Chapter 4: Calvin

Friday mornings weren’t supposed to be this busy.

No morning was supposed to be this busy at Second Chance Books, as far as Calvin was concerned. The phone had been ringing off the hook since the moment he walked in, and there had been a steady stream of people coming and going since he’d unlocked the doors.

On a normal morning, those might have been good things—great things, even.

But the kicker?

None of those phone calls and virtually none of the visitors had anything to do with buying books. Or reading books. Or talking about books.

The only thing that seemed to be on anyone’s mind was the outcome of the city council meeting the night before. And while Calvin genuinely wanted people to be excited and supportive, it was hard to stay upbeat about the whole thing when every person he talked to asked him for details he didn’t have.

Every conversation he’d had so far that morning only served to highlight just how far out of his comfort zone he was. There were even people who were saying he had started a movement.

A movement.

What did that even mean?

They were looking at him like he was Norma Rae. They were ready to rally and picket and who-knows-what else… but all Calvin wanted was a little time to get his thoughts together, to hopefully come up with a plan that people could get behind, since that task had apparently fallen to him.

“Calvin,” Bea Roberts made a bee-line for the front desk where he was standing as soon as she cleared the door. “Sweetie, I just had to come in here and tell you what a wonderful job you did last night at the meeting.”

He managed to keep his sigh on the inside as he smiled at her. “Thanks, Mrs. Roberts. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about the whole thing.”

Calvin had known the Roberts family for practically his whole life. Bea’s son, Jack, had been Calvin’s best friend—and secret crush—all through school. They had even gone to prom together, though that had turned out… not so great.

But if there was anyone he could be honest with about the ordinance situation, it was Bea.

“Well, those nerves didn’t show at all, dear,” she said, reaching across the counter to pat his arm reassuringly. “Johnny and I thought you did an amazing job going up against Trenton like that. I even had to call and gush to Jack about how well you did after we got home last night.”

Calvin had been following along, smiling politely, but his head jerked involuntarily at the mention of her son’s name. “J-Jack?” Calvin swallowed hard and tried to ignore the dozens of butterflies that had just taken flight in his stomach. “And, um… how is he? You told him about… about me?”

“I sure did,” she said, beaming. “He was excited to hear about everything you’re doing for our little town. He said it was just crazy that those big business types were trying to bully all of our small businesses out of town. You know this is the sort of thing he does for a living, dear. Helps the little guys turn things around, that sort of thing.”

Calvin didn’t even know what to say. Jack was excited? About what Calvin was doing? Excited?

It made Calvin’s heart beat faster, but also tighten as he realized that Jack would probably never call and share that excitement with Calvin himself. Not after the horribly awkward way their friendship had ended.

That had been ten years ago, and Calvin hadn’t heard from him since.

It was probably the only regret Calvin had—the only one that came readily to mind, anyway. There had been plenty of other setbacks and failures along the way, of course. But those had all been learning experiences and life experiences that Calvin could look back on objectively.

But the one thing that he couldn’t be objective about? The one thing he’d go back and change if he could?

That night.

That kiss.

“It’s too bad we don’t have anyone around here with that kind of expertise,” Calvin mused out loud. “I feel like I might be in way over my head with this one, you know?”

“Well my dear, why didn’t you say so?” She slung her purse up onto the counter and immediately started rummaging through it. “I bet my Jack would jump at the chance to help you out. I just know he’d be thrilled to hear from you after all these years.”

Bea finally found what she’d been looking for, pulling out a creased business card and sliding it across the counter to Calvin.

He picked it up and read it, his thumb tracing over the embossed letters of Jack’s name. “You want me to… what?” His brow furrowed as he looked back up at her. Did she really expect him to call Jack? On the phone? And like… talk?

“I know it’s been a while since the two of you have spoken,” she said, in what was possibly the understatement of the year. “But believe me, Jack needs some excitement in his life. You should have heard him on the phone. He was practically begging for something to do that would put his talents to use. He’s such a bright boy, and I’m afraid his knowledge and skills are just being squandered by the people he’s working for. It’s just like here, really—the big guy doing his best to hold the little guy back.” She shook her head. “Such a shame.”

“And you think he might really want to help?” Calvin asked, trying and failing to keep his hopes in check. “I mean… honestly? He won’t think it’s dumb?”

“Dumb?” Bea’s eyes went wide. “No. No, no, no, my dear. He won’t think it’s dumb at all. This is Jack’s home. He’ll leap at the chance to help, you mark my words.” She nodded toward the card in his hand and gave a dismissive wave. “I have to pop over to the salon, but you go ahead and call him. He’ll be thrilled to hear from you, sweetie. You’ll see.”

