Everybody Knows (Sunnyside #1) (7 page)

While Harper checked out the mostly-carnivorous
choices, her cholesterol level probably zoomed into the stratosphere.
Meanwhile, Zach chatted with the waitress. “You’ll probably be seeing a lot of
Harper since the library’s just down the block. Harper, this is Lenore Murphy,
the owner of the diner.”

Harper looked up and smiled. “Lenore, not Mabel?”

“Nope.” Lenore crossed her arms over the front of
her pink uniform.

“Then why does the door say Mabel Johnson’s the
proprietor? There’s got to be a story there somewhere.”

“Mabel was my sister, but she ran off twenty years
ago with a truck driver from Montana. Died in Nevada a few years after that. I
bought the diner from her, but kept the sign on the door and the menu just the
same as she left ‘em. People around here don’t like change all that much.”

Harper liked the woman’s quirkiness. “No point in
changing a good thing, is there?”

“Exactly.” Lenore pursed her lips, probably at the
sour taste left behind from having to agree with the newcomer. “You know what
you want yet?”

“An egg-white omelet with tomatoes, mushrooms, and
avocado.”

Lenore tipped her chin down and scowled at Harper.
“Is that on the menu?”

“No.”

“Then you can’t get that.”

Harper cleared her throat before giving her order
another shot. “Then, how about the number five with toast instead of a bis—?”

Lenore held up her hand. “Everybody knows we took
the Number Five off the menu two years ago.”

“Do you scramble the eggs on the same griddle
where the bacon and sausage are fried?”

“Goes without sayin’.”

Harper closed the menu with a sigh. Lenore’s
quirkiness was quickly becoming less likable. “I’ll have granola with skim milk
and a fruit cup.”

“All righty, but that’s not a meal.” Lenore stuck
her pencil behind her ear. “I’ll have to charge you for two sides and a drink.”

The woman clearly didn’t know anything about
winning over new customers, but then, she probably didn’t get that many. The
Sunnyside residents were a captive audience and the bulk of her business. “No
problem.”

“Coffee? Juice?”

“Is the orange juice fresh-squeezed?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll have apple juice.” She waited until
Lenore walked away to raise her eyebrows at Zach.

“She’s not always like that,” Zach said.

Harper pursed her lips and eyed him skeptically.
She didn’t want to call him a liar, but she doubted if Lenore would ever be
named Merchant-of-the-Month.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Okay,
she is, but she means well. And she grows on you. After a while. A long while.”

“And that’s another not-so-warm welcome for me
from a Sunnyside native,” Harper murmured. “If I were keeping track, I’d say
I’m up to eight people now who wish they’d never met me.”

“I hope I’m not on that list,” Zach teased, but Harper
took his comment seriously.

“Seven negatives and one solidly in the
definite-maybe column.”

“Definite-maybe, leaning toward growing-on-me.”

“Ah, there’s hope for me yet. I remain undaunted.”

“Things will get better. I promise.” He squeezed
her hand in an encouraging gesture just as Lenore returned and thunked their
coffee and juice on the table.

“Does Kate know you’re out with the new
librarian?” she asked Zach.

“We saw her at Rachel’s before we came here.”

Lenore sniffed. “I guess she doesn’t mind then.”

“I guess she doesn’t.” He looked Lenore square in
the eye and repeated his usual refrain. “You know Kate and I are just friends.”

“That’s what you both say, but that’s not what it
looks like to the rest of us.”

He huffed a short sigh. “I know what you
think
it looks like.”

“We’ll just wait and see what happens.”

“You’ve been waiting a long time,” he reminded
her.

“Not that long. Remember that girl you were engaged
to from Chicago when you were in medical school up there? She wasn’t right for
you. We all knew that. It wasn’t until you broke up with her that you and Kate
got serious.”

“We’re not serious.” Awhile back he and Kate had
started letting everyone believe they were dating to keep townspeople from
constantly trying to fix them up with everyone else. But now the fiction had
gone on too long. No matter how often he denied the relationship between them,
the locals expected them to get married.

“Right,” Lenore said before marching off.

Harper had watched the exchange in awe.

“I tried to warn you about the town getting into
everybody’s business.”

“You weren’t kidding.” She put her straw in her
glass. “But what was that about? The people of this town think you and Kate are
a couple?”

“And you don’t?”

“Not be my place to say so, but no.”

He cocked his head with curiosity, waiting to hear
her logic. “They know us better than you do.”

She gave him a long look from under her lashes. “I
would say you most definitely are not her type.”

“Based on what? Wishful thinking?”

“Dream on,” Harper scoffed. “But, why do they
think you’re, what? Seeing one another? Dating?
Sleeping
together?”

