The True Love Bookshop

Book 0: Somerset Lake

by Annie Rains

Genres: Small Town & Rural; Clean & Wholesome Romance

Synopsis

Tess Lane has tried to move on from her husband’s mysterious death, but when his best friend River Harrison shows up, Tess comes to realize this is her chance to find the answers that have troubled her for years and find the joy in life again. Fans of Jenny Hale, Robyn Carr, and Lori Wilde will love Annie Rains's third tender and uplifting romance in the Somerset Lake series, The True Love Bookshop. 

Release date: July 5, 2022

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Print pages: 352

Sample

Chapter One

“No,” Tess Lane said, maybe a little too forcefully for her new employee at Lakeside Books. “It’s not a romance if it doesn’t have a happy ending.” Tess pointed at the book in Lara Dunkin’s hand. “The hero dies at the end of that one. That novel can’t be categorized as a romance.” Tess gestured at another shelf of books with a sign overhead that read ROMANTIC FICTION. “It can be shelved over there.”

Lara dutifully took the book and placed it where Tess had directed her.

But maybe a book where the hero died wasn’t even considered romantic fiction. Tess stood there thoughtfully. Perhaps that book belonged in the Horror section. Or the Nonfiction section because real life heroes died all the time. She should know.

Her heart squeezed, and emotions tumbled over each other, spilling out messily inside her while she worked to maintain a composed demeanor. She’d learned that it was comfortable for others if she played the role of the grieving widow for only about a month after Jared’s death. Now, when people asked how she was doing, they didn’t really want to hear the truth, that some days were harder than others. Or that she still had to give herself pep talks to make it to work some days, especially ones like this.

No. People wanted to know that Tess was doing well. That she was running a successful bookshop in her quaint little hometown of Somerset Lake, North Carolina, complete with a book club of her closest friends. That she had taken up hiking and was considering getting a dog to join her on the trails. And that she was journaling because some self-help book she’d read last year said it had changed the author’s life.

That’s what well-intended folks wanted to hear, so that’s what Tess told them when they asked how she was doing, three years after Jared’s death.

The bell above the store’s door chimed, announcing a customer. Tess headed in that direction and froze. Even the breath inside her stilled. Then she folded her arms over her chest, hugging herself tightly. Of all days, why was River Harrison standing in front of her today? “You’re not welcome in my store.”

He looked calm, as always. That was the thing about River. Nothing fazed this man. He’d been Jared’s best friend once upon a time. They’d served in the military together. Then River had betrayed Jared in an unforgivable way.

Tess pointed toward the front door, her body shaky. “You can leave now. Get your books somewhere else. The library maybe.”

“Actually, I was hoping to use your bathroom,” he said, his words coming out slowly.

“If my bathroom was the last one on earth, and your bladder was about to explode, I wouldn’t let you use it.” Tess was vaguely aware that her new employee was watching and overhearing every word. Tess really hoped she didn’t quit. Lara was Tess’s first full-time employee for the bookstore and would allow Tess more free time for all the hiking, journaling, and dog walking she’d be doing when she finally got herself that dog. Lara didn’t know the history between Tess and River. If she did, she’d understand the animosity.

River took a step forward, and Tess noticed that he was limping a little. “Can I just use your phone then?”

“Where’s yours?” she asked, vaguely aware that he looked pale. The scar under his right eye was a deeper shade of pink against the pallor of his nearly translucent skin. She couldn’t remember if she’d ever been told the story of how River got that scar under his eye. She’d asked Jared about it once, but he had given her some vague answer that really didn’t tell her anything. That was one thing about living with an ex-Marine. Marines had secrets, and she’d had to accept that she wouldn’t know certain things about the man she’d pledged to live the rest of her life with, short as Jared’s had turned out to be.

“I’ve been camping in the woods, and my phone is dead. I drove this far, but I can’t make it home…I thought you might put your feelings toward me aside for just a moment.”

“Feelings?” Tess asked. “Oh, I have feelings about you. And I don’t think I will ever put them to the side. Maybe you need to walk down to Sweetie’s Bake Shop. Darla might be willing to help you out.”

River turned to leave, stumbled, and caught himself against a shelf, knocking a book to the floor.

