“Of course. Yes, I donated some of my late wife’s things—among them a couple boxes of books.” His gaze dropped to the novel. “But I’ve never seen this one. And Irene—my late wife—she only read nonfiction.”
Had Ms. Stapleton been wrong about where the book had come from? If so, they were back to square one.
Sam leaned forward on his elbows. “Ms.Stapleton said your daughter brought in the books. Is it possible she might know something about it?”
“Well, she cleaned out Irene’s bookshelves, so if it was in one of those boxes, I suppose she’d have to know something about it.” He handed the novel back to Sadie. “Sorry I can’t be of more help. Can I ask what’s so special about it that you’re tracking down its owner? Is it a first edition or something?”
“No, it’s—”
Sam set his hand on Sadie’s. “There’s something in the book we felt the owner would want to have back. We’d like to reach out to Mary and ask about it if you wouldn’t mind giving us her number.”
“Of course. She likes to read just like her mama, and she does enjoy fiction—always had a book in her face all through high school. So maybe this was hers.”
Mr.Graves rattled off her number while Sam put it in his phone.
“You might have a bit of trouble reaching her this week though. She left today on a Caribbean cruise with her boyfriend and his family.”
“All right. Good to know.” Sam stood and Sadie followed suit, then Joe escorted them around the side of the house.
“Thank you for your time and hospitality,” Sam said.
Sadie swallowed back her disappointment. “Yes, thank you for letting us drop in unannounced.”
“Of course.” He addressed Sam. “You tell Tag that aeration was just what my lawn needed. It’s never looked better.”
“Will do, sir.”
“You’re welcome back anytime. The older I get the more I enjoy the company of youngsters. And I hope you find the owner of that book.”
“We’ll do our best,” Sam said. “Have a good afternoon now.”
“Thank you again. Bye.” Sadie waved. “The tea really hit the spot. And you have a lovely property.”
Mr.Graves lifted a hand.
When they reached the truck, Sam helped her into the passenger side. Her adrenaline rush had faded, making her hands shaky and her legs weak. She’d thought they’d found the owner. And what if Mary didn’t know anything about the book? What if they couldn’t even reach her?
Sam got into the driver’s side and started the truck.
“I can’t believe it wasn’t his book. I thought for sure we’d found the owner.”
“I know you’re disappointed, but we’ll call Mary and see what she knows.”
“Well, it can’t be her book, her ring! Even if she was planning to propose, she wouldn’t have her own engagement ring be a part of it, would she? Or a coming-of-age novel about a young woman at the turn of the twentieth century?” A sudden thought occurred. “What if her boyfriend was planning to propose on that cruise? That must be it. And now it’s going to be ruined.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. We’ll just call her and ask about the book.”
“She’s at sea! When I went on a cruise, I put my phone in the room safe and didn’t take it out until we disembarked—do you know how expensive it is to use your phone at sea?”
“Then we’ll just leave a message.”
Sadie could hardly bear the thought of waiting a week. “But we can’t mention the ring. We can’t ruin the proposal—if that’s what he’s planning to do.”
“We won’t mention the ring.”
“Why’d you stop me when I was going to tell Mr.Graves about it?”
“Because if his daughter’s getting engaged, we shouldn’t be the ones to tell him.”
