Book of Love Read online

  The night before the interview, the nightmare came again. The next morning Janice took particular care in preparation for her interview. She hid her sleep-deprived eyes behind makeup, and dressed in a navy blue pinstripe suit, dark blue high heels, and a white blouse. She pulled her hair into a bun at the back of her head and let her bangs lay softly against her forehead. She looked in her bathroom mirror and rehearsed the answers to questions that she thought might be asked in the interview. She was glad the interview was in the morning so she could get it over with.

  When Janice arrived at the library, the morning went fast, and ten o’clock came quickly. She took a deep breath, walked down the hallway that connected the library to the city hall, and entered the mayor’s office.

  The mayor’s secretary walked her to the conference room and escorted her in. The mayor introduced her to the sheriff, Barb Wickman, Dr. Mike Shay, and as the mayor introduced Chris, her mouth fell open. She was shocked to see him and wasn’t sure how to react.

  Finally she just held out her hand and said politely, “Nice to see you again, Mr. Jamisen.”

  “Likewise.” He gave her a wry grin and shook her hand.

  The warmth of his hand did nothing to calm her nerves. Instead it sent a chill up and down her spine. She felt like she was doomed already.

  The council and the mayor sat down at one end of the rectangular table, and she sat down at the other end and faced them.

  “We’ve been looking over your resume, Janice, and are quite impressed with your work,” the mayor said.

  She looked at the mayor and then her eyes darted over to everyone at the table. She hesitated when she looked at Chris. He was looking directly into her eyes, still with that faint grin on his face.

  She looked back at the mayor and said, “Thank you.”

  The mayor continued, “I am looking at this from the perspective that I do not fully understand all that you have written here, so I would like to understand more about the purpose of SIRSI Enterprise and why it is so much better to use than the system the library used in the past, or even, the way the library here at Colstrip is currently set up.”

  “The library system here is pretty antiquated. The SIRSI Enterprise will get the system up-to-date.” Janice spent the next five minutes explaining how the system worked and what the benefits would be. She looked over at Chris again, and his eyes appeared soft and reflecting as he listened to her. He looked as if he was taking in the information she was sharing.

  She quickly looked at the mayor again. “There are also connectivity options with the Enterprise. We could have a library website that not only contains general information about the library, but also gives the user an opportunity to search for books online from a remote location and arrange to check the books out and have them mailed or pick them up.”

  Dr. Shay waved his hand a bit. “At the hospital, we have a lot of databases set up for patient records, and I know firsthand that I have to have at least one person who does nothing but maintain database problem solving, especially if the system crashes. What would be your proposal for something like that?”

  “What is the name of the database you’re using, Dr. Shay?” Janice asked.

  “We use TRIAD, a software program that’s made specifically for hospitals.”

  “TRIAD is a small database program and is not very relational,” Janice stated. “It’s more of a traditional database, very similar to Microsoft Access. When records get too big, the systems tend to crash. When using SIRSI Enterprise, I’ve never had a system failure. TRAID is great for the setting you are using it for, since the hospital only has about half a dozen beds. But if you were to have a hospital the size of the one in Billings, you’d need something more manageable for that hospital size. You ask about having a need for an IT person, and from my perspective, if the librarian is qualified to manage the Enterprise program, as I am, you won’t need an IT person.”

  “You mean you would create the whole SIRSI system?” Barb Wickman asked, surprised.

  “For the most part, in a small library like this I would. I may have an occasional need to consult with SiroDynix Enterprise, but I’ve worked with this system enough that we won’t need a person on-site,” Janice replied.

  She looked at Chris to see if he was going to ask anything, but he remained silent, still looking directly into her eyes. It made her slightly uncomfortable, so she shifted her attention to the mayor.

  “Unfortunately, Ms. Meyers, we don’t have a lot of tax dollars coming in to support measures such as what you have done with other libraries. Funding is a bit of a problem.”

  “I raised over six hundred thousand in California for a new public library after the original one burned down. It seemed that people were not interested in libraries until they found out what the library could do for them. It’s a matter of educating people. For example, Mr. Jamisen’s daughter Sandra—” She looked at Chris and he raised an eyebrow. “—was at the diner talking to someone and I happened to overhear her saying something about not being able to find information for a paper she had to write, and she thought that the books at the library were archaic. I suggested she stop by the library and we do some checking, and I ended up not only finding a book she could use, but also went online to another library in Billings and talked them into sending over some materials she needed. She came back to me and asked about writing a research paper. I helped her to develop her paper, and later, she came back and showed me her grade. She received an A on it. It’s just a matter of showing the public the value of having the library and supporting it, and I’ve held many fundraising events that brought in money.”

  Finally, Chris spoke. “How soon do you think you could convert the current system we have to an updated one?”

  “Since we’ve already started loading the card catalogue into the system, I’d say I could have it up and operational in six months, but the project would be ongoing, upgraded as the technology emerges. In fact, I’d recommend that it always be a work in progress.”

