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"You're the greatest Bess. Thank you so much!" Nancy declared before she hung up the phone. She had sent Bess on another one of those snooping missions. Nancy knew she had asked a lot of her friend to infiltrate that meeting, but it was important! The detective knew Bess could handle it.
Nancy sighed and pushed the library doors open. This was where she liked to spend her downtime from her case. Nancy never did like resting from a case, but when your next lead comes from something you're waiting on, there's not much you can do. She found comfort from her tense state in the books from the Bolet library. Although some of them were definitely strange, most were rather interesting to the sleuth. Nancy always had enjoyed reading; why not busy herself with something she enjoyed?
She skimmed the shelves slowly for a book that would catch her eye. Hmmm. Read that. Read that. Read this one too. She finally settled on a book about Italian phantoms, deciding traveling to Italy through words and pictures sounded like a relaxing time. She settled down on the couch and opened the book.
It was in these moments that Nancy felt most at peace during her case. The smell of the burning candles, the tapping of rain on the windows, the click-clack of Henry typing away: it was extremely comforting. As she opened the page, she couldn’t help but let her eyes drift to Henry for a second.
Henry Bolet. What to make of him? His exterior didn’t match his interior, that much she did know. Nancy could not deny that he had her interest. He did in fact seem lonely, just as Ned has said, and without a friend- except for that girl he was dating. As the name Summer drifted across Nancy's mind, she couldn’t help but make a face of disgust. A vile taste entered her mouth. Even Nancy knew Henry deserved better than that girl.
She forced herself into her book. It wasn’t right for her to be thinking about Henry like that. She had Ned, and if he was happy with Summer, so be it. She tried to begin the book, but she found herself reading the same lines over and over again. Maybe this book just doesn’t interest me.
Nancy decided that this was definitely the case and stood to find a different book. She placed the book back on the shelf where it belonged and began to scour the shelves once again. She came across a book titled Legends of Ireland: Banshees. Nancy chuckled to herself and picked up the book. Banshees. Please.
She snuggled back into the couch once again. She opened the book and began to read away. This one at least seemed a bit more interesting, but Nancy knew right away the legends were hoaxes. She was no stranger to false fairytales and made-up myths. She shelved that book too and searched for another one. Her eyes lit up when she realized there was a book titled The Crimes of New Orleans on the top shelf.
Though Nancy was slightly taller for a female, she wasn’t quite that tall. She stared at the book for a minute, hoping it would magically float down to her. When that didn’t seem to work, she began to reach for the book. It was just barely out of her reach. She gave a sigh and glared at the infernal book. She decided that if she reached one more time, she could grab the book. That still didn’t work.
As she reached once again, an arm from behind her came forward and grabbed the book. She yelped slightly in surprise, but turned around to see Henry standing in front of her, holding the very book she couldn’t reach. He stood just a few inches above her and gestured the book to her. "Thank you," she finally said, finding it hard to form sentences. They were so close…
"You're welcome," he finally said, still looking curiously down at her. She took the book from him slowly, letting their fingers brush for just a moment. A jolt of electricity went through her entire arm. I need some air before I do something utterly stupid.
"I, uh, I'm going to go outside for a bit." She quickly set the book on the table and scurried out onto the patio. Never had he seen her so frazzled. Henry first wondered if it was his poor social skills that made her uncomfortable. He then wondered if she really did have an interest in him, despite his brain telling him otherwise.
Nancy quickly walked by Renée, who gave her a curious look. "Child, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Renée," Nancy replied before continuing to hurry past the garden and into the graveyard. The rain cooled her skin, which was completely on fire back in the library.
What had come over her? She didn’t see Henry like that, did she? No! She had Ned. Ned has never made me feel like that though…
Her thoughts continued to wander as she roamed the graveyard. She passed by the crypt where Henry's parents lied. A sudden wave of sadness rushed over her and she couldn’t help the desire to want to know what Henry's parents were like. She wanted to meet the Henry that had existed before the car crash that took his family from him. What was he like back then?
She found herself going in circles among the cemetery for over three hours. Bess still hadn’t called her back, something Nancy was beginning to wonder about. Nancy found herself standing on the bank of the swamp. She had no idea what time it was. I shouldn’t be this careless. But she couldn’t help it. Nancy Drew had finally found a real distraction from her mysteries: Henry Bolet. She just couldn’t figure it out, and she was determined to sit and think about it until she could.
Henry sat at his desk, typing madly away trying to sort everything out. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. He looked out the windows at the storm outside. A thought suddenly crossed his mind as he looked at his clock. Nancy's been gone for hours…
"Henry, what did you do to Nancy?" Renée scolded as she walked inside. "She's been gone for hours. I'm startin' to worry." As much as Henry didn’t like Renée, she had a point. He couldn’t help but feel bad about the situation. He felt that he hadn’t been the best host and speculated if that was what chased her away.
