Chapter 26
If Cavin Dawson and Noel Puckett weren’t already in love, they fell deeply in love one interaction at a time as Christmastime drifted along in Beaufort, North Carolina, much like the seas that surrounded the magical place.
The Monday morning when Cavin decided to stay, Noel drove him to Keaton’s shop where the three of them discussed the situation that happened on Sunday.
It took some convincing, but Keaton eventually gave Cavin his blessing to stay in town and even apologized for the black eye.
Fueled by Keaton’s willingness to believe him and trust Noel, Cavin offered to pay Keaton for fixing his tires which he had been meaning to do all week, and he apologized for all the accusations.
“You just treat my sister well, and I’ll fix your vehicle any time you need me,” Keaton offered, declining Cavin’s money.
After that Cavin and Noel dropped by Rainey’s and Chelsea’s house and hashed out the same issue.
Rainey didn’t seem to need much convincing although he told Cavin he was going to keep his eye on him for Noel.
“Fair enough,” Cavin agreed when they shook hands.
“Would you like me to have a conversation with Keaton about punching you in the eye?” Rainey asked. “I’m happy to do that off the clock to avoid legal involvement.”
“No thanks,” Cavin decided immediately. “It is water under the bridge.”
When Mrs. Madelyn showed up for work this morning prior to Cavin’s arrival with the Santa hat, she informed Noel of the alarmed expression on Cavin’s face when Georgia kissed him on the cheek.
That was all the reassurance Noel needed to make an informed decision about her true feelings although she never expected him to hurry out of the store so suddenly.
Cavin felt relieved to know that following his resignation from his family’s company, he was no longer required to socialize with Georgia or anyone else in town, for that matter, unless he desired to do so.
As soon as Cavin and Noel completed that first order of business, Noel brought Cavin into the candy shop kitchen and began showing him how they made candy from start to finish.
The seemingly perfected processes amazed Cavin.
Even though Noel previously mentioned making all the candy in-house, the complexity in each recipe which involved combining sugar and other ingredients and flavorings to create a variety of colorful hard candies, gummies, caramels, and chocolates perplexed him.
Watching the machines then individually wrap each piece reinforced to Cavin how special the store was to Noel and her family.
The two of them worked together in the back for a week although Noel left him while she helped up front sometimes, and Mrs. Madelyn wandered into the kitchen every now and then to show Cavin a few tricks of the trade as well.
Noel made him wear an apron along with another item which caused him to feel silly and special at the same time.
On the first day after Cavin agreed to work in the store, Noel asked him to wait in the kitchen while she ran upstairs.
“This Santa hat was my dad’s,” Noel told Cavin when she returned, wearing the one he brought back to her and holding another out for him. “I want you to wear it.”
Cavin studied the noticeably worn red and white garment, and he couldn’t help but wonder how many years Noel’s father wore it.
The white collar-like area remained puffy although slightly yellowed but not enough to warrant replacement.
No one made them like this anymore, not with the same quality craftsmanship.
“Noel, this hat is special to you and your family. I can’t wear it,” Cavin protested. “What if I mess it up or lose it?”
“Cavin, it just sits in a box upstairs. I would rather someone wear it, and it just happens to fit you,” she pointed out after pulling it over and messing up his perfectly parted hair for the second time that day. He never seemed to mind when she was kissing him, so she figured it would be okay.
“Are you sure?” Cavin asked, his eyes directed upward toward the hat unable to view it properly now sitting atop his head.
From that moment on Cavin proudly wore the hat knowing full well he could never fill the shoes of the man who once wore it. Something about him wearing it brought comfort to Noel, so it made him feel good, too.
Cavin knew the kids helped in the candy shop, and even though they weren’t around much during business hours because of school, their knowledge of everything associated with the family business astonished him.
They knew ingredients, recipes, where items were kept, and how things worked.
They mastered the hot chocolate process, and each day after school, they continued to run their stand.
One day it rained, and they helped Cavin in the kitchen and taught him things beyond his expectations.
Cavin had no idea how Noel, Mrs. Madelyn, and the kids accomplished all this work on their own over the past year.
He felt like someone needed to be in the kitchen full time who would benefit from an assistant like himself although perhaps more qualified.
He made quite a few mistakes, but everyone always seemed to laugh it off when he burnt a pie, forgot an ingredient, or dropped a whole batch of unwrapped candy on the floor.
Cavin and Noel continued to hang up their aprons at the end of each day to wander around Beaufort with the kids looking for Scout and pinning up more fliers.
One evening they finally cornered Scout near the Harvey W.
Smith Watercraft Center where onlookers stood on a balcony overlooking boatmakers as they crafted a traditional wooden boat.
Cavin remembered wanting to visit the place on his first day in town but never would have imagined it would happen this way.
As they slowly moved toward him calling out his name, Scout, suspicious of strangers, evaded them by running right through Levi’s legs then darting into the nearby building—featuring large openings on both the street and waterfront side—and through the crafters nearly causing their work of art to collapse.
Thankfully, the seasoned team steadied the vessel as Noel, Cavin, Laney, and Levi chased behind the dog hollering “Sorry.” The extra show only excited those standing above who took the time to take in the unique sights, smells, and sounds the facility offered as the crew built boats from start to finish.
Scout proved to be quite the elusive animal.
Although a missed opportunity to catch him, they still reported it to Rudy who expressed relief just knowing Scout remained safe out there.
“When do I get to work out front?” Cavin asked Noel one afternoon as the two cut fudge together.
Cavin couldn’t decide which he liked better working across from Noel gazing into her eyes as they chatted or standing next to her where their arms frequently touched.
Mrs. Madelyn caught them kissing in the kitchen several times.
On each occasion she either quietly slipped out while grinning to herself, or if they noticed her, she excused herself saying something like “I’ll come back later” as they blushed.
She often privately expressed to Noel how much joy it brought her to see the two of them so happy.
“We can’t have you working in front of the customers with that black eye,” Noel teased one day. “If it doesn’t heal soon, we might have to get you a pirate patch.”
Cavin formed a laugh. “You are so funny.”
“Pirates are a big part of Beaufort’s culture,” Noel insisted.
“Blackbeard himself had a house here that still stands to this day. During the warmer months, we have a boat called Beaufort Pirates Revenge that gives tours, and the characters perform reenactments. There are also various events where locals as well as visitors dress like pirates. So, don’t be surprised if at any time you see pirates walking the streets. ”
The next day Cavin showed up for work wearing an eyepatch along with his Santa hat which caused Noel and Mrs. Madelyn to erupt in laughter.
The kids loved the look, too—so much that they fell to the floor in a cascade of giggles as the sound of the cane echoed across the shop every time he tapped the wooden boards.
In full character, Cavin used a deep, gravely pirate accent which was the icing on the cake, and Noel appreciated the amusement he brought to their lives.
“You may look the part of an experienced pirate, but you have much to learn before you can step onto the floor,” Noel teased, although somewhat serious.
Her parents always preached that anyone who worked in the candy shop must first learn the ropes in the kitchen in order to explain the processes fully to the customers when out front.
With pirates still in mind later that day after school, Noel and the kids took Cavin to the Old Burying Ground, a popular historic cemetery in Beaufort.
Enclosed by a black cast iron fence and covered by a canopy of mature live oaks and other shade trees, dirt paths led through tattered gravesites.
The kids were eager to show Cavin the site where a child buried in a keg of rum after dying at sea rested in peace.
While the legend of the child’s preservation fascinated all who heard it, the many items left to decorate her tombstone included a variety of toys, shells, and all sorts of other trinkets that caused the site to stand out to this day.