Page 37 of The Deal Maker

"Oh, you're one of the Candy Ladies down the row, right?"

Maggie blushes a bit and says, "That I am. Where do you need all of this to go?"

“Just inside. We’re low on product and this was perfect timing with the scavenger hunt going on. It’s boosted sales quite a bit.”

I grin, grateful that if anything, the hunt is helping people like Troy. “Where is the delivery guy?” I ask, lifting another box.

“He had to make a couple of other deliveries near here. He said he’d be back to help with our big shipment soon.”

“How long ago was that?” Maggie asks.

Troy chuckles and says, “About forty-five minutes.”

Maggie lifts a box and waits for Troy to walk in with her, limping along with his cane in tow.

I fill the dolly and wheel it into the building.

Once I catch up with them, I’m surprised to see Maggie standing next to Troy as he talks about all the different card games they have in stock.

“Do you have any of the Queen of Hearts games?” Maggie asks. Why am I so surprised that she’s into games of any kind? Maybe because she’s been all business every time we talk. Gamesare used for people to relax and have fun, which is something I’d love to see from Maggie.

Troy’s smile is wide and he looks like he’s just found buried treasure. “You know about those?”

Maggie nods, looking a little shy for a moment before saying, “Yeah. They were one of my favorites growing up.”

“I haven’t met someone who’s heard of those in about fifteen years.”

Maggie’s face colors and she says, “When you’re the only daughter and don’t want to go on annual hunting expeditions with your dad, like my brother did, you need to fill the time. Collecting those was one of my favorite pastimes.”

“That makes me like you even more,” Troy says. He turns to see me there and directs me where to put everything.

Once we’ve said our goodbyes and left the store, Maggie walks alongside me, looking lost in thought.

“What are the Queen of Hearts games?” I ask, wondering why this was such a big deal to her.

Maggie gives me a small smile and says, “They were a game that my grandmother taught me. There were different cards that you could collect to create a stronger deck, a lot like Pokémon cards. I remember looking through every card shop I could find, hoping to find the Queen of Hearts card. It was the most rare, while I had a lot of the stronger cards, I never managed to get that one.”

I smile at her, surprised at her admission. “That’s cool. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it. Do you still have the cards?”

She nods. “At my parents’ house. I haven’t looked at those in years, but now I want to play again.”

“And I just collected baseball cards,” I say, laughing.

“Which was your favorite?” Maggie asks.

It takes me a few seconds to figure out what to say, since I’m surprised she even cares about what happened in my past.Most people look at me and see a loser, a guy who can’t commit to anything. But having her take an interest in something I like, even though it’s small, causes that attraction to Maggie I felt earlier to resurface.

I grin as I think about the card my dad had given me for my eleventh birthday. “Nolan Ryan. I’d always liked learning about him and even did a report for him for a wax museum project.”

“I’d love to see that. Did you have the costume and everything?”

“I wanted to buy one from the store, but my mother is a great seamstress and said there was no way we were going to buy it when she could make it cheaper.” The story of my life, but it worked out. They saved a lot of money while scrimping on certain things. I just wish that it wasn’t on all the things.

“Did you play baseball?” Maggie asks.

“A few seasons here and there. I wasn’t the best player, but I know a lot about the theory of the game.”

Maggie nods, like that’s all she needs to know. “Well, The Candy Jar can’t run itself. Thanks for teaching me some things today, Duke.” She gives me a close-lipped smile and turns to walk away toward her shop.

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