Tess’s mouth dropped open. “Are you drunk?” she asked, hurt and anger funneling at the center of her chest.

“I wish,” River slurred.

“You are drunk. You have some nerve coming in here, today of all days.” Tears collected in her eyes. She blinked them away, choosing to focus on her anger. “I bet you don’t even know what today is, do you?”

“Yeah, I do,” he said quietly, his back toward her, his hand still clutching the bookshelf for support.

“Somehow that makes it even worse then,” Tess said quietly. “I don’t know what Jared ever saw in you.”

River stopped, straightened, and turned to face her, his skin even paler under the low lighting of her bookshop. “I could say the opposite about you. I always knew what he saw.”

Tess stiffened. It was too late for niceties. Her gaze dropped to a large, dark stain on his T-shirt, and a gasp escaped her mouth. “Is that blood?”

“Just a little.”

“You’re injured?” The sight of blood had always triggered a surge of adrenaline through her. Even a tiny drop from a paper cut. This was way more than a droplet though.

He looked down as well and then stumbled again, this time failing to catch himself as he fell right over in the middle of the aisle.

“Lara, call nine-one-one!” Tess rushed to River’s side and crouched beside him in the aisle. She patted his cheek gently at first and then a little harder. “River? River, are you okay?”

He moaned, his blue eyes cracking open to peer up at her.

Her breath caught as she looked down at him.

“Tess?” he asked.

“Yes?”

“Don’t call an ambulance. I hate hospitals.”

“Sorry,” she said, “but I’m not going to allow you to bleed out in my bookshop today.”

He chuckled quietly and then closed his eyes again. “Because of the mess, right? Not because you want me to live.”

Tess glanced at the large blood stain on his shirt. “I do want you to live, okay? And you are going to live because Lara called an ambulance. You’re going to Magnolia Medical, whether you want to or not.”

River’s smile faded.

Panic shot through Tess. She leaned over his face again, hoping he wasn’t dead. “River?”

He cracked open an eye. “Yes, Tess?”

“Just don’t die, okay?” Her breaths were shallow as nerves bound her chest.

“One condition,” he said.

She frowned. “You’re in no position to make conditions.”

“My dog is in my truck. Can you watch him for me? Please.”

Tess hesitated. River was the last person she would ever do a favor for. But he was kind-of-maybe dying right now, and his dog was apparently helpless and alone inside his truck. “Fine.”

“My keys are in my pocket.”

Tess gulped. Okay, he was asking a lot. She hesitated before reaching quickly into his jeans pocket, grabbing the keys, and yanking them out. “What’s your dog’s name?”

“Buddy.”

“Is he aggressive?” she asked, hearing sirens grow louder as they approached her store. Thank goodness they were almost here.

River’s eyes shut, and his head fell to one side.

“River?” She slapped his face. “River?”

He didn’t respond this time.

A few seconds later, two paramedics rushed through her front doors, spotting her immediately. Her heart jumped into her throat. Many times, she’d had the thought that she wished this man in front of her would just drive off a cliff. She didn’t mean it, of course. She didn’t really want any harm to come to River Harrison. Once upon a time, she’d thought he was a nice guy. One of the good ones. All that changed on her wedding day, however, when he’d told her husband-to-be that he was making a huge mistake.

The paramedics, a male and a female, took over. Tess stood and moved away, feeling breathless and upset.

Lara stepped up beside her. “Don’t worry. He’ll be all right,” she said gently.

Tess nodded again, tears burning the backs of her eyes. “Oh, I’m certain. He’s a former Marine. He’s tough.” But then again, her late husband had been too. Tess looked at Lara. “Please tell me you’re not quitting. The bookstore isn’t usually this…active.”

Lara smiled. “You’re stuck with me. I need this job.”

“That’s good. Because I need you.” Tess watched as the paramedics wheeled River out on a gurney. Then she took a deep breath and jingled the keys in her hand. “I need to get his dog from his truck. Can you watch the store?”

“Of course.”

Tess didn’t recall ever seeing River with a dog. She hoped it wasn’t massive or hyper. Or a biter. She headed out the front door of the store just in time to see the ambulance disappear down the street. Then she realized she didn’t know what kind of vehicle River drove. He’d said a truck. That’s all she knew to look for.

