Page 10 of With Stars in Her Eyes

Jeannie nodded toward the back. “I call dibs on the office since I’m—what was it you were probably going to say about me, Thea?

Oh right, that I’m ancient. And my ancient back does require declaring dibs on that couch Samantha keeps in the office.

We’ll divide up the picnic blankets we found and the things Miss Courtney brought back with her, and put all the cushions in the children’s section.

This building’s well-insulated enough; it shouldn’t get too bad for one night.

Don’t want to leave those candles burning now we have the lanterns.

Seems like we shouldn’t add a potential fire to our troubles. ”

Courtney and I stared until Jeannie made a small get-on-it gesture. I saluted. The plant shop owner’s response hovered somewhere between glower and grin, and I decided to take that as a win.

As snow pummeled against the windows, we got to work.

Jeannie Gallagher-Keegan missed a calling as a drill sergeant.

The bookstore turned into an emergency shelter in less than thirty minutes despite the occasional interruptions from the pig let, who I had discovered was wearing both a diaper and a hand-knit, avocado-colored sweater.

And yes, when I saw, I might have actually screamed due to the adorableness.

Jeannie only grumbled for a minute when I pulled out my camera for a few photos.

I didn’t miss the smile she was hiding under her gruff exterior.

As she walked toward the office, she muttered something that might have been “ No one could stand a chance against all those dimples ” but I wasn’t entirely sure.

She hollered out a “Good night!,” leaving Courtney and me alone, and ten minutes later snores echoed from the office.

I gestured to the cushions in the children’s section. “Shall we?”

Immediate regret.

With an enigmatic smile, Courtney lowered herself into the makeshift sleeping area, careful to keep Baxter safe against her.

“You’re so good with animals. Do you have pets?”

She stroked the pig’s ears and tucked him into the blankets. “I’m on the road too much. Someday.”

“That’s right. Denise—my boss, Denise—she said you were in and out of town a lot.”

An odd look darkened Courtney’s features, but it might have just been the angle of the emergency lantern. “Oh… yes. I am.”

“I told her I met you when I got back after the whole bearded dragon incident,” I said in a hurried effort to explain why she had been the subject of conversation.

“She said you work here when you aren’t touring as a musician.

How… how long will you be around here this time?

” The question didn’t sound as casual as I wished it had.

“I think I’m turning over a new chapter actually.” Courtney kissed Baxter’s nose once. “It might be time to retire from all that.” Her tone was impossible to read. “ Christ…” Courtney leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling.

“What?”

“It’s just… I haven’t actually said that aloud to anyone yet. Not even Sam. Not even Ms. Jeannie.”

“Oh, that’s my fault. Sorry about that.”

“Your… fault?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Specifically, my face’s fault.”

“Your face? ” Courtney’s eyebrows knitted together.

“People just tell me things. It’s been a problem since I was a kid.”

Courtney held up a hand in front of my face, blocking me from her view. “So I should do this or wear a blindfold to make sure I don’t spill any more of my secrets?”

“Maybe just move the lantern light for now.” The wind outside howled louder. “Ms. Jeannie’s a spitfire, isn’t she?”

“Sure is. She’s a good egg though. I’ve known her a long time. I spent the holidays here with Sam when we were college roommates.”

“It’s good to have people like that.”

It was cold but not unbearable beneath the blankets.

Courtney had turned on all the battery twinkle lights that draped the shelves.

The ceiling itself was covered in glow-in-the-dark stars in a surprisingly accurate representation of the night sky.

Someone had spent some time on that. “Kid me would have been over the moon about getting to have a sleepover in a bookstore.” I risked a glance toward Courtney.

“Baxter’s still shaking? How were you calming him down before Ms. Jeannie got here? ”

“It’s embarrassing .”

“Do I need to use this face again?” I pointed to my face like it was a weapon, softening my features into the kind of lethal earnestness I usually reserved for getting myself out of speeding tickets.

“Crap. No…” Courtney unzipped her coat a little bit more, allowing the pig to look around. “ Fine . I was reading to him. He was getting a little jumpy and panicked, and then he was shaking when the wind was gusting, but then…” A slight wince.

“Then your migraine got worse.”

