Chapter Nineteen #2
Maybe, just maybe, they were headed for brighter, sunnier days.
Not that it mattered to her. If she officially accepted her new start date for her assignment in California as a traveler, she’d have her toes in the sand in less than ten days.
She hadn’t planned to go just yet, but someone from HR at the hospital in La Jolla had asked if she could start sooner.
They were really struggling to care for patients without enough nurses.
Another traveler who’d been scheduled to start soon had had a family emergency.
She’d asked for a couple of days to think about it.
Even though she’d already planned on going to California, leaving in a few days was much different than leaving in June.
Her heart pinched. Could she really go? Frankly, she couldn’t think of any reason to stay.
Because she’d meant what she’d said to Burke.
If his family claimed that they were entitled to half the proceeds of the sale, then all their attorneys would have to negotiate the outcome.
She refused to believe that her grandmother would have done anything so twisted as to steal recipes.
Then again, Jovi could relate to the pain of rejection.
Heartache made people do strange things sometimes.
Except Grammie had always been so kind and generous.
And so talented. Why would she have doubted her own creativity?
She hesitated at the entrance, drew a deep breath, then stepped through as the automatic doors parted.
After signing in at the desk, she walked down the long corridor to Grammie’s room.
She knocked softly, then opened the door.
Grammie sat in her recliner. A home-decorating show played on the television.
The pleasing fragrance of peppermint wafted toward Jovi as she glanced at the diffuser, puffing a little cloud into the air.
An orchid sat on the windowsill, blooming brilliant, rich pink blossoms.
“Hi there,” Jovi said, shrugging out of her coat and hanging it on the hook behind the door. “How are you?”
Grammie’s eyes, clear and blue and bright like Jovi remembered, locked on hers. “Oh, good, you’re here. I need your help.” She pointed one gnarled finger toward the two shelves under the windows. “I need you to find my scrapbook.”
Jovi stopped halfway across the room. “Your scrapbook? I didn’t know you had one.”
“Jovi, don’t be silly.” Grammie chuckled. “You know I was an avid scrapbooker back in the day.”
Tears pricked Jovi’s eyes. Grammie knew her.
“I used to host parties, remember? Everybody would bring all their supplies to our house, and we worked on our pages together. Sometimes you’d help me. Putting the stickers in was your favorite part. I tried to always have plenty on hand, because you and Isabel would fight over them.”
Jovi sniffed, then cleared her throat. “I remember. Isabel wanted an even number of stickers on every page, and I couldn’t get enough of the sparkly heart stickers.”
Grammie clasped her hands and tipped her head back, her sweet laugh filling the room. The best sound Jovi had heard in days.
She sank to her knees on the floor beside the shelves. “Can you describe the color or what the cover looks like?”
“Can’t remember, but I’ll know it when I see it.”
Of course you will. Jovi suppressed a laugh and leaned closer. “All right, then, let’s see. We’ve got some photo albums, a couple of coffee table books featuring flowers, but I don’t see any scrapbooks.”
“That’s odd.”
Jovi straightened slowly and faced her grandmother. “What years do you think you covered in your scrapbook?”
“Oh, honey, I had so many. But the one I’m thinking of was all about the candy company. You know, Lois and I started that business together.”
Jovi’s stomach plummeted. Her body ran hot and then cold. “What?”
“Oh, sure, me and Lois started making candy together back when we were still in high school. Then we won a couple of competitions, prizes at the state fair, that sort of thing. So we decided to start selling candy and cookies out of her parents’ place.
People loved our stuff!” Her smile faded.
She plucked a tissue from the box on the table beside her chair.
“Of course, everything changed when she married Mac.”
Jovi’s heart thundered in her chest. She swiped her clammy palms on her jeans, then knelt at Grammie’s side. “Can you tell me more about your early days at the candy company?”
Grammie looked away.
Jovi held her breath. Stay with me, Grammie.
“I suppose the most important thing you need to know is that Lois and I had the best time together. Our friendship was born from our mutual interest in baking. We both enjoyed making people happy. Even though my heart broke when Mac fell in love with Lois, and I regret that we didn’t stay friends, I’ll always be grateful for her creativity.
” Grammie’s gaze met Jovi’s again. She patted Jovi’s hand.
“Lois really had a gift. You’ve got to find that scrapbook, honey. Oh, the whole story is in there.”
