Page 137

“Yes.” I pause. “Mostly. I’m at Sweet Tooth with Scarlet, Honey, Junie, Mrs. Delaney, and several women who appear to have organized themselves into an unofficial historical retrieval committee.”

There’s a tiny silence, then Mom says, “That sounds like Sweetheart Haven.”

“I’m looking for old papers. Jessamine Vines specifically. Maybe notebooks, family trees, recipes, gardening records, anything someone might have kept in a box.”

My mother hums, soft and thoughtful. “That would have been Aunt Lorna.”

I sit straighter. “Aunt Lorna kept them?”

“She kept everything. Family trees, baptism lists, garden clippings, old recipes, names written on backs of photographs. After she passed, some of her things went to cousin Mae, but I remember boxes being given to the Garden Guild. Lorna thought the Vines women belonged with flowers.”

Scarlet’s eyes sharpen across the table.

I grab my notebook. “Garden Guild.”

“If the papers weren’t thrown out, someone from the Guild would know. Mrs. Delaney may remember who handled the records.”

Mrs. Delaney, who hasn’t even pretended not to listen, lifts one finger. “I do.”

“Thank you, Mom. I’ll call you later.”

“Pepper?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.”

The café noise seems to soften around me. “I am,” I say.

“I mean careful with your heart too.”

My throat tightens. “I know.”

After I hang up, Mrs. Delaney gives me exactly three seconds before she starts dialing.

The next several hours become a phone tree with pastries. Mrs. Delaney calls Mrs. Albright, who remembers the Garden Guild selling centerpieces during the flood recovery fundraiser. Mrs. Albright calls her sister, who insists the Guild records were boxed when the club dissolved. Honey calls someone named Bev because Bev owes her for a cake emergency. Junie keeps notes on a pastry bag until Scarlet takes it from her and gives her actual paper.

I work the chain in my notebook, trying not to let the names turn into a tornado of useless information.

Aunt Lorna kept Vines papers.

Some went to Garden Guild.

Guild dissolved. Records boxed.

Who took boxes?

Mrs. Delaney hangs up from the fourth call with a smile that should worry local governments. “If you want old Vines notebooks, dear, you don’t want Heritage Hall. You want the Garden Guild boxes in Ms. Silver’s storage shed.”

I freeze. “Ms. Silver has them?”

“Apparently she was secretary when the Guild dissolved. She took the record boxes because no one else wanted to store damp paper and flower show minutes.”

Junie looks offended on behalf of the paper. “Go Ms. Silver.”

Scarlet leans toward me. “That’s the next place.”

Ms. Silver’s shed first. Vines boxes if they exist. Back pages of any notebook. Jessamine, Aunt Lorna, Garden Guild. I write fast.