Easy Fortune: A Boudreaux Series Novella

“Do they just lay out in the open?”


“Yes.” He nods. “ You dig for the best ones, but this will be a quick challenge.”

We arrive at a parking lot where several cars are already parked.

“I’m not dressed for this.”

He looks me up and down, his eyes hot with lust as he does, and just shrugs. “If we have to dig, I’ll do the dirty work.”

“That’s very chivalrous of you,” I reply with a laugh. Mason glances in the backseat of the car and grins.

“They gave us a pick.” He reaches in and comes out with what looks like a tiny pickaxe. “This will make it easier.”

“If you say so. You’re the expert.”

He reaches for my hand and leads me down a dusty path. There are men with hats on to protect themselves from the sun milling about. They have bags hanging from their waist, and they’re scanning the ground.

“This must be lucrative.”

“It can be,” Mason says with a nod. “The thunder rocks look jagged, almost shaped like cauliflower on the outside.”

“I hate cauliflower.” I wrinkle my nose, making him laugh. “But I like pretty, sparkly things.”

He veers us off the path to what looks like a mound of dirt.

“Stand back,” he says. “It’s about to get pretty dusty here.”

And with that, he begins to ferociously attack the dirt, picking away at it until a rock falls out of it and down toward me.

It’s the size of a soft ball, and definitely looks like what we’re looking for.

“I bet this is a good one,” I say as Mason joins me. “How do we break it open?”

He takes it from me, lays it on the ground, and smacks it with the pickaxe. It breaks into two pieces, showing off a gorgeous pink center.

“Oh, that’s a pretty one.”

“Rose quartz,” he says, examining it. “This was formed by a volcano.”

“We’re standing on a volcano?”

“An ancient one,” he says with a nod. “This was once lava, probably about a million years ago. All of the pressure over so much time formed this pretty quartz.”

“You’re pretty smart, Dr. Jones.” I take one of the halves from him and study it. “I’m keeping this half.”

“Of course.” He kisses my cheek and then my neck. “We should probably head back. Sounds like we have another flight in store for us today.”

“Let’s take a minute,” I reply. “Alan suggested we take our time and enjoy the adventure. There’s no reason that we can’t walk around and see what we can find.”

“It’s hot out here.”

“I’m not suggesting we stay for hours.” I bat my eyelashes at him, making him grin.

“As you wish.”

“Now you’re quoting my favorite movies.”

“What’s not to like about the Princess Bride?”

“Exactly.” I link my fingers with his and we take a stroll around the desert, looking for rocks. “Are there rattlesnakes out here?”

“Probably.” He glances down at me, then back at the ground. “Are you afraid of animals?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because you asked if there were sharks in the ocean, and now rattlesnakes.”

“Well, wildlife isn’t something to scoff at,” I reply. “You should always be aware of what could kill you.”

“That’s not a bad motto to live by. You should make it into a bumper sticker.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” He laughs. “What happened in your youth to make you so wildlife-conscious?”

“I was almost eaten by an alligator.”

“Really?”

“Really. We were out in the Bayou, at Mallory’s grandmother’s house, and Mallory and I were running around on the boardwalks that ran between her grandmother’s house and my grandmother’s house.”

“There are a lot of grandmothers and houses in this story.”

“Two of each,” I agree. “Anyway, we were running and being silly young girls. I was ahead, and I glanced back to see where Mallory was, and my shoe caught in one of the boards. I fell into the swamp water.”

“Ew.”

“No kidding. It’s gross anyway, but unbeknownst to me, there was a giant alligator in the water, and he wasn’t super happy with sharing his space with me.”

“Jesus, Lena.”

“I was petrified. I didn’t swim well. Mallory was screaming, and this huge dinosaur was swimming right for me. Gram must have heard Mallory screaming and came running out, plucked me right out of the water, just as the alligator reached me.”

“I think I’d be afraid of wildlife after that too.”

“I just like to know what might be lurking about.”

He pulls me to him and hugs me tightly, rocking me back and forth under the scorching New Mexico sunshine.

“I just found another thing about you that makes me like you even more,” he says.

“What, that an alligator almost ate me?”

“Well, I can’t fault the alligator. You’re delicious.” He bites my neck, sending shivers through me. “No, you just used unbeknownst in a sentence.”

“Unbeknownst is a great word,” I reply. “It’s fun to say. It might be my favorite word. What words do you like?”

“Whilst,” he says. “That whole st sound at the end of a word is pleasant, isn’t it?”

I nod. “I also like soliloquy.”

“That rolls nicely off the tongue,” he says with a nod. “I have a bunch of dirty words that I like as well. But I’ll have to tell you those later, when I can point them out to you.”

“I always did enjoy show and tell.”

“Excellent,” he replies. “We’re going to have a fun session of show and tell tonight then.”

“I can’t wait.”





Chapter Seven



Lena

If I thought the flight earlier today was bumpy, I was mistaken. That was mild compared to the flight we’re on now.

“Seriously, are they aiming for the rough air?” I ask and hold onto the armrest for dear life.

“This is a smaller plane,” Mason replies. “It can’t fly as high as commercial flights. So, yeah, we’re going to hit more air.”

“It’s not a good time.” I swallow hard and wipe the sweat from my forehead.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He kisses my cheek and just takes my hand in his. We’re both seated with our belts on, and he’s not offering to do me on the floor of the plane, so it’s definitely a rough ride.

“We’ll be landing soon. Sorry for the bumpy ride, folks,” the pilot says over the sound system.

“Ugh.” I shut my eyes, but that just makes it worse.

“Have you always had motion sickness?” Mason asks.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “It’s gotten better as I’ve gotten older, but I avoid theme parks. Rides aren’t fun for me. Do you like the big roller coasters?”

“I haven’t spent a lot of time on them,” he says, shaking his head. “But I do love things like the Eye in London, or a ferry ride around Seattle.”

“Big kid rides,” I reply with a smile. We’re descending, and the plane isn’t bouncing around quite as bad now. “I wonder where we’re going now?”

“I think we’re headed east.”

“How do you know?”