Page 39 of Valentine's in Bayberry

And now she had the whole afternoon to spend with Jackson with no worries about the shop. Alice had already agreed to meet her at five o’clock to do the final prep before their guests arrived at 6:00 p.m.

Carrie pulled her car to the edge of the road in front of her parents’ house. She lowered the window and opened the mailbox. There was only one piece of mail that day. It was a white envelope with her first name handprinted in big block letters. It looked like someone had used a marker. There was no address. No stamp. Nothing but her name.

What was it? Her mind raced. But as a car approached her, she set aside the envelope in order to pull her car into the driveaway. She drove up to the house and parked.

She once more picked up the envelope and stared at it. She didn’t recognize the handwriting. But it had to be from someone local. Maybe it was some paperwork for Totally Chocolate. She thought that she’d filled out everything. There was a lot of paperwork. Perhaps she’d missed something, and someone was nice enough to drop it off for her.

She grabbed her purse and got out of the car. A frigid wind smacked her in the face. She inwardly groaned. She snuggled into her coat as she walked to the front door. The temperature was definitely dropping. And it smelled like snow. That crisp, clean scent.

She unlocked the door and rushed inside. She shut the door against the cold air. She dropped her things on the small table in the foyer. After she slipped off her coat and took off her boots, she ran her hands over the goosebumps on her arms.

Her gaze landed on the mystery envelope. She didn’t want to deal with any paperwork now. She’d worked all morning on her day off, and now she just wanted to go help Jackson.

She moved it to the dining room table along with her purse. She ran upstairs to change clothes. She pulled on a pair of jeans and then she hesitated in front of the closet. She pulled out a white sweater and then hung it back up. She was supposed to go there to work. She grabbed a sweatshirt and shrugged it on.

She stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. There was a smudge of chocolate on her left cheek. She washed it off and then put on a little makeup. She never wore much, just some foundation, powder, and mascara.

Then there was her hair. It needed some help. She took out the ponytail holder. She didn’t wear her hair down very often, butshe felt like doing something different that day. She refused to admit it had anything to do with Jackson.

She rushed back downstairs. She moved to the table to grab her purse, and her gaze strayed across the envelope. She was really curious to know what was in it. And why did they drop it into her mailbox instead of bringing it to Totally Chocolate?

With a huff, she opened the envelope and peeked inside. There was a piece of purple paper.What in the world?

She yanked the paper out of the envelope. It was construction paper folded in half. There was a pink heart glued to the front. It reminded her of something a kid would make. She was very confused.

She opened the card, and inside it read:

Roses for you,

Chocolate for me,

There’s a treat for you,

Go to 247 Main Street...

P.S. It doesn’t exactly rhyme, but it’s the thought that counts.

She couldn’t help but smile. But there wasn’t a signature. She turned the card over and searched the backside for a hint of who the author might be. There were no clues at all. But she was intrigued.

She was torn between finding out where the note would lead her and going to help Jackson. Maybe she’d call him and see if he was ready for her help yet. She grabbed her phone and dialed. The phone rang and rang.

She was about to hang up when she heard his voice. “Hey, Carrie. Are you done working?”

“I am. I got done earlier than I expected.”

“Well, I’ll head out now to pick up lunch. It shouldn’t take me too long.”

She smiled. This was just the opportunity she needed. “We can meet up at your place in say a half hour?”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Hey, Jackson, what are we having for lunch?”

“You’re just going to have to wait and see.”

She sighed. “Fine. It’d better be good.”

“Stop worrying. You trust me, don’t you?”

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