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Trent turned to face him. “Did you feel like it was bragging?”
Instead of playing this game, he’d said, “So tell me about the gold.”
That’d got a more reticent response than he’d expected.
“Is that why you’re in South Port?” Trent had asked. “Because you want to know more about the gold?”
“No,” Raine had said. “Truthfully, I didn’t even know about the gold and all the history with it until I moved here.”
Hunter had eyed him in disbelief. “Hmph. Well, the gold’s not here. I don’t know if you read about the latest exploits, but the guy who came for it, Mr. Banks, got shot.”
It wasn’t a veiled threat, but it wasn’t a ‘welcome to South Port’ either. “Did he, now?” Raine asked, his mind flashing back to the news articles he’d read about the incident.
Trent nodded. “Mr. Banks is dead and the path to the gold ran cold, so no one knows where it could be.”
Something about how ardently he’d said it made Raine feel like that wasn’t true, like they did have a lead for the gold, but they clearly weren’t telling anyone. “Well it’s a good thing I’m not looking for it, then.”
The men all nodded.
Trey nodded to the cash register. “Let’s leave this man to his projects and get back to ours.” He winked at Raine. “Nice to meet you.”
“You, too.”
Now, the day of the wedding had arrived and he was at the Stone Family inn, seated on the beach, waiting for the wedding. People were being ushered to their seats. There was still about thirty minutes until it started. Lucy was with the bride, of course, and Trevor was standing up front, looking nervous.
Raine could tell he was trying to assuage his nerves by joking with the other guys, but it didn’t appear to be working.
Raine’s phone buzzed; it was Truman. He took off down the beach and answered it, grateful to get away. “Bro, what’s up?”
His brother sighed. “When are you leaving that crap hole of a place and coming back to the mountains where you belong?”
“Come start a new life with me, bro. You can read the Bible with me.”
“Do not quote Bible verses to me again. Do. Not.”
Raine couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine.”
“Tell me what is keeping you in this town, bro.”
How could Rayne even explain it all to his brother? “I don’t know. I told you, I wanted to start over. I’m starting over.”
There was silence for a few moments. Then his brother laughed. “You think there are do-overs for thieves like us?”
Raine bristled at that. “We are not stealing anything anymore.”
“Maybe not. I mean, our software sales are through the roof, and it is an honest product. It just predicts the rise and fall of a market that no one can really predict.” That was their little joke: they had to sell the product to people who didn’t understand that beyond the Feds’ weak control over the market, there were so many factors, like politics and people’s perception of money, that needed to be considered.
“I’m trying,” Raine said again.
“Sure. Sure.” He could hear his brother tapping on the keyboard, probably coming up with three new ways to make money.
Maybe he was feeling vulnerable and wanted connection with someone, but Raine couldn’t hold out on his brother any longer. The gold of South Port was an epic story. “Bro. I want you to type ‘conquistador gold’ into your browser.”
Truman didn’t respond, but Raine could hear the typing. After a couple minutes, Truman said, “Wait, this is the place you’re at?” He had thought the whole idea of trying to start a new life was just stupid, and he’d sent Raine off on his way—alone. It’d been a nice change for Raine to have some time to himself, but he missed his brother.
“Yep.”
His brother laughed. “It says here that no one knows where the gold is at.”
