Chapter 6

Ikicked around the house, staring at the empty walls that lacked personality. I didn't have cute family photos or pictures of me on vacation. I needed to hire a decorator, but I couldn't even figure out what style I wanted. I wanted comfortable. I didn't want pretentious and I didn't want pictures of motorcycles and neon bar signs, either. I just wanted it to look like a home.

As I stood in the middle of my living room, pondering my lack of interior design skills, my mind drifted back to my original plan when I woke up this morning. I was going to go to the library but then chickened out. It was stupid. What the hell was I thinking leaving cryptic notes? I doubted she would even find it. If she did, she might assume it was someone else or think I was a stalker.

The note I had left for her weighed heavily on my mind. What had possessed me to even write it? It was unlike me to do something so cheesy. And yet, apparently, there was something about her that brought out the lame side of me.

The quiet little librarian intrigued me, drew me in like a moth to a flame. She was a mousy little mystery. Maybe that was why I couldn't resist the urge to reach out to her. She was a puzzle I wanted to solve.

I wandered over to the window, staring out at the quiet street with the suburban moms walking down the sidewalks, waving and talking to each other as hired help took care of their lawns. It was the perfect American dream, wasn't it? It felt hollow to me.

What were the odds that she had even found the note, let alone responded to it? I was never going to know unless I checked. It was going to eat at me if I didn't. I had to know. With a heavy sigh, I grabbed my jacket and keys off the coffee table and headed out.

I cursed under my breath as I rode back to the library. Cars, steel cages in my opinion, surrounded me as I waited at a red light. Why am I even going back? What do I hope to gain from a return to the library? A note? Am I going to check out another book to occupy my time?

The truth is, I'm going back to see her again. Period. End of story. There's no reason to try and lie to myself.

The librarian with the shy smile and the captivating gaze had been on my mind since I walked through the doors of the library. Mom would love her, I was sure of it. She was the type of girl Mom would want me to bring home, the type she'd probably offer her own engagement ring to me to propose with.

The meek woman was exactly what my mother would want because she would be easy to mold into what she thought the wife of an Archer should be. Archer as in my surname and not the name I chose to go by to my friends. I hated my real name.

It belonged to an eighty-year-old man that wore cardigans and smoked a pipe. Eugene. Shame on my parents for doing that to me. It was like they wanted to make sure I got my ass kicked at school every day of my life.

I pulled my bike into one of the spots in the parking lot littered with potholes and cut the engine. I can't believe I'm actually here. I feel like an idiot, but I'm here and I may as well go through with it.

I made my way into the library, pulling off my sunglasses and hooking them on the front of my T-shirt. It was a warm day and I wasn't planning on any highway riding. I left my jacket at home, willing to risk the road rash should I wipe out. I scanned the library, hoping my sweet, little librarian was working. I couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation at the thought of seeing her again.

She stepped out from behind a bookshelf and locked eyes with me. I felt the weirdest little kick-jump in my chest. "Your book is on the reserved shelf," she said and quickly disappeared down an aisle.

I grinned and walked over to the shelf. I saw the title and grabbed it. I'm going to assume that means she found the note. There really was no other reason for her to put it on the shelf. I casually took the book to the corner and sat down in the chair.

When I opened it, I was pleased to find a note tucked inside the pages, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips as I read her words. I quickly replied and stuck the note in the book. I'm not really interested in spending the day cooped up in the library. I think we both know I only came in for one reason.

I came to see if she replied to my note. She did. And now we didn't have to pretend anymore.

I sauntered back toward the return box and spotted her seated at a desk. I couldn't resist the urge to say something to her. I wasn't really known for my subtlety.

"You know," I said as I walked to her desk. "If you wanted to see me again, all you had to do was ask."

Her cheeks turned pink, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. She's adorable. I have an urge to pull her into my arms and kiss her forehead. I'd like to do some other stuff, but I really want to hold her. She's got the innocent, doe-eyed look so many women try to achieve, but she actually nails it. It's real with her.

