“What is it?” Moira asked, concerned.
“I had almost a hundred dollars in here, but it’s missing.”
“That’s not good.” Moira rounded the counter to stand next to her daughter. Candice’s wallet was small; the money was definitely not in it anywhere. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to it?”
“No…” her daughter bit her lip. “Well, I did leave it on the counter in the back while some repairmen were there installing the shelves. Do you really think they would have stolen from me?”
“It’s possible,” the deli owner said, feeling a rush of anger at whoever had taken advantage of her daughter’s trust. “I hope it turns up, honey.”
“Me too.” Candice sighed. “Well, I better go. I don’t want to use my card for such a small purchase, I’ll put this back for now.”
“Just take the sausage, I’ll cover it,” Moira told her. “Also… what would you think about getting a set of security cameras like mine?” She had been meaning to broach the subject with her daughter for a while, and the possible theft of the money seemed like a good reason to bring it up.
“I don’t know if I’ll need them,” Candice said. “I probably won’t be hiring any employees for a while. But I guess it doesn’t hurt, if I can find a good deal on some.”
“I’ll ask David,” her mother promised, handing her daughter a bag with the summer sausage in it. “Have a nice day, sweetheart.”
Moira watched her daughter go, her brows drawn together in concern. Had one of the men that Candice hired to work on the candy shop stolen from her? And if so, would he stop at stealing the bills out of her wallet, or would he move on to something bigger?
“This place looks great,” David Morris said, looking around the nearly finished candy shop, impressed by the transformation. The store had been bare bones the last time he had seen it, and now the front room was warm and welcoming with fresh coats of pastel blue and pink paint on alternating walls, and shelves stacked high with candy—some of it brand-name, and some of it made by Candice herself.
“Thanks,” Candice said. “It’s been a lot of work, but I’m finally almost there. Oh, and thanks for bringing the security cameras so quickly. I probably won’t need them, but…”
“Better safe than sorry,” Moira finished for her daughter. She still bristled at the thought of someone stealing from her daughter, and wanted to do everything in her power to ensure that it didn’t happen again.
“Where do you want me to install them?” David asked.
“Can we put one kind of in plain view over the register, like the one at the deli is?” Candice asked. “And I’d like the other one to be in the back, near the door so I can see who comes in and out. I don’t think I need one in the kitchen; if someone does break in, they’ll have to go through the back or front door anyway, and one of the cameras would catch them.”
David nodded and hoisted his stepladder, ready to get to work. Moira pulled a stool up to the counter and sat next to her daughter, watching the private investigator as he began unpacking the first camera. She would offer to help, but he knew what he was doing, and she knew she would only get in the way.
“So, how are things going?” she asked her daughter quietly instead. “Did you ever find out what happened to the money?”
“No,” Candice said with a sigh. “But luckily nothing else seems to have gone wrong. Except...” She paused, reluctantly meeting her mother’s gaze. “Well, Adrian and I broke up again.”
“How come?” Moira asked gently. Even though she didn’t like Adrian, she knew her daughter must be upset. The one area where her daughter’s judgment seemed to be off was when it came to men.
Just like her mother,
she thought. Then her eyes found David.
Well, I guess my judgment isn’t all bad—it’s certainly improving—David has been nothing short of amazing.
She had known the private investigator for less than a year, but already he had become a big part of her life. He was steady and strong, and seemed to sense when she needed him most.
He couldn’t be more unlike Mike if he tried
, she thought, then shook her head. She refused to think negatively of the dead. Her ex-husband might have had a lot of flaws, but he had loved their daughter, and that made up for a lot.
“We got into
another
argument,
”
her daughter said, snapping Moira back to the present. “He keeps trying to tell me how to run the store. I mean, I know I told him he could help—and he definitely has been a lot of help, so I’m not trying to be ungrateful—but I want this store to be
mine.
