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Rarity Cole sat on the edge of her swimming pool and stretched from side to side. The weather had been perfect all weekend. She’d gone on hikes with her boyfriend, Archer, every day since Friday. Now the normal weekend was over and it was Monday morning. She had the entire day off. Her employees, Shirley Prescott and Katie Dickenson, had been taking turns running the store on Mondays since the first of March. Rarity had a two-day weekend now. She felt like she was back working in corporate marketing. She started making a mental list of to-dos but then realized nothing else would happen if s he didn’t swim.

“Workout first,” she muttered. It had been her motto since January and one of her resolutions. She felt better when she moved first thing in the morning. She believed in the power of goals. They’d gotten her through her treatments for breast cancer and the complete overhaul of her life afterward. She’d moved from St. Louis to Sedona. She’d quit her corporate job and bought a bookstore. And broken up with Kevin. The man who was supposed to be her future husband thought she wasn’t fun enough when she was fightin g for her life.

Okay, truthfully, Kevin had broken up with her, but either way, it had been a b ig life change.

Now she lived in a three-bedroom cottage in Arizona with a pool she could use year-round. She loved running the bookstore and hadn’t worn a suit to work in months. She had a new boyfriend, Archer Enders, who was planning on moving in with her next month. And she had a baby.

Oh, not a human baby. She had Killer, a tiny Yorkie who had a huge attitude. And an eve n bigger heart.

Killer was sitting next to her watching the water and the yellow ducky float that also served to disperse some of the chemicals in the pool. Rarity leaned down, kissed the pup, then dove into the water.

When she got out, her phone was ringing. She hurried over to answer the cell phone that she’d left on the deck table. Looking at the display, she smiled. “Hey, baby , how are you?”

“Baby, huh?” Archer sounded amused.

“I figured I needed to up my sweet talk since we are moving our relationship to a new level.” Rarity wrapped a towel around her and sat at the table. Killer followed her up on the deck and lay near the French door that led to the kitchen.

“Okay, I guess it works. I called to let you know I got a late afternoon hike today, so dinner ’s out. Sorry.”

“Do you just want to move it to later? ” Rarity asked.

A pause on the other end of the line made her think she’d lost him.

“Archer? Are you there?”

“I’m here. Sorry, I’m slammed. I can’t make it later either. Look, I’ll see you Tuesday night after your book club. We’ll talk then.” Archer ended the call.

Rarity set down the phone and looked at Killer. “Your friend Archer i s being weird.”

Killer stood and bark ed at the door.

“Ready to go in?” Rarity a sked, standing.

Killer barked again and r an in a circle.

“I’ve got a lot of things to do anyway.” Rarity wished she’d said that to Archer, but she wasn’t used to playing games with him. If he was too busy to see her, there was a good reason. She just had to believe him. H e wasn’t Kevin.

* * * *

Later that afternoon, she’d just come back from a run to Flagstaff when a knock sounded at her d oor. “Come in.”

Terrance Oldman, her neighbor, poked his head in the door. “Hey, Rarity. I saw you pull in. Did you get me some of those sausages f rom the store?”

She held up a package. “Two pounds, just like you asked. I could have brou ght them over.”

“I thought I’d come over and see if I can be helpful.” He tucked the sausages into an empty bag, then grabbed the milk and juice and put them away in her refrigerator. They worked together in silence until all the groceries were put away.

Rarity held up a packet of salmon. “I’m planning on grilling this tonight if you don’t have dinner plans.”

“I thought Mondays were date nights with your guy.” Terrance sat down at the table. He’d pulled out sodas, one for him a nd one for her.

“Archer’s busy.” She hoped the snark wasn’t obvious in her voice. “So I decided to cook. I’m doing a ri sotto with it.”

“Sorry, my dance card’s full tonight. The guys down at the vet hall have a standing poker game. We do it on Mondays so Drew can come. If you have a police officer sitting down with you, you’re less likely to be busted for ill egal gambling.”

“You’re bad.” Rarity smiled despite herself. “Hey, can you watch Killer tomorrow? It’s bo ok club night.”

“Of course. We’ll go over to my house and watch a movie. He’s partial to Marvel superheroes and you only have channels that show DC superheroes.” Terrance leaned down and picked up Killer with one hand. “You can retrieve him whenever you r club’s over.”

“As long as I’m not interrupting your bonding time,” Rarity clarified. “So, I haven’t seen a lot of you these last few weeks. S taying inside?”

“I have a job.” Terrance rubbed Killer’s neck and the little dog m elted into him.

“Really. The neighborhood watch wasn’t keeping you busy enough?” Terrance patrolled the neighborhood with a bunch of retirees who called themselves the Gray Patrol. Break-ins had dropped to almost zero in the neighborhood. Drew Anderson was using the group as an example to other neighborhoods on how to lower crime. It didn’t hurt that most of the guys in Terrance’s patrol team were ex-military who had come to Sedona to rest when they’d retired. Then they’ d gotten bored.

