Hearty laughter bubbles out from her. “Of course he did. That James. He was a hoot.” She comes over and leans up on her toes to gives me a kiss on the cheek. “I’d hug you, but you two look like you got in a fight with a swamp.” She turns her full attention to Kayla and gapes. “Good heavens. Is this little Kayla Turner, all grown up?”

Kayla smiles. “Hi, Mrs. Myers.”

“My goodness, child. I haven’t seen you since you were just a little girl.” She clucks her tongue. “And now look at you. Every bit as pretty as your mama was. You know, I fed Gia every day when she was pregnant with you.”

“Really?” Kayla says.

“Yes. Blueberry tarts were her favorite.” Mrs. Myers looks us over with a happy sigh. “I’m glad you’re here. James told me you’d be coming, you know.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “He did?”

She nods. “Before he passed, he asked me to hold on to an envelope. He said he had a special treat in store for you and Kayla. He failed to mention anything about handcuffs, though.” She smiles. “James always had a creative imagination, and now look at him, chaining the two of you up and sending you all over town.” She laughs. “It sounds like a complete ball. You must be having so much fun.”

We raise our eyebrows and look down at our muddy wet clothes.

Fun. Right.

She bustles behind the bakery counter and throws a look at Kayla. “Give me just a moment and I’ll be back with your daddy’s note.” She disappears into the back.

I take a cookie from a nearby display tray and bring it to my mouth.

“What are you doing?” Kayla slaps my hand and the cookie goes flying, joining the sprinkles on the floor.

I glower. “I was trying to eat a cookie. What are you doing?”

“That’s stealing,” she says, looking aghast.

I make a noncommittal noise. “They’re more like samples than anything else.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe you.”

“I’m starving,” I say defensively. “We haven’t eaten all day. Aren’t you hungry?”

We didn’t stop for lunch today, which was fine with me since I’m broke, but I was surprised Kayla didn’t suggest we stop for food.

“No, I’m fine,” Kayla says. Right on cue, her stomach growls.

“Ha!” I point at her stomach. “Liar.”

I reach for the cookie dish and she smacks my hand. Again.

“Cut it out,” she snaps.

The front door opens and I turn to see Valerie Oswald enter the bakery with a large box.

“Navy Nancy,” Kayla whispers, looking the woman over.

I turn to Kayla. “Navy who?”

“That woman.” She juts her chin in Valerie’s direction. “I saw her at the funeral.”

I nod. “That’s Valerie Oswald. She’s the property manager for all of your dad’s business developments in the town square.”

“Oh.” Kayla nods.

Valerie looks at us and upon seeing Kayla narrows her eyes. Then she sees me, and then the handcuffs, and her eyes widen. “What on earth…?”

She frowns at Kayla and I wonder why. Kayla clearly doesn’t know Valerie yet Valerie seems to dislike her.

“It’s a long story,” I say, smiling. “But basically, James asked us to do this in his will. Have you two met?” I gesture to Kayla. “This is James’s daughter, Kayla. Kayla, this is Valerie.”

Kayla still looks uncomfortable but manages to smile nicely. “Hello there. Nice to meet you.”

“Your James’s daughter?” The iciness in Valerie’s gaze instantly melts into warmth as she sets down the box and holds out her hand. “Oh, how very nice to meet you. Your father was a terrific man.”

Kayla shakes her hand. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Found it!” Mrs. Myers returns, waving an envelope in her hand. “Oh, hello Valerie.” She smiles. “What brings you in so late?”

Valerie picks the box back up and hands it to Mrs. Myers with a smile. “I just wanted to return your chocolate fountain. Thank you for letting the town use it for the Confetti Carnival. It was a hit, as usual.”

“There was a chocolate fountain?” I say under my breath. “Dammit. I can’t believe we missed that.”

“I know,” Kayla adds. “I love chocolate fountains.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Myers smiles at Valerie. “You know I always love contributing to the Confetti Carnival.”

“Well we appreciate it.” She turns to leave. “Well I need to get going. Thanks again.” She smiles at us. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Kayla.”

She leaves the bakery and Kayla bends to pick up the cookie she knocked out of my hand earlier. “I’m sorry about the cookie on the floor,” she says to Mrs. Myers as she throws it away. “Daren thought they were samples. We can pay for it.”

I turn to her and mouth, Traitor.

Mrs. Myers waves her off. “Nonsense dear. Anything that doesn’t get eaten tonight gets tossed, anyway. In fact, if you two wouldn’t mind taking some of these goodies home with you, that would save me a trip to the trash.” She gestures to an array of baked treats behind a glass display.

“Oh no, no,” Kayla argues. “We couldn’t take your food.”

“Hush, child.” She hands the envelope to Kayla and shuffles behind the counter, grabbing a paper bag. She starts piling leftover cookies and brownies into a bag and my mouth starts to water. “Here you are.” She shoves a bag overflowing with treats into my arms and winks at Kayla. “I put a few blueberry tarts in there too, just in case you have the same taste as your mama.”

Kayla smiles. “Oh wow. Thank you for all these desserts.”

She and I both pull out a cookie and stuff our faces. Well, I stuff my face, but Kayla takes dainty bites and spends time chewing like a person with manners.

“Of course. I’d do anything for James and his family.” Her eyes sparkle. “Did you know I introduced your parents?”

Kayla’s eyes sparkle right back as she grins. “I did not know that.”

Mrs. Myers nods. “Your mother was in here one day, buying up all my blueberry tarts when James walked in. I introduced him to her and a few short months later they were married.” She chuckles and happily sighs. “They were quite the pair.”

Kayla smiles. “Yes. That’s what I’ve heard.”

She clucks her tongue. “James never did recover from your mama leaving. Poor thing. Valerie Oswald never had a chance. Did you know she was in love with your father?”

Kayla frowns. “The woman with the chocolate fountain had a thing for my dad?”

“Oh, yes. She wanted James’s heart something fierce. But he loved you and your mama, and no other woman could compete.”

Kayla lifts a brow. “Well that explains why Valerie didn’t like me when she first saw me. She must have thought I was his girlfriend or something.”

Mrs. Myers laughs. “Valerie is just protective of James, that’s all. And I can’t imagine anyone not just loving you to pieces the moment they meet you.”

Kayla laughs. “Well that’s sweet of you to say—especially since you don’t really know me.”

She grins. “Oh, baby. I know all about you. James talked my ear off about his little girl. And then you come in here covered in dirt and handcuffed to my sweet Daren? Well, I knew the moment I saw you that you were every bit as wonderful as James described.”

I watch Kayla’s face soften and her eyes fill with emotion. It’s obvious she’s not used to people showing her the kind of warm acceptance and compassion that Mrs. Myers is well-known for.

Kayla blinks a few times and I intervene so she doesn’t have to respond or try to hide the emotion creeping up her face.

“Well we should get going to let you finish closing up,” I say. “Thank you so much for your generosity, Mrs. Myers.” I tip my chin at the bag in my hand and smile.

“I hope you enjoy the blueberry tarts.” She moves her eyes from Kayla and smiles broadly at me. “And good luck on your treasure hunt.” She waves good-bye as we exit the bakery armed with more sugar and chocolate than a Wonka factory.

Back outside, the rain has let up, leaving only the heavy clouds and damp air behind. We climb into her car and Kayla tears open the new clue and reads out loud.