I stood at the far end of the group as the three compared notes on what type of snake it could be. All I wanted to know was when we could get out of there. As they talked, I inched closer to the pump house. When I reached the back wall of the building, I saw a pipe coming out of the concrete. Under the water pipe was a rock. Could it be this easy?
I picked up the heavy rock and turned it over. The rock was concrete and had a film canister built into it. I tried to open the lid, but didn’t have enough strength. I looked over at the group. Greg was poking the snake with a stick to get it to move along, out of the search area. “Umm, guys? I think I found it.”
Justin sprang to his feet and sprinted toward me. He peered down at the bottom of the rock. “You did it. You found the geocache. Good job, Jill.”
Yep, that’s me. Jill Gardner, bookstore/coffee shop owner, and mad geocacher. I handed the rock to Justin. “You open it. I can’t get the lid off.”
He took the rock with a gentleness I hadn’t seen anyone use before when handling stone. Well, fake stone. He pulled off the lid and dumped the contents into his hand: a scroll of paper, a short golf pencil, and a polished rock. Justin scribbled our names and the date on the paper. Then he handed me the pink tinged rock. “Take one, leave one. Do you have something we can leave for the next guy?”
I dug in my pocket. I had change from the candy bar I’d bought at the gas station when we stopped for snacks. My stomach growled at the memory. Digging deeper, I found a snail shell I’d found on the trail. I handed the miniature shell to Justin. “It’s this or a quarter.”
He smiled. “This will do just fine. I didn’t know you had a fondness for trinkets.” He put everything back into the canister, closed the lid, and looked at me. “So, where did you find it? We need to put it back exactly for the next person.”
I pointed to the shed and the pipe. “It was right there, on the cement.”
Greg put his arm around me. “I looked at that rock more than once, but when the clue said ‘fake rock,’ I kicked it for weight and moved on. Good thing you thought to pick it up.”
I gazed into his blue eyes, pushing his hair away from his face. “So does this mean we can eat now? I’m starving.”
By the time we’d hiked back down the mountain to the parking lot, the geocaching club had set up a barbecue grill and was selling hot dogs and cold sodas as a fund-raiser. Greg shrugged. “Want a snack to hold you over until we get into town and find a real restaurant?”
“Are you kidding? Of course.” My mouth watered as we walked toward the smell of grilled dogs, mustard, and chopped onions. A dark-haired woman in a WE HIDE THINGS FOR FUN T-shirt motioned us over.
“Dog and drink for five bucks. Can’t beat that.” She grinned, rubbing the back of her hand over her forehead. “Darn, it’s hot today.”
I looked at Greg, who like me, wore a light jacket. It might be an unusually warm Saturday in February in sunny California, but it still felt chilly, especially standing here in the shade. “Spring will be here before you know it.” I kept the small talk aimed at the weather. “We’ll take four dogs and sodas.”
“Jimmy will get your hot dogs wrapped up and you can pull your drinks out of the ice chest over there.” The woman held out a hand as Greg pulled out his wallet. “The Coastal Geocache Club thanks you for your support.”
“Do you do this a lot?” I’d never met anyone who even claimed to like this geocaching stuff. Now, in one day, I’d seen what a draw it could be for people. “I mean, I guess you do, since you’re in the club and all.” Now I was just stumbling over my words.
“You’re looking at the current president! I’m Kacey and I’ve been a member for five years.” The woman looked down at her slim body. “You’re thinking how can she be so heavy and be part of a hiking group?”
I stared at the woman. She stood about five-five and might weigh 120 pounds. Her dark hair bounced around her shoulders, and her fair complexion brought out her emerald-green eyes. If I had to guess her occupation, I’d put her in the want-to-be-an-actress category. “Don’t even think that, you’re tiny. It’s just that before today I’d never even heard of this activity, let alone any clubs around it.”
“Sorry, I’m a bit sensitive about my weight. I went through a bad breakup, and I think I ate most of Bakerstown’s supply of chocolate during that time.” She smiled softly. “But I’m back at the gym and back with my husband, so things are good now. Anyway, geocaching. Most people haven’t heard of it. We usually get several homeschooler families who use the hobby to teach geography principles. And they get a day out of the house.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Good luck with everything.” I hadn’t even asked for a fifth of the information she’d so quickly provided. Apparently Kacey loved to talk. I took a step closer to Greg, who had walked away, talking to Amy and Justin and ignoring me. I almost sprinted to the cooler.
Greg handed me a cola and looked at Justin and Amy, “What’s your poison?”