Chapter Nineteen #3
“I know you’re getting ready to leave, but please, Jovi, let’s look for the scrapbook again. What if the recipe you need is in there?”
Tears pricked Jovi’s eyes. “Izzy, no. We said we weren’t going to do this, remember?”
“I know, but…” Isabel sniffed, then blinked quickly.
Unshed tears clung to her eyelashes. “I changed my mind. I—I can’t stop thinking about what Grammie said to you.
How the scrapbook tells the whole story.
What if you find the recipe, make the candy, and it’s a game changer?
Mom and Dad are ready to accept the most competitive offer and sign the papers.
We have to stop the sale, Jovi. Please, help me. One last time.”
Jovi sighed and stepped aside so Isabel could come in. “We’ve looked everywhere. There’s nothing here that looks like what Grammie’s describing. Besides, Sabrina will be here in twenty minutes to pick me up, and my flight leaves in two hours.”
“I’ll pay for you to change your ticket.” Isabel turned to face her, the tears gone and a resolute look in her eyes. “And don’t hate me, but I’ve invited Burke to join us on our final search.”
“Oh, no.” Jovi groaned, squeezing her eyes shut. “You didn’t.”
“Yes, I did.” Isabel jammed her hands on her hips. “He has a right to know what’s going on, and he might be able to help.”
Jovi shook her head, but she knew better than to argue. Bringing Burke into this would only complicate things even more. She spotted him walking up the driveway, carrying a small paper shopping bag.
Too late now. “Let me tell Sabrina to head to the airport without me.”
“Yes!” Isabel thrust her arms in the air, then raced over and swept Jovi into a hug. “I knew I could convince you.”
Jovi swallowed hard against the lump lodged in her throat. She hugged her sister, then pulled away and sent her friend a quick text. A few moments later, Burke arrived at the door. Isabel let him in. His dark eyes were fixed on Jovi as he crossed the threshold.
Her heart turned cartwheels. His tousled wavy hair and the wool sweater he’d paired with dark-washed denim reminded her so much of the night they’d met in the airport.
“Isabel said you two need help looking for something?”
His gaze pinged toward her luggage stacked in the kitchen, then back to her. His guarded expression and clipped words twisted her stomach. She instantly regretted not going over to say goodbye.
She managed a brief nod.
Isabel took charge of the situation and explained their mission: find the missing scrapbook before a sale could be finalized that would potentially impact both their families.
Tears welled in Isabel’s eyes again as she spoke.
A wave of empathy washed over Jovi. Her sister had made it her mission to save their grandparents’ business and legacy for future generations. She couldn’t possibly leave now.
* * *
“So you think this scrapbook might actually be here?” Burke asked as he looked around the kitchen. He scanned the old cabinets and the vintage refrigerator humming in the corner.
His wounded heart stumbled when he eyed the suitcases and carry-on beside the counter. Had Jovi been about to leave? Without telling him?
He couldn’t worry about that. Not now. She was still here—looking so beautiful it physically hurt him to let his gaze linger. And the faint scent of her shampoo made his arms ache to hold her close.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to listen to Isabel’s suggestions about where to begin.
“We can skip the kitchen,” Jovi said. “I’ve already scoured every square inch.”
Burke nodded, then turned in a slow circle, trying not to think about what had happened the last time he’d been in this kitchen. Or the discovery he’d made at Mac and Lois’s place. The recipes hidden inside the dollhouse were what had gotten him into this mess.
“I’ve picked the shed apart twice,” Burke said. “There doesn’t seem to be any additional recipes or letters in Mac and Lois’s stuff. I brought what I’ve found so far.”
Jovi gave him the side-eye, obviously not convinced that he had done his due diligence. He couldn’t really blame her for being suspicious. Besides, it was far too late to convince her to change her mind about him.
“Thank you.” Isabel glanced at the bag as she rubbed her forehead with her fingertips. “I’d like to see what you’ve found after we’re finished searching here. We’ve sorted through every photo album we own. No hints.”
“Grammie insisted what we’re looking for is tucked away in a serviceman’s footlocker,” Jovi said. “Seems like that would be hard to miss.”
Burke wasn’t so sure. He had searched Mac and Lois’s cabin from top to bottom and hadn’t been able to find any more evidence of their involvement in the candy company. Other than the letter from Dennis Wright to Lois.
“Let’s have a look around,” Burke said as he started toward the hallway. “Are all the cabins on this side of the lake built by the same person?”
