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She gave him a strange glance. “How did you know I’d be here?”
“Because you’re Piper Davis. Of course, you’d come here if you were upset. You love plants. And you see them as your duty. Where else would you go?”
“I can’t believe you know that,” she breathed, looking at him with big eyes and standing very still.
“I know that because I knowyou, Piper. Because I’ve gotten to know you these past few weeks. It’s all I’ve done. It’s all I’ve thought about. The clues were a minor part of this. They weren’t the important part. Not ever.”
He took another step toward her, reaching up and brushing one of her loose strands of hair away from her eyes. She was holding her breath. Waiting to see what he would do next.
“I should have told you this days ago. I wish I had. But this isn’t about Margaret Smith to me. It’s about you, Piper Davis. I spent years thinking of you as this annoying girl. Then you burst back into my life, late, smeared in donut jelly, and you look me straight in the eye and give me backlash. I loved it. Working together with you has been the best part of all of this. You helped me put up a Christmas tree that I haven’t managed to do since my mother passed. You know just when to say the right thing. You’re patient with me when I need it, and you give me a kick up the backside when I need it, too. I can do without all of this, Piper—the land, the greenhouses, the old house. What I can’t do without, is you.”
She was frozen. His hand was still on her face and her fingers reached up and intertwined with his. “So, we could stop right now. Not solve the final clue. Just leave everything behind and walk away.”
“Absolutely.” His answer was without hesitation and completely sincere.
She licked her lips and swallowed. “But if I still wanted to solve the final clue?”
He blinked and gave her a smile. “Then, that’s what we’ll do.” He slid the card out from his pocket and held it up in the dim light.
Back to the beginning of the matter,
In a place virgin to one,
Find the best-known parasite,
Founded into a title close to all hearts.
“I can do the first part,” he said. “Because we’re here. This is the place. Back to the beginning and Margaret had brought you to the gardens. She’d shown you around. She never knew you’d ask McNally if we could come and check on them. Me? I only got as far as the front gate. So, this place, in Margaret’s mind, was virgin to me.”
He could see all the pieces falling into place in Piper’s brain as she shook her head and smiled.
She pointed to the last two lines on the card. “And these two? I can solve.” She held up her hands and spun around slowly. “The best-known parasite is mistletoe. It’s a parasitic plant. Most people don’t know that.” She moved over to the end of the greenhouse.
Her hands wound through a trail of green leaves and small plant branches, and she pulled something forward. It was covered completely with mistletoe, the symmetrical evergreen leaves and white berries but the shape underneath was distinct and recognizable.
“A crown,” breathed Dawson. “A mistletoe crown.”
Piper nodded as tears formed in her eyes. “It is. Margaret must have put a crown in here years ago, along with other plants. The mistletoe has wound its way around.”
“Just like the book,” said Dawson, with grudging respect.
“Just like the book,” agreed Piper. “She must have waited a long time for this to happen.”
Dawson carefully lifted the mistletoe crown from her hands. It was still connected to the other plants around it, so he gently raised it a little higher. “You know where a mistletoe crown should sit, don’t you?”
She smiled as he lifted it high enough to place on her head.
She leaned forward and caught the edges of his jacket.
Her voice a whisper. “And you know what everyone tells us to do under the mistletoe, don’t you?” She raised herself up on her tiptoes so her face was closer to his.
“Who am I to break a tradition?” Dawson smiled as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.
Chapter Fourteen
“Thank you forcoming here today, and congratulations on solving all the clues Margaret Smith left for you.” Ms. Sully had a surprising grin on her face.
Dawson and Piper were sitting side by side, hands intertwined.
