Chapter 18
“Fred, Ginger, your beloved master is home.” Ryder tossed his keys into the bowl on the kitchen counter as deep barks echoed through the house.
Setting down his sacks from Cooper’s Grocery, he wrestled with the pups on the cool kitchen tile, then let them out to stretch and do their business.
Filling their bowls with food, he wondered what he’d done with the spaghetti sauce recipe given to him by Isobel, his favorite nanny.
She always made spaghetti on cold nights, but on this summer evening, he had a taste for home.
Sunday with the Dorseys reminded him of why he came home in the first place.
His parents may not be around much, but everyone else who embraced and raised him lived in Hearts Bend.
In fact, Pops Dorsey invited him to a five a.m. men’s gathering tomorrow morning. “Do a bit of praying. Read a bit of the Word.” He’d slapped Ryder on the back. “Make a better man out of you.”
Ryder put away the groceries, threw in a load of laundry, and collected the mail.
He checked the pine in his workshop and decided he had enough to finish the fire tower.
After a quick shower, he flipped on all the kitchen lights to make the sauce.
If he couldn’t find the recipe, he’d work from memory.
He knew the most important ingredients: tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, and lean ground beef.
He’d just set the meat to browning when he noticed a small white box in the corner of the kitchen counter.
It was tied with a red ribbon, but there was no tag or label.
Nothing written on the bottom. Pulling the box from the bow, he raised the lid to see another one inside.
He glanced around as if someone might spring from a hiding place.
Where did this—
He opened it to see the diamond ring from Earth-n-Treasures. What? He snapped it closed and tossed it onto the counter.
Was someone trying to frame him? First, the WMA fraud. And now this? He yanked his phone from his pocket and searched for the shop’s number. But he could only find the old one from when the Marshalls owned the place. Close enough.
“Come on, Jewell, answer.” But the phone simply rang and rang. When he hung up, he snapped off the heat under the browning meat, tied on his sneakers, and headed out. He was taking this ring back. Now.
But as he stepped onto his deck, his parents were climbing up the stairs.
“Mom, Dad, what are you doing here?” He snatched a barking Fred’s collar, then a barking Ginger’s. His parents weren’t pet people.
“We cut our trip short,” Dad said. “We thought we’d come into town, check on the house, and see our hero son.”
“Karl?” Ryder said, referencing his older brother with a short laugh.
“No, you.” Mom patted him on the shoulder as she stepped into the kitchen. “The place looks nice, Ryder. Who’d you hire for the work?”
“I did it myself, Mom.” He dragged the dogs off to his room, then returned to the wide, bright living room with the bank of windows on both sides.
“You didn’t learn that from me,” Dad said.
Pops D. taught Ryder almost everything he knew about carpentry, electrical, and plumbing.
“How long are you in town?” Ryder tucked the white box back in the corner of the kitchen and offered his parents bottles of water. “I’m making Isobel’s spaghetti sauce. Care to join me?”
“We’re on a vegan diet,” Mom said. “But thank you. Next time.”
“So, how have you all been?” He’d not seen them in a while, but they texted. Called.
“Good but busy.” Dad, dressed in fine-weave slacks and a starched shirt, inspected the rest of the house with the soft strike of his handcrafted shoes against the hardwoods.
Mom read something on her phone. She was pretty in a summer dress and sandals, her hair worked into a braid with a bit of gray peeking through the blonde.
“So, how was the celebration?” Dad said, returning to the main room. “We read about it in the Tribune online. We’re sorry we missed it.”
“You know how Hearts Bend does these things. All the way.” Ryder was torn between welcoming his parents and running the ring back to Earth-n-Treasures. He had a gut feeling the next folks at his door would be the police.
After some small talk, Mom suggested dinner at Valentino’s. “If you’re hungry for spaghetti, Ry, we can go there. Valentino’s has vegan options.”
“All right, if you want. Let me change.” He ducked into his room for jeans, a white button-down, and a pair of black leather sneakers. Valentino’s was upscale Italian, where pro football players like Sam Hardy hung out when they were in town. “Ready?” he said, exiting his room.
He wasn’t hungry for just spaghetti. He was hungry for Isobel’s sauce and a taste of his childhood. Funny, though, how his parents showed up when he was feeling a bit nostalgic. It was good to see them. Also, Earth-n-Treasures was around the corner from Valentino’s.
“I’ll drive,” Dad said, always in charge.
