right?”
He blinked twice, as if waking up, and looked at her. “What?”
“Do you have a headache? We have been working for a long time. Maybe you need a break.”
He shook his head and stood, his frown intact. “No, I’m fine. Was thinking is all.” His chest expanded with a full breath, and the furrows in his brow eased. “Would you mind putting the ruined books in one of the empty crates? I’ll decide what to do with them later.”
“Of course.” Addie crossed to the table and lifted a stack of books. As she turned to place them in the crate, she spotted Emmett in her peripheral vision. He stood still as a statue, staring out the window, as forlorn as if he’d lost his best friend.
Bettina
BETTINA DUCKED BEHIND THE BUSHES next to the library and unrolled the sleeves on her blouse. She bumped the bruises on her wrist and cringed. Mercy, Pap’d squeezed her hard. Probably bruised her all the way to the bone. It’d be days before the spots faded enough to wear a short-sleeved blouse again. She gritted her teeth, holding in a groan. She had to get out of that house.
The clip-clop of shoed horses came up the street—Glory and Alba. Bettina zipped around to Mule and fiddled with his reins, like something needed fixing, and smiled at the pair. “Hey, gals.”
“Hey yourself.” Alba looped Biscuit’s reins on a straggly branch. “Where was you last night? Everybody else came to my place after service. Maw gave us chocolate cake an’ fresh whipped cream.”
Bettina’s mouth watered.
“But you didn’t even come to service.” Alba’s blue eyes glittered. “Emmett didn’t neither. Was the two o’ you off sparkin’ someplace?” She and Glory giggled.
As if she’d tell them she was soaking her bruises in Boone’s Creek in a useless attempt to make ’em go away. She tugged at her cuffs and tossed her head. “Ain’t nobody’s business what I was doin’.”
Both girls laughed again, and Glory looked up the street to the livery. “Wonder where Addie’s got to. She ain’t brung Russet over yet, an’ she’s gen’rally the first one here.”
All at once Emmett was standing next to them. His face looked like thunder. “Girls, c’mon inside. We need to talk.” He turned around and went into the building.
Glory and Alba exchanged nervous looks and followed Emmett, but Bettina stayed by Mule. Her stomach whirled. Everybody in Boone’s Holler knew about the library getting torn up one end to the other. If she went in there, would Emmett tell her the library was closing? That they wouldn’t have jobs no more? That Addie was going back to wherever she lived before? She’d stayed away from him at church yesterday morning, scared he’d read all the hope in her face and be mad. He liked his job. She didn’t want him to lose it, but neither did she want him to keep working with Addie. She shifted from foot to foot, but she couldn’t make herself go in.
Emmett poked his head out and frowned at her, stern as Pap. “Bettina, we’re waiting for you.”
She forced her feet to carry her forward. Glory and Alba sat on crates lined up along the front wall. Addie sat at the table. Bettina scowled. How come she was wearing a dress?
Emmett pointed, and Bettina settled next to Alba. He folded his arms and stood in front of them. “First of all, let’s clear the air about the damage that happened here Saturday. Somebody wants this program to close, but that somebody isn’t going to win.”
Why was he looking straight at her? Her tummy gave a flip.
“A lot of books were ruined, but thanks to a group of people from Addie’s town, we got other books—books of all kinds—to replace them. That means you’ll get to go on your routes today like always.”
Alba and Glory let out happy little squeals. Bettina couldn’t decide if she was happier’n she was sad or the other way around. So she stayed quiet.
“The only thing is it’ll be the old routes.”
Alba jolted upright and bumped Bettina’s arm. Bettina hissed and pulled it against her ribs. Alba didn’t say so much as sorry. “How come the old routes?”
Emmett’s face kind of said sorry. “I’m pulling Addie from deliveries. We all know that hasn’t gone so well.”
Bettina leaned forward and looked at Addie. Glory and Alba did, too, and they almost bumped heads. Probably wouldn’t have hurt Glory. Her frizzy hair made a good cushion. But it would serve Alba right