“Mmm-hmm.”
“As much as it pains me to say this, I don’t know everything that goes on in this town, you know.”
“Not for a lack of trying.” The mail carrier walked in, dumped a pile of mail on the desk and then, after tipping his hat, walked back out. “I have to get back to work, Fran. I really do appreciate you sponsoring the ice cream party. You’re the best.”
The mail yielded a few bills, several new issues for the periodical shelves, and a packet of photos she’d sent off for developing. When they did events with the older kids, she often scattered disposable cameras around the area, encouraging them to take candid shots of each other. It was an expense she bore, rather than having the library pay, but it was worth it.
She sifted through the photos from the costume party game they’d played two weeks before. The kids dressed up as literary characters and all of the costumes had to be made from things they could scrounge up at home. No store bought costumes. Then the other kids had to guess who they were and then race to find the correct book.
There had been a slight issue when one of the girls showed up with her hair in a braid and her father’s compound bow, but during the kids’ mad rush to get to the bookshelves, Hailey was able to stow the weapon without incident.
The photos were all fun and she picked a half dozen of the best ones to put on the bulletin board. The rest would go in a basket so everybody could look at them. That reminded her she had pictures on her phone from the OHRV safety class, so she pulled those up.
After printing four of them, she deleted them from her phone. Except for one. The photo she’d taken of Matt to text to Tori, she kept. He did look exceptionally hot in his uniform, she had to admit.
She smiled, remembering the way he’d practically fled into his house when he thought she was flirting with him last night. He’d tried to cover it with a fib about work, but she wasn’t stupid. Maybe she should be offended, but she had to admit he hadn’t really seen her at her best.
When a patron walked in, she hit the home button on her phone and set it on the desk so quickly she almost dropped it. Then she felt like an idiot. She wasn’t a teenage girl to be mooning over a guy’s picture on her phone.
But even later, when she was alone again, she didn’t delete it.
*
SHORTLY BEFORE NOON on Tuesday, Matt loaded his ATV into the back of his truck and followed the directions he’d scrawled on the back of an envelope to the Northern Star Lodge.
It was a huge New Englander, with white siding, dark green shutters and a deep farmer’s porch that beckoned him to sit and talk for a while. There was a big addition and he shuddered at the thought of how long it must take to clean the place.
At least it was lucrative again, from what he’d heard. The Kowalski family had all thrown in together and turned it around when Josh had broken his leg and finally admitted he needed help. Figuring out a way to bring the ATV business in and turning the Northern Star from a snowmobiling lodge into four-season lodging had been a brilliant idea not only for the family, but for all of Whitford.
And the trails were opening on Saturday, so he was going to go out with Josh and Andy Miller, the police chief’s dad, for a tour. They needed to make sure the trails were in good condition and that none of the signs had been stolen by kids with nothing better to do.
He walked up the steps and knocked on the front door, admiring the quality of the woodwork while he waited. It was only a minute before Josh opened the door.
“You found the place okay?”
“Followed the signs for the Northern Star Lodge.”
Josh laughed and stepped back to let him in. “I keep forgetting we put those up. Come on in.”
Matt followed him into the kitchen, where an older couple was standing at the counter. The guy was trying to reach for cookies on a cooling rack and the woman was slapping his hand.
“We have company,” Josh announced, and they both turned. “This is Matt Barnett. We’ve gotten a lot of support from the warden service but, most importantly, we’ve got somebody covering this area now. Matt, this is Rose Davis, who’ll tell you she’s the housekeeper, but she’s mostly responsible for raising us. And this is Andy Miller, our trail administrator.”
Matt shook hands with Andy, then leaned in to kiss Rose’s cheek. “I’ve heard a lot about you, ma’am.”
“I’ve heard a lot about you, too,” she said, and her look made it clear what she’d heard had nothing to do with his new role in town. “And it’s Rose or Rosie, not ma’am. I hope you’re hungry, because I made lunch.”
“I deliberately skipped breakfast this morning.”
Her smile was broad and warm. “Oh, you are a charmer. I’m going to like you. Sit.”