Kristin Gabriel - Good Night, Gracie

Perhaps that’s why she had so much trouble meeting men in Texas. Even while taking night classes over the past ten years to obtain her bachelor’s degree, dates had been few and far between. None of the men she met ever lived up to Gilbert.

Maybe he was just safe. A man she could dream about without ever having to follow through. And dream she did, though Gilbert would never know about those fantasies. That was the one thing about her life that she didn’t share with him.

Though she’d done plenty of looking, Gracie had never found a local version of Gilbert. She hadn’t seen him in over a decade, but he was still the example she measured other men by.

Not that she’d done a lot of measuring lately. Running the bookstore didn’t leave much time for a social life. This latest news meant putting everything in her life on hold indefinitely.

So be it. She wasn’t about to surrender to the Goliaths of this world. Gracie Dawson would find a way to survive. She always did.

Laine visibly deflated beside her, making Gracie realize she’d only been thinking about herself. Temptation had been in the Sheehan family for over twenty years, handed down to the sisters by their mother, Brenda. Cat ran the bar while Laine worked full-time as a magazine photographer. They loved Temptation as much as she hated the bookstore.

“The city wants a new road, so we’re out,” Cat said, breaching the silence. She looked over at Gracie. “Did you really think we’d change anything tonight?”

Despite knowing it was a long shot, Gracie had counted on it. Which was ridiculous, since nothing in her life ever turned out as she planned. At twenty-eight, she was certainly old enough to know that by now. It was time to start coping with reality.

“Where am I going to store all those books if I can’t find a new place in thirty days?” she wondered aloud.

Nobody had any answers for her. Gracie knew she’d have to use every cent of her savings to make this move once she found a new location. A place that would undoubtedly charge higher rent for the bookstore than she was paying now. Add to that the advertising dollars needed to retain their old customers, as well as garnering new ones, and the task seemed overwhelming.

“How will I find another job as good as this one?” Tess asked. She’d hired on as a waitress a year ago, forming a fast friendship with Gracie, Cat and Laine.

Gracie wished she could offer Tess a position at the bookstore, but she’d be lucky to retain her assistant manager, Trina Powers, once they moved the store. Her budget had already been sliced and diced to the bare bones.

Laine looked up at her sister. “How are we going to explain this to Mom?”

Tess reached over and patted her hand. “Brenda will understand. She’ll be pissed but she’ll deal with it.”

Angry tears gleamed in Laine’s eyes. “I just can’t believe it.”

Cat pushed a cosmopolitan toward each of them. “Had faith in the system, Lainey dear?”

“Yes, I did,” Laine replied, crushing the letter in her hand. “This isn’t right. How can they just take away everything we’ve worked for?”

“Because they can.” Gracie took a sip of her drink, knowing this news had them all reeling—even Cat. She was just better at hiding it than the rest of them. They were at the mercy of the people in charge, powerless to change anything now.

She hated that feeling. That’s why becoming a lawyer had been her dream for so long. She wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives.

Gracie watched Laine get up and turn away, making her wish she could have done something to make this situation turn out differently. It had been her idea to approach the Kendall Historical Society, hoping her exhaustive research into the history of the old building would sway them enough to name it a landmark. She’d handed it all over to Laine to make the presentation, but Gracie obviously hadn’t given her enough ammunition.

Gracie slipped off the barstool and walked over to Laine, then put her arm around her shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.”

A bitter smile flickered on Laine’s mouth. “Sure it is. If I’d talked to the right person, made the right argument…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. The city would still be steamrolling over our businesses.”

“Maybe.”

Gracie knew all too well how futile it was to imagine what might have been. You had to face life head-on and find a way to survive.

Her parents hadn’t made it, succumbing to a jungle fever only six months after moving to South America. Neither had Aunt Fran. Gracie had survived through a lot of loss. But she was tired of just surviving. Tired of existing in limbo.

Now she wanted to live—really live.

“What are you going to do now?” Laine asked her.

“Find someplace cheap to lease for Between the Covers.” Gracie looked around the bar at the oak paneling on the walls and the unique architectural detail on the high ceiling that matched that of the bookstore. “Whatever I find, it will never live up to this place.”

“I’ve got money from my new job, if you need anything—”

“I’ll be fine.” Gracie knew she’d be able to handle the expenses by using her savings for law school. She’d been accepted at the University of Texas for the upcoming fall semester, but now that would never happen.

Maybe it was time to find a new dream.

Laine was watching Gracie, a mix of worry and self-recrimination in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t take so much on yourself,” Gracie told her, searching for some way to comfort her. “There’s nothing more you can do here. Why don’t you go away for a few days? Take some time for yourself.”

Laine shook her head. “I can’t. I just turned in my first assignment. I don’t want it to be my last. Not to mention Aunt Jen is making me crazy. Those wildfires in California are threatening…” her voice trailed off, then she looked up at Gracie. “June 30, right?”

“That’s D-day apparently. Less than a month away.”

Gracie’s mind whirled with everything that needed to be done in that time. But she simply couldn’t deal with it at the moment. Maybe she should take her own advice and get away from the bookstore for a few days. Her ten-year high school reunion was coming up this weekend in Kendall. That would be a perfect excuse to make a temporary escape from her responsibilities.

And a perfect excuse to fulfill the one dream she’d never dared to pursue.

ZACH MADDOX SAT illuminated in the blue glow of the computer screen. He’d been there for hours, cross-coding files and making another security sweep of the hard drive. At least, that was the excuse he was using to stay on the job. The reality was that he’d been waiting to hear from Gracie. He knew this was the day the decision was due from the Kendall Historical Society. He hoped her silence meant that she was out celebrating.

Yawning, he stretched his arms over his head, trying to ease the stiffness in his shoulders. He’d spent more time in this chair the past few months than he had in his own bed. Despite his efforts, they weren’t any closer to discovering where Gilbert Holloway was hiding. The man had disappeared three months ago.

Holloway, a key witness in a conspiracy case involving credit card theft, had demanded police protection in return for his testimony. Closing his eyes, Zach wondered for the thousandth time why he’d let his partner stay alone with Holloway that night. The rookie had been determined to prove himself, but Zach should have followed his instincts and pulled the duty himself.

That mistake had gotten Ray shot and cost him the use of his legs.

Some thug had broken in shortly before dawn, apparently to scare Holloway into silence. Ray had fallen asleep on the living room sofa. When he’d heard a window break, he’d panicked and pulled his gun before taking cover.