Tessa wasn’t sure if Crazy Kate was insulting her or teasing her. “Who am I to stop protecting Honeysuckle Hollow? Bury the spear, or we can display it inside the house. Should we do it immediately? For protection?”
“The right time with present itself.”
Tessa stood from the table and grabbed the bottle of tea. “You know better than I do.” She studied the bottle in her hand. “Do you think the garden causes you to do things orsaythings that you wouldn’t do otherwise? Like this tea and your memories?”
“That’s not how it works,” Crazy Kate said. “It only enhances what’s already there inside you. The tea didn’tcreatethose memories. It drew them out of me in a way that was stronger than I wanted, almost like reliving them in the present.”
Tessa thought of the Courage Quiche. Had it only heightened her bravery, not manufactured it? “But the thyme . . . I can’t predict the weather normally. That’snota skill I have.”
Crazy Kate smiled slowly at Tessa. “You’d be surprised by what you’re capable of once you open your mind to the possibilities.”
Tessa let those words sink in. “I should get going.”
“And what about Paul?”
A breeze tickled Tessa’s skin. “What about him?”
“He’s tangled up in all this too. What does he want with the house?”
Tessa shook her head. “He’s not part of this. I don’t think he wants anything.” Tessa walked toward the door. She remembered the heart-shaped pushpin Crazy Kate had given to Paul. “Wheredidyou find that pushpin? Paul threw one just like it out the window.”
Mischief flashed in Crazy Kate’s dark brown eyes. “In my morning coffee. Sometimes we find the truth in the most unlikely places. And you’re wrong about him. There is something he wants—a place to pin that heart.”
Chapter 16
Lady and the Tramp
AfterleavingCrazyKate’s,Tessa stopped by a gas station and bought a bag of chips and a Pepsi. She finished both while sitting in the Great Pumpkin and replaying the conversation with Crazy Kate over again in her mind. Afterward she met with a client at a new build that hadn’t been affected by the flood, and then she drove to her wrecked condo to meet with the interested buyer. They spent less than half an hour talking, because what was there to discuss other than next steps? He assured Tessa she would have the closing paperwork by the beginning of next week. Then she would officially be condo-free and on her way to living in a dilapidated mansion. As soon as she had the money from the sale of her condo in the bank, she’d pay off the rest of the house and start the renovations. So far, all the pieces were coming together easier than she could have predicted.
By the time Tessa returned to the diner apartment late that afternoon, Paul was lounging on the couch, typing on his laptop. A large map was spread out on the coffee table, and a pink bag of caramel creams sat on the west side of the map. She dropped her purse on a kitchen chair and glanced around the kitchen.
“Where’s Huck Finn?” she asked.
Without looking up at her, Paul answered, “In Mr. Fletcher’s pond with approximately thirty other koi. His family just expanded exponentially. I dropped the plastic tote back off at the diner, and Mom told me to bring you Belgian waffles. They’re in the fridge.”
Tessa smiled even though Paul still hadn’t made eye contact with her. His laptop was balanced on top of a pillow that sat on his thighs. She could get used to seeing a good-looking man stretched out on her couch. That thought caused her pulse to thump against her throat. She walked into the living room. “Whatcha working on?”
He paused his typing. “An article about Mystic Water. I pitched the idea toSouthern Living. They’re interested in running an online article on must-sees and what to do in this quaint south Georgia town. When I shared the information about a century-old Native American spear, their interest skyrocketed.” He resumed typing. “If they accept the online piece, they said they’d consider a longer feature in the next issue of the printed magazine, including photographs.”
Tessa realized the unfolded map was of Mystic Water. He’d circled the location of Honeysuckle Hollow. She reached for a caramel cream and unwrapped the candy. “I learned more about the house today.”
“Library research?” He scrolled through his document and then resumed typing.
“No,” she answered, “I went to see Crazy Kate—orMrs. Muir, I guess, would be more appropriate. She’s not actually as kooky as people say.”
Paul stopped typing. He saved his article and closed the laptop. Then he sat up on the couch and slid the computer from his lap. “You went to see the lady who stole your spear?”
Tessa nodded and popped the candy into her mouth. “Mm-hmm.”
“Did you get it back?”
“That’s an interesting story.”
“A long one?” He stood and stretched before grabbing his boots and pulling them on.
Tessa’s disappointment flared. “Going somewhere?”
He looked up from tying his boots. “No, I just thought if it was a long one, you might want to go walking with me. You could tell me the story on our walk.”