She scanned the street where there were several vehicles parked nearby. One was parked haphazardly, like maybe someone had rolled in while bleeding from their left side. Tess headed in that direction and saw a large hound dog’s head pop up from the driver’s seat. He watched her as she approached. He didn’t bark or growl, and he wasn’t foaming at the mouth, which were all good signs.

She reluctantly opened the driver’s side door, ready to slam it shut if the dog’s behavior changed. It didn’t though. “Hi. I’m Tess. River’s, um…Well, we’re not friends. Definitely not friends,” she told the dog, immediately feeling silly for talking to it. “But I’ll be watching you while he gets better.”

The dog looked at her with an almost bored expression. Then it hopped down from the truck’s seat and stood beside her, looking up as if to say, Lead the way.

*  *  *

River despised nothing more than being in a hospital.

His eyes weren’t open yet, but he could already feel that’s where he was based on the steady sound of a beep, beep in the room and the cold, stale air he was breathing, unlike the fresh mountain air he preferred.

Not that he had much of a choice in coming here. He’d made a foolish mistake while he’d been out in the rugged wilderness beyond Somerset Lake. He liked to go off on the weekends sometimes and test his survival skills in the mountainous terrain. Well, this weekend, if there was a pass or fail to survival skills, he would have flunked with flying colors.

Everything had been going fine until the unexpected summer storm hit yesterday, sending temperatures dropping and rain pelting his makeshift shelter. That’s when everything had fallen to pieces. Such was how true survival situations went. The unplanned happened. True skills were challenged. And sometimes people got hurt.

River was a trained Marine. He was careful—always. But a distracted mind was dangerous. He’d needed the weekend getaway after running into a former buddy from his old Marine unit when he was stationed at Camp Lejeune. Jared Lane’s name had come up, of course. Back in the day, River and Jared had been best friends. That had all changed after they’d gotten out of the Marines, but River wouldn’t expect this guy to know that. Then the guy had mentioned Ashley Hansley, another former Marine they’d all been close to.

“I ran into her the other day,” the guy told River.

“Yeah? How’s she doing?” River hadn’t seen Ashley since an awkward situation three nights before Jared’s wedding. Walking in on two people who were hot and heavy was awkward to say the least.

“Ashley seems to be doing great. She got out of the Corps as well. Guess none of us were lifers. She’s living in Morrisville these days.”

Morrisville. That town name had plagued River for years. There was nothing in Morrisville as far as River knew. Why would Jared have been there on the night of his car accident? River prided himself on being a good private investigator, but he hadn’t a clue until that chance meeting with his Marine Corps buddy last week.

The implications had occupied River’s mind while he’d been camping over the weekend. His thoughts had been muddled. And while trying to sharpen the tip of a stick that he was using to tamp his shelter into the dirt, his knife had slipped against his rain-slick hands, sinking the blade into River’s left side.

It was just a superficial wound. River had cleaned and sewn the small gash up himself. But the hike back to the mainland the next day had busted open the stitches, and River had realized too late that infection was setting in. The river was flooded from the earlier storm, so he’d been forced to backtrack and take the long way to his vehicle.

River’s intention was to drive himself home to complete his own wound care and assess whether the situation called for something more. But he’d started seeing stars on the drive toward Mallard Creek. He’d pulled off on Hannigan Street for safety reasons, and that’s when he’d spotted Tess’s bookstore like a beacon of hope in his rearview mirror.

Beep. Beep.

River groaned softly, resisting the harsh fluorescent lighting in the room as he opened his eyes. Still alive. That was always goal number one in every emergency situation. Survival.

“Good news, Mr. Harrison. You’re alive,” a nurse confirmed.

River shifted around under the paper-thin blanket.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. “Try to take it easy, Mr. Harrison. The bad news is that you’ll be here for a couple days.”

“A couple days?” In a hospital. If the woods were his paradise, this was his anti-paradise. “You sure I’m not in hell?” he asked gruffly.

The nurse chuckled, the sound as high-pitched as the monitor’s beeping. “Very sure. Do you need me to call someone?”

