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СКАЧАТЬ myself.” Declan nodded as a sense of relief flooded him. A confession about glasses he could handle.

      “When I first became a librarian, I was twenty-three years old. I was given the job because the head librarian in my hometown of Whimsy, Rose Minnows, passed away. She was ninety-five, bless her heart.”

      Declan sputtered. “Your town librarian was ninety-five?”

      Annie nodded her head enthusiastically, causing locks of her dark brown hair to cascade over her forehead. “She was two weeks shy of her ninety-sixth birthday when the Lord called her home to glory.”

      Declan let out a low whistle. “That’s dedication to a vocation. Ninety-six!”

      Annie nodded solemnly. “Rose was the consummate professional. So when I replaced her, everyone in town questioned whether I was fit for the job due to my age. Of course it was hurtful, considering I had grown up in Whimsy, and the same people who had rocked me on their knees were now questioning my abilities. I decided that I would do everything in my power to convince the townsfolk I was the perfect choice for head librarian. Step one was to switch up my wardrobe. I dressed the part of a town librarian—”

      “You mean that you dressed in a dowdy manner?” Declan interrupted.

      “Dowdy?” Annie asked with a frown. “Of course not. Rose was the most beautifully dressed woman in town. She put the F in fashion, if you know what I mean.”

      “Not sure I do,” he muttered. “Jeans and my aviator jacket are my fashion statement.”

      “Her clothes were classic. Timeless.” Annie let out a sigh. “Step two was to wear glasses. I know it may sound strange, but people are judged all the time by appearances. In our society, glasses signify intelligence. Wisdom. The moment I slipped the glasses on, people began to treat me differently. It was night and day. Suddenly I was fit for duty simply because of my appearance.” She brushed some pine needles off her leopard pants. “So that’s the story behind my glasses. I figured they might help me out here in Love as well. But I guess I’m on my own in that department.” A little sigh slipped past her lips.

      “Don’t worry about what I said earlier, that the library is a hot-button issue. We debate everything in Love. That’s who we are. All the wrinkles about funding for the library will probably be ironed out.” Or not, Declan thought guiltily. He himself had lobbied to reduce the number of hours the library was being funded. It hadn’t been a malicious move on his part. Love’s first library had gone belly-up decades ago due to lack of funding. He just couldn’t wrap his head around using vital town resources so people could browse for books. Not when there were businesses still suffering in town. However, there was no way in the world he could admit that to Annie. Not at the moment, anyway.

      Annie frowned. “Wrinkles? There are wrinkles?”

      He let out a groan. There he went again, spilling information he should have kept close to the vest. On the other hand, Annie had traveled a long way to become town librarian in Love. She deserved the unfiltered truth. “There are a few,” he said in a halting voice. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the library has only been approved for part-time hours.”

      “But that’s ridiculous,” she exploded. “Mayor Prescott told me weeks ago that the library budget had been approved and that I was being brought on as a full-time librarian.”

      Declan held up his hands. “Don’t shoot the messenger. I just didn’t want you to feel blindsided.”

      Annie bowed her head. “I’m sorry for blowing up at you. Thanks for telling me. I think,” she said in a soft voice.

      “You’re welcome. Why don’t you get some sleep, Annie?” he suggested. “It’s been a long day.”

      Annie yawned and stretched her arms. “I am pretty bushed. Good night, Declan.” She walked toward her pallet, which was a good distance from his, where he was keeping watch.

      “Night,” he called out after her. “Don’t get too close to the fire. We don’t want any accidents.”

      He watched from afar as Annie settled down on her pallet. She was close enough to the fire that she could feel warm and toasty without endangering herself. She had said earlier that her boots were doing a pretty good job of keeping her feet warm, although at the very tip, she felt a little spot where her toes were cold. Once they got to Love, he was going to buy her a pair of Hazel Tookes’s boots. Hazel was a good friend of his who had created unique Alaskan winter boots that the town of Love was now mass-producing. Boone’s wife, Grace, had come up with the brilliant idea of making Hazel’s boots the focus of the town’s moneymaking endeavors. So far, Hazel’s boots were selling like hot cakes in the lower forty-eight states. If the income streaming in from the boots continued, it could be a game changer for Love.

      An unsettled feeling kept poking at him. He hadn’t told Annie the whole unvarnished truth about the library hours being reduced. He had lobbied against the library, and after it had been approved, he had been a proponent of reducing its hours. He couldn’t help but feel guilty about Annie’s job being slashed by a significant number of hours.

      As Declan watched Annie doze off, he felt a surge of protectiveness rise up within him. There was something about her that brought out a desire in him to keep her safe. And he wasn’t sure it had anything to do with his duties as a pilot. He vowed that no matter what situation arose, he would keep Annie out of harm’s way. He uttered a silent prayer that the morning would bring rescue. If not, he was going to have to come up with a plan B in order to ensure that they made it out of this crisis alive.

      * * *

      Annie was dreaming of Love, Alaska. Ice-skating at Deer Run Lake. Wintry nights. A tight-knit community where she would be welcomed with open arms. A spanking new library that changed lives, one book at a time. A soft place to fall when the world around her became chaotic. A strapping, tall man with golden hair and a magnetic smile.

      She heard a flapping noise by her ear. She raised her hand to brush it away. Something furry was swirling around her neck. Oh no! This wasn’t a dream. This was real life. Something was burrowed in her hair. With a scream lodged in her throat, Annie sat up straight and started fighting it off with her fists. She managed to get it out of her hair. By the glow of the fire, she could see wings and squinty little eyes as he began flying around her in circles.

      “Bat!” she yelled as the fuzzy brown critter swooped down at her. Once again it burrowed in her hair as she began to jump around wildly in an effort to dislodge it.

      She had almost died earlier today in a plane crash. And now she was on the brink of being killed by a rabid bat bent on taking her down. She began shrieking at the top of her lungs.

      “Declan! Help!”

      * * *

      It was a perfect Alaskan day. The sun was shining brightly in a robin’s-egg-colored sky. Declan soared above the clouds without a care in the world. Everything felt peaceful up here in the wild blue yonder, as if nothing bad could ever touch him again.

      Something was wrong. He was flying Lucy. No, that wasn’t possible. Hadn’t Lucy gone up in flames?

      Screams jolted him awake. As soon as Declan heard the word bat, his entire body froze up. Bats! The one thing in the world that he didn’t want to deal with head-on. Give him bears, wild moose and wolves. He’d take those animals on any day of the week without batting an eye. He had hated bats ever since one СКАЧАТЬ