Dad’s gaze toggled between them. “You what now?”
Beaming, Sadie pulled the novel from her purse and handed it over.
Dad’s face lit up as he received the hardcover. “My book!” He took it and opened it up. Removed the jewelry box from the compartment and snapped open the box. Upon sight of the ring, he sank back into his chair. “Oh, thank God. I was afraid it was gone forever.” His gaze sharpened on them. “How did you get this? Did Michael give it to you?”
“Nope.” Sam nudged Sadie. “Go ahead, tell him how you found it.”
“Your book’s been on quite the journey, Mr.Ford. It seems your friend Michael stashed it in the desk of his furnished apartment. But then he had to move suddenly, and in his rush he forgot about it. The new tenant, Aaron, moved in and found the novel. He handed it off to his mom, thinking she might like to read it. But it wasn’t her genre, so when she was cleaning out her late mother’s bookshelves, she added it to a box of books to be donated to her dad’s church library.Yourchurch, incidentally.”
“Moss Creek?” he asked.
“Exactly. Ms.Stapleton received the box of books, but she already had several copies of the novel in the church library, so she sold it at the church’s rummage sale.”
“Good grief,” Mr. Ford said. “That was weeks ago. It’s been missing that long?”
“It’s certainly made the rounds. Some tourist probably bought the book at the rummage sale and must not have had the chance to read it because she left it in the Little Free Library I set up on the beach.”
He shook his head. “Little Free Library?”
Sam stepped in. “One of those small structures that are popping up on roadsides to house books.”
“I put one up beside our house on the beach-access path.”
“And the book ended up there?”
Sadie laughed. “I know. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“I’m sure glad I didn’t know how long it was missing. I didn’t realize until this afternoon, and I’ve been a nervous wreck thinking the ring had been stolen or was permanently lost.” He gazed down at the beautiful ring. “But you found it.”
“And just in time for your anniversary.”
Mr.Ford’s face split into a wide grin. “Just in the nick of time.”
“Mom’s going to love it, Dad. It’s a beautiful ring.” And then, because he knew Sadie was probably dying to know, he asked, “Is there a story behind that particular book? I don’t remember Mom ever talking about it. It’s not her favorite novel.” That would beLittle Women.
Dad stared at the cover, a pensive expression coming over his face. “There is a story, actually. Your mom was in the middle of reading this book when I asked her to marry me.” He offered Sam a droll look. “And I mean she was literally reading the book in her living room when I blurted out, ‘Hey, you think we should get married?’ I didn’t figure out until much later what adisappointment my proposal had been. I was an idiot kid, what can I say?”
Sam chuckled at the thought of his dad, young and ignorant of a woman’s wishes. “Why have I never heard that story before?”
“It wasn’t exactly my finest hour. To add insult to injury, I didn’t get her an engagement ring. I had some money put back, but we decided to use it as a down payment on a house instead.” He shook his head. “I should’ve gotten her one years ago, but since I didn’t, I wanted to do it up right.”
“Boy, did you. That ring is gorgeous, and the thought you put into it is so sweet, Mr.Ford. She’s going to love that you remembered which book she was reading at the time.”
“She never even grumbled about that lame proposal... Your ma’s never been one to complain.”
“That’s true.”
“She has no idea about the ring. We agreed to have our master bathroom renovated for our anniversary.”
“She’ll be so surprised,” Sadie said.
“And thanks to you kids, she’ll be getting the proposal she deserved the first time—even if it has been thirty-five years in coming.”
Sadie palmed her heart. “She’ll be so touched by your thoughtfulness.”
Sam suspected Sadie was exactly right.
They headed out shortly after. Not even the drizzle that started on the way home could dampen Sadie’s spirits. She couldn’t stop talking about his dad’s romantic streak and making Sam promise to tell her how the anniversary surprise went over.
