Chapter Four
As I made the familiar pilgrimage into Maudie’s the next morning, I kept craning my neck over my shoulder or darting my gaze around the parking lot. You could say I was on high alert for any sign of Maddox’s presence. Yesterday, I’d managed to avoid him after our too-close-for-comfort encounter. Luckily for me, Maudie seemed to be using Maddox’s brute strength out in the warehouse. Summertime was one of the busiest seasons because we sold fresh fruit and vegetables from local orchards.
I didn’t have smiles or waves for the workers. Instead, I just power-walked right on by them to the time clock. I fought temptation as I passed Eula and the intoxicating smell of her fried pies. When I breezed into Maudie’s office, I found her with a hammer in her right hand and some nails in the other. “Morning sunshine. I was just about to hang my painting.”
“Morning to you, too. Need any help?”
“No, I think I’m good. That is if I don’t have one million interruptions today with all the delivery trucks.”
As if on cue, her speakerphone buzzed. “Maudie, we need you out in receiving. There’s been a horrible mix-up with the vegetable deliveries.”
Maudie rolled her eyes. “Speak of the devil.” She huffed and put the nails and hammer down. “Mind restocking the Peach Fuzz and Apple Core drink shelves?”
“Sure, I’ll get right on it.”
Maudie smiled and patted my back. “That’s my girl!”
The rest of the morning flew by as I restocked and reorganized all of Miss Maudie’s fruit juices and teas. Drew was good to bring me boxes and take the old ones outside, and we even managed a few short conversations. I thought it was sweet he actually wanted to be around me, but I liked it even more that it kept Maddox away.
I discovered Drew was commuting to Kennesaw, he had two little sisters who drove him insane, and he was holing away money for an apartment when he transferred to Georgia Tech. He found out I was an only child and then jokingly pegged me for an elite snob when I told him I’d gone to Westminster Prep School before going to Agnes Scott. When I finished, I helped him take out the last group of boxes. I didn’t realize how long we had been yacking until Maddox’s voice boomed behind us.
“Hey Drew, whenever you’re done drooling over Lane, could you come out to the warehouse to help with those produce crates?”
As Drew flushed ten shades of red, I fought the urge to smack Maddox. “Uh, yeah, I’m coming,” Drew replied.
“Talk to you later,” I said.
He nodded before scurrying away. I caught Maddox’s eye, and he gave me a wicked grin. I responded by shooting him a death glare before stalking back inside. I ran into Maudie after I slammed the back door. “Lane, are you all right?”
“Fine.”
Maudie gave me a suspicious look before saying, “I was coming to see if you were ready to eat lunch? I made some of that chicken salad you like.”
“That sounds great.”
She smiled. “Go on and get the stuff out of the fridge, and I’ll grab us something to drink.”
“Okay,” I replied, as I started across the store to her office. I scooped up the bread and chicken salad container in my arms and thought of Maddox’s comment to Drew. If he kept it up, we’d never be able to have a decent conversation the entire summer. He was such an infuriating egomaniac.
Huffing, I plopped down in Maudie’s chair. The exertion sent the wheels into overdrive, catapulting me backward. The loaf of bread and container went flying out of my arms. They fell to the floor just as the chair smacked against the wall. Well, at least what I thought was the wall.
I started sliding back to the desk when I heard something crash onto the ground. “Shit!”
The last time I’d seen the painting was this morning when it was on Maudie’s sofa, so it was only natural to assume it was either there or had made its way onto the wall.
Nope, I was wrong.
A quick glance at the wall showed the nails primed and ready to hold up the painting. I could only assume that she hadn’t been able to lift it herself and had brought it over to the desk to call for someone to come and help her when she’d gotten interrupted with something or another.
When I finally dared to pick up the painting, my stomach lurched. The canvas had separated from the frame. My shaky fingers ran over the edges. Fortunately, I didn’t feel any rips or tears in the painting itself. But the frame was totally ruined. “Oh hell no!”
The door creaked open, and I whirled around. Maudie bustled through the door with our drinks. She stopped dead in her tracks at what must’ve been the horror on my face.
“Lane, what’s wrong?”
“I…uh…um…”
“You’re pale as a sheet.” She set the apple cider glasses down on the desk and then started feeling my forehead. “No fever.” She eyed me from head to toe before lowering her voice and asking, “Is it woman troubles?”
Her concern made me feel even worse. “No, Maudie, it’s nothing like that. It’s just…I’ve done something terrible.” At her widening eyes, I quickly rushed on, “Trust me that I didn’t mean to do it, but it happened all the same.”
“Well, what is it?”
Grimacing, I murmured, “I accidentally broke your new painting.”
Maudie gasped as her hand flew to her throat. She stood motionless for a moment before she stooped over and snatched up the frame. As she did an inventory of the damage, the breath I assumed she’d been holding whooshed out. “Lane, it’s okay. We can fix this. I’ll just get one of my woodworking buddies to get the canvas back into the frame.”
“Are you sure?” I felt horrible because it seemed I was getting off way too easy.
Maudie nodded as she fingered along the painting edge. Suddenly a frown dotted her brow. “Now that’s funny.”
“What?”
“It feels like there’s something stuck behind the canvas and the frame. Like a piece of paper or something.” Maudie’s tongue poked out as she tried pinching the paper’s edge. When it didn’t budge, she examined her swollen, arthritic fingers before glancing over at mine. “You better give it a try.”
Maudie held the painting steady for me. Using my index finger and thumb like a pair of tweezers, I grasped at a thin piece of paper. Slowly, I wiggled it back and forth to get a better hold. But just when I was making headway, it got stuck.
I froze and then glanced up at Maudie. She gave me an encouraging smile. “If you have to break more of the frame, go right on ahead. I gotta know what’s behind there!”
“Okay, then.”
I applied more pressure to the wood. With a loud pop, the frame and canvas completely separated on the bottom. My fingers once again delved inside, and I slid out the paper. It was yellowed with age and smelled of musty earth. Rectangular in shape, it had been folded over twice.
“Guess we better see what’s inside?” Maudie suggested.
Gently, I unfolded it. I stared down at strange lettering and symbols. Flashbacks of watching The Goonies and Pirates of the Caribbean with Maddox and his sister, Neely, flooded my mind. “Yeah right,” I murmured in disbelief.
“What do you mean?” Maudie asked.
“It looks like some sort of treasure map.”