I glanced down at the hot pink papers spread across her desk. She was using a black marker to make notes on every paper. I read the words that jumped off the page.

Save the library?

"What's going on?" I asked and gestured toward the flyer.

She sighed, her expression clouding with sadness. "A company has been petitioning the city to rezone this area for luxury condos," she explained. "With the budget so low and the library becoming less and less busy, it looks like the deal might move forward. They're going to tear down the library and make way for some fancy-schmancy apartments that will appeal to the tech bros that have started flooding this part of town." She glanced at me, a worried pinch in her brows. "We're trying to fight it, but our chances are slim."

I frowned, my heart sinking. The library meant something to me now, and not just because she worked there. The place had become a sanctuary for me, a haven where I could unwind, relax, and not be bothered—and admittedly check out the cute librarian. The thought of it closing its doors filled me with a sense of unease I couldn't quite shake.

"What would you do if it closed?" I asked softly, searching her face for any hint of her true feelings.

"I don't know." She sighed. "I sort of pictured myself here until I was old and gray. This is my second home. If it closes? I don't know."

I could see the mistiness in her eyes. My heart clenched at the sight of my pretty little librarian sad. There's an alpha side of me that wants to wipe away her tears. I want to stop the tears from falling at all.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. I wasn't sure what else I could say.

She tried to brush off her sadness with a small smile that hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut. I actually had to grip the edge of the desk to keep from stumbling backward. Her smile nearly undid me. But despite the attempt to smile, I could tell she was hurting inside. I could honestly say I didn't understand the tears.

"It's fine," she said with a nervous laugh. "Ignore me. I mean who cries over a building? Especially a building that isn't even mine. I don't own the library. I didn't grow up here. I'm just being silly."

I could see how much this place meant to her, how big her heart was, and I couldn't bear to see her sad. "Miracles happen all the time," I told her. "Don't give up hope."

She smiled again, and this time it actually reached her eyes. "Thank you. I appreciate the hope, but I know all of this is for nothing. I'm trying to stop a speeding train with my pinky finger."

"Something tells me you're pretty serious about trying," I said.

"I'm going to try but I'm realistic and I understand the odds," she replied softly, her eyes once more downcast. "I love this place profoundly. I truly love my job."

"What's your name?" I asked.

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because I'm having a whole conversation with you and I don't know your name."

"I don't know your name," she replied. "I don't know the names of most of the people that come in here."

"Archer," I said.

She looked flustered again. "Mary Ellen."

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Mary Ellen. Now, tell me more about this demolition plan."

"I'm afraid I don't know all the details. The group hoping to develop the apartment building dropped off blueprints. I thought there was still a chance the deal wasn't going to go through. I guess I was wrong. They are moving forward with it. There's little I can do. I made these flyers, but I doubt they will do much good. Nobody goes to libraries anymore. People don't need books when they have the internet. The college kids that study here will just go to their school library. The people without internet at home will have to go to an internet café. I have nothing convincing to offer as a counterargument. The fact is the library just isn't that important to people. It's important to me, but I'm just one voice."

"It's important to more than just you," I said.

"Thanks, but I know I'm one of the few." She sighed.

"Don't give up hope, Mary Ellen," I said, liking the way her name rolled off my tongue. "You never know when a miracle might happen."

I patted the desk and walked out of the library. I didn't know why I was trying to give her hope. I sure as hell knew nothing about what she was up against. I sat on my bike and looked up at the building.

Mary Ellen.

That was the kind of name that paired nicely with Eugene. We were both old souls with names to match. The library, even though I had only recently discovered it, was special to me. I didn't want to see it torn down. I definitely didn't want to see my sweet little Mary Ellen sad. I liked that little smile she flashed at me.

I wanted to see more of it.

I started the engine and rode away from the library. I headed for the one place I didn't think I'd be going willingly. I was headed home. Not my home. Their home. The house I grew up in.