Poppy leaned in. “And where did you study to be a librarian?”
Another hesitation. “That’s a long story for another day.”
“I hope to see you around,” Reed said, quickly rising.
“I’ll be busy with the bookmobile tomorrow, but I enjoyed meeting you. Good night, everyone.” Libby hurried toward her room.
Shelly turned to Ivy with a questioning look. “Was that odd?”
Ivy thought so, too, but she lowered her voice. “Remember, guest business is none of our business.”
7
That evening after Ivy changed and slid into bed, Bennett wrapped his arms around her. “That was nice of you to give the rest of the food to Sophie and David. And to suggest they study here.”
“I’m glad you didn’t mind. They needed a quiet space with their tutor. The scholarships they need to apply for will depend on good grades.”
“Sweetheart, I admire what you do for the community and the passion you have for projects. But I worry about you becoming overextended and passing up paid guest events because of community commitments here. Be careful that you don’t overdo your service to folks. You’re still running a business.”
“That only happened once. Maybe twice, but everyone understood. We made alternate arrangements.” Ivy couldn’t help adding, “I was thinking about the library situation?—”
Bennett’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “We’ve been over this.”
“I know, but with the bookmobile here, it reminds me how much the community needs?—”
Bennett cut in, his tone gentle but firm. “We can’t change that, even for a good cause.”
Ivy tried again. “We talked about a fundraiser, like the gala we gave for Viola.”
“You were the only one willing to do it.” With a sigh, he took her hand. “This renovation has turned out to be more time consuming than intended. Reed and his crews are all working overtime. There are only so many hours in the day, even for you.”
“As I watched Daisy starting to walk, I thought about her and all the children in Summer Beach who will grow up without a library to explore. What if the city made an offer to Libby to stay and provide her bookmobile as city service.”
Bennett ran a hand over his jaw. “That’s an interesting idea, but?—”
“No money, right?” Ivy sighed.
“I was going to say she’d need to submit a proposal. We don’t know anything about her or her work beyond what we saw today. I liked her, but she seemed evasive at dinner.”
“You picked up on that, too?”
“I could feel the vibes you were giving off.” He drew a hand over her hair. “I’ve found that when I push too hard on projects fraught with challenges, it might not be the right time for it. I worry you’ll overextend yourself, that’s all.”
“And yet, you’ve always said you’re proud of my resourcefulness.”
Bennett hesitated before nodding. “Okay, point taken. Just know the city budget has its limitations.”
“Good thing I’m resourceful, then.”
“This is one more reason I love you,” Bennett said, grinning.
“I hope you never run out of reasons,” she said, kissing him softly. “Because I sure won’t.”
She loved that they could talk about their concerns now. They’d had to work on that when they first married.
“I’ll talk to Libby over breakfast,” she said. “If not her, maybe there’s another solution.” There had to be one; she just hadn’t found it yet.
On the other hand, her husband had a point. She had pushed so hard on the library project. In the end, it didn’t seem like it was meant to be. Maybe having an occasional visit from a traveling bookmobile was the best solution.
