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“See?” She smiled at him. “The clue wasn’t unsolvable.” Her voice deflated a little, “But I’m not sure I would have got there on my own.” Piper swallowed and looked over at Dawson. “Maybe working together isn’t such a bad idea.”
“You know what this means though, don’t you?”
“No, what?” They took the road toward the park.
“That this one is mine.”
A tiny feeling of unease crept across Piper’s skin. “What does that mean? We have to do this together. It’s not you or me. It’s us.”
As soon as the words came out her mouth she stopped. The coffee had been finished hours ago, and now her mouth was strangely dry.
“I know it’s us. But what can I say? I like sports. Of course, I’m competitive. There’s no harm in us keeping a tally.”
“What’s the point of that? We don’t even know how many clues there are.”
He gave her an odd look as he pulled into another parking lot. “I’m joking. You get that, right? Competitive spirit runs through my veins.” He took a breath. “Anyhow, we’re here. Let’s take a walk.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Piper was feeling strangely awkward. She’d snapped at him, and she knew it. But all of a sudden, she’d wondered if he had a whole other agenda going on here. He’d mentioned offers and developers, and she was worried that those thoughts had even entered into his head. They’d found out about this yesterday, and all she’d thought about were the possibilities with those greenhouses. But maybe she was naïve?
As they continued along the path, toward the monument, it was lit with some small lights.
Piper drew in a breath. “Of course,” she murmured; her breath visible in the cold air.
The monument here wasn’t a traditional statue of a person. Instead, it was interlinked carved granite hands on six pedestals.
She stood next to one and reached up to touch it. “Now, I get it.Representing an act that can change another’s life.”She repeated the words from the clue they’d been given.
Dawson nodded next to her. “They say that giving a helping hand can be the thing that changes another’s life. There’s lots of people that give examples—particularly some of the sports stars I interview. Sometimes, it was one coach, one trainer, or one neighbor who gave them a baseball bat, or a mitt, or a basketball, and encouraged them where others hadn’t bothered, and that one person’s helping hand, changed their life.”
Piper nodded at his words. She could think of other stories from other people. “My grandma always said that when she was little, her mom was in labor at home and got into trouble when the baby got stuck, their neighbor came in and helped deliver the baby. It made my grandma go on to train as a nurse, because she knew if the neighbor hadn’t appeared that day, her mom and brother would have died.”
Dawson was silent again then held out his hand toward her. “So, this is where we shake, to say we’ll be equal partners.” He gave a soft smile. “No matter who solves the clues. Maybe Margaret Smith knew we might struggle with the idea of teaming up.”
Piper put her hand into his. “Only because you hold a grudge,” she teased with good humor.
She looked around for a minute, but they were the only people at the memorial. “What are we supposed to do—take a picture?”
Dawson pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Ready for a selfie?”
They kept their hands intertwined as they looked up at his other hand, the granite memorial next to them. Dawson snapped the photo, then attached it to an email, pinging it to the attorneys’ office with the wordsFIRST CLUE SOLVEDin the heading.
He grinned at her. “How long do you think it will be before we hear?”
Piper wasn’t sure whether to feel instant relief or dread. Relief at finally—hopefully—having solved a clue. And dread at the thought of another.
“What’s wrong?” Dawson asked, instantly recognizing her concerns.
She put her hands up and tugged the scarf at her throat. “I don’t know. I’m happy, I am—that is, if we’ve solved the clue correctly. But what happens if we can’t solve the next? And”—she took a breath as she looked up into his green eyes—“I still have work to do. Deadlines to meet before Christmas. I have research to write up, and I need my head to be in the right place to do that.”
“You need to fully commit?”
She nodded.
“But, Piper, isn’t this about balance?”
She couldn’t hide her surprise at someone like Dawson saying those words to her. “Isn’t your life all about sports?”
He nodded. “Much like yours is about plants. But this is Christmas. Don’t you want to spend time with your family? Take some time to take a breath.”