“We’ve been friends a long time, we’re about the
same age, and we go to a lot of events together. Most people think that means
we’re dating.”

“But you’re not.”

Stirring cream into his coffee, he ignored her
disbelief. “It’s complicated.”

Harper shrugged. “Everything in this townies
complicated.”

“More than you know.” Zach reached for his phone as
it buzzed in his pocket. “I’ll be right back to make our plans for this
morning.”

By the time Zach had gotten updated on his
patients and returned to the booth, Lenore was depositing their food on the
table. He stopped her before she marched off. “Have you heard about anything
unusual going on over at the library?”

The woman tucked the tray under her arm and mulled
over the question. She flicked her gaze Harper’s way. “Going on how? When?”

“It’d have to be at night, I guess. It looks like
there have been some night visitors and some vandalism. Maybe just random kids,
maybe something more... organized.”

“Local kids?” Lenore puffed up like a blowfish. “I
don’t believe it.”

“I thought if there were any rumors, you might’ve
heard. You know how everybody comes in here sooner or later, and some people
think the booths are soundproof. If you think of anything that might have
seemed out of the ordinary, let Jimbo know, okay?”

The diner owner nodded and moved away wearing a
thoughtful expression. Harper forked up a bite of melon from her fruit plate
and nearly groaned when the flavor exploded in her mouth, fresh and sweet.
Along with the homemade granola, things were starting to look up.

And even though she found the meat products on
Zach’s plate disgusting, the sausage, scrambled eggs, and home fries were piled
high with golden biscuits covered in gravy. Not what she would like, but she
could see why it suited Zach.

His fork made inroads in the mountain of food as
he explained he’d briefed Jimbo on the library situation the night before. If
he hadn’t already been by to take a look at the damage, he’d be along shortly.
Zach had put out a call for volunteers, so they should have plenty of hands on
deck by the time they finished their meal.

Harper reported that Andrew Berkman had been
notified and authorized her to get the cleanup underway. As soon as she
received estimates from reputable sources, he’d authorize the funds for
renovations.

Anxious to get to the library and see the damage
in the light of day, they didn’t linger. When they prepared to leave, Lenore
scooted right over to drop off the check. Zach reached for it, but Harper got
to it first.

Shrugging, he let her have it, saying to Lenore, “If
you know of anybody who needs work, tell them we’ll be doing some cleanup and
maintenance at the library for the next few days and they should come by. It’ll
be volunteer, at first, but it might turn into more.”

“If you put out a call like that, half the town
will show up.”

“We’ll put anybody to work who isn’t drunk or
high. Spread the word.”

When Harper turned her attention to the check, she
was puzzled. Her food was itemized, but that was all. Zach threw a couple of
bucks on the table before stepping outside to take another phone call while she
moved over to the counter to pay.

“What? You eat free?” She joined him outside, and
they started down the sidewalk.

“Not always. Not exactly.” He looked adorable when
embarrassed. “It’s just that Lenore considers feeding me part of my salary.”

“You get paid in produce, swine, and breakfast at
the diner?”

His mouth turned down in a frown. “Save your
receipts. The foundation will pay for your meals until you’re settled in your
house and have access to a kitchen.”

“And when that will be?”

“Soon. I’ll check on the floors before I go back
to the hospital.”

“Okay, when you put it like that, I can see how my
floors wouldn’t be your first priority.”

“Everything’s my first priority.”

She couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him. “You
know you’re not God, right? You can’t handle everything. No matter what you or
this town might think.”

“Tell that to the residents of Sunnyside. They
have great expectations of me.”

“Very Dickensian of them.”

“My contract with the town has definite Dickensian
overtones.” He raised his hand to stop her as she opened her mouth to question
him. “My first seven years of practice. My complete and undivided attention
seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. A percentage of any earnings I
accrue when I discover the cure for cancer and end world hunger, and of course,
my first-born child.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Is any of that for
real?”

“More than you might think.”

About a dozen people in work clothes waited outside
the library when Zach and Harper arrived. Despite the suspicious glances thrown
at her, she wouldn’t have been surprised to hear a twenty-one gun salute go up
when they spotted Zach.

He greeted everyone with a handshake, a pat on the
back, or a wave, and fended off a few questions about the boys in the car
crash. When he called for attention from the top of the steps, they turned
eagerly in his direction.

“Well, this is a hell of an introduction for our
new librarian.” Zach shook his head and crossed his arms. “I won’t kid you, the
library’s a mess. I’ve asked for your help this morning on behalf of the town
council so we can get this place fixed up before she decides to run screaming
back to Chicago. Gentlemen, this is Harper Simmons, and she’s tougher than she
looks. Harper, do you have anything you’d like to say before we get started?”

