Chapter 9 Rose

CHAPTER 9

ROSE

Rose crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at her grandson. "Baloney!"

"It's not baloney." Luke sat with an open box of hardbacks in front of him, a roll of stickers resting on his knee. "It's common courtesy. We should extend Tay the courtesy of—"

"Pah! I don't owe Tay Dove anything."

"It's not about owing her. It's about allowing her." He slapped a 20% OFF! on a book cover and placed it on the waiting cart. "She's a researcher. If you want fair and honest representation of William Day, then she's the best one to—"

"Fair to whom?" Rose tried to keep from raising her voice, but it was difficult. "William Day was a train robber. He's not going to get fair treatment from anyone, even a ‘researcher.'?"

"A train robber who wrote some beautiful letters," Luke pointed out.

Darn it, he must have watched as she read the copies of the letters Tay had sent over. Rose had hoped he hadn't seen her wipe away that tear she'd shed. "He's got more depth than I previously thought," she admitted reluctantly. "But still ."

Luke's jaw tightened in a stubborn look. "No matter what you do, at some point, someone is going to look into that train robbery. It might not be today, but it'll happen and you know it, especially as there are still rumors that there's gold hidden somewhere in this town."

"People don't remember that anymore."

"Don't they? Whenever I mention William Day, the first thing people mention is that gold."

Rose pretended to be busy straightening the bookmarks beside the register. She'd had the same experience.

"Grandma, it's only a matter of time before some streaming service crime show runs out of modern-day material and starts digging into the past. William Day's story has it all—drama, romance, a missing treasure—it doesn't get much better than that."

"So?" she replied grumpily, although she could see his point. "What do you want me to do? Tell Tay to go ahead and yell William's name from the rooftops?"

"Better her than some cheap television producer. Don't you think Tay's a fair sort of person? Do you think she would lie? Or exaggerate William's part in the robbery?"

"No. Maybe. Oh, I don't know!" She scowled at him and considered tossing a book at his rock-hard head in the hopes of knocking some sense into it, but decided she wasn't going to waste her good stock on such a hopeless case. "What's gotten into you? You've been after me about this for more than a week now and have been especially annoying since yesterday. Let it go, will you?"

"I can't. Eventually someone is going to research the train robbery whether you let them into the archives or not. At least with Tay, you know she'll be honest. Plus, if you're nice, she might even share what she finds out."

Rose grabbed her cane from where it sat in the corner, got off the stool, and made her way to where Luke was working. "She's supposed to be writing a book about Sarafina Dove, not William Day."

"She has those love letters now. How can she write that book and not mention their relationship?" Luke fixed a cool gaze on her. "Let her see the family archives. All of them."

Why does he have to be so dratted specific? Rose supposed she didn't really have a choice. He was right—it was only a matter of time before the world decided to refocus on William Day's foolishness. "I'll let her see some of the archives. What's necessary, but no more." Rose showed her teeth in a not-nice smile. "Happy now?"

"No. Everyone in the family knows you edit those archives and don't share information about anything you think might hurt the Day family image."

"Do they? Then why hasn't anyone complained? I've never missed a family reunion, either, so it's not as if they haven't had the chance."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "No one says anything to you because they don't want you to quit and leave them with the job."

She sniffed. "They don't criticize my methods because they know I'm doing a good job."

"Right." He finished putting the SALE sticker on the last book and placed it on the cart, then he stood and picked up the empty box. "I saw you clip a ton of articles from the newspaper about Caitlyn's trial. I'll bet I can't find any of them back there." He jerked his thumb toward the archives.

Rose's face heated. "They're there," she lied.

He turned as if to go look.

She cracked her cane onto the floor in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "As if you'd want that sort of thing lying around where just anyone could see it. It could hurt Lulu's feelings."

"Ignoring something won't make it disappear. Lulu will know what happened to her mother whether you hide those news articles or not. Heck, if I typed Caitlyn's name into a search engine right this second, everything that happened will pop right up."

That was true, Rose supposed glumly. Which, in her opinion, was why the downfall of society was imminent. People used to be able to keep their secrets, but now they posted every last darn thing they thought, did, or ate online. Rose suddenly felt tired. "I've kept every single document on the Days I've come across. I just don't keep them all in the same place."

Luke broke down the box and dropped it onto the cart. "You know I love you. And for the most part, you've done a fine job with the family records. But you can't keep hiding the stuff you don't like. It's not right."

"If people read about William Day's life of crime, they might start seeing our family as a bunch of useless, shiftless, no-good thieves. Do you want that? Plus, if Tay even mentions the missing gold, crazy people will come swarming to this town, ready to rip it apart again."