River’s father was in Weeping Willows Assisted Living Facility. River would need to call Alice, the director there, to tell his dad not to expect him for a visit for a couple of days. Other than that, his dog was his family. “Is my cell phone around here?” River asked, looking for his clothing. He didn’t want to even think about how his clothes had come off.

The nurse pointed. “On the bedside table. We located a charger for you to borrow and plugged it in for you.”

“Thanks. I need to check on my dog.” He reached for his phone, feeling the pinch of pain in his left side. And that was no doubt blunted with medication. He hesitated, wondering just what he would say to Tess. Asking her to care for his dog might be too much of a favor even for a friend. And Tess had made it clear they weren’t friends.

River supposed he could ask one of the men he’d recently started hanging out with at the tavern. His dog, Buddy, was a loner like River though and preferred not to be around other dogs. Miles and Lucy had a French bulldog. And Jake had a lab mix. All of River’s friends had dogs, come to think of it.

River didn’t have Tess’s phone number programmed into his phone so he brought up the website for Lakeside Books. Tess’s picture came up on the contact page. He studied it for a moment. He’d been jealous when his best friend, Jared, had first started dating her. He’d met Tess briefly just before he’d realized that she was the same girl his friend wouldn’t stop talking about. In that one chance meeting, River had thought he might try to get to know her better.

It was her eyes that grabbed him first. They were the brightest brown he’d ever seen against the backdrop of soft brown skin. Tess’s eyes seemed to always be dancing. It didn’t matter if she was amused or irritated or looking at someone with complete loathing—which was how she looked at River—the dancing was always there.

What made River most envious when Tess was with Jared was the way her eyes had looked at his best friend with love. River regretted that he’d ever wanted her to look at him that way. It was wrong. Probably despicable. Definitely not best friend behavior. But that wasn’t the reason he’d objected to their wedding six years ago. Nope. And the only thing River regretted about his actions that night was that he hadn’t told Tess what he knew. Instead, he’d urged Jared to confess. It was Jared’s truth to tell after all, not River’s.

River searched for the phone number for the bookstore and tapped the digits into his cell phone, saving it as a contact. Then he connected the call and waited for Tess to answer.

“Lakeside Books. How may I assist you?” a woman’s voice answered.

It was too soft-spoken to be Tess’s voice. River cleared his throat. “Tess Lane, please.”

“She’s, um, busy right now,” the woman told him.

“It’s important,” River said. “She has my dog.”

“Oh. Yes. That’s what she’s busy doing. Your dog, um, chewed up her books.”

“Chewed her books?” That didn’t bode well for Tess agreeing to keep Buddy. Buddy needed a chew toy, especially when he was stressed. Otherwise, he was likely to gnaw on everything in sight.

“It was just one book,” the woman clarified. “And it didn’t have a happy ending anyway, so I’m sure Tess doesn’t mind.”

River chuckled. “I see. Well, I’ll pay for the damage.”

“Would you like me to have her call you back?”

“Please.” River gave the woman his number and then disconnected the call, looking around what would be his home for the next two days. He felt claustrophobic in the small room, even though it was mostly empty. His cell phone lit up on his bedside tray, and Lakeside Books scrolled across the screen. He took a breath and then answered, wishing he could look into Tess’s dancing eyes as she turned him down. Because there was no way she wouldn’t be turning him down. For one, his dog was ruining her books. For another, if River was the last person that Tess would allow to use her store’s public restroom, he highly doubted she’d agree to dog-sit for him while he recuperated.

“I’m glad you’re not dead,” Tess said when he answered.

Well, that was a good start. “If I am, this hospital room is not my idea of heaven. Listen, I hate to ask, but I kind of need a favor.”

“You’ve surpassed your limit of zero with me,” Tess said flatly.

He imagined her dancing eyes with that quick comeback. She was no doubt proud of it, and she should be. Her wit and humor were two of the things he admired about her. “I’m going to be here awhile longer than expected. It seems I have an infection.”

She was quiet. No quick comeback this time. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she finally said in an almost sincere tone.

River cleared his throat. “Buddy won’t chew up your stuff if you give him something he’s allowed to chew. He has anxiety. You can go to my place and get his ThunderShirt and chew toys to help.”

