Page 68 of Piece By Piece

She handed out stamps, explained the rules, and cheered on kids like they were running a marathon.

Each clue led to a different shop or landmark.

At the bakery, kids solved a word scramble and they got a cookie.

At the marina, they worked through a number puzzle and earned a sticker.

At the old church, there was a rebus that required them to sound out syllables.

At each stop, a shop owner or volunteer would wait with a stamp and a smile.

Grant’s clue cards were the star of the whole thing.

Parents kept stopping to admire the hand-drawn illustrations.

A mother took photos of every card and then posted them to social media.

A grandfather sat on a bench and looked at the miniature crossword himself, ignoring his granddaughter’s pleas to keep moving along.

A pair of twins argued over the rebus so loudly that their father had to separate them onto different teams.

Vivi had put herself in the position of unofficial scavenger hunt ambassador, running between the stations and reporting back to Liza with breathless updates.

“The church ran out of stickers, but I found more in the box under the table. Also, I saw a kid try to eat one of the clue cards.”

“Eat it?”

“I think he thought the treasure map was real and the X marked where the snacks were, but I told him to go over to the bakery.”

“Vivi, you’re a natural crisis manager.”

“I know,” she said, batting her eyelashes.

The final station was The Puzzle Post, where kids presented their completed cards and then did one last brain teaser.

It was a simple anagram built from the letters they’d collected at each stop.

The answer was the word Seagrove.

When they solved it, Grant gave them their prize bag and then just said, “Good job.”

Two words, but he did look each child in the eye every time he said it.

Liza watched from the bookstore doorway.

The line of kids grew and grew.

She knew some of them had to have come from out of town.

She watched Grant crouch down for the smaller ones and lean across the counter for the taller ones.

She watched him patiently explain the anagram to a boy who was very frustrated.

This was the thing she’d been looking for when she quit her job and drove to an island she barely remembered.

Not a title, not a salary, not even a five-year plan.

Just this feeling of building something real with other people who cared about it.