She smiled and waved as she stepped up. “Thanks
for coming to get the library back in order. It’ll take more than this mess to
run me off.” A couple of refugees from Duck Dynasty strolled up to join the
group as Harper stuck close to Zach’s side. “When we’re finished with this
project, it will be a wonderful facility for you and your families to use and
enjoy. Meanwhile, if anyone has any information on how it got into this state,
please let me or Zach know.”

Her request was met with skeptical or blank faces
from the men. In fact, the only men who didn’t look bored were the ones leering
at her. Given enough time, she could handle either attitude. But she was
pleased to have Zach’s support to get her off on the right track this morning.

“Or drop a bug in Jimbo’s ear,” Zach suggested.
“Now, let’s get to work. I’ll hang around as long as I can, but I need to get
back to the hospital, so it will be Harper giving the orders. She knows what
needs to be done, and she’ll give out the assignments. Since she’s new in town,
she may not know who’s good at what yet, but she’ll figure it out quick enough.
She’s the boss. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with her.”

Some of the more macho cavemen sneered. Chauvinism
was clearly alive and well in Sunnyside, Illinois.

Zach unlocked the door to the library and pulled
her inside. While the workers filed in behind them and grumbled about the state
of the interior, the doctor pulled a spreadsheet out of one of his pockets.
“This is a general rundown on most of the workers, what you can expect from
them, and what tasks they will or won’t be good at.”

“When did you do this?” She looked in amazement
from the spreadsheet to Zach and back again.

“This morning, when I got home from the hospital.
After I slept for a few hours and had a shower.”

She continued to stare at him in disbelief.

“What? It’s not a big deal. I like to be organized.”

“I can see that.” She tried not to smile at the
obvious. “I guess you also ran a marathon, re-roofed your dad’s house, and
baked a cherry pie, too.”

“God, no,” he said on a shudder. “We re-roofed
Dad’s house last summer, and I couldn’t bake a cherry pie if my life depended
on it.”

“Good to know.” At least there was one thing
beyond his abilities. If she wasn’t careful, she’d be like the rest of the town
and start assigning superpowers to his every-day actions.

“If you run into problems you can’t handle, go to
Liam Bowman. He’s a buddy of mine and a general jack of all trades. Not real
chatty, but you can count on him. His name’s at the top of the list. I asked
him to shore up that broken stair railing before he did anything else.”

Despite Zach’s reluctance to leave, the library
had to take second place to real life-and-death situations. Although he’d
originally intended to stay and help all morning, he’d been preoccupied since
his first phone call at the diner.

After providing more insight into the names on his
spreadsheet, he scrawled his cell phone number at the top. “In case of
emergency.”

“Medical?”

“God, no. Call nine-one-one for those,” he said
with what Harper thought were ominous undertones. “If I’m not back in time to
go with you to the council meeting, the Administration Building’s directly
across the street. Room 216. Everybody knows where the meeting will be, so just
ask Liam or one of the other guys if you want a guide.”

“I can manage on my own.”

“I’m beginning to see that about you.” He smoothed
a stray tendril of hair behind her ear in a move that got to her in more
neglected places than it should have. “Some council members might turn up to
view the situation first-hand. Don’t let them intimidate you. And don’t try to
intimidate them.” He turned to go but swung back around as he pulled something
from his pocket. “And here’s your set of keys to the library. Try not to lose
‘em.”

Determined to get her tasks underway, she didn’t
stand and watch him stroll out of the library and down the steps with that
Masters of the Universe stride he had down so well. Even though she really
wanted to. But she did allow herself a peek or two.

Squaring her shoulders against the task in front
of her, her heart broke all over again to see the devastation in the bright
morning light. Everything looked much worse than it had the night before, but
that only made her more determined to get started.

The Library Director’s office on the second floor
was uninhabitable, but she preferred being in the thick of things anyway. She
set up her command post at the circulation desk on the first floor just past
the main entrance, in front of the grand sweeping staircase with the railing
that some guy with a magnificent body was shoring up. Everyone coming and going
passed by her, and she could easily maneuver upstairs or down, as needed.

The volunteers became noticeably less agreeable
with Zach’s departure. In this group of hardworking Midwesterners, most people were
honestly there to help. But a few slackers had simply come to gawk at the new
kid in town and catch up on the latest gossip.

Several of Zach’s friends showed up just because
he’d asked or they owed him favors. A couple of aimless teenagers with nothing
better to do wandered in but mostly texted on their cell phones, checked out
the graffiti, and didn’t contribute much. When she tried to approach them to
discuss the talents or technique of the graffiti artist, they remembered they
had more pressing places to be.

