Page 34 of Check You Out

“I’m not sure I want to understand.”

“She didn’t get attention as a child, and now she lashes out at people,” Xander says.

I lower my head and lift one shoulder in a shrug. “That’s something my therapist would say. Since when have you gone to therapy?”

He shrugs. “One and off over the years. Not recently.”

I stride back to the counter, Aidan and Lloyd follow a step behind me. “She’s not going to let this go.”

“She doesn’t have the support, does she?” Aidan asks. “I mean we have—”

“Over two hundred signatures?” I gawk at him. “That can’t be real?”

He opens his phone and shows me the petition. “Can Bridgett get that many signatures in less than a week?”

I stare at it in disbelief. “Probably not,” I reply, astonished. “But I feel like she’s not telling us something. Why would she mention Gott being stressed?”

Xander pushes himself off the counter. Sarah strokes Thelma and murmurs sweet nothings to her.

Aidan studies me with an intense gaze. “You think she’s hiding something? What makes you think that?” He rests his hand in the small of my back again, and I resist the urge to lean into his touch.

I cross my arms and shake my head. “I don’t know. I just get this feeling. She was pale when she argued with us. I think she was uncertain about it.” I suck in air. “There’s something going on. Not sure if we can do anything about it though, at least until she does something.”

Xander pats Aidan on the shoulder before anyone can say anything else. “Gromit has to go potty, I’ll see you outside.” He disappears out the door. Sarah mutters something about needing to fetch something from the back of the store.

I uncross my arms and rest a hand on Aidan’s arm, feeling his warmth seep through the fabric. “Thank you for stepping in, by the way.”

A dimple pops as a corner of his mouth upturns and a blush creeps up his cheeks. “Of course. That’s what friends are for.” His Adam’s apple bobs, and he swallows.

Friends. We’re just friends.

“So, Book Club?” I ask, circling back to the conversation we were having before Bridgett rudely interrupted. “Can you come? Honestly, you don’t have to say anything at the meeting or even finish the book.” I grab the book from the nearby display and hold it out for him. “But I think having you there will be nice.”

“Uh, ok. Sure. What’s the book again?”

“Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books,” I read from the cover. “It’s relevant to our current situation. There’s a little free library under threat and several concerned citizens stand up for the freedom to read.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet, but I hold up my hand to pause him.

“Oh no, it’s a gift,” I say. “A thank you for bringing me tea.”

He nods and accepts the book. “What time is the meeting?”

“Tuesday at seven. It’s at the library in the Large Meeting Room.”

His fingers run along the spine and the edges of the pages. “Until Tuesday then.”

14

Aidan

35 Days until the Council Meeting

“Alright, folks, let’s settle down.” Charlotte’s voice clamors over the din of the gathered book club members and bangs a gavel on the table next to her. We’re back in the library’s meeting room with the book club, which consists of about thirty women of varying ages.

“I know we’re all excited to talk about this month’s book, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books, by Kirsten Miller, but there’s something I want to talk about first.” Charlotte smiles, waiting for the group to calm down.

They don’t, and she bangs the gavel again, louder this time. “Folks, if I bang this mallet any harder, it’s going to break.”