“Why would I do that?” she asked, but he noticed that her voice was softening. The hard edge had disappeared.

“Because I need help, and I don’t have anyone else to ask.” River didn’t like feeling vulnerable. He prided himself on being independent.

“I care about this because…?”

River knew he was one of her least favorite people. Maybe he was the very least of them. There’d been a time when she’d rolled out the hero’s red carpet for him though. “Because I saved Jared’s life once, if you remember.” He must be desperate to bring that up. Jared had gotten caught in enemy fire during what was supposed to be an uneventful deployment to Iran. River had risked his life to bring Jared to safety. When Tess had heard about his actions, she’d called River in tears, thanking him profusely. Even so, Jared had died just three years later. River had only delayed destiny, if one believed in that kind of thing.

Tess released an audible breath on the other line. “Fine. I’ll need your address.”

River felt himself relax as he exhaled. “I recently moved into the last house on Mallard Creek Drive.”

“Right. I heard you bought that place,” Tess said. “Miles Bruno was thinking about buying it last winter until he decided to keep living in The Village with Lucy.”

“That’s the house,” River confirmed. “The key to the front door is on the keyring for my truck.”

“Got it. Anything else?” she asked.

“Yes.” River shifted, trying to ease the discomfort in his left side. “Thank you. I owe you.”

“You already owed me for saving your life earlier today,” she said before disconnecting the call.

Chapter Two

An hour later, Tess turned into River’s driveway. So this is where River called home these days. The place suited him better than it would have Miles. The address was the last house on a dead-end street. Quiet. Closed off and close to nature. It backed up to Mallard Creek, which was undoubtedly the appeal for a guy like River.

Buddy barked beside Tess, as if to say, Let’s go inside.

Tess reached over and patted the top of the dog’s slick head. “We’re here to get you something appropriate to chew on other than one of my books.” She eyed the dog, who, if she didn’t know better, looked a little sheepish. Did he realize he’d destroyed something of value? Did dogs feel remorse? She wasn’t sure, because she’d never had a dog before. It was on her list of things she wanted, but before delving into the role of pet owner, she intended to read every book in her store on how to care for a dog appropriately. She might even look into dog-sitting Lucy’s or Trisha’s furry friends before making the leap.

She curled her fingers to scratch behind Buddy’s ear. Or dog-sitting my enemy’s furry friend.

Pulling her hand back, she pushed her car door open, stepped out, and closed Buddy inside the car behind her. She wouldn’t be gone long. All she needed to do was collect a few things from River’s house and be on her merry way. She was looking forward to snuggling up with a book and reading a chapter or two. She still hadn’t read the required chapters for Thursday’s book club meeting.

She headed up the front steps and unlocked the door. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting to find when she stepped inside, but it wasn’t an immaculately clean and orderly place. River was former military though. As such, he’d been trained to keep his things neat and tidy. Tess remembered that about Jared. When he was alive, her home had been much more orderly. There hadn’t been stacks of books in every corner, ready to distract Tess at a moment’s notice.

She spotted one of Buddy’s chew toys where River had texted her that it would be and placed it inside a large Ziploc bag that she’d carried in with her. Then she located the ThunderShirt folded neatly on top of Buddy’s kennel near the back door. She’d had to Google what a ThunderShirt even was. She’d had no idea that compression garments helped pets with anxiety.

River had also texted earlier to let her know that Buddy’s bed was in his bedroom and that Buddy would be most comfortable if she grabbed the blanket there as well. Tess glanced down a dimly lit hallway and started walking. Going into a man’s bedroom felt weird on a lot of different levels. She hadn’t entered a man’s bedroom in years. Hadn’t been with a man since her late husband.

There were a couple of bedrooms down the hallway. Tess glanced inside each, trying to determine which was River’s. One had a framed picture on the bedside table that made her think she’d hit the jackpot. She stepped inside and walked over to the picture, absently picking it up. She expected to see a photograph of Buddy or maybe of River’s father, Douglass. Instead, she nearly dropped the frame when she saw the photo. Beneath the thin glass protector was a picture of River and Jared sm. . .