Bookstore princess

Chapter 15

Nadia

"Nadia, wake up!" Jenny is standing at the head of my bed with a worried look on her face. Her visible anxiety is worrying me, and I sit up quickly.
"What's wrong? What happened?" I ask, my hair askew and in my face.
"We got hit again last night, and it's bad. I already called Sheriff Morgan, but I can't get the store ready and be there for when he gets here. They left a package, but I didn't open it" she tells me. "What if it's a head?!"
"You've been watching too many true crime video's," I yawn. "I'll leave the opening of the box to the sheriff however" I slowly get out of bed. "Give me a sec," I say and go to the bathroom to use the facilities as well as brush out my hair. I put it back in a messy bun, and don't bother with makeup since time is of the essence. Jenny is still waiting for me when I come out and I just grab fresh lace undergarments, a pair of light blue relaxed fit jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of running shoes. Normally Jacob is in charge of cleaning up the graffiti, or at least he's made himself in charge of it. Today it's going to be my job.
"You'll have to charge for the newspapers on your till today, and the books. At least until I get back inside" I yawn again. We head downstairs and I feed Melody before rushing down the stairs. We both head out the side door and I see the damage for myself. Red paint across our windows with the word "Go away". Morgan is already here and he's got the box and is shaking his head.
"Good morning Sherriff" I say hesitantly, eyes on the box.
"Good morning ladies" he nods. "We need extra cameras out here" he sighs. "Do you have one on the front door?"
"Yes, we do," Jenny answered. "What's in the box? Is it a head?" she asks quickly.
"It's a dead rat with some plant. I think it's wolfsbane," he says. "I assume you don't want to see it" he shakes his head.
"No, I'd rather not. The poor rat" I frown.
"Yeah, solid pass on that one" Jenny shakes her head.
"The good news is there might be some fingerprints on here. Maybe some evidence. I was just headed to put this in my truck" he nods.
"By all means" I sigh.
"You look like you just got out of bed" he comments as he walks past the two of us.
"What do you think it means?" Jenny asks me.
"Someone clearly wants us to close down" I sigh. "We put everything into this" I shake my head, feeling a little defeated.
"I'll figure out who's doing this to you" Morgan assures us. "Can I see the camera footage?" he asks.
"Yeah, did you get the pictures and stuff?" I ask him.
"Yes, I did that while waiting on you ladies. No left over cans or finger prints. I also took a sample of the paint, that's in my truck too" he gestures to the police truck.
"I'll let you in the side door" Jenny starts leading the way back to the side door. I follow the two of them to get a bucket of warm soapy water and some rags. Luckily we always keep them on hand because this has been happening frequently since we opened. I go back to the side door and walk out to see James standing at the end by the corner of the building with a large frown on his face. He's on his phone and I can tell he's speaking curtly to someone on the phone. He's wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt with a pair of black running shoes. He sees me coming and he hangs up his phone, sliding it into his back pocket.
"Are you okay baby doll?" he asks, his eyes searching mine.
"Yeah, just a little freaked out. They left a box with a dead rat and some wolfsbane on the front step" I say and he looks livid.
"We will catch who did this" he says with passion.
"Yeah, Morgan's watching the camera's now. We will have to put in some more security camera's, but for now... I gotta clean up" I sigh.
"Wait, did you even eat?" he asks, taking in my appearance.
"No, I just rolled out of bed and put the first thing I could find on" I shake my head.
"I'll tell you what, you let me take care of cleaning this up. I'll go pick you up something to eat when I'm done, and you'll still be able to open on time" James takes the soapy bucket from me.
"I can't ask you to do this" I shake my head.
"Let me take care of you" he reaches up and touches my cheek in a loving gesture. "I just want one thing" he adds, looking at my lips.
"What's that?" I ask him a little breathlessly.
"This" he says and he gives me a soft kiss on the lips. "Now that's a nice good morning kiss" he winks as he pulls away.
"How can you be so perfect?" I say as I gaze up into his eyes.
"I ask myself the same thing about you everyday" he gives me another soft kiss.
"I adore you" I sigh, finally surrendering the bucket and rags.
"I adore you, my little Nadia" he licks his lips. "Now, go get the store ready, and I'll take care of this and your breakfast. Alison's bakery is open, so I know exactly where I'm headed" he winks again. I flush and nod and head back inside feeling little butterflies in my stomach, regardless of the rude awakening I had this morning.