Anja stared after her as she marched up the street, giving the Bächle to her left a wide berth. “Look at the books? She means the notebooks, right?” She pointed at the rows of Moleskins and Leuchtturms. “Or is she looking for travel guides about Freiburg?”

Nobby ran both hands through his hair in a useless attempt to get it to lie flat against his head. “Uh, no. She’s not here for sightseeing. Her mother asked her to, um, help out in the store for a while.”

A sinking feeling swept over Anja. “Help out for a while?”

“Just until Easter.”

That meant Susanne would be staying not for three days, but for nearly three months. “But why? You and I have things well in hand.”

“Of course, but…” Nobby looked away to turn one of the leather-bound journals on the island display a little more to the left. “Sometimes it’s just nice to have a fresh set of eyes, you know?”

A fresh set of eyes? Why the heck would they need that—especially if it came with an attitude attached? She tugged on his sleeve so he would look at her. “What’s going on, Nobby? Why didn’t you tell me sooner your niece would be coming?” Keeping secrets from her wasn’t like him at all.

He kept his gaze on the journals and touched the leather as if to ground himself. “I didn’t want to say anything, but—”

The chime of the bell above the door announced their first customer of the day.

Nobby put on a welcoming smile and bounded toward the woman as if she were another long-lost relative.

The customer took forever to look around. She seemed to leaf through every single notebook in the store and then asked to try out some fountain pens.

Normally, Anja would have proudly presented each of their fine writing instruments, but now she impatiently waited until the woman finally left—after having bought just a cheap notebook and a single pencil.

As soon as she opened her mouth to talk to Nobby, the bell jingled again and Susanne returned, wearing a shiny pair of new black boots. “We’ll be in the office,” she said to Anja as she walked past and pulled Nobby with her. “Can you keep an eye on the store?”

The door closed behind them before Anja could answer. Who the heck died and made her queen of the universe? Nobby had said she was here to help out, not to order people around as if she were the boss. Apparently, his niece hadn’t gotten the message. She hoped this kind of attitude wouldn’t be going on for the next three months.

No matter what the superstition said, if any local girl ended up marrying this woman, it definitely wouldn’t be her.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3