All her extra time was put toward solving the damn puzzle. Only she tried everything in the book, and it still wasn’t enough. Time to pull out the big guns.
Ginny took a picture of the well-worn birthday puzzle paper and finally sent the image to her sister.
Then she printed out a half dozen additional copies, folding them up and sticking them in pockets so she could haul them out and shove them under the nose of everyone she met to ask for ideas.
2 of 3
The clear message of the sticky note poked her again and again. If the puzzle page was one, and the journals two, that meant there was a three out there somewhere. She couldn’t stand the idea of not having the final gift from her parents fully understood.
At the coffee shop, down in the market, everywhere Ginny went she showed people the page. Everyone tried their best, but none of the suggestions helped, and her frustration continued to rise in spite of the other good things progressing in her world.
Good things like Tucker Stewart smoldering at her across the dinner table as he appreciatively inhaled the roast chicken dinner she’d made for them. Tucker, washing dishes at her side and telling her all about what he’d done that day. Listening with real interest as she shared about her tasks.
Tucker, scooping her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom, laughing together until they couldn’t do anything more than make incoherent noises, pleasure overwhelming them.
Except for the unsolved puzzle, Ginny had to admit her life was pretty damn perfect.
When outdoor temperatures finally rose enough to enjoy the evening outdoors, Tucker curled his arm around her a little tighter as they sat together on the porch to watch the sunset. “Want to go over it again?”
“Please.” She leaned her head on his chest. “I must be driving you wild with this unending puzzle.”
“I don’t mind,” he said, stroking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I can’t wait for the moment you solve it. You’ll be on fire.”
“You like me on fire?” Ginny pressed a palm to his cheek. “Silly question.”
He snickered. “Dirty girl.” But he tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted her face so he could kiss her, and once again all puzzles and long-lost mysteries vanished. Nothing but his taste, his touch…
She had a Tucker addiction that would not stop.
He hummed lightly when he finally pulled back so she could breathe. “Where were we?”
“Who cares?” Ginny mumbled, twisting to straddle his lap.
A small smirk arrived. “Now, now. No getting distracted.”
“Evil man,” Ginny complained.
“Tell you what. Let’s go over it from the very beginning, and if we find something new, I’ll give you a prize.”
“Ha,” Ginny snorted. “Oh, look, I discovered something new.”
Tucker clicked his tongue. “Try again. Christmas Day evening, Tamara gives you your present. You bring it home to the trailer…”
“Wait—” Oh my God. How had she missed this? Ginny lifted her ass far enough off his lap to pull her phone from her back pocket. Tucker looked on with confusion as she connected through to Tamara. “Hey, question for you.”
“What’s up?” her sister-in-law asked.
“Putting you on speaker,” Ginny warned before doing just that and continuing. “Tucker and I are poking at the puzzle thing. When you gave me my present, did you say there were other packages stored away?”
“There were. Ones for Caleb, Luke, and Walker. I passed them on ages ago. Not sure how that helps.” Tamara hummed for a minute. “I can tell you what Caleb got because it was strange enough to make us wonder.”
“That might help,” Tucker said.
“Lego bricks. About a dozen of them.”
Ginny’s excitement faded slightly. “Ugh. This is getting more complicated instead of less.”
“Right? Considering Caleb would have been twenty-four when your mom wrapped everything up, Legos don’t seem like a logical gift.” Tamara sighed. “They’ve been added to the main Lego bucket, but I can find them if you’d like to see if there’s any other clues on them.”
“That’s an astonishing yet underappreciated skill,” Tucker said.
“They were painted like haybales,” Tamara returned with a laugh. “The only ones in the pile.”
Interesting.
“Put them aside for me, please?” Ginny asked. “Now to find out what the other guys got.”
“Good luck,” Tamara said before hanging up.
“I’ll contact Luke if you want, and you can call Walker,” Tucker offered.
“Deal. Report back in five,” Ginny ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.” His eyes flashed. “Hmm, that gives me ideas.”
She waved him off as she hit her brother’s number. “We can get kinky later.”
“Promise? Let me break out the ropes?” he said before snorting. “Hi, Luke. No, ignore that.” He rolled his eyes. “I said ignore it, or I’ll cave and tell you exactly what I plan to do with your sister.”
Ginny crowed with laughter, unfortunately right when Walker answered her call.
“Dammit, brat. Phone etiquette is a thing for a reason,” Walker grumbled.
“Sorry. Quick question, and I promise to keep it at low decibels.”
Five minutes later, Tucker waited for her as she finished her call with Walker.
“It gets even more impossible,” Ginny complained. “Walker got a Christmas ornament. Square, like a treasure chest you’d put in a fish tank.”
Tucker shook his head. “I don’t see a theme. Luke says his present was a cross-stitch of a horse.”
“Did it look like a horse?” Ginny grumbled. “Or did my dad butcher it into having five legs and three heads?”
“Frustrating, I know.” Tucker pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now, I said something about a reward for new information, and there’s been mention of a rope, and kinky sex. I vote we go inside and see what kind of mischief those three things can combine into.”
“You’re distracting me again,” Ginny said, but she was on her feet and tugging him after her into the house. “Get naked. I’ll get the rope.”
“Nice try.” He caught her by the hand and pulled her flush to his body for a moment. “You get naked.”
She stepped back far enough to take an appreciative glance at him from top to bottom before reaching for her buttons. “How about we both get naked?”
Naked time with Tucker was truly the best way to drown disappointments.
Another good distraction was set up for a few days later as some of her friends gathered in Kelli’s house to help Ginny work on some of her herbal body products.
Because her future direction had begun to come clear. It involved a steep learning curve but also a lot of fun.
Kelli stood at the stove and stirred the pot in front of her slowly as directed, sniffing cautiously. “I’m not a very good cook,” she warned.
Ginny laughed. “It’s for outer body application, not inner, remember? Keep going, you’re nearly done.”
“Thank you for keeping us at the island, because I was worried that we’d mix up the stuff we can eat with the stuff we can’t,” Tansy teased. She and Yvette were busily stripping leaves from stems as Ginny had demonstrated. None of the herbs were fresh grown from the Silver Stone garden yet, but Ginny figured making mistakes with store bought supplies would hurt her ego less.