“I wanted a little more. I’m a handyman over at Sedona Memory Care. They’ve been having trouble keeping their security system online. Someone keeps turning it off, so I’m there to stop it.” He didn’t look up at her.

“Sedona Memory Care. Where George lives?” George Prescott was Shirley’s husband and a patient. He’d forgotten most of their time together now, but Shirley still visited almost daily. “ Are you crazy?”

“Rarity, I swear this isn’t because of Shirley. Or if it is, it’s for her. If George gets out and hurts himself or others, she’ll be devastated. I can’t turn my back on this. They need me.” Now he did look up and meet her eyes. “Besides, he’s fighting with the assistant director. George seems to respond to me. We’re friends.”

Rarity stared at Terrance. “You realize that’s all kinds of messed up.”

Terrance was in love with Shirley. They’d started hanging out last fall, but she’d ended their friendship when Terrance made it clear he wanted more. Still being married to George, who was alive but not really there, Shirley couldn’t deal with the feelings she was having for Terrance. It felt like cheating. Even though they hadn’t done anything, even a good-night kiss. In Shirley’s mind, she was married. And that was that.

Now, Terrance was not only working at the nursing home where George lived, he’d developed a friendshi p with the man.

“I know, but I can’t step away now. The nursing home needs me to find out why their system isn’t working before someone winds up missing or worse.” Terrance sighed. “And when he remembers me, George is kind of a cool guy. I can see why Shir ley loves him.”

“Oh, Terrance. That’s so sad.” Rarity squeezed his hand. “Do you want a cup of tea?”

He laughed and stood. “Nope, I’ve got laundry to finish before I head out to the game. Having a real job again keeps me busy. And I’m going to grill a couple of these bad boys”—he held up the sausages—“for dinner before I go. Sorry I couldn’t fill in for you r guy tonight.”

“No worries. I haven’t finished the book club selection yet anyway. I need to at least skim the rest of it before tomorrow. Shirley’s caught me too many times not having read the book.” Rarity walked him to the door and watched out the window as he crossed the lawn between the two houses. Terrance Oldman was a good man, but he was playing with fire with his new job. Hopefully, he’d get the security system fixed before Shirley caught him at the home. Otherwise, Rarity thought, he was going to get an earful.

Shirley could be opinionated.

Rarity glanced at the to-do list she’d made this morning. She’d already crossed off shopping and a swim. Her finger stopped at cleaning the house, then she looked at the next item, finishing the book. She sighed and went to the bedroom to strip the sheets so she could get them in the laundry. Cleaning needed to be done. She was in a bad mood anyway. She might as well make the best of it.

* * * *

The next morning, she arrived at the bookstore just a few minutes before nine. Without Killer walking with her, she was able to leave the house a little later. The dog always had to stop for a smell, or a hundred, as they walked. The two businesses on either side of her, Madam Zelda’s Fortune Telling and Sam’s crystal shop, were still closed. They opened later. Drop-in traffic didn’t start until late morning, sometimes after lunch. Especially during the beginni ng of the week.

Katie Dickenson hurried down the path and followed her into the bookstore. Katie was working on her master’s at Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, but a lot of her classes were in the evenings, so she had time to work at the bookstore. “Hey, I was hoping to get here first. The store was slammed yesterday. I didn’t get all the closing tasks done before I had to leave for class. I hope y ou’re not mad.”

“You should have called me.” Rarity held the door open for her. “You would have saved me from housecleaning.”

“I figured you were out with Archer. I saw his truck go by the shop about three yesterday. Didn’t you g uys go hiking?”

Rarity started turning on lights. “We went Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My calves are still killing me. But I was home on Monday. Next time you get swamped, just call. If I can’t come in, I’ll tell you.”

“Sounds reasonable. Anyway, the kids must have been out of school because I had several families who showed up just after lunch. We seriously need to restock the kids’ section. I think they might have emptied it out.” Katie tucked her bag under the counter and opened an energy drink. “Where do you want me first? Unpacking boxes that came in? Or starting a book order?”

“Let’s get everything out and then we can do the book order.” Rarity looked around the bookstore. It looked normal, but she knew Katie was a little OCD, just like her. She liked things to look perfect. Rarity only stressed about the back door being locked when she left. She’d put the store’s temperature gauge on a timer so that was automatic. “How are the bathrooms?”

“Honestly, I didn’t check.” Katie brought out a box of books. “Do you want me to g o clean first?”

“No, I’ll do it. Watch the register while you’re checking these in. I doubt we’ll get any walk-ins this early, but you never know.” Rarity went to the back room and pulled out the cleaning supplies, including a mop bucket that she filled with hot, soapy water from the sink. She moved to the men’s first and quickly got that done. She propped the door open and taped a Wet Floor sign o n the doorjamb.

