“ ‘Through the trenches,’ ” I say, citing the clue. “Did we look behind the coats? Do you think there could be a safe in the closet too?”
“ ‘A safe place through the trenches,’ ” Daren recites with a smile. “I think we just figured out the clue.”
“I think so too! But wait,” I say. “What about the handcuffs? We took them off.” I bite my lip in distress. “We forfeited all the money.”
He twitches his lips in thought. “No. Not yet. We only forfeited the money if someone told on us. Let me call Eddie and find out.” He grabs his phone, dials a number, and puts the call on speakerphone as it rings.
Eddie’s voice mail picks up after the third ring and says, “Hello. You’ve reached Eddie Perkins. If this is one of my legal clients, please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If this is Daren or Kayla, I have not gotten any reports about the two of you being at Latecomers without handcuffs on last night. None whatsoever. So the inheritance is still yours if you can find it. Thank you for calling.”
A long beep follows and Daren hangs up. We stare at each other.
“So Eddie is going to let us get away with it?” I smile.
“I guess so,” Daren says, shaking his head with a grin. “Man, I love that guy. I’m going to buy him a new bow tie. You know, if we find the money. Do you still have the handcuffs?”
I rustle through my suitcase and pull them out with a wink. “Let’s slap these babies on, go back to Milly Manor, and dig through some trenches.”
He freezes. “Wait a minute…” Rummaging through his room, he starts going through the pockets of his jeans.
I watch him. “What are you doing?”
“You know those notes in the blue suitcase, the ones that were addressed to each of our names? Well I’m pretty sure mine had the word ‘trenches’ on it… Aha.” He finds the note and quickly unfolds it. “Yep. See?”
I look. In the bottom left corner it says THE TRENCHES in black marker with the number twenty-two underneath.
Daren says, “I thought it was just a mistake or that maybe your dad was reusing a piece of paper, but that can’t be a coincidence. Right?”
I shake my head. “It’s not a coincidence. My note has a random word and number on it too.” Digging through my purse, I hold up the note addressed to my name from the suitcase closet. “See? My note says ‘through fourteen.’ ”
We hold our notes up, side by side, and together they read THROUGH THE TRENCHES 1422.
“We had the clue to the hiding place all along,” I say, stunned. “Crap. And my note ‘encouraged’ me to show it to you, too. Dammit. Why didn’t I listen?”
“So did mine.” He nods. “But it was kind of personal so I didn’t show you.”
I say, “Yeah, well I chose not to let you read mine because I didn’t want you to get a big head.”
“Why?” Daren grins. “What did Turner say about me in your note? Can I read it?”
I eye him. “Only if I can I read yours.”
We swiftly swap notes and I read the letter my father wrote to Daren.
Daren,
I’m sorry that I’m gone. But more importantly, I’m sorry that I’ll be missing out on the rest of your life. Your circumstances have taught you to underestimate yourself and hide behind your reputation. I want to teach you the opposite.
I know you, Daren. All your strengths, all your hopes, all your hesitations. I know the bare bones of who you are, and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that you will be very successful and much loved in life. But it’s not my doubts, or lack thereof, that matter.
You are about to embark on a journey that will hopefully encourage you, if not completely change you. And I’ve designated Kayla as your travel partner.
My daughter is just as stubborn and resilient as you, which is why I used handcuffs to keep you together. Had I not, the two of you would still be searching for the inheritance, independent of each other, of course, and with no intention of ever sharing the money. Not because you’re selfish people, but because you’re impossibly guarded. One of the many things that make you and Kayla so similar.
You’re both inverted diamonds in the rough; polished on the outside, cracked and raw within. But priceless just the same.
Yet you both doubt love—despite all I’ve tried to teach you. But alas, there are some lessons in life that cannot be taught. Some lessons, especially those on finding love, are only learned through time and trust.
And I gave you both the moment you were handcuffed to Kayla.
Happy hunting, Daren. Take care of my little girl.
I finish reading my dad’s careful handwriting and look up. He knew. Even though he wasn’t really in my life these past five years, my dad knew me and my heart well enough to know that Daren Ackwood was exactly what I needed.
And he didn’t hesitate to handcuff us together to prove it.
Daren and I lock eyes.
He eyes me. “Why are you smiling so big?”
The smile I hadn’t realized I was wearing stretches even wider. “Because I really love my dad.”
44 Daren
I’ve never been so happy to see Golf Cart Gus. I flag him down as Kayla and I run toward the town square, and when he stops for us we jump inside.
“Hi,” Kayla says with her best smile. “I’m Kayla.”
Gus is immediately smitten. “Why, hello darling.” He kisses her hand and she giggles.
After throwing clothes on and chaining ourselves back together, Kayla and I went out to her car, only to find it with another dead battery. With no other options, we ran, handcuffed, to the town square and, thankfully, came across Gus.
“So listen,” I say. “Kayla and I need to get to Milly Manor, but we don’t have any money to tip you with.”
“Yet,” Kayla corrects. She smiles at Gus. “We don’t have any money yet. But as soon as we do we’ll totally pay you back if you wouldn’t mind giving us a ride right now.”
He looks her over with a grin. “Anything for you, sugar.” He turns to me and says, “You lucky dog.”
I glance at Kayla and smile. “I know.”
Two minutes later, Gus drops us off at Milly Manor and we fumble around the front yard, tripping over our own feet as we struggle to get into the backyard and dig through the garden to grab the spare key.
Once we let ourselves inside the house, we waste no time running for the same hall closet where we found the blue suitcase. We open the door and shove aside all the coats within.
There, just like we guessed, is a giant safe.
Kayla giggles. “I can’t believe it.”
I smile. “We should have known. We should have known!” I look at her. “You open it. It’s your home. Your father. You should open it.”
She tries the door. “It’s locked. But there’s a keypad for a number combination.”
I nod. “Try fourteen twenty-two.”
“Ooh. Yeah. ‘Through the trenches fourteen twenty-two.’ You’re brilliant.” She punches in 1422 and a clicking sound fills the closet. Kayla bites her lip, then slowly swings the safe door open.
For a moment, we stare in silence.
“I don’t believe it,” she says quietly.
I blink. “Me neither.”
Inside the safe are stacks and stacks of money, all hundred-dollar bills, all banded together, and on top of the bills is one final envelope.
Kayla carefully reaches for the envelope and pulls out the paper inside.