Page 45 of Valentine's in Bayberry

While Carrie waited in her car, she decided to message Jackson.

Carrie:Do you want me to pick up dinner?

Her message was met with silence. He was probably busy sorting through his mother’s things. There was a lot of stuff to go through.

Buzz.

Jackson:Don’t worry about it.

What did that mean? He was taking care of dinner? Or that he didn’t want her to come over? She hoped it wasn’t the latter?

Carrie:I’ll be there as soon as the Happy Hearts is over.

Jackson:See you then.

She expelled a pent-up breath. She was relieved everything was okay with them. She didn’t know until then how much she needed them to be all right. In fact, the degree of her need surprised even her. But she didn’t have time to analyze what was going on with Jackson. It was time to meet Kate.

The snow began to fall as Carrie made her way to the gift shop. The cold wind blew in her face. She lowered her head and picked up her pace.

Once inside, she welcomed the warmth. She’d just swept some flyaway strands of hair from her face when Kate appeared.

Her friend smiled at her as she approached her. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“I was hoping you could tell me that.”

Kate’s brows rose. “Me? I don’t understand.”

This was the awkward moment. Carrie swallowed hard. She lowered her voice and said, “My secret valentine sent me here.”

Kate’s eyes widened. “Oh. I see.”

“Now, do you know why I’m here?”

Kate’s brow scrunched up. “Let me see.”

Kate approached the checkout counter. She looked around behind the counter. It took her some time. The longer it took, the more Carrie worried that she’d been sent on a fool’s errand.

Kate knelt down. When she straightened, she held a medium-sized white gift box with a big red bow on top.

An immediate smile tugged at Carrie’s lips. She accepted the box. “Thank you.”

“Aren’t you going to open it?” Kate looked expectantly at her.

Carrie hesitated, but she knew it didn’t matter if she waited until later. Her friends would bug her to know what her secret valentine had gotten her.

She placed the box on the counter and lifted the lid. Inside was red tissue paper. When she moved it out of the way, she found two glass heart candles. The two hearts were intertwined as though they were two parts of a whole.

Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. It was a very touching gift. She blinked repeatedly. Whoever was behind these gifts knew how to get to her.

“Oh,” Kate said, “there was one more thing.” Kate moved back behind the counter and returned with one red long-stemmed rose. “This was on top of the box.”

Carrie smiled as she accepted the rose. She sniffed it, enjoying the soft scent.

“Somebody has it really bad for you. Have you figured who the gifts are from?”

Carrie shook her head. She really felt as though she should have figured it out by now.

Kate pressed on. “But you must have a guess.”

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