Page 4 of A New Chapter

Chapter 3

Emma and Kelly began setting up for story time twenty minutes before eleven. Today’s book was Green Eggs and Ham, a crowd favorite for the kids and adults alike. Kelly was in charge of snacks, and she had baked oval sugar cookies with green frosting—to represent the eggs of course. They had also set out coloring sheets of some of the pages from the book and new boxes of Crayola crayons.

This was one of Emma’s favorite aspects of her job. She loved to read to the children and watch their eyes light up as she took on the various characters’ voices. Oftentimes, the kids enjoyed the story so much that their parents bought the book for them, but that wasn’t the only goal. Emma’s true fulfillment came from instilling the love of reading into the hearts and minds of young children.

She didn’t expect as many kids today because it was Labor Day weekend, the last hurrah of the summer season. Whether there were five kids or twenty, the show would go on! She was arranging the chairs in a semicircle when she heard a man clear his throat behind her. It sounded suspiciously like… yep, it was Zack, with Gracie in tow.

“Good morning,” he said with a gravelly morning voice.

“Good morning,” Emma returned, focusing her eyes on Gracie. “I’m so glad you could come today.”

Gracie gave her a shy smile and looked up to her dad for guidance.

“Gracie, I didn’t introduce you the last time we were here, but this is Emma Murphy. She owns the bookstore, and she’s going to be reading to you today.”

Gracie nodded her head but clung to her dad’s hand for dear life.

“Do the parents stay with their children during the story, or how does it work?”

Emma was touched by his concern for his daughter, even though she tried not to be. Zack was obviously uncomfortable in the situation, and she felt obliged to put him and Gracie at ease.

“It’s really up to you. Some parents sit with their kids, and others roam around the store. There are even a few who wait in their car, but I’d prefer it if you’d stay nearby.”

Zack crouched down to confer with Gracie. “How about if I sit with you this time, and maybe next time you can sit here on your own?”

Gracie nodded her head enthusiastically while Emma instructed them to choose a seat and then turned her attention to the other kids and parents that had begun to file in. Six kids had turned out in total, and they were all regulars, except for Gracie, which meant the other parents left their children in Emma’s charge and drifted off to look at books.

Emma had done this dozens of times, but something about Zack’s presence threw her off. He sat quietly and attentively with Gracie securely on his lap, but his eyes bored right into her. Those light gray eyes with the ridiculous thick eyelashes that most women would kill for, the mane of rich brown, almost black, hair that stood up in all the right places, and the light smattering of facial hair that graced his chiseled jaw—it was too much! Zack’s Greek heritage gave him that dark, roguish, smoldering look that was impossible to ignore. Did he look this good five years ago? Yes, she was sure that he had, but back then, she wasn’t supposed to have noticed. Hell, she shouldn’t be noticing now either!

Emma brought her focus back to the story, adopting a silly voice as she read, “That Sam I am, that Sam I am…” The kids listened with rapt attention, and when she finished the beloved story, everyone clapped, including Zack. Emma was certain that her face had turned a bright shade of pink. To distract herself from his intense gaze, she stood up and offered cookies and juice while the kids turned their attention to the coloring sheets.

“You’re really good at that,” Zack said once the children were happily engaged.

“Thanks. I probably enjoy it just as much as they do,” she replied self-consciously.

“Nothing wrong with that. Do what you’re good at; that’s my philosophy.”

Hmm… I wonder what you’re good at? “So, do you and Gracie have big plans for the holiday weekend?” Emma struggled to find a neutral topic, and this was the best she could come up with.

“Just this before I have to take Gracie down to Ann Arbor. She’ll be spending the rest of the weekend with Alicia before school starts.” Zack sounded matter-of-fact, but his eyes told a different story.

“It must be difficult having to share custody. Not that I know much about it, since I don’t have children myself…” Emma let her sentence trail off once she realized she was rambling.

“It’s a tough thing to deal with, but we’re cooperating for Gracie’s sake.”

Emma was silent for a few beats while they watched Gracie interact with the other children. So far, Emma hadn’t noticed any signs of distress. Gracie behaved much the same as the rest of the kids, contentedly coloring while she nibbled on a cookie.

“So, what about you? What are your plans for the long weekend?” Zack asked, seemingly anxious to turn the conversation back to her.

“You’re looking at it. I work today and tomorrow, but we’re closed on Labor Day.”

“What will you do on your day off?”

Zack may have asked to be polite, but Emma began to feel uncomfortable. She didn’t want to let on that her life was rather dull outside of work. In fact, she had no plans for the holiday whatsoever. She would probably end up puttering around the house until she gave in to reading. After all, she was the only one who saw the inside of her house these days!

“I don’t have any specific plans,” she answered, hoping that would bring an end to the discussion.

“Well, in that case, if you’d like to grab a coffee or something, maybe we could…”