  Janice felt she had been handling the questions very well and was quite engaging in her responses. She really did know her stuff, and she thought she was conveying herself splendidly, but she had a hard time reading Chris. He looked at her thoughtfully for a second.

  “Janice,” he started. “Your qualifications and experience show that you have a very high degree of technological knowledge and background, almost as if you could be overqualified for this job.” Chris glanced at the resume in front of him. “What really brings you to Colstrip, and why are you here? Also, if we were to hire you, are you in a position where you would be able to stay and see this through, or are you just passing through until something better comes along?”

  Janice looked into his eyes. She thought she saw warmth and inquiring, and she didn’t pick up any accusations or doubts. This is good, I think. I don’t know what it is about him that makes me shiver and wish I could just drown in his brown eyes, and oh yeah, the lips… Stop it, she scolded herself.

  She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I have never started a job and not completed it. I have worked libraries big and small since I was eight years old.” Whoa, she didn’t intend to say anything about her personal life, and that one slipped out. “The reason I left my previous job is a personal one that I don’t want to divulge except to say it had absolutely nothing to do with my work or the people there. I know that colleges and big cities offer large libraries and the biggest selections in terms of information, books, and knowledge, but small town libraries offer the most interesting stories, facts, and information. Small libraries offer historical information that large libraries skim over. I don’t have any plans to leave any time soon.”

  Janice caught the look that Chris exchanged with the sheriff. She had a creepy feeling crawling up and down her back. Knowing looks? she asked herself. Do they already know about me? She remembered that the application indicated they would do a background check on her. Did they already do it?

  The
mayor spoke up at that point. “We have a lot of historical records and books about this town and state that should never be removed.” He looked at Janice with an eyebrow raised.

  “Exactly,” Janice responded. “Those books and records need two things. One, they need to be restored, and two, they need to be preserved in a climate-controlled environment. Right now they’re located in the basement of this building, and I’ve found rodents down there.”

  They fired more questions at her, and she answered them confidently and expertly. As the interview came to a close, the mayor told her, “We’ll be making a decision probably by the end of the week, and we’ll let you know.” He reached out and shook her hand.

  As she was shaking hands with the council members, Chris came up behind her, and when she turned around to shake his hand, he smiled at her. She wanted to ask him how he felt the interview went, and if he thought she might get the job, but she knew asking something like that...well, it seemed inappropriate.

  Oh hell, might as well really do a job of it and ruin my chances. Everyone got up and left the area. Chris was the last to leave so she called out to him. “Mr. Jamisen.”

  He turned around and waited for her to catch up with him.

  “Um, how do you think I did on the interview and what do you think my chances are?”

  He looked at her a minute and they walked down the hall to the library. Once inside, he turned to face her. “First, you can call me Chris. You did great in the interview, and I think you can pretty much say you have the job.”

  “Really?”

  * * * *

  Hmm, those pretty little lips. He didn’t know what came over him, but he wanted to kiss her so badly, to taste them. He could just imagine how soft those lips would be. Damn, he had to stop thinking about her.

  “Yes, really, but you better wait until you get an official offer before you assume the role as head librarian.”

  “Oh, I will definitely wait until then. Thank you for the interview.”

  Chris turned his attention to his daughter, who was standing off to the side of the library looking at a book she’d pulled off the shelf. He walked over to her and asked, “Sandra, what are you doing here now?”

  Sandra looked up and smiled, showing her expensive, megawatt white teeth. “I’m researching for my next paper that I have to write, Dad.”

  “I could have sworn you had a class today, at this very hour.” He looked sternly at her.

  “I do, but we’ve been released to go and do our papers. It’s a group project, and Janice has been so kind in helping us with our research, we came here to look at it all.”

  “Okay, I’m going back to the shop then. See you tonight at dinner.”

  “Yep. Bye, Dad.”

  He looked at Janice. She was at the counter waiting on a student so he walked out the door and headed to his shop.

  Chris smiled to himself as he walked into his shop. She was certainly smart and had answered all the questions more than satisfactorily. But something about her didn’t add up. He didn’t know what it was; he couldn’t put his finger on it. Her professional life was quite excellent, so he couldn’t fault that. Maybe it had to do with her personal business. Why would she file a suit against her ex-husband’s family to get money from them even though she had signed a prenuptial agreement?

  Chapter 5

  Janice walked into Colstrip Auto Care and marched up to Chris, who was standing behind the counter. “You know, I’m starting to have issues with you and my car.”

  “Well, I have issues with you and your car too. I told you that I couldn’t guarantee it would keep running, and that I’d try to get it running long enough for you to get another vehicle. What seems to be the problem now?”

  “I don’t understand why you can’t keep it running for me,” she retorted.

  “I figured cars were really foreign for you. Why do you think cars end up in junkyards at the end of their useful life?” Chris shot back.

  “Because mechanics can’t fix them?” She swallowed hard, trying not to reveal her anger.

  “No, because owners like you don’t take care of them.” He glared at her.

