Second Chance Soulmate

When she got home from work the following afternoon, Faith walked upstairs, traded in the business gear for yoga pants and her faithful sweatshirt, and took her hair down.She had just made it into her kitchen when the doorbell rang. Confused, she peeked through the viewer, then smiled and flung the door open.“Sarah!” she cried, scooping up her little sister into her arms and making her drop her luggage.“Oh my God it’s good to see you! Get your skinny butt in here,” Faith exclaimed as she let go of Sarah long enough to help retrieve suitcases and shut the front door.“You look fantastic!”“Thanks,” Sarah said, hugging her again. “You too.”Stepping back, she looked around.“Cool place, Faith, it suits you.”Faith looked at her little sister lovingly. Sarah was the only one of the siblings that didn’t inherit the brown-on-brown variations. No.

Neither one spoke for a few moments; they simply stared at one another, at a loss of what to do next. Rick cleared his throat again, and that seemed to break the spell.“I’ve got spy thrillers and murder mysteries over here, by author,” he managed, gesturing to the right.“Next sections down the right side are sci-fi, romance, and the other fictional genres. Left side is all the nonfiction, biographies, and so on.”Faith chuckled.“Makes perfect sense to me. Our creative selves are right-brain driven so this layout is spot on.”Now it was Rick’s turn to be momentarily dumbstruck.He gaped, blinking.“That is exactly why I set the store up this way; you’re the first person to notice.”She laughed and echoed back to him.“Kindred spirits. I just felt it.”The moment was broken by the telephone at the front register ringi

“Well,” she said, “you want the long or short version?”“I have nowhere I have to be,” he replied. “Share whatever you’d like.”“Remember, you asked me,” she warned. “Let’s see. I have an MBA with Accounting Concentration, and I’ve been working in accounting almost fifteen years now. I transferred down to Fort Worth about eight months ago with my old company.”She paused for a moment, absorbing the sudden realization that she found herself wanting to bare her soul to this man she’d just met.“The weird thing is, being a bean counter is NOT what I planned to be when I grew up. I had every intention of becoming a best-selling novelist or screenwriter or teaching Shakespeare to college kids. But life had other plans for me too, I guess. I kind of fell into the career I have, discovered I am good at it, and people need accountants wherever you go, so no worries about job security.”“Well, that certainly explains you catching my right brain/left brain setup so easily. Where were you before

By four forty-five, Faith had picked out something that she felt confident about. Jandy hugged her, wished her luck, and left. But instead of immediately heading home, she opted to take a little walk.Reconnaissance.She wanted to see exactly what creature had her baby sister so excited and terrified all at once.Being overprotective, I know, she told herself. But she’s been through so much already. I really hope for Faith’s sake that this guy is the real deal.She entered Book Keepers and looked around the place, nodding approvingly. She turned toward the front counter where a dark-haired man was finishing up a phone call.Wow, she thought. Baby sis has good taste.He ended the call, then looked at her.“Hi, welcome to Book Keepers. I’m Rick, the owner. How can I help you?”“Just browsing,” she said.“Oh, ok, sure,” he said distractedly, and checked his watch. “We close at five on Sundays, so about five minutes from now. But you’re welcome to return anytime. We’re open Wednesday thro

She came out of her reverie when Rick asked, “Would you like another drink?”“No, one’s usually my limit, to prevent my saying or doing anything stupid,” she admitted.He laughed.“Sweet tea it is then. I’ll be right back.”Rick went into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with two tall glasses.He handed her one, then said, “I’d like to propose a toast. To the amazing woman sitting beside me, who I hope I haven’t scared off, and who I hope says yes to more dates.”She smiled as she clinked her glass to his, and they took a drink.“There’s more I need to say,” he told her.But it looked like the weight of the world had already been lifted from him, so Faith was confused as to what there possibly might be left to reveal.Rick gently took her hand."What I didn’t tell you yet is that when I came here it was with the intention of running my bookstore and being a hermit. I poured all my energy into this -” Rick swept his arm out indicating their surroundings “-to build a nice plac