Books of a Feather Read Online Free PDF

he let us know if he needs our help?”
    One eyebrow shot up. “
Our
help?”
    â€œWe’re a team, right?”
    He grinned and gave my hand another squeeze. “Yes, we are. But I doubt we’ll be called upon to help Crane out of a jam. I just think it might be unpleasant for him to deal with his brother.”
    We talked and ate for another fifteen minutes. Derek told me about the new security agent he’d hired for his San Francisco office. We agreed that we’d order Thai food for an early dinner before heading over to the Covington Library tonight.
    He was finishing his coffee when he suddenly remembered something. “I’m sorry, love. I forgot to ask you how your day went yesterday. Did you bring home any books?”
    â€œI did. Eight beautiful books to be repaired. I’m so happy.”
    He grinned. “I trust the books are happy, too.”
    â€œI felt awkward when I came home last night, though. I heard you talking to someone, so I hid the books in my desk, just to be safe. And then later, after I’d spent some time with Crane, I was a little embarrassed for being so suspicious.”
    â€œYou shouldn’t feel guilty about taking precautions.” He sighed. “We haven’t had to concern ourselves with security issues since we’ve been away.”
    â€œTrue. I guess we’re a little rusty.”
    â€œNot to worry,” he said. “We’ll be back to our usual paranoid selves soon enough.”
    Sad but true. No matter how much I loved our building and how much I trusted our neighbors, being back in the city after spending so much time in Dharma was a culture shock. In my hometown, doors weren’t just left unlocked; they were left wide-open. Of course, bad things happened everywhere, including Dharma. Usually, though, it was an idyllic spot to unwind and de-stress.
    As we cleared our dishes, I gave him a brief rundown of the books I’d brought home from Genevieve’s shop. “I’ll show them to you tonight.”
    â€œI look forward to it.”
    A few minutes later, I walked with Derek to the door. As I kissed him good-bye, I ran my hand down the sleeve of his impeccable navy suit, just to feel his sinewy muscles through the richness of the fabric. “Have a good day at work, making the world more secure.”
    â€œYou, too, love.” He touched my cheek as he kissed me back. Then he left, and I sighed as I closed the door behind him. Like everyone, the man had his faults, but sometimes I just couldn’t remember what they were.
    I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, then grabbed a colorful chunky-weave scarf and headed back to my workshop. It was January, and even though we’d had very little rain this season, the air was chilly. My workshop was in the front of the house, closest to the street, so it was always a little colder than the rest of the rooms.
    Unlocking my desk drawer, I removed the books I’d hidden there the night before and placed them side by side across my worktable. Then I sat down with my most powerful magnifying glass and a notepad and examined each book, making notes as I went. When I was finished, I lined them up again in order from least damaged to most.
    I liked to work on the easiest fixes first because a quick, successful repair job always put me in a good mood. So first up was a loose front and back hinge on the extremely expensive copy of
The Maltese Falcon
. Carefully gripping the front and back covers, I splayed the book and held it up off the table. The text block drooped precariously, indicating that both the front and back boards had separated from the spine. Luckily, the endpapers were still intact with no ripping along the joints, so despite the sagging boards, this would be a wonderfully simple fix. I set the book down, pushed my chair away from the table, and smiled as I strolled around my studio, gathering various repair supplies and tools from the