The Candymakers Read online

  But she didn’t get to finish because Miles launched himself through the air and wrapped his arms around her.

  “You’re alive!” he cried, tears suddenly streaming down his face. “You’re alive!”

  Logan stumbled backward in surprise. Even Philip jumped up, sending the sleeping bag he’d been sitting on rolling down the path toward the vanilla vines.

  “What are you talking about?” Daisy asked as Miles clung to her, weeping, then laughing, then weeping again. He couldn’t answer, due to the weeping and the laughing.

  When it became clear he wasn’t letting her go anytime soon, Daisy put her arms around him and hugged him back. This just made him hold on tighter.

  “Do you think we should do something?” Philip asked Logan as the minutes passed.

  “What should we do?”

  “Maybe we should pry him off her.”

  Logan nodded. That seemed like a sensible idea.

  Miles tried to hold on as Logan and Philip each took one of his arms, but he eventually allowed himself to be separated from Daisy.

  “You okay, buddy?” Logan asked.

  Miles wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, laughed again, and then said, “I was in that boat. The one Daisy swam under. Only I didn’t see her. All this time I thought the girl—I mean Daisy—had drowned and I hadn’t been able to save her.”

  Daisy’s hand flew up to her mouth. “Oh no! I’m so sorry!”

  “Is that why you talk about the afterlife all the time?” Philip asked.

  Miles nodded. “The girl lives there.” Then he laughed. “No, she doesn’t! No wonder I felt the girl was here at the factory. She WAS here!” Then, before Logan or Philip could stop him, he threw his arms around Daisy again.

  This time she hugged him back right away. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t think anyone saw me run in. It must have been awful for you.”

  Still clutching tight, Miles said, “At least you didn’t get stung by those bees. Being allergic and all.”

  “Honestly, I didn’t even see them.”

  For some reason, that started Miles laughing and crying all over again.

  Philip rolled his eyes. Then he said, “Um, speaking of bees, are there supposed to be bees in here?”

  “Paulo brings a few in sometimes to pollinate the vanilla flowers,” Logan replied. “One or two might cling to the vines every once in a while. Why?”

  Philip pointed about a foot above Daisy’s head, where a black-and-yellow bee was circling.

  “Daisy!” Logan said, pulling on her sleeve. “There’s a bee near you.”

  “So?” she said, still comforting Miles. The bee was now about two inches away from her left ear.

  “Aren’t you allergic?”

  “Oh, right,” Daisy said, untangling herself from Miles. “I keep forgetting. Hazard of the trade when you’re always pretending to be someone else. I sometimes forget my real story.” She stepped forward a few feet, but the bee followed her.

  “Can’t you charm it or something?” Philip asked Logan.

  Logan shot him a look and tried shooing the bee away. It refused to go. “It must be attracted to your hair,” he told Daisy.

  As if to prove Logan’s point, the bee flew right at Daisy’s head at top speed. She shrieked and shuffled backward, her foot catching on a tree root. The others all gasped, but it happened too quickly for them to do anything. She flailed her arms, but it was of no use—she’d lost her balance and was on a collision course with the ground.

  So fast that Logan could only half believe he’d seen it happen, Miles ducked, grabbed his backpack, and pushed it right to the spot where, a split second later, Daisy’s head landed.

  She lay there panting. The bee was nowhere in sight, perhaps scared off by all the drama.

  Miles grinned and said, “Huh. I guess this thing did save your life after all.”

  “What’s in there?” Daisy asked, still lying on her back.

  “A life jacket. I sort of carry it with me everywhere. It’s crazy, I know.”

  But Daisy shook her head. “It shows how much you can care about saving someone you’ve never even met. And now you saved me! I think you’re the superhero here.”

  Miles pushed his glasses back up his nose and coughed.

  “Better watch out,” Philip teased. “I think she likes you.”

  Daisy groaned. “Philip Ransford the Third, do you have any redeeming qualities?”

  “Hey,” Logan said, “he did just save the factory. Even if he had to steal to do it.”

  “That’s true,” Miles said.

  “Yeah, about that…,” Philip began.

  “Let me guess,” said Daisy, pushing herself up to a sitting position. “You made up that whole story and were just trying to steal the secret ingredient so you would win the contest.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I knew it!” Daisy shouted.

  Philip sighed. “Will you let me finish?”

  Daisy grumbled something unintelligible.

  “I was going to say that taking the secret ingredient might slow my father down, but there’s only one way to make sure he won’t buy the factory.” He paused, pulling nervously at a leaf dangling above his head. Logan tried not to cringe. No one was supposed to pull the leaves.

  “Well?” Daisy asked. “What is it?”

  “I have to, um, win the contest.”

  Daisy hooted. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “It’s true,” Philip insisted, looking them each in the eye. “My father promised that if I win, he won’t try to buy the factory.”

  No one spoke for a minute. Logan really wanted to believe him. But believing Philip meant that he’d have to give up his own dream of winning. That was a lot to give up based on the word of someone who hadn’t said one nice thing to him until that night.

  “But why would your father agree to that?” Miles asked.

  “He doesn’t think I could possibly win, so he’s not too worried about losing the bet.”

  “Well, then,” Miles said matter-of-factly. “We’ll just have to make sure you win.”

  Logan’s eyes widened in surprise. Philip had been the meanest to Miles. Why would Miles believe him so easily?

  “Are you serious?” Daisy asked. “You actually believe that story?”

  Miles nodded.

  “What about your mother?” Daisy demanded of Philip. “What does she think about all this?”

  “You’d have to ask Miles about that,” Philip replied. “He’s the expert on the afterlife.”

  It took Logan a few seconds to figure out what Philip meant. He’d never met anyone who didn’t have a mother. Well, not that he knew of.

  “Oh,” said Daisy, lowering her head. “I didn’t know.”

  Philip shrugged. “Why would you?”

  “When did it… I mean, when did she…” Daisy trailed off. It was the first time Logan had seen her at a loss for words.

  “When I was three,” Philip said. “She got sick. I don’t remember her too well, but I know she liked chocolate a lot. I think she’d be happy I’m here.”

  Logan had no clue what to say or do. He considered offering gumdrops but knew that wasn’t right.

  Miles must have known just what to do, though, because he walked straight over to Philip and put his arms around him.

  Philip stood as stiff as the sapodilla tree next to him, but Miles didn’t let go.

  “You might as well hug him back,” Daisy recommended. “He won’t stop until you do.”

  So Philip raised his arms and awkwardly placed them on Miles’s shoulders. They stood like that for another minute until Philip broke away. “Uh, thanks,” he said awkwardly. “I think I’m good now.”

  Miles gave him one last pat on the arm and then retreated.

  Daisy cleared her throat. “So, um, is your candy good enough to win?”

  Philip shook his head. “Not yet. Maybe if I had another week.”

  Logan knew what he had to do. It