The Carson Springs Trilogy: Stranger in Paradise, Taste of Honey, and Wish Come True by Eileen Goudge

arch onto the plaza. Delarosa’s stood at the farthest edge of the half-moon-shaped courtyard, flanked by shops on either side. The buildings were identical—Spanish-style adobe trimmed in colorful tiles and wrought-iron grilles. A terra-cotta overhang provided shade against the sun, and carved wooden benches respite for weary shoppers. Bougainvillea flowed in crimson waves down the high stone walls, and at the center of the courtyard, a tiered Moroccan fountain splashed in three-part harmony.
    She pushed open the door to the shop. Laura was bent over the counter in back, arranging something inside the display case. Sam held up the paper sack in her hand. “They were all out of blueberry. I got you banana-nut instead.”
    “Fine.” Laura flashed her a distracted smile. Sam walked over to see what she was putting out. “I don’t remember ordering these.”
    Laura arranged a necklace on the top shelf, and then straightened. “You were so busy with the wedding,” she said. “I didn’t want to bother you. Unusual, aren’t they?”
    Sam stooped to peer at the jewelry. Unusual? More like bizarre. Each piece with a bug cast in epoxy as its centerpiece—ladybugs, beetles, crickets, bees. Strangely beautiful in their own way, but at the same time…
    “I’m not sure our customers are ready for this,” she said, frowning. “Isn’t it a bit too—” She searched for the word.
    “Funky?” Laura put in. “That’s the whole point, Mom. We need to attract a younger crowd. Remember those Japanese hair sticks? They sold out in just two days. The kids loved them.”
    It had been her daughter’s idea to carry smaller, less expensive items like jewelry and key rings. Sam had worried it would detract from the high-end goods for which Delarosa’s was known.
    One brooch in particular caught her eye: an iridescent beetle framed in silver leaves. She fingered it thoughtfully. “Speaking of which, how’s our runaway? I meant to call you yesterday. I just never got around to it.” She thought of Ian, which had the effect of a drug, causing her to grow warm and heavy limbed.
    Laura sighed. “She seems healthy, and God knows she eats enough, but you’d think she materialized out of thin air. I don’t know any more than you.”
    “No word on her parents?”
    “If they’re even in the picture. Poor kid. She tiptoes around like she’s scared of getting hit.”
    “Or the police getting involved.” Sam recalled the girl’s terror at the wedding. “What are you going to do with her?”
    “Give it a few days, see what happens.” Laura shrugged, but there was no hiding her concern. The patron saint of lost souls, Sam thought. “In the meantime, I have my hands full with Maude. Would you believe her son had a sudden change of heart and wants her to move back in with him?”
    “I’d forgotten she even had a son.”
    “I think Maude was starting to forget, too.”
    “Can’t she tell him she’s happy where she is?”
    “She tried.” Flags of indignation stood out on Laura’s cheeks. “I told her she’s got to stand up to him. Make him listen.”
    “What’s stopping her?”
    “Misplaced loyalty.” A corner of Laura’s mouth hooked down in a wry smile. “She seems convinced he has a heart.”
    She was sliding the door to the display case shut when Sam impulsively reached inside and snatched up the brooch. She fastened it to her lapel, and stepped back to admire it in the mirror. The ancient Egyptians believed scarabs brought luck; maybe it would do the same for her.
    Laura gave a nod of approval. “I wouldn’t have thought so…but, yes, it’s you. Definitely. Keep it up, Mom, and you might start a trend.”
    Sam smiled. “If I don’t scare our customers off first.”
    She did a quick walk-through to make sure everything was in order, marveling, as she often did, at the elegant emporium that had evolved from her great-grandparents’ cramped general store. Even in her parents’ day it had been a