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“And what if we find enough to make us both billionaires?” I ask as we disembark, though I know the chances of that are slim to none. Even the largest of Utah’s lost treasures wouldn’t fetch that high a price. “Ever thought about what you’d do if you never had to work another day in your life?”
We start toward the back of the camper, side by side in the darkness, our eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light.
“I haven’t,” Tessa says. “But if I had all the money in the world, I think I’d still want to do something you know? And probably something with food. Life would be boring without a sense of purpose, and I love feeding people. It makes me feel useful, and important in a weird way. Food gives people comfort as well as fuel. I like being part of that comfort.”
“Same,” I say. “I know I do important work for my clients. I wouldn’t want to give that up entirely, but I would love more time outside. In my ideal world, I’d work November to April and hike and adventure May to October.”
“That sounds amazing,” she says, “I—” She breaks off, laughing as she comes to a stop just a few feet from the back of the camper. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” I ask.
She points at the landscape ahead of us. “There. See it?”
I squint into the distance, but all I see are dark shadows on the horizon. The stars are still out, but a few clouds have rolled in, blocking the moonlight.
“Wait for it,” Tessa says, looping her arm through mine. “The moon is about to come out from behind the clouds.”
She’s right. In a few moments, the clouds float away on the breeze, and I’m treated to my first glimpse of Buffalo Dick, silhouetted against the starry sky.
Tessa snorts. “It’s a rock penis.”
“It’s Buffalo Dick,” I say, earning another snort of laughter from my equally adolescent partner in crime. “That’s what the Native Americans called it anyway. The white settlers tried to give it a more euphemistic name, but it didn’t stick.”
“White people.” Tessa clucks her tongue. “Why do we have to be so uptight?”
“Puritanical origins, I guess? And it was the 1850s.”
“Even in the 1850s, a dick by any other name is still a dick.” She grins and lifts an imaginary glass. “Here’s to you, Buffalo Dick. Long may you shadow the plains with your erect and noble bearing.”
I laugh. “We can hike up there tomorrow, if you want. There’s a trail. If you’d like a more up close and personal view of the…erection.”
She snorts again, but shakes her head. “Nah, we have treasure to hunt. We should save our hiking legs for the mission, Preston.” She glances up at me, the moonlight caressing her pale face. “Is it okay that we’re still talking about our real lives, while pretending to be treasure hunters?”
“I think anything we say is okay,” I tell her, struck all over again by how beautiful she is. With Tessa it’s more than just her objectively attractive outsides, it’s the way she’s so completely herself, with no apologies. She has nothing to hide and nothing to prove and that’s…sexy as fuck. “It’s our game, after all.”
She smiles. “It is.” She goes quiet, studying the obscene plateau for another beat before she adds in a whisper, “And you’ll really stop to buy Indiana Jones hats tomorrow? If I find a place? You aren’t going to poo poo the fun when the sun’s out and you’re sober?”
“I told you, I’m already sober. And I’m no fun poo-pooer, Lady Gray. If being a family law attorney has taught me anything, it’s that there’s plenty of suffering in the world. Policing the fun is the last thing we need.” I glance to our left, where our closest neighbors—a family of clowns, still in costume—are also out admiring the view. “Even if someone’s idea of fun is putting on creepy white makeup and bringing nightmares to life.”
Tessa chuckles as she takes my hand. “Don’t worry, Preston. I’ll protect you from clowns in the dark.”
I curl my fingers tighter around her softer, smaller ones. “How did you know they’re scarier in the dark?”
“Everything is scarier in the dark,” she says. “Well, almost everything. Come on, let’s start a fire and I’ll bring Freya outside on her leash. She said she wanted to look at the stars with you.”
“Oh yeah?” I ask as we turn back toward the camper, moving through the short grass. “She said that?”
“Well, not in so many words. But when you tackled her at the park, she didn’t bite your face off. That’s a really good sign.”
I smile. “Good. I like good signs. And my face.”
“Me, too,” she murmurs, her hand still in mine, which, for me, is the best sign of all.
Chapter 16
TESSA
Thanks to red wine, I sleep surprisingly well, especially considering Wes is in the bunk right above me, smelling like sexy man and campfire and making me ache to climb up and join him. But the wine works its magic and I’m out cold before I can find the courage to ask if he thinks Preston and Lady Gray should be lovers.
