Chapter Eighteen
B urke felt like someone had forced his heart through a paper shredder.
He stood in the middle of the shed massaging his aching wrist. Yesterday’s X-rays indicated that his fracture had healed.
Finally. He was able to ditch the splint.
Not that it mattered. He’d already slogged his way through writing forty thousand words to finish his manuscript and meet his deadline.
And he’d pushed a little too hard today as he tore through Mac and Lois’s possessions.
There had to be evidence of their ties to the candy company somewhere. A detail-oriented man like Mac who turned gorgeous bowls and created elaborate dollhouses from chunks of wood must’ve left something more substantial than a short note and a collection of ten recipes.
But what if Jovi is right?
Since their heated discussion outside his cabin, he’d come up with more questions than answers. What if Walker’s version of the story wasn’t accurate, and Carol had been the original creator of the candy recipes? And if Jovi was correct, had he sabotaged their relationship before it took flight?
Wow, what a sobering thought. Sadly, the notion had passed through Burke’s mind on more than one occasion. He’d done his best to give it a mental shove every single time. If Mac and Lois felt they had a legitimate claim to the original candy recipes, then why did they leave them in the dollhouse?
Burke heaved a deep sigh. What a mess. He needed to find the truth, for Jovi’s sake and his own. Determination rekindled within him as he resumed his search through the shed.
The plastic crates and boxes Charlie and Denise had stowed in the shed now sat in haphazard clusters.
Burke had dug through almost all of them.
He hadn’t found anything related to the candy company.
Most had been filled with paperbacks, Mac’s woodworking tools and knickknacks collected over the years.
Lois liked to write the date in her journals, but never made any entries.
Burke had learned the hard way not to get too excited when he spotted a spiral notebook, because it was probably blank. Not helpful.
Burke sifted through the last three boxes methodically, hoping to stumble upon something significant.
But there was nothing. His frustration grew, threatening to consume his resolve.
He’d been out here for hours, desperate to uncover crucial details from his aunt and uncle’s past. His wrist throbbed in protest, reminding him of his limitations.
He ignored the pain. Darby Jane had another hour in school, then he’d have to leave to go pick her up. So he had to press on with his quest.
He turned in a slow circle, searching for any boxes he hadn’t opened yet.
Then he moved toward a dusty corner where an old filing cabinet stood.
With bated breath, Burke tugged open the drawer, unleashing a cloud of stale air.
Coughing, he riffled through folders and documents, growing increasingly disheartened with each passing second.
If Mac and Lois had been involved with the candy company, it seemed they’d left no trace.
After bypassing folders full of old utility bills, bank statements and owner’s manuals, he was about to give up hope.
Until his fingers brushed against a rectangular envelope buried under a stack of papers.
Intrigued, he pulled it out and scanned the names and addresses scrawled on the outside.
The letter had been sent from Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Wright in Evergreen and mailed to his aunt at an address in Kansas.
He squinted. The postmark had faded. He could just read the year: 1983.
Burke’s pulse sped.
He flipped the envelope over. Its seal had never been broken.
Burke hesitated. He turned it over again.
As he held the unopened letter in his hands, doubt crept in.
Should he open it or reach out to Jovi first?
Her harsh accusations about him being deceitful and concealing his motives still echoed in his head.
He wasn’t deceitful. Nor did he have ulterior motives in moving to Alaska.
And oh, how he wanted to win Jovi’s heart.
Conflicting emotions battled inside him as he hesitated before making a decision.
He’d found the letter in his aunt and uncle’s shed, with his aunt’s name on the outside. So didn’t he get dibs?
Burke carefully tucked his finger into one corner, worked the flap loose, then removed the letter.
A bead of sweat trickled down his back as he unfolded the aged paper, its edges yellowed.
He scanned the faded block-print handwriting.
The letter was from Dennis Wright. He wanted to end the feud and establish an agreement that granted Carol and his family permission to use a recipe to manufacture and sell a specific kind of candy.
Burke kept reading. The details omitted the name of the confection, but clearly indicated Dennis’s excitement about the creation of a product.
His scalp prickled.
