But she wasnt here to play, she reminded herself as she began dutifully tidying the stacks while keeping an eye on the resource desk a few feet away. This was an experiment. Maybe she would put her fingers on a book and feel something—a tingle, a hint of heat.
Who knew? But she worked her way through the mythology stacks without experiencing any tingles.
Undaunted, she wandered to the section of books on ancient civilizations. The past, she told herself. The Daughters of Glass had sprung from the ancients. Well, who hadnt?
She worked diligently for a time, reordering books that had been misplaced. She knew better, really she did, than to actually open the volume on ancient Britain, but it was suddenly in her hand, and there was this section on stone circles that swept her onto windy moors at moonrise.
Druids and chanting, balefires and the hum that was the breath of gods.
“Oh, gee, Dana. I didnt know you were off today.” With her teeth going to auto-grind, Dana shifted her gaze from the book in her hand to Sandis overly cheerful face. “Im not off. Im working the stacks.”
“Really?” The big blue eyes widened. Long golden lashes fluttered. “It looked Like you were reading. I thought maybe you were on your own time, doing more research. Youve been doing a lot of research lately, havent you? Finally starting on your doctorate?”
With a bad-tempered little shove, Dana put the book back in place. Wouldnt it be fun? she thought, to get the big silver scissors out of the drawer in her desk and whack off that detestable bouncing ponytail?
Shed just bet that would wipe that bright, toothy grin off Sandis face.
“You got the promotion, the pay raise, so whats your problem, Sandi?”
“Problem? I dont have a problem. We all know the policy about reading on the clock. So Im sure it just looked like you were reading instead of manning the desk.”
“The desk is covered.” And when enough was enough, Dana thought, you finished it. “You spend a lot of your time worrying about what Im doing, slinking around in the stacks behind me, eavesdropping when Im speaking with a patron.”
Sandis perky smile turned into a perky sneer. “I certainly do not eavesdrop.”
“Bullshit,” Dana said in a quiet, pleasant tone that had Sandisdollbaby eyes going bright with shock. “Youve been stepping on my heels for weeks. You got the promotion, I got the cut. But youre not my supervisor, youre not my boss. So you can kiss my ass.”
Though it wasnt quite as rewarding as hacking off the ponytail might have been, it felt fabulous to just walk away, leaving Sandi sputtering.
She settled back at the desk and assisted two patrons with such good cheer and good fellowship that both left beaming. When she answered the phone, she all but sang out, “Pleasant Valley Library. Reference Desk. May I help you? Hey, Mr. Foy. Youre up, huh. Ah, uh-huh. Good one.” She chuckled as she scribbled down todays trivia question. “Itll take me a minute. Ill call you back.”
She danced off to find the right book, flipped through it briefly in the stacks, then carried it back to the desk to make the return call.
“Got it.” She trailed down the page with her finger. “The Arctic tern migrates the farthest annually. Up to twenty thousand miles—wow—between the Arctic and Antarctic. Makes you wonder whats in itsbirdy brain, doesnt it?”
She shifted the phone as she caught sight of Sandi marching, like a damn drum majorette, toward the desk. “Nope, sorry, Mr. Foy, no complete set of AmericanTourister luggage for you today. The Arctic tern nips out the long-tailedjaeger by a couple thousand miles annually. Better luck next time. Talk to you tomorrow.”
She hung up, folded her hands, then lifted her eyebrows at Sandi. “Something I can do for you?”
“Joan wants to see you upstairs.” Thrusting her chin in the air, Sandi looked down her tiny, perfect nose. “Immediately.”
“Sure.” Dana tucked her hair behind her ear as she studied Sandi. “I bet you only had one friend in elementary school, and she was just as obnoxious as you are.” She slid off the stool.
Speaking of elementary school, Dana thought as she crossed the main floor, started up the stairs to administration, she herself felt as if shed just gotten hauled into the principals office. A lowering sensation for a grown woman. And one, she decided, she was sick of experiencing.
Outside Joans door, Dana took a deep breath, squared her shoulders. She might feel like a guilty six-year-old, but she wasnt going to look like one.
She knocked, briskly, then opened the door without waiting for a response. “You wanted to see me?”
At her desk, Joan leaned back. Her salt-and-pepper ban-was pulled into in a no-nonsense bun that, oddly enough, flattered her.
She wore a dark vest over a white blouse that was primly buttoned to her throat. The material hung flat, with barely a ripple to indicate there were breasts beneath it.
Rimless half-glasses dangled from a gold chain around her neck. Dana knew her shoes would be low-heeled and sturdy and as no-nonsense as the hairstyle.
She looked, Dana decided, scrawny and dull—and the very image of the clich? that kept children out of libraries in droves.
Since Joans mouth was already set in disapproval, Dana didnt expect the meeting to be a cheerful one.