“That’s a good question,” Isabel said, following him. “I always assumed each one was custom-built. Do you see remarkable differences?”
He stopped outside the hall bathroom, his mind churning.
“Not really. I stopped by the library last week and did some research on the early days of Evergreen. When the homesteaders first settled here, stuff like that. There wasn’t much information available about the properties around the lake.
I was just thinking that if all the cabins were built by the same person, maybe there’d be some similarities between them. ”
He paused, considering the possibilities. “Maybe something like attic access or hidden crawl spaces that we could check?”
Isabel and Jovi exchanged glances. Isabel nodded slowly. “We’re not aware of any crawl space here, but obviously there’s a lot we don’t know about our grandparents, so feel free to look around.”
After searching for what felt like hours, they were no closer to discovering an entrance to the cabin’s attic.
He sensed Jovi and Isabel were getting antsy.
And not a little frustrated. Did Jovi need to leave soon?
The tension in the air was almost palpable.
Just as he was about to give up hope, Burke noticed a tiny crack in the floorboard near one side of the door frame leading into the main bedroom.
He stooped down to inspect it further. Carefully, he tugged up one corner of the shag carpet.
The subfloor looked normal, except for a strange seam bisecting the old plywood.
He pressed on the wood. When he felt something give way beneath his fingers, he pulled the carpet back more and found a latch.
“Check this out.” Burke glanced up at Isabel and Jovi hovering in the hallway. “Mind if I see where this takes us?”
“Please.” Isabel gestured for him to continue.
He tugged on the metal ring. A rectangular panel in the floorboards lifted, revealing a staircase leading down into darkness below. “Bingo.”
“Oh, my,” Jovi said.
“This is bonkers,” Isabel whispered.
Burke gingerly descended the stairs, one hand trailing along the wall for balance.
“Hang on,” Jovi called after him. “Let me get you a light.”
“Perfect. Thanks.” He hesitated, the stairs creaking under his sneakers. Cold air enveloped him. The aroma of damp earth and mothballs filled his nostrils.
The bright beam from her phone’s flashlight illuminated his path down into the crawl space.
As his eyes adjusted to the light, he made out a compact room brimming with bookshelves, furniture and boxes of all shapes and sizes.
He peered around cautiously, looking for a light bulb.
A string dangling overhead with a small ring attached caught his attention.
He tugged gently. The bulb lit up, casting an orange glow over the crowded space.
Jovi and Isabel followed him cautiously down into the hidden room. “This is incredible,” Jovi breathed, her voice filled with awe. “How did we not know this was here?”
* * *
That scrapbook had to be here someplace.
Jovi used a flashlight she’d found in a kitchen drawer to add more light to their quest. She turned in a slow circle, eyeing the stacks of hastily labeled cardboard boxes jammed in between pieces of old furniture and a few vintage lamps.
“Oh, look.” Isabel pointed. “Remember when Grammie had those chairs recovered and Grandpa hated the upholstery?”
“Yeah,” Jovi said, trying to keep from crying.
Why was their search making her so emotional?
Somewhere in this disordered chaos of furniture and objects, they’d hopefully find the scrapbook that Grammie insisted told the story of her relationship with Lois.
But could she trust that Grammie had been lucid when she’d shared the crucial details?
And how would this change her relationship with Burke—or lack of it—if they found it?
Burke cleared his throat. “Where would you like to start?”
She shot him a quick glance. The hopeful expression on his face reminded her of the intimate moments they’d shared and the potential romance she’d hastily punctured with accusations of betrayal.
“Jovi?” His voice prodded her back to reality. “What exactly are we looking for?”
Jovi sighed deeply and turned to face him. “Grammie said the scrapbook is in her father’s military footlocker,” she said slowly. “She said that’s where she kept some things with sentimental value.”
“What does it look like?” Burke asked.
“It’s supposedly green and ugly, and his last name is stenciled on the outside—Montgomery. It should stand out here somewhere.”
Burke stilled. “Say that name again?”
“Montgomery. M-o-n-t—”
“I heard you.” Burke shoved his fingers into his hair. “Any connection to the historic feud between the Harrisons and the Montgomerys?”
Jovi and Isabel exchanged looks. “Oh, yeah. The thing about the silver,” Jovi said.
Isabel quirked her lips to one side. “Or was it gold?”
Then they shrugged, and Jovi swung her flashlight toward an opposite wall.