Claire balanced one of her specialty sandcastle-shaped cakes in her left hand while she opened the door to the display case with her right. She slid the cake carefully onto the middle shelf and stood back to admire her handiwork. The cake was one of her biggest yet, with two turrets and a moat. She’d covered the structure in sand-colored sugar, and the moat was blue frosting.
She closed the door and turned in time to see Sam Campbell tying Dooley up to the post outside. Sam patted the dog’s head then stood and walked into the store. His back was straight, his head high. No more shuffling, and was that a smile on his face?
“Hi, Sam. Back for more Beach Bones?” Claire hurried behind the counter.
“Yes, please. Dooley loves them. And also a bran muffin for myself.”
“How are you today?”
“Just fine. It’s a warm afternoon, and I’m taking Dooley for a walk on the beach. He loves it, and it’s been far too long that I haven’t been doing that.”
Claire simply looked up and smiled. She couldn’t have agreed more. She noticed the book tucked under his arm. “That’s the book for the book club. Are you thinking about joining?”
“Yes, I was at the library with Bunny Howard earlier, and she mentioned this was the book. I remember you had invited me, and I thought maybe it’s time for me to get out a bit more.”
“Bunny, huh?” Claire’s gaze slid to the table where she’d seen Sam and Bunny earlier. Apparently, they’d hit it off. That was good. “She’s a character, isn’t she?”
Sam laughed. “She sure is.”
“We’d love to have you at the book club. It meets the last Thursday of every month at Tides. Just show up around seven if you want to come.”
“I think I will. Thank you.” Sam paid for the bag, and Claire noticed a spring in his step as he left.
“I bought some of these Beach Bones in a cute little shop over in Kennebunkport!” Two women who had come in while Claire had been waiting on Sam were standing in front of the case. “I’m glad to see she’s branching out and selling them in your shop too.”
Claire frowned. “What do you mean? I make these dog treats here.”
The woman squinted and leaned closer to the case. “Really? I bought dog bones just like this in a cute little gift store over in Kennebunkport, and I swear they were called Beach Bones.” The woman opened her large tote bag and rummaged around. She pulled out the little bag tied up in a blue ribbon. It had a card on it and two gourmet dog bones that looked just like Claire’s inside. She held it out toward Claire. “Yep. See? Beach Bones.”
The woman with her regarded Claire with suspicion. “I was there too. Didn’t that other woman say someone was copying her?”
“What?” Claire was offended. “I’m not copying her! I made them first.” Or did she? She might have made them first, but she hadn’t named them until earlier that week. Was it possible she’d inadvertently used the same name as someone else?
The woman looked skeptical. “Well, I don’t think I’m going to buy yours. I saw this lady’s first, so I don’t know if she is the original or you are.”
“Can I see that card?” Claire hoped she’d find the person’s name on the back. Maybe she could contact them and settle the whole thing.
The woman handed her the package. Sure enough, a name was on the back of the card. Claire did a double take when she saw who it was. “Oh no. Anyone but her.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
“Idon’t know why we had to leave so early,” Jane said to Andie as they drove up the turnpike. It was just before eight in the morning, and she’d barely taken a sip of her coffee. “We can’t even check in until three.”
“I figured we could take the scenic route and stop at a few places. There’s a cute lobster shack with a great view and outstanding clam chowder on the way.” Andie sounded annoyingly peppy. She must really be looking forward to this conference. “The leaves are starting to change farther north. Should be pretty.”
“I suppose that sounds nice.” Jane took another sip of coffee, her thoughts returning to when she’d dropped Cooper off at Mike’s. He’d acted mostly normal, except for that strange part about him not being in the basement. Was he doing something down there? But if so, what did that have to do with an engagement ring? Or was her hunch about that off base? Jane decided it was best to not say anything to anyone. It would be really embarrassing if she assumed he was up to that and it turned out he wasn’t.
“Are you worried about leaving Tides? It will be fine,” Andie said.
“It just seems weird to leave a guest there alone.”
“He has a key, and Brenda will be there tomorrow morning to feed him. He seemed fine with it.”
“But what if someone walks in and wants to book a room?”
“Seriously? No one has done that in weeks. It’s not summertime, and anyway, we left that big sign on the check-in desk with our phone numbers, and Liz said if we get someone last minute, she’ll run over and get them set up.” Andie glanced at her. “Are you worried that Mr. Smith might have a party and wreck the place like an unsupervised teenager?”
Jane laughed. Andie had a point—she was probably worrying too much. “No, but he did ask if he could have that friend over.”
