By late afternoon, he was back in town, with a few hours to kill. “Want to go see Mary Jane?” he asked his canine companion. Maverick let out a bark. Did the dog know that Mary Jane would be his new master? No, probably not. He just liked to bark to answer questions.
They parked in front of a stately turn-of-the-century building. It looked like many of the government buildings he’d seen in the South, with substantial, gray limestone block, and wings stretched on either side of the entrance, which was accessible up worn stone steps.
“Sorry, Maverick. You’ll have to stay here.” He lowered the windows and told the dog to stay with a hand gesture. It always amazed him that Maverick did exactly as directed. Trevor had trained him well. As always, he felt a flutter in his chest when he thought of his friend. Life was empty without him. What would it be like when Maverick was gone, too?
Not thinking about it.
Instead, he marched up the steps to the double doors to the library. He expected silence, but heard the giggles of small children coming from a room to his right. He stuck his head in and smiled. Mary Jane sat on a floor pillow in a yellow sundress, surrounded by toddlers. She read each page, and then showed them the pictures, making animal noises and changing her voice as different characters spoke. A few mothers leaned against the wall, while others sat at nearby tables, grinning at the enjoyment on their children’s faces. He couldn’t think of the name of the story, but he knew he’d heard it before or read it to his cousin’s daughter. Given the cheers from the crowd of youngsters, the book was a hit. They eventually dispersed, and a teenager approached Mary Jane before Rob could let her know he was here.
“Ms. Van Buren? Can you help me?”
“Sure, Boyd. What do you need?”
The boy looked at his feet as if embarrassed. “I’m hoping to go to college after I graduate next year.”
“That’s wonderful! Good for you.”
“It’s just that, well, my folks have everything tied up in the farm, so I don’t know how I’ll be able to afford it.”
“So you’d like to do some research on financial aid? I can help you with that.”
The boy looked relieved. “Thank you, Ms. Van Buren. I thought maybe if I could find out what college costs and how to get loans or scholarships, my parents would think it was a good idea.” He blushed. “Er, neither of them went to college so they don’t think it’s necessary. My daddy thinks I’ll join him in farming, but pig farming isn’t what I want to do.”
Mary Jane suddenly seemed to notice Rob. “Tell you what, why don’t you go over to the reference room and get a big table.” She gestured toward the other side of the building. “I’ll pull some resource books and bring them over. We can go through them and find out how you can proceed.”
The boy looked relieved. “Thanks, Ms. Van Buren.”
“I’ll be over in a minute.” She turned to Rob. “I’m surprised to see you here. How do you know where I work?”
He let out a bark of a laugh, but then ducked his head as he saw patrons look up at him. “Sorry. I knew where you worked. Trevor talked about it all the time.”
“He talked about me being a librarian in Ridgeview? Seriously?”
“He said you were the smartest person he’d ever met. He was real proud of you.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and he mentally kicked himself for bringing up Trevor. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. I just wanted to make sure we’re on for tonight and see if you wanted me to bring dinner.”
She sniffled, and lifted her chin, and he watched her struggle to regain her emotional equilibrium. “Thanks. Actually, we’re invited to my mom’s for dinner. My brother Nick and I have dinner there on Thursday nights. We can go and talk afterward. You can bring Maverick.”
Spending time with her family instead of readying her to take Maverick didn’t thrill him, but she still seemed to be on emotional overload, so it might make sense for her to have a support system around to help them through this next phase. “Sure,” he said as enthusiastically as he could. “Do you want me to meet you back here or at your house?”
“My house. I should be ready to go about five forty-five.”
“Okay. I’ll be there.” He watched as she strode across the foyer of the library and into another room across the hall. He didn’t really get it. One minute she was falling apart, and the next she acted like a soldier marching into battle. There was more to Mary Jane Van Buren than he’d thought.
Chapter Three
Mary Jane pulled into her driveway just after five-thirty, eager to prepare herself before Rob and Maverick arrived. Would the sight of the dog ever stop being a painful reminder of Trevor? Could she be the owner Maverick needed? She shrugged. Only time would tell. She let herself into her house and debated whether to change. She scolded herself, “Mary Jane, this isn’t a date.”
She changed into light blue shorts and a white polo shirt. She might as well be comfortable. Besides, if he showed her how to handle Maverick, she needed to be able to move easily. She ran a brush through her dark hair and spritzed on a squirt of her favorite cologne to cheer herself up.
The knock on the door came a few minutes later, and she looked at her watch. Right on time. Probably the
