“Hey, Jess – oh good, you’ve got the cart.” Torrie appeared at her side and slouched against the bookshelf. “There’s a couple boxes of returns in the stockroom, too.”

“Okay, I’ll do those next.”

“Do you know your schedule yet for next term? I’m going to start working out the shifts for the fall this week.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll bring that tomorrow. I should be able to keep the same number of hours, though.”

“Good. Between you and Dagne we should be set then, assuming your availability doesn’t overlap too much.” Torrie pulled a book from the cart and read the back, then handed it to Jessie. “Did you see the numbers for last month’s sales? Your mom’s book went through the roof after her conference in Denver.”

“Oh, really?” Jessie clenched her teeth briefly as she pushed a book on the shelf. “Well, that’s good.”

“She’s such an inspiration. My parents aren’t believers, so I didn’t have much of a role model when I became a Christian.” Torrie sighed, looking wistful. “You’re so lucky.”

Live in my head for a day and see if you don’t change your mind. “Yeah, she’s really… helped a lot of people.”

“Is she back from the tour yet?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Know if she has any other books in the works?”

Jessie swallowed back a snarky comment. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to her much this summer; she’s been gone so much.”

“Ah, true. Probably no time to write when she’s touring. Well, I hope she comes out with something soon-she’s great for business.” Torrie grinned, then pushed away from the bookshelf. “Gonna go work on the books. You’ve got the register.”

“Okay.” She watched Torrie disappear into the office and let out a deep breath. Nothing made her want to vent more than hearing other people paint her mother as some kind of hero. She could just hear people thinking, “And what are you going to do with your life?” Everyone’s expectations were so high-including Savannah’s. Jessie dreaded the day when they all realized she would never live up to them.