Page 60 of The Hermit on the Hill

"Maybe we should just dig up all the plants," I said. "Maybe she buried the bag underneath one of them."

I looked up to see Jenna crouched near a plant, lifting the leaves to look beneath them. "Found it."

Sure enough, there was a large white stone with the initials R O painted on it in sparkly gold paint.

"It's amazing that weather and time haven't worn away the paint," Jenna said.

"Or it's magic." Though I thought it more likely Nana had left someone to tend to her ginseng plants and keep that stone pristine. If that was the case, the charm bag could be long gone.

I pulled the small trowel from my pack, moved the stone aside, and dug. I didn't have to go far before I found a leather sack, this one larger than the rest.

"Can we open it now?" Jenna asked, her eyes shining, her excitement clear. Inviting her to join my treasure hunt had been one of the best ideas I'd ever had.

"Of course." I pressed a kiss to her smiling lips and unwound the string that held the bag closed. The piece of leather that had been shaped into a pouch fell flat to reveal the items inside. "Looks like we've got pieces of eggshell, some sort of white powder, a piece of parchment paper, a piece of sugar cane, six marbles, and some bits of…" I looked at the hard green bits in the center of the bag. "What the hell is this? Are these pieces of plastic?"

Jenna, brave Jenna, picked up one of the green bits and broke it with her thumbnail. "Too soft to be plastic. It seems like it's…" She sniffed it and dropped it back on the leather. "Yep, that's mold. It almost looks like moldy cheese, but I don't see how it would have survived this long. I'm surprised the mold didn't spread to the rest of the items. Especially being in a damp hole for so many years."

"The leather was treated to protect it from the weather."

"Even so, it's pretty amazing. The sugar cane, too, I would have expected to decompose over the years."

"Magic," I said in a teasing tone, even though I believed it. My grandmother had always been magical to me and, even as an adult who believed in science and the laws of physics, I still wouldn't put anything past her.

Jenna smiled like she might just believe in magic, too. "Well, I have no idea what charm this might be. I've never seen anything like it. Guess I'll be doing some research this afternoon."

I closed up the pouch and retied it. It took much less time getting home since we knew exactly where we were going.

We were walking across the yard, hand in hand, and I was already planning how soon I could get Jenna naked and in my bed, when I noticed Marcus on my front porch. He didn't look happy.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to send him the message to play it cool. He got to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. Clearly, he was not getting the message.

"Who's that?" Jenna asked.

"My friend. Marcus Atwater." Yes, I lied by omission. I panicked. I wasn't ready yet to explain to Jenna that Marcus was my business partner as well as my best friend.

Jenna, ever cheerful, walked right up to Marcus and offered her hand. "I'm Jenna Reynolds."

Marcus' smile was tight, but he shook her hand. "Marcus Atwater. It's nice to meet you, Jenna."

Jenna looked between me and Marcus, clearly sensing the tension. "I'm going to run over to Mom's. Everyone's pitching in today to help Cody at the vineyard."

It surprised me how much that stung. "I didn't realize you had plans."

She waved a hand. "I didn't, really. It's an all day, stop in if you have time sort of thing. It's mostly Cody stressing about being ready for the Jelly Festival in a few weeks."

I groaned. "Is it time for that nonsense already?"

I hated the three-day festival. It meant a ton of tourists wandering around my town and a lot more work for me, helping all the local businesses I had an investment in.

"Cody's got a booth for his wine and Mom's expecting lots of guests. She's been working for weeks to make a jam that incorporates Cody's wine."

"Your mom's not the only one," Marcus said, glaring at me. "Sign-up sheets went out today for booths and every business owner in town is stressed to the max preparing for this festival."

Right. I knew that. Maybe I'd purposely let that detail slip my mind.

"I bet." Jenna shifted on her feet. "Well, I'll leave you two to it." She started to walk away, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back for a quick kiss on the lips. She hopped away from me as soon as our lips met, like I'd electrocuted her, and shot a sharp glance at Marcus. Right, we weren't supposed to be an actual couple. We were two people with a child on the way who enjoyed getting naked together.

I let her go with every intention of talking this out later.

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