how were you supposed to know about the East Side Easels? Reggie, you’re being too hard on yourself. And I’ve already forgiven you for the whole thing.” She nudged him with her arm. “I trust you. It's going to take more than gossips to change my mind.”
Reggie studied her face, noting one wispy brown hair that escaped her braid to fall next to her cheek. He nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” She smiled. “Now. How about we restock this turnstile?”
Reggie answered her smile with his own. “Sure.”
"You’ve Got a Missive" will always be my favorite too 😂 I enjoyed this little adventure back into Bramblerest
Reggie is like a golden retriever that's been kicked and I just wanna coddle him! But Emma's got that taken care of. 😁