Page 73 of Valentine's in Bayberry

And now Carrie’s grandmother was going to help him with the final part of the plan. He hadn’t had to talk Gran into helping him. In fact, she came up with part of the plan all on her own. When she’d told him her idea for a new dress and shoes, he’d loved it.

Now, as he stood in the vacant storefront, he looked around. The renovations were moving along at a rapid pace. Instead of the project taking three months to fully renovate the interior, Jackson increased the budget, and that meant they could hire more workers. It cut the work down to two months, perhaps a little less. Jackson was hoping for the “little less.”

“What do you think?”

Jackson turned around to find the man responsible for all of this work. “I think you’ve done an amazing job. It’s actually starting to look like my vision.”

Mark smiled. “But I can’t take the credit. I have a whole crew of men working on this place.”

“Tell them how much I appreciate it.”

Mark nodded. “Any changes?”

Jackson had been making minor changes here and there all week. But he felt as though the plan for the place was at last coming into focus. “No changes. I think we’ve got it figured out now. And you know about the plans for this evening, right?”

Mark nodded. “The place is all yours.”

“Thanks.” He had borrowed a pickup from a friend, and it had some of the supplies to make this evening extra special.

“Do you need a hand unloading the pickup?” Mark asked.

“I’ve got it. Thanks.”

Mark glanced around the area. “Need anything else before I go?”

“I think I’m good.”

After Mark left, Jackson unloaded the pickup. The trick was to get the things into the building before Carrie saw that he was up to something.

But it seemed that he had nothing to worry about. With it being Valentine’s Day, the shop was enormously busy. He didn’t so much as catch a glimpse of Carrie.

In fact, Totally Chocolate was so busy earlier that when he’d ventured over to try to smooth things over with Carrie before her surprise that evening, she was too busy to talk. He checked the time. A couple of hours had passed, maybe she’d have a chance to speak to him now.

Buzz. Buzz.

He reached for his phone. When he glanced at the caller ID, he saw it was the hospital. His heart lurched.

He pressed the phone to his ear. “This is Jackson.”

“Mr. Wright?” A woman’s voice came clearly through the phone.

His body tensed. “Yes.”

“This is Lakewood Memorial Hospital. We’re calling on behalf of your mother.”

“My mother?” His chest tightened. “What happened?”

“She’s in the emergency room. She asked that I call you.”

The conversation was brief and short on details—too short on details. As he returned his phone to his pocket, his mind raced. What was wrong with his mother?

For the moment, his Valentine’s Day plans were shoved to the back of his mind. He grabbed his car keys from the table and rushed out the door.

With fresh snowfall, the drive was slower than he would have liked. Traffic was congested. But when he finally made it to thehospital, he was relieved to find his mother sitting up in bed with her right arm in a sling.

He rushed to her side. “Mom, how are you?”

She sent him a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. I’m sorry to worry you.”

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