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You’re going to be shocked at what you find, and I pray none of it changes the way you see me. I was a different girl all those years ago, and I think you’ll be surprised at what you find. What I want from you is not to run away anymore. Promise me that, Everleigh. Don’t be afraid of what your heart desires.
I love you, Everleigh. I may not be with you anymore, but I’m always looking down on you. If you haven’t found your way yet, I have faith that you will.
Love Always,
Grammy
PS My perfume recipes are in a secret compartment in my armoire. I’ll let you figure out how to get to them. There’s also a locket hidden in there. When it comes to my recipes, I trust you’ll know what to do with them.
I knewJensen had more to read, so I handed him the letter and stood, my pulse skyrocketing with each passing second. I paced back and forth until he was done.
His face conveyed both shock and awe, the same feelings I had swirling inside me. Jensen set the letter on the bed and met my gaze.
“That was . . . a lot,” he said.
I nodded in agreement. “Yes, it was. It turns out shewantedme to know her secrets.”
He glanced down at the letter and chuckled. “Let me guess, we’re not going surfing today?”
A giggle escaped my lips, and I shook my head. “Nope. We’re going to grab a garden shovel that’ll fit in my purse and head to Airlie Gardens.”
Buried underneath that special bench my grandmother and T used to meet at was a box full of more secrets.
Ihadto find it.
33
EVERLEIGH
Ifidgeted in the passenger seat of Jensen’s car as we wound our way down the highway toward Airlie Gardens. I’d grabbed one of my larger purses out of my closet and stuffed a small garden shovel inside it, my heart racing at the thought of what we were doing.
“How are we going to dig up this buried box without anyone seeing us?” I asked, biting my nails nervously.
Jensen chuckled. “Your grandmother buried it without someone seeing, didn’t she?” His smirk only made me more anxious.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, but that was many, many years ago. I’m sure the gardens have a lot more foot traffic now.”
He shrugged and kept his eyes focused on the road. “Have faith in me, Everleigh. Just think of it as an adventure.”
I couldn’t help but laugh despite my nerves. “An adventure that’s going to get us arrested.”
He looked over at me and winked. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve gotten in trouble with the law.”
“That was just vandalizing the road with our mascot during graduation,” I replied, smacking his arm playfully. “Digging up a section of a protected park is another situation altogether.”
Jensen chuckled. “We just don’t need to get caught.”
My stomach twisted with worry—there was no telling how deep the buried box was beneath the ground or if it had been unearthed already.
When we arrived at the gardens, Jensen parked his Bronco, and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as we walked into the ticket office. Luckily, it was a Wednesday morning, so there weren’t many people around.
Once we paid, Jensen took my hand, and we started down the path toward my grandmother and T’s favorite bench. The weather was perfect and the wind had a little chill to it. The leaves on the trees had already started to change to the beautiful red, yellow, and orange colors of fall. It was my favorite time of the year and was why I wanted to get married in autumn.
“Did you bring the paper with the lock combination on it?” Jensen asked.
I patted my purse. “In here. Although, I’ve had it memorized for weeks.”
I knew the numbers were important; I just didn’t know what they were for. If Jensen and I hadn’t found my grandmother’s letter to me, I never would’ve learned about the secret box. I was curious to see what was in it. I wanted to run the mile it was going to take to get to the bench, but I kept my hand in Jensen’s and enjoyed the scenery.