” She sighed and tapped her fingers on her phone’s screen. “I told him we’re going to go a while without seeing each other.”
“How did he take it?” her mother asked.
“He was upset, of course. But I’ve got enough to worry about right now without trying to make up with him also.” Candice groaned. “I’m never going to meet The One, am I? Why is it so hard to find a decent boyfriend?”
“Candice, sweetie, you’re only twenty. You’ve got plenty of time left,” Moira told her. “Look at me—I’m over twice your age, and haven’t quite given up hope yet.”
“I’m almost twenty-one,” Candice pointed out. “Plus, you’ve got David.” Both women glanced over to see if he was listening, but if he was, his face didn’t reveal anything. He was focused solely on the camera in his hands.
“My point is, you’re still very young,” the deli owner continued in a quieter voice. “I’m glad you haven’t decided to settle down with anyone yet. You have many more years in front of you to find your perfect match. For now, just focus on getting the shop up and running. I think that’s enough for anyone to worry about; you don’t need to be stressed about a relationship as well.”
“I know, you’re right.” She gave her mother a grateful smile, then her eyes drifted over to the shop’s front door. A frown flicked across her face a moment before someone knocked on the door.
Moira and David both turned to see who it was, the private investigator teetering dangerously on the stepladder before steadying himself. Moira didn’t recognize the young man waiting on the sidewalk and assumed that he must be a friend of Candice’s, but when she glanced over to her daughter, the young woman shrugged.
“I’ve got no idea who that is,” she said. “Maybe he thinks the candy shop is open—I’d better go tell him it’ll be a few more days.”
She walked over to the door and unlocked it, then leaned against the door frame and exchanged a few quiet words with the man. After a moment she glanced back at David and her mother, shrugged, and beckoned him in.
“This is Eli Rothberg,” she said as they approached the register. “He owns a business in town too. Eli, this is my mom, Moira, and her boyfriend, David. He’s a private investigator.”
“Nice to meet you,” Moira said, privately amused by her daughter’s casual description of her and David’s relationship since she wasn’t quite ready to call David her boyfriend yet. “What business do you own?”
“Ice Cream Dream,” he said. “And it’s actually my grandfather’s—I just manage it. Sorry for interrupting; I saw people in here, and have been wanting to introduce myself for a while, and also tell you that you’re welcome to put flyers in my store to advertise your grand opening if you want.” He had short dark hair and wore glasses that gave him a bookish look, though he was tan enough to make Moira think he must have spent a lot of time outdoors over the summer.
“Oh, thanks!” Candice said brightly. “I’ll print some more off later and run them over. How late is the ice cream parlor open, anyway? I’d love to stop by and get a cone.”
“We’re open until nine,” he told her. “And eleven on weekends.”
“I should be done here by then. Thanks for stopping by. It’s so nice to feel welcomed to the town,” she said, smiling. “I’ll see you this evening.”
“It was great to meet you all,” he said with a quick wave at Moira and David. “Feel free to stop by any time if you need anything.” The last part was directed towards Candice, who was grinning up at him.
“You too,” she said. “I live above the shop, so I should be pretty easy to find.”
“Good to know.” He grinned back at her and, with a nod towards David and Moira, shoved his hands in his pockets and left.
David raised his eyebrows and met Moira’s gaze, then went back to installing the security camera. Candice walked back to her mother, blushing.
“He was cute,” she said.
“A bit young for me,” Moira said jokingly.
“Mom! That’s not what I meant, and you know it. He’s only a couple of years older than me, and he runs a business too. I bet we have a lot in common.” Candice bit her lip, her gaze thoughtful.
“I think you should take some time to get the candy shop on its feet before you think about dating again, sweetie,” the deli owner said. With a sigh, she added, “But it’s your decision. Either way, it will be nice for you to have a friend in town, especially one that manages a business that will be seeing a lot of the same customers as you do.”