When she went into the women’s, she found a book on the sink counter. She grumbled at the long-gone reader. “Clearly you couldn’t see the Please don’t bring books into the lavatory sign.”

She walked out to set the book on a table while she finished cleaning. She didn’t recognize the title. And it looked older than what she sold. Maybe someone forgot their personal copy.

Rarity finished cleaning. After she’d taken the trash outside to the dumpster and drained, rinsed, and put away the mop and other cleaning tools, she went bac k to the front.

Katie was standing at the counter reading the book Ra rity had found.

“So, what is that?” Rarity logged i nto her system.

“The book? It was on the table. There’s an inscription in the front. ‘To my best friend, I hope you enjoy Alice’s adventures as much as I have over the years.’” Katie held the book open and showed it to Rarity. “I think this is a first edition Alice in Wonderland .”

“That someone just left in the bathroom at a bookstore? I doubt it.” Rarity reached for the book and checked the copyright page. 1865. “If this is right, the book i s worth a lot.”

“Like thousands ?” Katie asked.

Rarity checked the binding and the outside of the book. “Maybe even more. Let’s set this aside and see if anyone comes to claim it. They should know the inscription if they own the book.”

“This is so exciting. I’ve never held a rare book before.” Katie grabbed a pile of books that needed to be shelved.

Rarity went about her day, but the book kept nagging at her. Maybe she had another mystery for the sleuthing group to solve. And for the first time, it wouldn’t invol ve a dead body.

That night at the book club, they discussed the selection they had read, The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen. Holly Harper had suggested it, and the conversation was getti ng interesting.

“I don’t think it portrays old people in a bad light,” Holly responded to a statement that Shirley had just made. “The main character is almost in a relationship with her farmer neighbor. Or she would be if she’d get over losin g her husband.”

“Sometimes, people don’t just get over those things,” Shirley countered. “But I guess I wondered why a bunch of spies would settle in a small Maine community. It didn’t s eem realistic.”

“Did you read the author’s notes in the back? She lived in a town where that happened. I guess if Thanos can have a retirement plan, so can James Bond.” Malia Overstreet jumped into the discussion. “I really liked it, but it was hard to follow why the one woman was running in th e first place.”

“I think the author added that character to give you more than one person to focus on.” Rarity hadn’t liked that the opening scene was not focused on the main character either. “What did you think of the local police chief?”

“I would have solved the murder before I let that jerk from the state police take o ver,” Sam said.

“Sometimes that’s not an option.” Jonathon Anderson was in town and had called to see what we’d be reading. He was an ex-cop who had started his career in Sedona, then moved to NYC to work when his kids got out of high school. Now he and his wife, Edith, lived in Tucson near their daughter and only grandchild. His other child was a detective here in Sedona and was dating Rarity’s friend Sam. Again. “When a different agency with jurisdiction over a crime comes in, you have to step back and let them work. And that charact er was a jerk.”

Sam smiled sweetly at Jonathon. “I’m so g lad you agree.”

Rarity held up a hand. “Okay, let’s take a short break, then we’ll finish this up and choose nex t week’s book.”

Sam bolted for the ladies’ room and Jonathon moved toward Rarity. “Maybe I shouldn’t have come. It seems like Sam’s st ill mad at me.”

“She’ll get over it. She was the one who wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue her relationship with Drew. The fact that Edith set him up on a blind date when he visited you guys in Tucson wasn’t your fault. I know she just wants the best for him.”

Jonathon chuckled. “I have to disagree. Edith wants more grandchildren. If she’d known Sam and Drew had started seeing each other again, she wouldn’t have invited Heather to dinner. Drew keeps his relationship status close to his chest. I need to go say hi to Shirley and see how Ge orge is doing.”

Rarity watched as he made his way over to the treat table, where Shirley was getting more cookies out of her carrier. The woman could bake. She thought about going to talk to Sam, but she decided to stay out of it. Drew and Sam were dating again. She didn’t w ant to jinx it.

They ended the club and everyone but Shirley had left the bookstore by the time Archer arrived. He helped Shirley carry things out to her car, and when he came back inside, Rarity was ready to lock up. She had put the rare book into her safe since no one had come by to claim it. Maybe she’d put up a sign on the community bulletin board.

She came out of the back room after checking the lock and gave Archer a kiss. “I thought they’ d never leave.”

He pushed her hair out of her eyes and took her keys. “Are yo u ready to go?”

“Killer’s at Terrance’s, so we need to stop and get him. Are you staying for supper? I have some clam chowder in the fridge.” Rarity hoisted her tote over her shoulder and follow ed him outside.

“I’m not sure. Look, we need to talk.” Archer locked the door and handed her back the keys. “I’m not sure that I should mov e in with you.”