  “I didn’t have this many problems with the car until I brought it to you!” she snapped. His tone both aroused and infuriated her.

  “No, it was pretty much dead when you first came to me.” He let out a sigh. “All right, tell me what happened this time.”

  “I hit a pothole, and then I couldn’t steer it.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Down at Main Street and Boulder.”

  * * * *

  Chris really didn’t want to take time out of his busy schedule to drive down there to take a look. He had six cars in the shop, and everyone was working overtime to get them done.

  “I’ll have Tony bring it in.”

  “Another tow charge? Can’t you go and look for yourself and, you know, fix the damn thing?”

  He could, but after the way she’d just spoken to him, he decided he wouldn’t. “No, I’m quite busy right now,” he said as his temper flared. He was trying to help her, but it seemed that she didn’t believe that.

  She walked to the door, then turned around and asked him, “What happened to the horn?”

  He looked at her blankly with his eyebrows raised. “What about your horn?” Even as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake to ask.

  “It was working fine when I got to Colstrip, but now it doesn’t work!”

  Aaron came to see what the commotion was about.

  “Probably the damn thing rusted off and is laying alongside the road,” Chris muttered under his breath.

  “What did you say?” She looked back at him with a flash of anger in her eyes.

  “Nothing.” He really didn’t know what the hell happened to the horn.

  She regarded him coolly. “You probably took it off and never put it back on.”

  “Now why would I do something like that?” he asked her irritably. He was starting to really get angry with her, but he held himself in check.

  “I don’t know, maybe you have a horn fetish or something.”

  Aaron left the room and went into the office.

  “I don’t know what happened to your horn, but if you want me to put one on I will.”

  “No, that’s okay. I don’t need it.” She turned and walked out the door.

  He looked after her, exasperated. First she yells at me about her horn, then when I said I’d fix it, she says no. Women. He shook his head as he walked back to his office for a second to cool off. He walked in on his son who was in the middle of fits of laughter. Chris wasn’t amused.

  “Did you do something to her horn, Dad?”

  “I don’t know what the hell happened to her damn horn,” he replied flatly.

  A few hours later, he had the car towed in and put it up on the hoist and immediately saw the problem. He called her on the phone. “You lost a ball joint on the car. That’s why you couldn’t steer it.”

  “Well, how did that happened?”

  He let out a sigh. “It looks like it rusted off and you hit a pothole and that was all it needed. It’s a good thing it happened while you were in town.”

  “Is it fixable?” she asked.

  “Yes, it fixable.”

  “How much will it cost?”

  “A ball joint will run you about five hundred dollars,” he answered.

  “Boy, that’s expensive.”

  “Actually, it’s quite cheap. I’m charging you less than I charge other customers and I’m doing the labor free for you so that saves you money too.”

  “I see. Thank you, Chris,” Janice said quietly.

  They ended the call and as Chris hung up the phone, Aaron chuckled. “Dad, you’ll have a brand new car for her before it’s over with.”

  “You can shut up now,” Chris replied.

  * * * *

  On Friday the mayor called Janice and offered her the job, and she happily accepted.

 
; She told Robin, and Robin hugged her. “We are going to do things with this library, you know that?” Janice said.

  They both laughed and danced a bit around the table. Janice was never so relieved in her life that she got the job and could now have new meaning and purpose in her life. One of the first things she wanted to tackle was the basement. Each day they didn’t do anything meant that things deteriorated more. Janice and Robin went down to look at things in more detail.

  “Eww,” Robin said as Janice turned on the light.

  “Yeah, it’s pretty bad down here.”

  There was about an inch of dust on all the books. The maps were stacked in a corner, out of order, and some were chewed around the edges.

  “I don’t even know if these books can be salvaged. Look at the pages. They have actually come apart from the bindings,” Janice remarked as she gingerly leafed through one of the books.

  Robin let out a squeal. “Eek, there are rats down here!”

  “Yes, there are,” Janice replied grimly. “It’s going to take a lot to get this room straightened out and get rid of the rats. I don’t really know where to begin.”

  Robin walked over to where Janice was looking at a book. “Well, I guess I would start first by having pest control come in and get rid of the rats and bugs. Then perhaps move the books and maps to a temporary location, and we could come down here in our off hours and clean it.”

  “I agree. Then, if the council members approve it, we could get the place set to temperature control so we don’t run into this problem again. After all that’s done, we can call in a book restoration expert and see what we can salvage, and get them cleaned and whatever else needs to be done.” Janice closed the book, and dust flew up. She sneezed, then said, “Let’s get out of here.”

  * * * *

  Janice seemed to be riding along fairly well with no car trouble lately and she was thankful for that. As she drove into work, she was idling at a stoplight, checking her iPad to see what she had scheduled for the day. The light changed and she started to accelerate when out of the blue, three mule deer darted in front of her. She hit one in the hind leg. She stopped suddenly, but the deer kept going. She drove down to Chris’s shop and pulled into the parking lot. She hurried inside and found Chris standing behind the counter, watching her come in.