Ink and Shadows(Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)(5)
Nora took in the young woman’s nose ring, eyebrow piercings, Metallica T-shirt, and knee-high combat boots. “You must be Bren. I’m Nora.”
Bren pointed at the empty space above Nora’s pinkie knuckle. “She said you’d been in a fire. How’d it happen? Did you start it?”
But Nora wasn’t listening. She’d just recognized Bren’s face. “You were in the upstairs window—when the angel fell—I saw you.”
“I know. Wasn’t it awesome?” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I mean, who wants to be an angel? They don’t have any fun.”
She walked over to the bookmark spinner. Using her middle finger, she spun it once. Twice. Three times. The bookmarks lifted into the air.
Sheldon stepped out from behind the North Carolina Authors section just in time to see Bren whip the front door open, creating a riot of noise from the sleigh bells. She left the shop without a backward glance.
“What’s in the bag?” Sheldon asked. “A hand grenade?”
Nora peeked inside. “Two chocolate muffins. Do you want one?”
Sheldon curled his lip. “If that girl does Like Water for Chocolate baking, those muffins will taste like angst and hostility.”
Picking up a muffin, Nora gave it a good sniff. “It’s a gift. I should try it, at least.”
Sheldon watched with interest as Nora broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth. His interest was even more piqued when she immediately spit the piece back into the bag.
“It’s that bad?” he asked. “Should I feed it to the pigeons during my lunch break?”
Nora shoved the bag into the trash can under the register. “I won’t be held responsible for the deaths of innocent animals.”
Sheldon picked up the single bookmark that had fallen off the spinner and handed it to Nora.
“Why do I feel like things are about to get interesting around here?”
A customer entered and he and Sheldon disappeared into the stacks.
Nora didn’t even notice them. She was too busy staring at a photograph of a stained-glass window. The figure in the center of the window was an angel.
As she held the bookmark, Nora’s uneasiness from that morning returned. Angels were supposed to be symbols of light and protection.
But there was another kind of angel. The fallen kind.
The ones who became devils.
Chapter 2
The poets have taught us how full of wonders is the night; and the night of blindness has its wonders too.
—Helen Keller
Over the next few days, Nora was too busy to give much thought to the Leopold women. Sheldon wasn’t feeling well on Thursday, which meant Nora had to run the children’s story hour. Though she was happy to read Ten Apples Up on Top! to a bunch of squirming toddlers, she couldn’t oversee the coordinating activity, serve coffee, and assist walk-in customers.
Luckily for her, the only walk-in customer who needed help was Sheriff Grant McCabe. The sheriff was a friend, and since he was off duty, he sat down and watched as Nora distributed printouts of apple trees to the children. She then gave them a sheet of red circle stickers.
“You’re going to put ten apples on top of your tree,” Nora told the kids. “Be careful not to use too many or your tree will get too heavy. Then, this might happen.” Using her left hand, she mimed a falling motion and let out a high-pitched “Plop!”
The children giggled.
“So how many apples do you need to put in your tree?”
“Ten!” the kids cried.
“Five?” Feigning confusion, Nora put her finger to her chin.
“TEN!” the kids happily screamed.
“Okay.” Nora smiled. “I also need a little counting help from the grown-ups. Since there’s only one of me, I’m only serving coffee or tea this morning. So may I have a show of hands? Who’d like regular coffee? Four of you. Tea? One. Decaf? Two. Okay, got it. I’ll get those ready while you and your kiddos work on your apple trees.”
The sheriff followed Nora into the ticket agent’s office. “I take it Sheldon’s having one of his bad days.”
“Yep,” Nora said without rancor. The benefits of having Sheldon Vega as an employee and friend far outweighed his occasional absences.
“Can I help?”
Nora pointed at the pegboard on the back wall. “Grab some mugs, will you? Seven in total. Make sure they’re rated PG.”
“So I shouldn’t hand you the one that says ‘I Don’t Want to Do Anything Today Except Jamie Fraser’?”
Nora crooked her fingers in a gimme gesture. “That’ll be fine. These kids can’t read yet. I was referring to the mug with the gun handle. Or the mug with the grim reaper that says ‘Give Me Coffee or Die.’ ”
The sheriff chuckled. “That’s one of my favorites.”
“Well, you get a free coffee for helping, so take your pick.” Nora poured him a coffee. “Did you come by to sit in on storytime, or are you in the market for a new book?”
“Both. I love Ten Apples Up on Top! and I’m going on vacation next week.” McCabe lined up the mugs on the window ledge next to the pitcher of half-and-half and packets of various sweeteners.