She fell silent, thinking of her fellow businesswoman and friend, Denise Donovan, who owned the Redwood Grill—the local steakhouse. David and Moira usually went there for their weekly dinner date, and the restaurant nearly always seemed busy to her, but her friend had lately been expressing concerns about whether or not she would be able to afford to keep the same hours during the winter. She knew Denise was concerned that she would have to let go some of her staff; though the restaurant was doing well now, once tourist season was over and the snow began to fall, she would have to depend on the locals to keep her busy. Moira did all that she could to help her friend out, even suggesting the steakhouse to her customers when the topic came up. She might have lost a few sales to the other woman’s restaurant, but it was worth it to keep her friend in business. Would it be possible for Candice to form the same sort of close working relationship with the young man who managed the ice cream parlor?
“Well, this one is done,” David said, breaking the silence. “I’ll go start on the one in the back. Then do you want to head to the office for lunch, Moira?”
“Sure,” she replied. “Candice, will you come?” Her daughter shook her head.
“I can’t, I have too much left to do. I’ll see you guys on Saturday, okay?” she said.
Saturday, three short days away, was the day of the candy shop’s grand opening. Moira couldn’t wait to see Candice’s Candies open its doors to the public, and wouldn’t have missed the event for the world.
“Of course I’ll be there,” she told her daughter with a mock frown. “Do you still want David and I to come early?”
“Yeah. I’d love having your help to make sure everything is perfect, especially since Adrian won’t be here.” Candice wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes shining with excitement. “Just a few more days until I finally get to see this place come to life.”
Moira checked herself in the mirror one final time. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her brown eyeliner accentuated the green of her eyes. She was wearing one of the pastel shirts that Candice had had made for her shop, black capris, and an old pair of sandals that weren’t quite as cute as she remembered, but at least went with the rest of her outfit.
The grand opening of Candice’s Candies would begin in just a few hours, and Moira’s job would be to help her daughter with the initial rush of customers.
At least, I hope there’s a rush of customers,
she thought. She hoped that the candy shop would be busy today—otherwise, there was no telling if the little store would make it through the winter. Candice needed to build up a strong base of loyal customers. Quickly.
Today our roles are switched,
she thought, meeting her own gaze in the mirror. She would be working for her daughter, much as Candice had worked for her at the deli only a few short months ago. Her help would be temporary; Candice had asked her to come only for the first few hours, but Moira had ensured that her schedule for the rest of the day was clear if the need for her to stay longer arose. She had even made plans for Maverick—Ben Hall, the young man who took care of her yard, would be coming over to let the dog out and to play with him a bit while Moira was busy at the candy shop.
“So you’ll be all set, boy,” she said out loud to the German shepherd, who was lying by her feet, watching her get ready with a relaxed, somewhat resigned look on his furry face. She felt bad about leaving him alone during the long hours that she worked, but couldn’t seem to come up with an alternative. There were no doggy daycares in town—she had checked—and she couldn’t afford to hire someone to come and spend time with him every day. She tried to make up for her absences by being extra attentive to him when she was home.
She said goodbye to the dog and tossed him a meaty treat from the bowl on the counter, then grabbed her purse, keys, and a brown paper bag stuffed full of sandwiches, flavored sparkling water, and to-go bowls of soup for the pre-grand opening party that she and David had planned for Candice. He was bringing the cake, and she hoped he remembered the paper plates too, as she hadn’t found hers yet. Her kitchen was still a mess of boxes—one more thing for her to put on her mile-long to-do list.
When she pulled up to the candy shop, Candice was outside on a stepladder hanging a large banner across the front.
Candice’s Candies Grand Opening!
it read, the words surrounded by digital pictures of a variety of candies that the store offered. The young woman waved to her mother as Moira drove by and looped around to the parking lot in the back. She walked through the back door just as Candice was climbing down from the stepladder. They met at the register counter, where Moira set the bag containing the food and looked around. Everything seemed to be in place; the little store looked ready for business.