“I’ll take my truck. You won’t have to bring me back.” Ryder grabbed his keys, jerking around at a knock on the door. This was the moment. The police had arrived.
But it was Elizabeth. Smiling. Hands twisted together. “Hey,” she said.
“You’re back.” He gave her a slightly reserved hug. But when she hugged him back, he wrapped her tight in his arms. “How was it?”
“Ryder?” Mom’s voice floated over his shoulder. “Who’s this?”
Elizabeth released him, jerking backward. “Hello,” she said.
“This is Elizabeth Dorsey. Elizabeth, meet my parents. Graham and Cherry Donovan.”
She glanced between Ryder and his parents as if assessing the situation, then smiled and shook their hands, saying how nice it was to meet them.
“She’s been visiting Wharton, checking out the campus.”
“Impressive,” Dad said. “We’d have liked Ryder to take a more traditional path, but—”
“Ryder didn’t want to, did he?” Ryder said. Then to Elizabeth, “We’re going to Valentino’s. Come with us.”
“No, no, I, um, can’t.” She was still twisting her hands together. “I just came by to—” Ryder leaned close. To what? “It was nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan.” She exited the deck in a hurry.
“Beth?” Ryder chased after her down the steps and across the driveway to where she’d parked her Bug. “You okay? What’s going on?”
She turned to him. “Nothing.” Her wide, white smile hid her lie. Something was wrong. “I should go. I told Tina I’d cover for her tonight. She’s got a chance to do some granny duty.” She patted his chest. “We’ll catch up later.”
“And Wharton?”
“Absolutely fantastic.” Her tone didn’t match her words. “I chatted with Ben Franklin.”
As she drove off, Dad walked by with Mom, saying they’d meet Ryder at the restaurant. Back at the house, he released the dogs from his room, tossed them a treat, shoved the browning meat into the fridge, grabbed the white box with the red ribbon, and locked up.
He parked on Blossom Street in the shade of the historic Wedding Shop, then cut through a couple of yards and parking lots to Earth-n-Treasures.
On approach, he could see the windows white with light. The bell rang when he opened the door. A man came from the back.
“Can I help you? We’re about to close.”
“Is Jewell here?” Ryder set the box on the glass counter.
“Jewell? We have jewels…” He chuckled at his comment, then sobered. “Sorry, there’s no one named Jewell here.”
“She showed me this ring yesterday.” Ryder pushed the box toward the man, who opened it and examined the ring under a loupe.
“It’s a nice piece. The shank is antique, the stone nearly flawless.” He handed the ring back to Ryder. “We didn’t have that ring in our inventory. I’d remember.”
“What? It was in this case right here.” Ryder tapped on the glass. “Are you seriously telling me you don’t know this ring?”
“You say you bought it here?”
“I didn’t buy it. I just looked at it.”
“Then why do you have it?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. I’m bringing it back.”
“Well, I can’t afford to pay you for it. We’re just getting started. I’d have to research, see how much it’s worth.”
“It was in this case.” Ryder tapped the glass once more. What world had he stepped into? “I’m returning it.”
“You can’t return what wasn’t ours. I’d have to buy it from you.”
“But I didn’t buy it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” The man regarded Ryder as if he might be a little loony. “Maybe this Jewell made a gift of it. Is she a friend?”
“No. I’ve only seen her the one time. When I walked in here.”
“It’s just my wife and me. Her name is Vivi. We just leased the place. It’s been empty for years. We finished painting last week.”
“So there’s no Jewell?”
“Afraid not.”
Ryder snatched up the ring box. “Well, if you discover a Jewell, call me.” He tossed his business card on the case. “Thanks.”
Stepping outside into the warm evening, the ring box burning in his hand, Ryder boiled with confusion and something like anger. What was going on? Was someone after him? What was he supposed to do with this ring? Report it to the police?
Or, and this idea was the first to bring a sliver of peace, did he admit he’d just encountered something Divine?
How many times had she walked through the kitchen door to see Granny, and sometimes Pops, wrapped in an apron, stirring up something for dinner? Hundreds if she counted all her summer and family holidays.
“Don’t tell me you’re working at Ella’s,” Granny said. “I made meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans and my homemade cherry popover for dinner.”
“Got the night off. Hang on, I’ll be down to help.” Elizabeth ran upstairs, kicking off her shoes the moment she entered her room and dropping her bag on her bed.