Free Key Of Valor by Nora Roberts Page B

keep building that life for Simon, and herself. She needed Indulgence to be a success. That was partly pride.
    Her mother had always said she was too proud.
    Maybe she had been, and maybe that pride had made things harder than they might have been. But it had also carried her through the hard times.
    She hadn’t gotten everything she’d dreamed of, but what she had would do just fine.
    She turned off the light. If there was a pang that there was no one there, in the dark, she could turn to, there was the satisfaction, even the pride, of knowing she could always rely on herself.
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    SHE was working upstairs at Indulgence the next day, screwing the hardware onto her completed stations, when she heard the shouts from below. Excited shouts, she noted immediately, not distressed ones. So she finished the station she was working on before going down to see what was causing the commotion.
    Following the voices, she walked into Dana’s section, then let out a shout of her own when she saw the book display rack lining one wall and the two huge cartons in the middle of the floor.
    â€œThey came! Your shelves came. Oh, they look great. You were right to go with these. They look so good with your colors.”
    â€œThey do, don’t they? I’ve got the diagram I worked out, the one I changed six dozen times. But I’m wondering if I should switch the kids’ section with the nonfiction.”
    â€œWhy don’t we just open the next one, put it where you have it planned, then see?” Malory wielded her box cutter.
    The deliveryman wheeled in the next carton. “Lady, where do you want this one?”
    â€œOh, God,” was all Dana could manage.
    â€œJust leave it here,” Zoe told him. “We’ll figure it out. How many did you get?” she asked Dana.
    â€œA lot. Maybe too many, but I wanted to be sure I could showcase everything the way I had in my head. But now . . . Jesus, my heart’s pounding. Is it excitement? Is it terror? You be the judge.”
    â€œIt’s excitement.” Gleefully, Malory ripped open another carton. “Come on, let’s get this one set up, too. Let’s get them all set up, then you’ll see how wonderful it is.”
    â€œIt’s real,” Dana murmured as yet another carton was wheeled in. “It’s really real. It’s not just going to be empty rooms now.”
    â€œShelves, books, tables, chairs.” Zoe tore cardboard away. “In a few weeks we’ll sit down in here and have our first cup of tea.”
    â€œYeah.” Bracing herself, Dana helped them move the next section into place. “Then we’ll wander over and admire all the pretty things in Malory’s gallery.”
    â€œAnd finish it off with a tour of Zoe’s salon.” Malory stepped back. “Look what we’ve done already. Can you get over what we’ve done?”
    Zoe looked at the next carton to come in. “Right now, I can’t get over what we’re about to do. Get that box cutter going, Mal. We’ve got work to do.”
    They were still carrying bookcases when the next delivery truck pulled up.
    â€œIt’s from HomeMakers.” Malory looked back at them from the window. “Are we expecting a delivery from HomeMakers today?”
    â€œWe’ve got some things on order,” Zoe told her. “I didn’t think any of it was in yet. I’ll go check.”
    She went to the front door and met the driver on the porch. “This Indulgence?” he asked her.
    Hearing someone else say the name made her feel so good inside. “It will be.”
    â€œGot some windows on the truck.” He handed her the invoice to check. “Got a list here, which one’s we’re replacing. If that’s right, we’ll get started. We’ll have them in for you today.”
    â€œIn? We didn’t order installation, just the windows.”
    â€œInstallation comes