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I groan like it’s terrible news, but it’s the best thing I’ve heard in weeks. I just wish Jaxon could be here to meet my extended family.
Deacon walks over, scowling, his auburn hair falling into his eyes as the wind plays in it. “Your camel spit in my eye. I’m probably going to go blind.”
Ryland and Levi double over in laughter, but I feel only vague amusement. It’s like losing Jaxon has muted my emotions. I hate it. “She’s leaving us next week. I’m going to miss her.”
Deacon shakes his head. “Who needs enemies when I’ve got family like you?” He grabs Ryland and puts him in a headlock as his brother continues to cackle with laughter. “Come on, you slackers. It’s time for tug of war.” He gives me a pointed look. “I expect you to act like you care who wins this time, Weston.”
I force a smile and pretend I’m as excited about the next event as everyone else.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Honey
“We’ll come to the outlook just around the next bend here.” I push as much confidence as I can into my voice as I tromp up the deer trail, scanning constantly for bears or mountain lions or whatever else might be lurking out there.
I might not be as terrified as I once was, but the forest is still freaking scary.
“You’ve said that five times now,” Dani says behind me. “Just admit you have no idea where we are.”
“It’s almost four.” Clover stops on the trail, hands on her hips. “We should head back.”
Dani and Clover are the only sisters I could convince to come with me to find the treasure. Daisy and Goldy both claimed they’re no good in the woods, but will help with identifying and pricing whatever coins and jewelry we might find. I’m no good in the woods, but I’m here. I suspect they think this is a waste of time and hopeless.
Dani and Clover probably think this is a waste of time, but they love a hike through the woods. It still took a full week for them to clear their schedules and make it out here with me.
Stepping to the side of the trail, I shrug out of my pack and bend to pull out the map. Jaxon made careful notations every time we went out so that we’d never hit the same place twice, but with everything that happened the day we found the skull rock, he didn’t note our last location.
I spent three days crying and missing him like a co-dependent idiot, and, by the time I thought to note the location, I didn’t remember exactly where we’d been.
And I really didn’t want to admit that to my sisters.
I spread the map out over the leaf-covered ground and point to the one thing I’m certain of - we want to be on the Western side of the mountain. “Jaxon and I were in this area when we looked down into a glen and saw a boulder that looked like a skull.”
“Skull rock?” Dani asks.
“You’ve seen it?”
She frowns. “Grant showed it to me. We didn’t go down to it, but we could see it from an overlook.” She scans the map and points to a section several inches south of where we are. “It’s down here. If that’s where you want to take us, we’re a few miles off course.”
I slump. “I’m sorry.” Tears burn my eyes. I thought I’d cried them all out. “I wanted it to be a surprise, and I thought I knew where to go, but I’m the worst at directions.”
“It’s okay.” Clover rubs my back. “Now we know, and we can try again another day.”
Another day that’ll probably never happen.
Another day for Dell to harass me for his money. He’s been texting me non-stop, though I have yet to see him in person again. “Can’t we try? It doesn’t get dark until after nine.”
Dani and Clover glance at each other and communicate silently.
“Let’s try,” Clover says. “I’m starting a new yoga class tomorrow and I don’t know when I’ll have another free day.”
Dani looks less certain. “Even if we get there, it’s a few hours back to the house. We have to nail the directions and move fast or we won’t get down the mountain before dark.”
Nervous energy thrums through me like this is a life or death situation. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, but finding this treasure feels like the solution to all my problems. If I can just do this one thing, I’ll be okay. My heart won’t hurt anymore over Jaxon and my sisters will finally see me as more than the baby of the family.
We move as quickly as we can, stopping frequently to check the map. The setting sun lets us know we’re heading in the right direction, but time feels like it’s flying and I’m sick with the certainty we aren’t going to make it.
It’s after six when Dani stops and gestures for the map.
