“Pooh. My attorney can destroy any contract he has,” Betty fussed.
Candy sensed something...good...in Peppermint. Something in the man's eyes told her he belonged on the island. How did Candy know? Somehow, she...just did. Sometimes angels whispered in mysterious ways. “Betty, let's not make a fuss. You can call your cousin and inquire about Peppermint, but I believe he's telling us the truth.”
“I'll do that.” Betty returned to Chris. “Walk with me to the kitchen. I'm going to make a phone call. You,” Betty pointed at Peppermint, “remain right here with Candy.” Betty took Chris' hand and hurried off.
“She's feisty.” Peppermint laughed.
“Well...yes, at times.” Candy tried to relax. “Betty is going to check your story.”
“Fine with me.” Peppermint studied Candy. “Was that fella your husband?”
“No.”
“Shame. You two look like a real nice couple.” Peppermint dropped his eyes down onto his ax. “I loved one woman...and I'll only love one woman. My old boss tried to tell me that remaining single was foolish. He couldn't understand that my heart is already in Heaven with my wife.”
“What was your wife's name?”
Peppermint slowly raised his eyes. He saw compassion and care glowing in Candy's eyes. “Ophelia.”
“Ophelia is a beautiful name.”
“Yeah...it is.” Peppermint drew in a deep breath. “My wife loved to laugh...she was a prankster. When we first met, I was the serious type. Over time, my wife taught me how to laugh and be silly. Why not? Life is short, and laughter is precious.”
“Yes, laughter is precious,” Candy wholeheartedly agreed.
Peppermint managed to smile again. “My wife would’ve liked you.”
“Well...I look forward to meeting Ophelia in Heaven someday.” Candy could tell she was going to like Peppermint. “I think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship.”
“With a raise?” Peppermint teased. “I was told you won the biggest lottery there ever was.”
“All of my money is going to be put into this island. Betty and I are going to—”
“Make a Christmas island. Yeah, my old boss told me all about your plans. I like it,” Peppermint told Candy. “I love Christmas.”
Candy smiled. “Well...maybe for Christmas, a raise wouldn't hurt—”
“Oh, I was just kidding about the raise. I'm a single fella,” Peppermint cut Candy off in a gentle voice. “I just didn't like my old boss taking so much of my pay away. It doesn't cost me thirteen hundred dollars a month to live in a bedroom and eat some food. I always felt like I was being cheated.”
“Well, you won't have a single penny deducted from your pay from this point forward. You will live in this castle for free...and that goes for the food and everything else. How does that sound?” Candy asked.
“Now that's a raise.” Peppermint smiled. “I don't mind paying my way, but when a fella feels like he's being cheated...well, that's not good.” Peppermint motioned around. “This castle is massive. If you deduct the price for the little room I call home, the bit of electricity I use, the hot water I use, the food I eat, and I don't eat much, I'd say the cost comes to about seven hundred dollars a month and not a penny more.”
“Well, you won't pay another penny, Peppermint. There's no need to. Money isn't an issue. What is an issue is turning our island into a Christmas island.”
Candy spoke in a way that put Peppermint at ease. It was like hearing an angel talking, at least to Peppermint. “Well, let me tell you, this island stays snowed over for a good many months. The winds get mighty rough at times...but other than that...this island isn't such a bad place to call home. As a matter of fact, I like it here. My old boss...he got sick of workers coming and going because of the cold. He only hired me after I agreed to sign a twenty-year contract. I thought he was insane for demanding such a thing, but he was an eccentric type, I'll say that much.”
“Where are you from?” Candy asked. “I'm asking because—”
“You want to know how I ended up on a little island in the middle of a mighty big lake, right?” Peppermint asked. Candy nodded. “I'm from Cleveland, Georgia...Cleveland is in White County. That's in the northern part of the state. I was born and raised in a little town in North Carolina until I was ten. My folks then moved to Georgia after my dad's brother died and left him some land. Met my wife during our high school years.”
“After Ophelia died, you followed the wind?”
“Yep.” Peppermint looked about for a few seconds. “My mother is still living. She's seventy-two and still on the land my dad left her. My brother and his family lives with her. Ophelia and I had a house on the land...a mighty nice house. After God called her home, I turned over what I owned to my brother and, as you said, followed the wind. I got hired on with a lumber company, but when we were traveling through this area, I saw an ad in the local newspaper for a groundskeeper. The lumber company I was working for had some real rough guys in it. There were lots of fights. I decided it was time to take a new road. I interviewed for the job, signed the contract my old boss had drawn up, and ten years later...here I am.”
“Ten years is a long time.”
“It's been a good ten years...a quiet ten years,” Peppermint told Candy. “No one but my old boss and his wife were ever around. Sometimes, they entertained, but not much, and during the winter months, they were gone. It was only during the last two or so years that my old boss started to show his face more and more. Didn't matter to me. This castle is big, and so are the grounds. I could go weeks without seeing my old boss.”
