stick. A ball cap sat on his head, and he smiled at the two of them as he approached. “Hi, Jack.”
Jack recognized the man as Paris Montgomery, a graphic designer who’d recently moved to Sweetwater Springs from Florida. “Paris. Hey, man. How are you doing?”
“Never better.” Paris introduced himself to Sam and then gestured behind him. “Looks like someone’s been camping out in the park. Did you see that?”
Jack shook his head. “Not today.” He’d been too distracted talking to Sam. “But I’ve seen evidence a few times lately.”
“There’s charred sticks and a half-eaten apple on the ground,” Paris told him. “That apple could attract wildlife so I thought you should know.”
“Thanks.” Jack motioned for Sam to follow him, and they went to check out the situation while Paris continued forward on the path. Sure enough, there were charred sticks, a half-eaten apple, and a gum wrapper.
“What are you going to do?” Sam asked.
Jack shrugged. “I don’t know who it is, so there’s not a whole lot I can do.”
“We can have a stakeout tonight,” Sam suggested, his face lighting up with the idea.
“A stakeout? This person could be dangerous, Sam.” Although that wasn’t likely. The person was probably just homeless for some reason and possibly unaware they were even breaking the law by being here. “I can hang more signs that make the park hours more clear and that staying overnight is against the law.”
Sam seemed to deflate and nodded.
Jack clapped a hand on his back. “Let’s head back to the office. I need to make a report on this.”
They started walking once more, both falling quiet on their hike back. At least Jack now understood a little bit of what was going through his nephew’s mind. Amanda was withholding the truth to keep him from worrying, but that plan was backfiring. Keeping secrets and false pretenses always backfired, in one way or another.
* * *
A few days after her semi-date to the park with Jack, Emma took her time as she strolled down the sidewalks of Main Street. Nina was working the café this afternoon. Weekday afternoons were usually slow and usually only required one person to handle things. If it got busy, Nina knew she could call Emma back and she’d be there in a flash.
After meeting with Ashley a second time and solidifying the plans for the Women’s Wellness Fair and the 5K, Emma had spent a little time making flyers for the event so that people could sign up for it online. She put up a couple flyers on the community posting areas as she strolled. Then she stopped inside Dawanda’s Fudge Shop to talk to Dawanda about possibly sponsoring the event. Halona had already agreed that the Little Shop of Flowers would be a sponsor. Mayor Everson had too.
“Count me in,” Dawanda said enthusiastically. “I love a good cause, especially one that will benefit the women in this town. And I loved your mom,” she said, placing a hand over her heart.
“Did she come in here a lot?” Emma asked, wishing she could remember.
“For maple nut fudge.” Dawanda nodded. “That was her favorite. I read her fortune in the cappuccino a couple times too.”
Emma cocked her head. Dawanda was famous in town for her cappuccino readings where she claimed to see images in the frothy foam of her drinks and predict the future of her customers. “What did my mom’s fortune say?” Emma asked. Surely it hadn’t said that her mom would die young. Otherwise, she’d have gone to the doctor sooner.
Dawanda shook her head. “I saw a big heart and a full life.”
“My mom died young,” Emma pointed out. That didn’t exactly imply a full life.
“A full life isn’t measured by time.” Dawanda dipped into the fudge cabinet and pulled out a square of maple nut fudge. She wrapped it in a napkin and slid it across the counter toward Emma. “On the house.” She jabbed a finger in the air at Emma. “I still need to read your fortune in the foam.”
Emma reached for the fudge. “Thank you. I’ll have to get my fortune read another time,” she lied. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what lay ahead. “Right now I’m going to Sophie’s Boutique for a little retail therapy.” She was hoping to take Ashley’s advice and enjoy doing something that she and her mom had loved doing together.
“Ahh.” Dawanda smiled brightly. “Retail therapy is nearly as good as fudge therapy.”
Emma laughed. She bit into the maple nut fudge as