"Nothing Renée," Henry growled. "But I'm worried too. I'll go look for her," he sighed and closed his computer. Renée shook her head and grumbled something about hoodoo voodoo as she trudged back outside. Henry sighed again and stepped out into the rain to find the missing detective.
Nancy suddenly realized how cold and wet she was. She'd been sniffling for the last hour, and had been shaking for longer. Oh, no. I do not have time to be sick. I need to deal with this mess, then get back to Bess and enjoy New Orleans.
"Nancy?" She stood up quickly and turned, instinctually ready to fight. She relaxed seconds later. "Nancy, what are you doing out here?" Henry asked as he stepped closer to her. He looked her up and down. "Renée and I were starting to worry. God, you're freezing cold," Henry said as he touched her cheek. "And your clothes are soaked… c'mon, we need to get you inside before you get really sick," Henry said before wrapping an arm around her waist. She found herself staying closer to him and his warmth as he guided her back to the house through the storm.
Once inside, he sat her down on the couch she enjoyed oh so much and ran into the other room to find blankets. Nancy shivered and shrugged off her sopping wet coat. Henry came back in and tossed the blanket around her shoulders. Renée stepped inside at that moment. Her eyes landed on Nancy and she gasped. "Goodness gracious, child! You're soaked! Here, let me whip up something for you…" she muttered.
"No! No voodoo, no hoodoo, no crazy concoctions! She's sick enough as it is," Henry yelled back. Renée sighed.
"At least let me get her some warm food," Renée snapped before hurrying off to find something for the shivering redhead. Henry turned his attention back to Nancy, who had the blanket wound tightly around her shoulders. He drummed his fingers on his thighs for a minute, trying to figure out what to do with her. He crouched down in front of her and gestured to her feet.
"What?" Nancy asked.
"Your shoes. They're plastic and probably freezing. You should take them off," Henry explained. He reached out and unclipped her heels and slid them off her feet. The frozen plastic leaving her feet felt good, and she worked to suppress a moan. She instead bit her lip- hard. He placed her heels on the ground and sat down right next to her. Hesitantly, Henry wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. She cuddled up to his side, instantly finding warmth. Renée walked back in a few minutes later with a cup of hot tea. She handed the saucer and cup to Nancy.
"There you go hun. That should help you," Renée said with a smile. Henry shot her a mild glare. "And I promise there's nothing in it that’s gonna kill her," Renée said to Henry. He seemed to relax a bit as Nancy sipped the tea.
Renée looked at the two pressed together on the couch for a moment. If she hadn’t known them, she would’ve accused them of being quite the couple. The way Henry took such concern for her and how Nancy was letting him keep her warm surprised Renée. Deciding that she didn’t want to see the results of this- she knew exactly where this was going, she just didn’t want to be around when it happened- she bid them both goodnight and headed up to her room for the night.
Nancy continued to finish off her tea as they listening to rain coming down hard. It felt like hours before one of them had said something.
"Henry?"
"Yes Nancy?" She hesitated for a minute before she said anything else.
"Would Summer be mad at me?" Nancy asked quietly.
"For what?"
"Being here with you," Nancy replied and sniffled lightly. She gestured to their close proximity, but neither moved away.
"I don’t know. That girl is so damn unpredictable; it's hard to say. Is it sad that I don’t really care what she thinks anymore?" Nancy shook her head.
"No. I think you deserve better Henry," Nancy replied as she set the half-full teacup on the table on top of the book she'd wanted earlier. He looked at her curiously.
"What about Ned?"
"What about him?"
"Would he be mad?"
"I'm not sure either," Nancy began, "I guess I'm in the same spot. It's not that I don’t care what he thinks, but his opinion doesn’t give me any feeling anymore."
"Why not?" Henry asked as he ran his fingers across her back calmly. Nancy shrugged.
"I'm not sure."
"He seems like a nice guy," Henry replied.
"He is, but he doesn’t give me the feelings that you do," Nancy said, finally looking at Henry. His mouth was slightly ajar, as if he didn’t know what to say. Nancy may have looked calm on the outside, but on the inside, her heart was running at a billion beats per second. Her breath sped up and her skin seemed to warm up all over again.
"Nancy," Henry breathed against her lips.
"Mmm?"
"If I kiss you, do you promise not to get me sick?" Henry asked.
"No," Nancy replied before Henry dove in for a kiss.
The teacup and book sat on the coffee table together, long forgotten.