"I know that scares you." Luke frowned. "To be honest, Blake said the same thing."

"He's the town sheriff. Listen to him if you won't listen to me. If he's afraid—"

"He wasn't afraid. He just mentioned it in passing. To be honest, he was more upset I wasn't going to join the town softball team." Luke pushed the book cart out of the way and, arms crossed, leaned against the nearest bookshelf. "I don't want to cause a ruckus, but what could it hurt if you shared the archives with Tay? She's a trained researcher. And who knows? Maybe she'll discover a clue that will lead to that lost stash of gold. Then you'd find it first."

Rose had to fight not to roll her eyes. "People almost razed this town to the ground looking for that gold after the trials. If it was ever here, which I doubt, it's long gone now."

"Yes, but what if it was hidden so well that it was overlooked? What if the key to it all is right here, in the very records you won't let anyone see?"

Rose eyed her grandson carefully. Luke was livelier today than—well, ever, really. His face was flushed, while his gaze was laser-locked on her as if he expected her to sprout wings and horns. What's going on with him? He's been here for more than three months now, and not once has he argued with this much energy about anything. The boy must have gold fever.

She supposed it could happen to anyone. It was a pity he wasn't focused on a more realistic goal. Like a woman.

For over a week now, Rose had been mentally making a list of eligible females here in town who might make a good partner for both Luke and Lulu. Of course, not just any woman would do. It would have to be an exceptional sort if she was going to spur Luke back to life and help raise the precocious Lulu. But Rose was finding that Dove Pond was sadly lacking in that very thing—the type of woman who might gain the interest of her persnickety, lazy, sort-of-employed, rather unambitious grandson, someone sharp enough to whip him into shape while also helping stubborn little Lulu navigate life.

Rose caught herself wondering… was Tay Dove the answer?

The thought surprised Rose. Could it be? She has potential, but from what I've heard, she's not planning on staying in town for long. Still… what if Rose could convince Tay to stay here? If I can do that, then she's as close to perfect as I'm likely to find.

Rose thought about it some more. Tay was pretty in a sort of nerdy, glasses-wearing way, seemed kind, and was obviously smart enough to keep Luke busy for years to come. And if Lulu took a liking to Tay, and Rose could convince her to stay in town… well, that would settle matters.

Maybe, just maybe, this whole William Day situation could be parlayed into a bigger, better plan. Rose would allow—no, encourage —Tay Dove to use the archives and spend as much time as possible here in the bookshop. Then Rose could see for herself how both Luke and Lulu were with Tay, and how Tay dealt with them as well.

It would be a test of sorts.

Plus, it would allow Rose to keep an eye on the direction Tay's research was taking. If it looked as if her poking into William Day's life was headed in a bad direction, then Rose would just slam the lid closed on the whole thing. This might be for the best, then.

Aware Luke was watching her, Rose pretended to sigh and then said in a deliberately grouchy tone, "I guess I can see your point about letting Tay use the archives."

He straightened up. "You do?"

"I'll tell you what." Rose rested both hands on the top of her cane and leaned against it. "I'll give all the William Day documents to Tay. Well… not give, but she can look at them here at the bookshop. But only here at the bookshop."

" All the documents?"

She scowled at him. "Yes, blast you! Every last one."

"Where are they now?"

"In a secret, don't-ask location," she said bluntly. "I'll bring them back in the morning."

Relief flickered across his face. "Really?"

"Yes, but in return, I expect you "—she poked him in the chest—"to be present when she's looking at the archives. Every time, too. And nothing, not one scrap of paper, is to leave this place. You got that?"

He nodded, his grin instant and wide. "That's not necessary, but I'll do it."

Huh. He didn't put up much of a fuss, did he? Was that a good sign? She decided to take it as one. One step at a time. I'll get them to spend some time together and throw Lulu into the mix and see what's what. After that… Well, that was for later.

Luke flashed another grin. "Thank you. Why don't you go sit while I put these books on the New Releases table?"

She nodded. "Do that. And while you're helping Tay, if it looks as if the gold really is here in Dove Pond, find it for me. I could use it for a lot of things here in the bookstore."

It made her giddy to think about all the improvements she could make with money like that. She'd get more shelves, have the floor refinished, and paint the whole place a warm, happy yellow. She'd have the old windows reglazed so they didn't let in the cold, and—Goodness, there were a dozen things she wanted and needed.

Luke couldn't have looked more pleased as he pushed the cart past her. "I'll do my best, Grandma. That's all I can promise."

For now, that would be enough.