Page 388 of The Romance Adventure

My coconut cogs are turning. “Do you suppose he hid the key somewhere in Coco Key?”

CJ’s lips part with a smile. “You might be onto something. There’s the grove and the old mill isn’t far. It’s kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. But it’s a place to start.

The next morning is rainy, so CJ and I get a ride with Magnus in his truck to the old mill. The others follow in an SUV. The smooth road turns rutted when we take a turn, overgrown with vines and saw palmettos scratch the exterior of the vehicle.

“Good thing I have four-wheel drive,” Magnus says, switching it on.

The ride is bumpy and where I expect a clearing, we keep going. We only stop when the truck’s bumper nearly touches the side of a loading dock.

“This place looks haunted,” Lally says.

Magnus wiggles his fingers. “By coco-ghosts.”

“Only Isla will think that’s funny.”

I’ve never been around so many happy and well-connected couples. I wonder if the McGregors realize how blessed they are.

I’ve had a secret identity for years and secret identities for my secret identity. I wanted the crown for my so-called family’s legacy and to prove that I was worthy not to be abandoned, but CJ’s motivations are far nobler.

I’ve never before felt like I played for the wrong team until now.

“You coming?” CJ asks.

Surfacing from my thoughts, I hop out of the truck.

The next twenty minutes involve an abundance of spiderwebs, slithering creatures, and a damp funk that I’m afraid will never leave my nose.

The building is all but collapsed in on itself from various storms and nature has been reclaiming it without a second thought.

CJ shakes his head. “I don’t feel it. I don’t think Chip hid the key in there. He was one for adventure, but not danger.”

“But where could it be?” Harley all but whines.

“The intuition related to coconuts is a good one. We have to get inside Chip’s head.”

Royal waves his hands. “That’s not a place I want to go.”

“I mean figuratively. Now that we see his intentions in all the other places he put the stones and fragments of the maps,” CJ stutters and glances at me, “we can try to reverse engineer where he would’ve put the second key.”

“The first one he put in your hand. So, the second one...”

Everyone remains quiet, and we return the way we came. It isn’t until we park in front of Beans & Books that CJ gasps. “Magnus, do you mind heading over to the resort? I have an idea.”

His brother signals to the others to follow us.

Once we’re through the main gate, CJ practically jumps out of the truck while it’s still moving. We hurry after him.

“What did you figure out?” Royal calls as if he finally gives his brother some credit for not being a surfer loser.

CJ hollers over his shoulder, “When Jolie and I visited Glandman, he said something about them being called nuts for real estate investments in the Keys. At the time, this was no man’s land. That mindset came from an era when industry built railroad tracks along shorelines because they never fathomed they’d have residential value.”

“What does that have to do with the key?” Royal’s tone is flabbergasted.

Maybe my assessment was wrong.

“Do you mean nuts as in coconuts?” Isla asks as we enter the lobby of the main resort building.

CJ taps the air. “Exactly that.”