The most valuable helpers were a couple of
laid-off construction workers with skills to tackle the more pressing repairs.
Everyone was put to work, whether they liked it or not.

A few people stood out from the crowd. Liam
Bowman, the number-one name on Zach’s spreadsheet, was dark, brooding, very
tense, and intensely good-looking in a fallen angel sort of way. He gave
Harper’s body a frank appraisal. Appreciation lurked in his dark eyes, but not
desire. Any desire he might have felt in the past seemed to have been put
permanently on hold. Like he didn’t have the energy for it anymore.

When Harper asked him what he did when not pressed
into volunteering at the library, he told her. “I manage the strip joint out on
the highway. Maybe you noticed it when you came into town yesterday.”

“Hard to miss
Live!
Nude! Girls!
” She spread her hands out billboard-style while she quoted the
square building’s neon sign.

She had noticed it, of course, but was surprised
to hear he worked there. Based on assumption only, she would have guessed the
manager of a strip joint to be kind of a sleaze. Or a hound dog. Maybe
overexposure to the female body had dampened his interest to it.

“If you’re uncomfortable with my latest
career-opportunity, just say the word, and I won’t stay, but I have four things
going for me.”

“What?”

“I worked all through college doing construction
work, I’m usually free during the day. Zach trusts me, even though he
shouldn’t. And I’d like to help.”

“If Zach trusts you, so do I.” She didn’t examine
why that was true, it just was. “I can use your help, but your current
employment sounds like an interesting story.”

“It’s a long one, filled with lust, greed,
stupidity, amazing success, and devastating failure. Not all that unique, and
we won’t go into it today. There are plenty of others who’ll be happy to fill
you in on the sordid details anytime you want.”

“Doubtful. I’m not exactly part of the popular
clique here anyway.”

“Me, either. The guys like me fine out at the
club. But here, they’re embarrassed to know that I know what they do during
their off-hours. And the wives turn up their noses at me like I’m hog swill.”

It was true. The other workers acknowledged him
only slightly more than they acknowledged her. And even though she didn’t mean
to listen to the gossip about his recent return to town, she couldn’t help but
overhear bits and pieces.

After achieving obscenely great financial success
on Wall Street, Liam crashed and burned in a tabloid-worthy scandal of money
and drugs that cost him his marriage, his bank account, his job, and his
reputation. Broke and broken, he’d barely escaped having criminal charges
brought against him before coming home to lick his wounds and try to pull his
life back together. From the look of his edgy exterior, Harper guessed it was
an ongoing struggle.

Meanwhile, he quietly and efficiently accepted the
tasks Harper assigned him and kept on eye on the workers around him.

The second most memorable person was Hugh McMahon.
Memorable, but not in a good way. Harper’s spidey senses tingled with distrust
when he leered at her. “No need for you to mess up your manicure, Ms. Simmons.
You can leave this mess to me, and I’ll get it set to rights in no time.”

“Why would I do that?”

Puffing out his chest, he presented her with an alligator
smile, all pointy teeth and insincerity. “My construction company will be doing
the major renovation work here.”

“Is that right? Says who?” She knew Hugh’s type. A
conceited blow-hard who pretended to be friendly, but would lie to her face or
stab her in the back first chance he got.

“The town council.” He looked around smugly. “It
looks like it’ll be a bigger job than anybody expected.”

He rocked back on the heels of his unsullied work
boots, and she was tempted to push him over onto his backside. If he mentioned
anything about her not worrying her “pretty little head” about the details,
Harper would do it.

“I appreciate your offer.” She returned his smile
with one that rivaled his in lack of warmth. “I’ll discuss this business of a
contract with your construction company with the council. They don’t have the
authority to hire someone without my agreement, and I’m required to see a
variety of the bids and appraisals before a decision is made.”

He looked at her with pity. “Just how many bids do
you think there will be in a town this size?”

“The terms of the grant state that five bids are
required.”

“If you get five, you’ll be getting them from any
yahoo with a hammer and a couple of relatives pretending to be employees.
That’s not what you want, missy. I’m the biggest and best construction company
in the area. I have the most equipment and the biggest crew.”

“If we’re hiring a crew based on the Bigger is
Better Theory, then I look forward to working with you after reviewing your
proposal.”

Every time she came upon Hugh after that
conversation, he pretended he was busy directing a group of guys. But they were
all just holding up walls with their shoulders instead of putting forth a
reasonable effort. They grumbled loudly every time she assigned them to task.

After an hour, most of his cronies had faded away,
but Hugh stuck it out until two middle-aged men entered the library along with
a younger man in uniform. Harper recognized two of the men from her Skype interview
with the town council. Shaking their heads at the mess, they stopped to chat
with Liam under one of the bigger, more colorful graffiti murals.