LITMIR.BIZ

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working for South Cove gave her. Especially since she got to surf most evenings and weekends. “Kathi’s been in the offices a lot lately. She’s definitely a looker. I swear, Marvin can be downstairs in the staff kitchen but as soon as she walks in the door, he’s right there. It’s kind of creepy.”

      “I bet if Tina was there he wouldn’t be so quick to fawn over Kathi.” The mayor’s wife Tina had an iron fist when it came to her husband and their marriage. What Tina wanted, Tina got. And she didn’t take kindly to him even looking at other women.

      “Tina’s out of town with the girls. They went to LA for a spa week.” Amy grinned. “They’re probably eating seaweed and doing who knows what to their bodies.”

      “Our honorable mayor better watch his actions. Tina may be out of town, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have spies watching out for her interests.” Carrie, our waitress, stood next to our table. She’d worked at Diamond Lille’s since before I’d moved to South Cove. She refilled my iced tea glass and Amy’s water. “Tina won’t take kindly to him sniffing around the new shop owner.”

      “Seriously? You really think Tina has someone watching him?” I stared at Carrie as she paused, perching the two pitchers on the edge of the table.

      “I know she does. You girls are both naïve. Tina Baylor didn’t get to be the mayor’s wife by letting things fall to chance.” A man yelled her name out from the kitchen. “Tiny’s in a mood today. I better run. You almost ready for your checks?”

      “Sure.” I waited until Carrie was out of earshot before turning toward Amy. I’d lived in South Cove for almost six years now but the ins and outs of life in a small town still surprised me. “Did you know about Tina’s spies?”

      “No, but I wouldn’t put it past her. The woman reviews our phone records monthly. She says she’s looking for any potential campaign contributor so she can reach out when he’s running for office. But Carrie’s explanation makes more sense.” Amy picked up her milkshake, looked at the creamy concoction, and set it aside. “I’d dump Justin before I’d put myself through all that to make sure he was faithful.”

      “You don’t need to worry. Justin adores you.”

      Amy picked up her milkshake and drained it. “He does, doesn’t he?”

      “Darn right. Hey, I wanted to thank you for pushing the council to support the library fundraiser. I know you were the driving force behind their covering the room cost.” Aunt Jackie and Sasha had gone to the last council meeting to ask for the funds.

      “I didn’t do much. The grant funding was a no-brainer. The high school library has been out of date since before I went to school there.” Amy polished off her French fries. “I’m surprised you’re not heading up this project. Literacy is kind of your hot button.”

      “I wanted to give Sasha the opportunity to put this one together, especially since it’s for the age group of her book clubs. She said she could use it for a project next fall in one of her classes. The woman’s a dynamo.” I glanced at my watch. “I better get home. Emma’s probably dancing in the kitchen waiting for me to let her out.”

      I waved goodbye to my friend and headed toward the end of town and my house. I’d inherited the place from Miss Emily. She’d been the catalyst to my giving up a corporate law associate position and moving to South Cove. The woman had been a friend, mentor, and even surrogate mother to me before she died. I found out that not only had she willed me the house, she’d also given me her substantial fortune. I call the money the Miss Emily Fund and so far, the money has sponsored a couple scholarships as well as funded an anonymous donation to the South Cove Elementary library when the school board cut their book-buying budget to almost nothing last year. Sure, it was in my best interest for them to be able to order books from my store, but mostly, it drove me crazy thinking they’d prioritized sports over books.

      Books should always win. I guess that’s why when I designed my perfect small business I made it part bookstore, part coffee shop. The idea was genius and I’ve never regretted it.

      Strolling towards home, I thought how lucky I was to be able to walk to work. No fighting traffic, no crazy drivers, and no paying for parking. When I worked in the city, my monthly parking bill was as large as some people’s daycare budget. Here, my new Jeep didn’t even leave the garage most days. I watched as a tour bus unloaded passengers in front of The Train Station. Good thing we’d eaten early; Diamond Lille’s would be packed in about ten minutes. As the last of the group crossed the street, a motorcycle weaved through the pack, gunning his engine and zooming too close to a woman wielding a walker. Glancing up the road as I ran over to her to make sure she was all right, I thought it might be the same bike I’d seen that morning. When I reached the woman, she waved me away.

      “I’m fine. The jerk just scared me, that’s all.” Then the gray-haired woman lifted up one hand and flipped off the disappearing back of the motorcycle dude. I smiled as she finished crossing the street and hoped I was as feisty when I got to that age.

      Returning to the sidewalk, Harrold stood in his open doorway watching me. “That was almost a train wreck there.” His eyes sparkled at his joke.

      “The speed signs are clearly posted. I don’t know why those types even get off the highway. They can’t see anything as fast as they go through town anyway.” I leaned down and petted Levi, Harrold’s new rescue dog. “How are you today, buddy?”

      “He’s getting fat. Your aunt keeps feeding him from the table when we eat at home.” Harrold absently reached down and petted the dog’s neck. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with her.”

      I held up my hands. “Don’t look to me for advice, I’ve never been able to stop her from doing something she’d put her mind to.”

      “I hear you’re doing a fundraiser for the library. Jackie’s all excited.”

      Harrold and my Aunt Jackie had been dating for a few months. They had the same interests, enjoyed each other’s company, and seemed like the perfect match. Of course, before Harrold, Aunt Jackie had been spending time with Josh Thomas. What that couple lacked in common interests, Josh made up for in his earnest adoration for my aunt. In the end, the one-sided love hadn’t been enough for her, and now Harrold was part of our group.

      “The library needs so much updating, it’s not funny. We donate a lot of books, but those kids deserve a well-rounded experience. I think the fundraiser might become an annual event.” I realized I hadn’t checked in with Sasha about the last-minute planning before I left the shop. I made a mental note to talk to her tomorrow before the Summer Beach Blast took up our attention for the week. Which gave me exactly five minutes first thing in the morning.

      Waving goodbye to Harrold and Levi, I ambled my way back home. Since the spring rains had just ended, the lawns were green and the flowers blooming. Everyone was edgy about water still, since one good rainy season didn’t mean the drought was over, but it was a good start. And I enjoyed the green landscape much more than the brown it had been during most of the winter months.

      Emma sniffed my hand when I reached down to greet her after unlocking the front door. “Yep, I’ve been visiting Levi.”

      She woofed at me and ran to the kitchen door. Apparently I’d been forgiven for visiting her buddy without her, or she just really had to go outside and she would pout later. Emma was my golden retriever and a gift from Greg. She was also my running buddy. I took a mental inventory of my energy level after the workout with Amy and decided I had enough juice to take a quick run. I went upstairs and changed and when I got back downstairs, we headed to the beach.

      The parking lot was filled with cars and I remembered too late that Mary and Darla were setting up for the start of the Summer Beach Blast. Toby was supposed to drive the food truck down this afternoon right after his shift. Sasha and Nick were charged with stocking the insides.

      The truck had been parked in our back lot since I’d had it repainted at Bakerstown Auto Detail. Now, instead of the deep green sixties theme, the truck was

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