been—probably rightly so—made to feel like a badly-behaved teenager. The confrontation with Nick last night had been the first. Nick was his cousin, not his father. He was older, in his early fifties, but he was still just a cousin.
Except he was also the don of the Pagano Brothers, and while family went far, it only went so far. Getting on Nick’s wrong side was never a good idea, blood ties or not.
John figured he’d better get his shit together and start acting like the grownup he was.
~oOo~
Cover to Cover Books was located on Gannet Street, in the original part of Quiet Cove. The buildings there were a couple hundred years old or, in the case of those buildings which had simply failed over time, replaced to look a couple hundred years old. The town historical society spent a lot of time ensuring that Quiet Cove kept its old-world charm. At Pagano & Sons, John and Luca, and their father before them, spent just as much time jumping through hoops, on restoration or new build jobs in town. They much preferred jobs outside the town limits, where the restrictions were fewer.
John, a finish carpenter by training, liked the restoration jobs, though, and he’d taken point on the job, a few years back, to renovate Cover to Cover, in an original building. These old buildings were chock full of beautiful wood, and wood was his thing. His particular interest was parquetry, designing and laying custom flooring with intricate patterns, but he enjoyed researching period patterns and influences for just about anything. The Cover to Cover job—they’d called it the ‘C2C’ job—was his signature work, with a flooring design modeled after a William Morris wallpaper pattern, and a perfect restoration where possible, and reproduction where not, of the original, eighteenth-century cabinetry and trimwork.
Since Carlo Sr. had retired, putting Luca in charge of the business and making John Chief Supervisor, John didn’t get many opportunities to do the work he liked—to be on job sites with tools and materials in his hands. Now it was all paperwork and meetings and traveling from job site to job site to check on other people’s work.
He hated it. But it was the family business, so he did it.
When he’d claimed point on C2C, that had been the last time he’d enjoyed his work.
The bookshop was gorgeous. When Bev had inherited it from a friend, it had been charming in the way of old bookshops: cramped, dim and dusty, with a cat reigning over the place. Now, it was still charming, and it was beautiful, too. The same cat was still there, an old broad with long white fur, who stalked around and occasionally deigned to allow a human to touch her, and the layout wasn’t dramatically different. But the space was fresh and warm and appealing. It still smelled like rotting paper, which was a good thing, according to Bev and Katrynn. They’d actually fretted that the construction smells, of sawdust and wood stain, would overwhelm the old-books scent.
They needn’t have worried. That smell was both strong and impenetrable.
On the night of Calhoun’s release party, John arrived at the shop at seven-forty. He was the last of the Paganos to arrive, and the non-family guests were starting to file in. He went around back and knocked on the private door.
Looking beautiful, but stressed and tired, Bev opened the door after a minute or two. “You’re here. Good.” She hugged him and then leaned back. “I wasn’t sure you would be.”
“I gave my word, Bev.”
She smiled, and in that curl of her mouth, John knew that Katrynn had told her about New Year’s. He was relieved and hoped it meant she wouldn’t direct questions his way. “Thank you. Atticus isn’t here yet, and neither is Katrynn, but we still have a few minutes. I’ve got him set up to read at the entrance to Chris’s room. I was thinking you could sit behind him to play?”
‘Chris’s
Except he was also the don of the Pagano Brothers, and while family went far, it only went so far. Getting on Nick’s wrong side was never a good idea, blood ties or not.
John figured he’d better get his shit together and start acting like the grownup he was.
~oOo~
Cover to Cover Books was located on Gannet Street, in the original part of Quiet Cove. The buildings there were a couple hundred years old or, in the case of those buildings which had simply failed over time, replaced to look a couple hundred years old. The town historical society spent a lot of time ensuring that Quiet Cove kept its old-world charm. At Pagano & Sons, John and Luca, and their father before them, spent just as much time jumping through hoops, on restoration or new build jobs in town. They much preferred jobs outside the town limits, where the restrictions were fewer.
John, a finish carpenter by training, liked the restoration jobs, though, and he’d taken point on the job, a few years back, to renovate Cover to Cover, in an original building. These old buildings were chock full of beautiful wood, and wood was his thing. His particular interest was parquetry, designing and laying custom flooring with intricate patterns, but he enjoyed researching period patterns and influences for just about anything. The Cover to Cover job—they’d called it the ‘C2C’ job—was his signature work, with a flooring design modeled after a William Morris wallpaper pattern, and a perfect restoration where possible, and reproduction where not, of the original, eighteenth-century cabinetry and trimwork.
Since Carlo Sr. had retired, putting Luca in charge of the business and making John Chief Supervisor, John didn’t get many opportunities to do the work he liked—to be on job sites with tools and materials in his hands. Now it was all paperwork and meetings and traveling from job site to job site to check on other people’s work.
He hated it. But it was the family business, so he did it.
When he’d claimed point on C2C, that had been the last time he’d enjoyed his work.
The bookshop was gorgeous. When Bev had inherited it from a friend, it had been charming in the way of old bookshops: cramped, dim and dusty, with a cat reigning over the place. Now, it was still charming, and it was beautiful, too. The same cat was still there, an old broad with long white fur, who stalked around and occasionally deigned to allow a human to touch her, and the layout wasn’t dramatically different. But the space was fresh and warm and appealing. It still smelled like rotting paper, which was a good thing, according to Bev and Katrynn. They’d actually fretted that the construction smells, of sawdust and wood stain, would overwhelm the old-books scent.
They needn’t have worried. That smell was both strong and impenetrable.
On the night of Calhoun’s release party, John arrived at the shop at seven-forty. He was the last of the Paganos to arrive, and the non-family guests were starting to file in. He went around back and knocked on the private door.
Looking beautiful, but stressed and tired, Bev opened the door after a minute or two. “You’re here. Good.” She hugged him and then leaned back. “I wasn’t sure you would be.”
“I gave my word, Bev.”
She smiled, and in that curl of her mouth, John knew that Katrynn had told her about New Year’s. He was relieved and hoped it meant she wouldn’t direct questions his way. “Thank you. Atticus isn’t here yet, and neither is Katrynn, but we still have a few minutes. I’ve got him set up to read at the entrance to Chris’s room. I was thinking you could sit behind him to play?”
‘Chris’s
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