But no. No confession was forthcoming. Just some sweet encouragement from my former boss who clearly believes in me and wants my dreams to come true. He just doesn’t want to play a major part in them.
Sob!
I will cry about all that later. I know I will. But now isn’t the time for tears. I can’t afford to waste any more time, not if there’s even a cherry snow cone’s chance in hell that I’m the first hunter to arrive at the cute café.
Colin and I set our bikes beside the porch and race inside the sandwich shop and general store that was once an abandoned schoolhouse. I know the teenage boys aren’t far behind—we heard them shout about ten minutes ago when George did whatever it was George decided to do—but we’re definitely still in the lead.
Also, teenage boys have plenty of time to find their true love.
Their parents will be grateful that George is slowing them down.
“Have we gone back in time?” Colin asks as we push through the doors and into the coffee-scented air. “Is this what America was like in the pioneer days?”
“It’s living history,” I tell him.
“Charming. Do they serve tea as well?”
“Savannah?”
Colin and I both turn at the sound of a masculine voice. “Blake?” My jaw drops. “You O’Dell brothers are everywhere today. What are you doing here?” I ask as Ryan and Jace’s other brother sets aside two mugs of coffee and envelops me in a hug.
I miss hugs from family, and since Blake is Cassie’s brother-in-law, he’s close enough for me to call him family too. And his hug feels good—safe and sane and a silent promise that everything is going to be all right.
Coming home was good for me.
If only Colin weren’t still beside me, making me wish he would hug me too.
And then kiss me.
And touch me everywhere I’ve fantasized about for so long.
When he went along with my lie that he loved to go down on me for hours… Well, that was total fiction, but the thought of it is dizzying. I can’t think about it for more than a second or two or I’ll go absolutely mad.
“I’m here helping out with the event,” Blake says.
I pull back, thrilled at this stroke of luck. It’s clearly one more sign that I’m supposed to win. “How perfect! I’m on a mission to find a clue. Got any hints you can share?”
He laughs beneath his breath. “Van, you know you’re my favorite former child star ever, but I can’t just tell you.”
I make puppy dog eyes. I don’t know why Blake’s helping here—he has a winery, and his wife runs a small rescue farm—but he clearly knows something, and I’d bet this is a sign that I can mark both the winery and Hope’s farm off the list of potential next places for hidden clues. “I know. That’s why I asked for a hint. Just a teeny tiny hint. Please?”
“Why is that llama wearing a string of illuminated hearts?” Colin asks.
Blake’s eye twitches, my mental wheels turn, and everything clicks. I spin and grab Colin by the hand. I’d bet Beatrice’s favorite doll that Colin’s just spotted an alpaca, not a llama. Electricity shoots up my arm from the spot where our palms connect, and Colin’s warm eyes fix even more firmly on mine, as though he, too, has felt the jolt.
Not just felt it but welcomed it.
But—no.
That’s not in the cards for the two of us.
For the millionth time, Savannah, move on.
I snatch my hand back. “Wh-where did you see it?” I ask.
Colin glances down at my waist, where I’m now twisting my hands together, then nods out the window overlooking the grassy picnic area behind the school. “Out there.”
Blake’s wife, Hope, is outside breastfeeding her baby at one of the picnic tables while two of her alpacas stand guard.
I glance back at Blake, who gives me a secret smile. “Yeah, I can’t hand out hints, Van, but I’m positive Hope would love to see you. And if you haven’t met Baxter yet, my son would be delighted to see you too.”
I go up on the tippy-top of my tiptoes to throw my arms around him again and peck his cheek. “Thank you! I’ll tell Hope you win the prize for best brother-in-law ever, okay? C’mon, Colin! The next clue is out here!”
I almost grab his hand again, but I catch myself just in time.
He touches his fingertips to the small of my back. “After you.”
A delicious shiver tickles up my spine and wraps out around my ribs, and my voice comes out breathy as I say, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replies, the tenderness in his voice making me ache all over again.
Why can’t he be my treasure at the end of this hunt? Why? Could I arrange for the O’Dell brothers to kidnap him, wrap him in the traditional shiny silver wrapping paper, and hide him at the end of the hunt? I mean, a medal with a grinning cat on it imbued with magical powers is great and all, but who needs a medal when you have a drop-dead gorgeous man with a huge heart who makes you feel magical just for waking up in the morning?