Dean sat back and stared at the words on the screen. This story was starting to freak him out. He couldn’t analyse why he wrote this way. Usually he wrote about dominant men getting what they wanted. This man didn’t want anything but one woman.
He ran fingers through his hair and left his computer. Laura was having more of an impact on his life than he’d like. Her scent clung to every surface, a vanilla scent that was soothing to him.
His editor liked the transformation in his writing style, but he wasn’t so sure himself. He was so far out of his comfort zone. He went to the kitchen and grabbed his meal and a cold beer before returning to the computer.
Laura Cox was a young woman who was slowly becoming his reason for living. He couldn’t do this. The woman was twenty years younger than he. These feelings inside him were wrong and being near her didn’t help. That’s why he decided that going into the garden would be a great idea. The change in space would provide him with the realization that she wasn’t his type. Who was he kidding? She was a full figured woman with a funny sense of humour and the most amazing kind, brown eyes. Her eyes reminded him so much of his wife. Carla had seen passed everyone and everything and her innocence had struck him to the core. He had not been his wife's first lover, but her experience should have knocked out any gentleness within her. Not so. Carla had remained pure in everything.
Reading Laura's work, he’d seen the passion hidden within her. He didn’t want to take advantage of her and he doubted she saw anything in him other than that of a teacher. Yet his body responded to her presence. Shit.
“What should I do, Carla?” he asked. Dean knew no response would come. He asked though. No one got anywhere without trying to find the answers.
He’d invited her over for a few movies. Maybe he should phone and cancel. Her mother had said Laura didn’t have many friends and she liked the friendship developing between Laura and he. Her mother thought he was a good role model. Was he? Fuck. He shook his head and took out his frustrations on his laptop.
Chapter Six
Dear Diary,
I’ve nothing to write today except that I’m so happy. Today I start my new job and that will be amazing. Dean asked me to spend some time with him watching movies. I can pretend it’s a date. God, I sound so immature.
Laura didn’t bother to sign her diary. She didn’t see the need. Her thoughts were simple. The more time she spent with Dean, the less she wrote. He’d become the solace she needed from her boring existence.
She got herself ready and walked the short distance to the library. Cape Falls wasn’t an overly large town and the library was located between a car mechanic shop and the supermarket. Very strange place to house the three, but then Cape Falls wasn’t well known for being clever. She entered the building and was immediately drawn into the peace and silence of the library. This place she could deal with.
Laura spent most of the morning going through her training and learning how to operate the system of books and dealing with customers. To keep her busy, the main staff had her refill the shelves with the returned books. The library looked small from the outside, but it had a long, deep length to it.
She walked to the back of the library near the exit doors where most of the reference materials were housed, along with a few desks for students to study. She pushed the trolley to the shelf marked with history and located the correct numbers. Each book had its own set tag and she found the order and replaced each of the history books on the shelf before moving on to the business section. Laura found great pleasure in replacing the new and musty old books. Each title reassured her that people cared about life and education.
She rounded another shelf containing subjects having to do with the human anatomy and saw that Peter sat at one of the tables with his head bent over a book. He looked deep in thought and she ignored him and continued in her task. With each of her movements she made sure she made as little noise as possible. When he suddenly slammed his book closed, she jumped and the three books she’d been reaching up to place on the shelf toppled out of her hand and onto the floor.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said and was instantly by her side picking up the books.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m used to the quiet,” she
told him and took the books from his hands. She placed them on the shelf, gave him a smile and checked the cart. Fiction books were next.
“I’m sorry I disturbed you,” she told him.
“You didn’t disturb me,” he assured her.
Laura frowned and glanced around. Seeing Peter by himself was strange. The guy had people practically attached to his side.
“Why are you in the library?” she asked. She was more than intrigued by his presence in a building full of books and not being near naked girls. She’d heard about his regular trips to a titty bar outside of Cape Falls.
He blushed and started to stutter. Laura smiled and placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Your secret is safe with me.” She pushed her trolley around the tables.
“Why?” She heard him ask.
“Why what?” she inquired.
Peter rose and stood in front of her. “Why will you keep my secret?”
Laura frowned at him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a tattletale. For whatever reason you need to come to the library, it's not my place to cause trouble.” She made a move to pass him.
He stopped her with his hand on the trolley.
“Seriously, Peter, your macho man bullshit is starting to piss me off,” she said.
“Thank you,” he replied.