An older married couple leaned in to get a better look at the photos. “Doesn’t that look just like Mary Anne? That was the year Santa brought the kitten.”

Ivy tied Punkin’s leash to the bike rack on the sidewalk and edged her way into the crowded shop.

Nancy Langley Bergstrom was bustling around behind the shop’s counter, weighing customers’ purchases while a teenage girl rang up an order from one of the six customers lined up inside the store.

She looked up when the shop’s door chimes tinkled and smiled when she caught sight of Ivy.

“Hey there!” she called. “Can you believe this?”

“’Tis the season,” Ivy replied. “I brought some ideas for a new campaign to show you, but maybe I should come back when you’re not so slammed.”

“Wait!” the shopkeeper said. She scurried into the shop’s back room and emerged with a beautifully wrapped box, which she handed to Ivy.

“I spent the weekend testing and tweaking some of my grandma’s old recipes. Try these samples and let me know what you think.”

“I’ll try to come by later this afternoon,” Ivy said.

As she was leaving the candy shop she heard her phone ding, signaling an incoming text message. It was from Phoebe:

Can you meet me for coffee at the diner at 11? Major dilemma! Emergency!

Ivy typed her reply:

See you then.

Ivy tucked the candy box in her shopping tote. It was just ten o’clock now. She had an hour to kill before her emergency meeting with Phoebe. Maybe she’d drop by to see Lawrence Jones and enlist his help in sampling Nancy Bergstrom’s latest creations.

“What a nice surprise!” Mr. Jones exclaimed when he found Ivy and Punkin standing on his doorstep. “Come on inside!”

“I hope we’re not intruding,” Ivy said. “We were over at Langley Sweets, and the owner asked me to sample some new recipes she’s thinking of adding to the shop’s merchandise. I thought you might enjoy them.”

“You know Nancy?” He looked surprised.

“I do now,” Ivy said, settling into the chair opposite his, while Punkin parked himself at her host’s feet.

“I was really intrigued by those PepperyMints you gave me. So I went home and did some research. I found Langley Sweets’s website, and it was so generic and blah! Not at all representative of their product, or the brand. So I did a little tinkering, drew up a new marketing campaign, and went over to the shop and introduced myself. She liked my ideas, so she’s my newest client.”

“Good for you,” Mr. Jones said, nodding approvingly. “I like a girl with gumption.” He looked down at the large candy box, open on his lap.

He picked up a piece of candy, popped it in his mouth, and chewed slowly.

“Say!” His eyes brightened behind the thick-lensed glasses. “It’s sort of … lemony. But there’s pepper in there. And sugar. But it’s not too sweet.…”

He held the box out to Ivy. “Try one of these round yellow ones.”