“Okay,” Calvin said, absently turning the card over in his hands as he followed her to the door. “Thanks for stopping in, Mrs. Roberts. And thanks for the number. I’ll, um…”

She was already out the door by the time his voice trailed off, which was probably for the best, since he couldn’t seem to make himself say the words out loud.

I’ll call him.

God, even the thought felt intimidating.

Because no matter what she had said, Calvin found it hard to believe that Jack would actually love to hear from him. If that was the case, why hadn’t Jack picked up the phone and called?

He was the one who had stopped talking to Calvin, after all. Shouldn’t he be the one who started the conversation back up again, if there was actually going to be a conversation?

Then again, Jack wasn’t the one who needed Calvin’s help.

Calvin sighed as he watched through the large glass window as Bea hustled down the sidewalk to the salon a few doors down. Maybe Jack was actually excited about what was going on in town. His own mother should know better than anyone, right?

He looked down at the card again before glancing up at the clock above his door. “Oh, shoot.”

Calvin slipped the card into his pocket and hurried back toward the office to grab the bag of cat treats he kept in his desk drawer before walking to the back door of the shop and cracking it open.

“Aw, I bet you thought I wasn’t coming, didn’t you?” he asked, bending down to pet the sleek gray cat at his feet. “That’s a good boy, Darren. Are you ready for a treat?”

The stray cat was already purring like an engine, nudging at the treat that Calvin had hidden in his hand. The stray—Darren, as Calvin had decided his name should be—had shown up at the shop a couple of weeks before, and had seemed happy enough to share bites of Calvin’s lunch at first.

When he’d started showing up at noon like clockwork, though, Calvin decided that he had better invest in some actual cat food and healthy treats.

Now, he considered Darren to be his shop cat, although Calvin had an appointment to take him to the vet in a couple of weeks, he was secretly hoping that the microchip scan would confirm that Darren really was a stray and not someone’s lost pet.

If he was someone’s pet, though, at least Calvin would get the pleasure of seeing Darren reunited with his family.

And if not? Well, then Darren would graduate from shop cat to house cat.

“What are we gonna do about this ordinance, buddy?” Calvin asked, smiling through his stressful thoughts as Darren happily made short work of the treat. “Should I actually call Jack? Would that be a mistake?”

Darren looked up with his big eyes and thoughtful face and purred as Calvin ran a hand down his back.

Not particularly helpful as far as answers went, but Calvin hadn’t been expecting much from the cat. At least Darren didn’t expect any plans or answers or miracles from Calvin.

That was enough all by itself to vault him above most of the humans in Calvin’s life at the moment. Well, that and the fact that Darren was the most adorable cat Calvin had ever seen.

All he wanted was food and affection—needs that Calvin could actually fulfill.

If only everyone else could be won over so easily.

###

Calvin had lost track of the time he’d spent sitting on his couch, staring at the card in his hands as he turned it over and over again.

He was hungry. He was tired. The room was dark.

But he couldn’t convince himself to get up and do anything else until he figured out what to do about that card.

What to do about Jack…

That used to be the question that was never far from the front of Calvin’s mind.

What to do about Jack?

Sweet, smart, sexy, hopelessly straight Jack.

The last time Calvin had made up his mind and done something, it had turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of his life. It had been the thing that had driven a wedge between the two of them and had effectively ended their friendship.

And even though Calvin liked to think he had better judgment now as an adult, liked to think that he wasn’t completely ruled by his hormones anymore, all bets were off when it came to Jack.

Could Calvin even have a conversation with the man without letting his emotions get the best of him? Without breaking down and either begging Jack for forgiveness or at least a little understanding?

Calvin shook his head, setting the card aside only to immediately pick it back up again.

He just.

Didn’t.

Know.

And it was the not knowing that was killing him. Not knowing for ten years whether he’d ever talk to Jack again had been its own form of torture.

Now, though, with Jack’s number right there in his hands—literally at his fingertips?

Yeah, that was torture, too.

But Calvin knew he had to do something. Something more proactive than sitting in the dark and worrying about what might happen if he called Jack.

If only he had some other prospects to help turn things in Silver Lake around, he would at least be able to put off making this decision for a little while longer. But he didn’t have any other prospects, and he didn’t have the luxury of waiting.

Calvin nibbled at his lip as he looked from the card in his hands to the phone sitting next to him and back again.

Okay.

O-kay.

He was going to do it.

He was going to call.

Soon.

No… now.

Calvin took a deep breath and picked up his phone.

Yes. Now.

Really?

Really.

And before he could talk himself out of it again, he dialed the number that he’d already committed to memory after staring at it for so long.

The phone was ringing.

He was finally going to talk to Jack.