“I took my meds, but I’m still waiting for them to fully kick in. Speech can get hard for me, so I don’t like talking much when a migraine first starts. I get these auras.” She wiggled her fingers. “And focusing on the page in the dim light was making it worse too.”

“What were you reading to him?”

“I was considering Charlotte’s Web , but I decided that might give him existential dread. Then I was going to read him a romance, but he’s only a baby pig, so that didn’t seem quite right either.”

“You put a remarkable amount of thought into your reading-aloud choice for a creature who doesn’t understand speech.”

“Zip it, smart-ass.”

I zipped it as commanded, getting a little thrill with each emerging glimmer of Courtney’s snarky personality beneath the shyness.

From everything I gathered from the other workers at Squid, Courtney rarely spoke to anyone except Samantha.

No one knew much about her. Most people didn’t seem to understand how Samantha and Courtney could have been best friends for so long given how different they were.

Samantha was known for being gregarious and charismatic.

This more open version of Courtney made sense of the long friendship. This version of Courtney was funny and sweet and a little bit salty. This version of Courtney made it harder for me to ignore I was dangerously attracted to her.

And I was going to be sleeping next to her—all night.

Alone…

Unless you counted the snoring septuagenarian in the office.

Or the piglet.

The old windowpanes shook against the barrage of snow and ice. Baxter’s head retreated toward Courtney’s chest, making the outside of Courtney’s coat shudder and shake.

“Did the reading really help?”

Courtney nodded.

“What did you end up deciding to read him?”

Courtney fumbled in her coat pockets and pulled out a small paperback. The illustration and fonts were dated. “It was on the shelf near me when I was setting up the cushions. One of Sam’s favorites, but I hadn’t read it before.”

“ A Wrinkle in Time ?” I flipped through the pages. “Lord, that’s a very apt first line for tonight. ‘ It was a dark and stormy night .’”

Courtney stroked the trembling area of the coat. “I thought so too.”

“Well, I guess it’s time then.” I leaned against a small chair near the floor lined with quilts and cushions.

“Time for?” Courtney yawned.

“Time for you to go to sleep since I’m pretty sure you opened the shop today too, and now look exhausted and are dealing with a migraine. I’ll read.” I moved the lantern closer.

“I know that reading to an animal probably seems a little bit absurd.”

“We’re camping out in a bookstore during a blizzard with a piglet. Reading to one isn’t any more absurd than this entire scenario.”

“I guess you’re right.” Purplish smudges shadowed beneath both her eyes as if she wasn’t sleeping well in general.

Maybe it was the migraines. She shifted to position her head more comfortably on the cushion, and her eyes fluttered closed.

She adjusted her coat zipper to let out Baxter’s trembling head a little more and then propped herself as if to make sure she wouldn’t roll over on him.

It was nearly impossible to tear my eyes away from Courtney’s face for several long seconds until I remembered I was supposed to be reading. I found the best light to see the page and began the story.

After several chapters, I thought Courtney had fallen asleep, but when I paused in my reading, she stirred.

“I think Baxter is asleep. Well done.” Courtney’s yawn was even bigger this time, but she muffled the sound with the back of her hand. “Are you going to sleep?”

“Soon. You go to sleep though.”

“O”—a third yawn—“kay. Sounds good.” The last two words slurred together. Her medications must be working because the lines of tension on her forehead had smoothed. “You can keep reading though. If you want, I mean.”

“I will.”

I had no idea how long I ended up reading or when I fell asleep. The furnace spluttering on when the power came back roused me. After several minutes of staring up at the ceiling of glow-in-the-dark stars, I felt Courtney move beside me.

The pig was still fast asleep. He was no longer inside Courtney’s coat but wrapped in a thick quilt between us. Courtney’s eyes were slightly open again.

“You okay?” Courtney said.

“Just staring up at the stars.”

Courtney shifted again, also rolling onto her back to look up. “Beautiful night to be sleeping under the stars.”

“Sure is.” I grinned. “Whoever put those up knew what they were doing.” I had spent so much of my life thinking about stars.

When I glanced back at Courtney, her eyes were closed again, but she was smiling.

She smiled broadly until her breathing became slow and rhythmic.

I stared at her face in the lantern light until I fell asleep again.