The more Burke read, the clearer it became that there was indeed a connection between Mac and Lois and the candy company.
The product Dennis alluded to in the letter sent adrenaline pulsing through Burke’s veins.
As he reread Dennis Wright’s words, a sliver of truth emerged.
He was inviting Lois and Mac to come back to Alaska and partner with his family to create this candy from her recipe.
The exact ingredients weren’t mentioned, but he seemed to believe the candy was something so unique and tantalizing that it could propel their family’s company into unimaginable success.
So what had happened?
Burke’s mind raced with possibilities. Was this somehow connected to the salted caramel chew recipe that Jovi had been looking for? That hardly seemed likely. And what was so precious about this candy that Dennis made the effort to respectfully ask Lois and Mac to collaborate?
His curiosity collided with his conscience.
Had Lois been too angry and stubborn? Was that why she’d never opened the letter?
She and Mac must’ve returned to Evergreen shortly after she’d received it.
And she’d cared enough to pack the letter and bring it along.
So maybe Dennis had floated his ideas in person once Lois and Mac arrived?
Except the feud clearly hadn’t been resolved because Lois and Carol’s friendship was never restored.
He folded the letter, tucked it back inside the envelope, then left the shed.
An icy wind howled across the lake, whipping up snow in frosty gales.
He gritted his teeth against the wintry blast and strode across the yard to the cabin.
For now, he’d stash the letter in his bedroom for safekeeping.
Maybe revisit it later tonight once he’d had time to think.
He had to reach out to Jovi and share what he’d discovered.
They both needed to know what this mysterious product was, why the letter had never been opened all these years and what happened between Mac, Lois and the Wrights once they all lived in Evergreen again. The unanswered questions pestered him like an itch that couldn’t be scratched.
* * *
“The hidden recipes are the plot twist I didn’t see coming,” Danielle said, setting her disposable coffee cup on the table, then shrugging out of her jacket.
“It’s unbelievable, really.” Jovi shook her head as she claimed the chair across from Danielle at Alpenglow Espresso. It was the middle of the week, and thankfully not crowded. Which gave Jovi permission to speak freely.
Danielle had made last-minute arrangements and dropped her kids off at her mom’s so they could meet and catch up. Exhaustion had twisted Jovi’s emotions into a convoluted mess. She desperately needed her friend’s help to sort it all out.
Worry carved twin grooves between Danielle’s brows. “How did Burke react to finding the recipes?”
Jovi bit her lip. She felt like she had a lead weight sitting on her lungs. “He feels his family may have some claim to the original recipes, since we can’t be certain my grandmother didn’t use them to start the candy company.”
“Yikes. Hopefully your family has retained a savvy attorney.” Danielle glanced at her phone, then tucked it out of sight in her purse. “This sounds messy.”
“And to make things messier, there’s more than one offer on the table at this point.
Because Isabel and I aren’t willing to sell, our parents haven’t accepted any of them.
But to be honest, things aren’t looking good.
They gave us until the first of June to come up with a viable reason not to sell, and that’s less than two months away. ”
“What if these recipes are the beginning of something wonderful?” Danielle’s expression brightened. “Maybe you and Burke will work together to finally solve the mystery of your families’ feud.”
Jovi cradled her mug between her hands. “Doubt it. I accused him of ulterior motives. He denied intentionally deceiving me.”
“Maybe you both need time and space to regroup.”
Her throat tightened. Oh, she did not want to shed any more tears over Burke Solomon. She’d cried enough lately. Lost hours of sleep too. Why couldn’t she put him out of her head? And out of her heart?
Danielle reached across the table and placed her hand on Jovi’s sleeve. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Do you want to keep the candy company? When you think about your future, do you really see yourself settling down here in Evergreen and running a business?”
Her traitorous mind projected a highlight reel of the time she’d spent with Burke and Darby Jane.
Yes. No. “I—I don’t know. It’s so mixed-up. I’m so mixed-up,” she confessed, pressing her palms to her cheeks. “Sometimes I think I want to keep the candy company just because it helps me feel close to my grandparents and they are so special to me.”
Empathy filled Danielle’s eyes. “That’s a valid reason not to sell.”