“Do you think it’s someplace where you used to live?”
“Hmm.” Grammie rocked slowly in her chair.
“You know, I kept a lot of my treasures in an old footlocker. Like the kind servicemen brought back from the war. It’s just as ugly as the day is long.
You’ll know when you find it. It’s green, and my father’s last name is printed on the outside in big stenciled letters. ”
“Got it.” Jovi stood and retrieved her phone from her coat pocket. “Let me take some notes real quick so I don’t forget what you’ve said.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t bring them here. Do you know why I didn’t?”
Jovi glanced up from her phone. “I don’t. But I wasn’t here when you moved in.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Grammie held up one finger. “Mason did most of the heavy lifting. Isabel and your parents helped too. Well, you’ve got to find that scrapbook and bring it to me.”
She tugged a small quilt from a footrest nearby, then smoothed it over her lap. “I hate to be rude, but I’m getting sleepy. I’m usually asleep before this show is even over. Which is a real shame, because the fella with the hammer is cute.”
Jovi laughed, then she leaned over and kissed her grandmother’s forehead. “I’ll find your scrapbook, Grammie.”
“I know you will.” She patted Jovi’s hand. “Thanks for coming over.”
Then her eyes drifted shut.
Jovi squeezed the thin papery skin on Grammie’s gnarled hand, then slipped away. She pulled on her coat and hurried out to the front desk. After signing out, she strode to her car and typed out a text to Isabel. They had to find that scrapbook.
* * *
She had looked everywhere.
Turned her parents’ attic upside down, searched through all the boxes in their closets and garage and pulled everything out of the cabin’s meager storage spaces.
No scrapbook about the candy company.
Now two days after her visit with Grammie, exhausted and beyond frustrated, Jovi had her suitcases packed.
She towed them both down the hall into the kitchen and left them by the counter as she unplugged her phone and stowed the charging cable in her carry-on.
This was it. Time to say goodbye to Evergreen and, in several hours, hello to California.
She opened the airline’s app on her phone and double-checked that her departure out of Evergreen was on time.
Sabrina had offered to give her a ride to the airport since she was leaving on vacation that evening as well.
She’d agreed to come by in about thirty minutes.
Fatigue and caffeine-fueled adrenaline hummed through Jovi’s veins.
The excitement for what lay ahead kept her mind buzzing with possibilities.
Maybe this move was exactly what she needed right now: a fresh start away from all things associated with Evergreen.
She couldn’t wait to explore California.
Closing her eyes, she could almost feel the sun-kissed sand beneath her feet and imagine the warmth of the sunshine on her skin.
Still, a bittersweet wave of sorrow threatened to take her under.
Especially as she lingered in Grammie’s kitchen one last time.
Sighing, she opened her eyes and looked around.
She’d found a home again in this lovely place, spending so many wonderful weeks here.
Everywhere she looked were reminders of happy memories spent with Darby Jane—from the sweet treats they’d baked together to the silly last-minute costume Jovi had fashioned for the little girl’s hundredth day of school.
Her heart ached. Life was going to feel so empty without Darby Jane in it.
And without Burke.
Jovi clenched her jaw, determined to sidestep those painful thoughts. Darby Jane’s father had made his choice. No matter how much she longed for things to be different, a relationship between them wasn’t meant to be.
Time to move on.
What a shame that an innocent young child had to get caught in the shrapnel of grown-ups’ falling-out.
In an attempt to distract herself from the sadness, Jovi clicked over to her favorite social media app.
Scrolling through her friend Amy’s account, she admired the gorgeous photos the young woman had recently posted from a hike.
They’d worked together in Chattanooga before she’d taken the assignment in Kansas City.
Now Amy worked in San Diego, and she’d kindly offered Jovi a temporary place to stay until Jovi’s new apartment was ready on the first of May.
A soft knock sounded at her door, interrupting her scroll. Too early for Sabrina. Surely it wasn’t Burke. Or Darby Jane. Jovi’s chest squeezed. She wasn’t proud of her decision to leave town without saying goodbye, but honestly, her heart couldn’t take the pain.
After setting her phone on the counter, Jovi crossed to the door and peeked through the window. Isabel stood on the porch.
Jovi opened the door. “What are you doing here?”
They’d already exchanged tearful goodbyes the night before.