Page 22 of The Deal Maker

MAGGIE

The buzz around this scavenger hunt has been insane. I don’t think I can go anywhere except my townhouse without hearing about it. From the numbers, I’m assuming the pool of hunters will be quite large.

Do I care about winning? Usually, yes, but right now, I know I only have to get a participant trophy to get the real prize. I have to put in enough effort to prove that I deserve Hope’s discussion with the rest of the Stevens family.

Sunday night, I receive an email saying that I’ve been paired up with someone else in the community.

Isn’t a scavenger hunt usually just for people to fight it out to the death and not team up with someone else? I was planning on doing this myself, to not have to check in with anyone. Then again, that might be a good thing for me to get over.

I just wish it would say who. The suspense is killing me.

The email says we’re to meet in the town square at seven this evening for the big reveal and an explanation of how things are going to work. From everything I’ve heard through the gossip mill, it sounds like this won’t be a one-day endeavor like I originally thought it would. How does a scavenger hunt run over several days without someone winning on the first?

Sasha took the Sunday shift at The Candy Jar, which makes it so I can get things done around the townhouse and still make it in time to the gathering.

Once there, I see several familiar faces, but I’m still trying to learn the names of the locals. Mix in the many tourists, and it gets crazy.

“Are you ready for this, Candy Lady?” Marlin asks.

I have to give a short laugh and say, “I guess. Does Willow Cove do a lot of these kinds of events?” There have been no major events since I arrived, not even an Easter egg hunt for the kids.

Marlin shakes his head. “No. The new mayor has been wanting to shake things up around here. I think this will be a great adventure. It’ll give me something to do when I’m not driving people around. I might even get more work.”

I’m still confused on how people can both work and participate in this venture, unless they have someone like Hope to take over the business.

After all I’ve been through with my past relationship, I would definitely appreciate a little more time to not have to worry about my family teasing me or pressuring me to start dating again.

There’s no need to put my heart back into a blender when it’s just now starting to heal.

“Maybe we’ll be partners,” Marlin says, wiggling his eyebrows.

I nod, giving him a forced smile. “Maybe.”

I don’t know if I’ll make it through the hunt if he’s my partner. The guy is nice enough, but there’s just something about him that makes me wonder about his sanity. Or maybe that’s just who he is as a person.

The mayor taps the microphone and greets everyone with a smile.

“We’re happy to have so many of you here participating today. I knew Willow Cove would get excited for something like this. The amount of support for this fun scavenger hunt is unmatched and I’m making sure we come up with other things that will interest the town and its visitors over the coming months. We’ll have to make Christmas even more special.”

The assistant to the mayor, Barnabee Slater, nudges her with his elbow and hands her a piece of paper.

“Thank you, Barnabee. We’ll start with the rules of the contest and then head into the pairings.”

At least someone is helping to speed up the instructions. I could see Mayor Dobbs speaking for at least another hour before we even got to the real reason we’re all standing here.

“You’ll all need to download the Beach Town App. It was created by one of our friends here in Willow Cove, Stanford Walker. Once you do that, sign in with your name and the email you used to apply for the scavenger hunt.”

There is a slight pause as the mayor confers with Barnabee. I pull out my phone to start downloading the app. I was worried we’d have to find things through pieces of paper and that if we were too late, the clues might be all gone. At least if it’scontrolled through an app, I can rest a bit easier about the whole process.

Not that I need to win. But a guilt-free trip sounds nice. Life has been so hectic lately and, the idea of sitting on a beach somewhere with nothing significant to do for a few days sounds like heaven. Not that I even need to get that far to be a winner.

Then again, would I have to go on vacation with the person who ends up being my partner? What if I did get Marlin? I’d just have to give him the trip and hope for something different to come along.

“Okay, once you’ve all signed in, you’ll need to click on the profile photo in the upper right?—”

“Upper left,” Barnabee says, close enough to the microphone that we can all hear.

The mayor takes a step back, looking frustrated and waves for Barnabee to take over, which he does rather happily.

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