“We’re in Montana.”
“We’re in the log cabin to prove it,” I reply and pull my shirt out of my pants.
“Have you ever been here before?”
“No.” I shake my head and stare out the window. The sun is just beginning to go down, casting the mountains in pink and purple. “And to the best of my knowledge, Aunt Claudia had never been here either.”
“Interesting,” Lena says. I turn to look at her, and my breath catches in my throat. She’s even more beautiful than the sunset.
“You’re stunning.”
Her gaze whips over to mine and she blinks rapidly, which she does often when I say something unexpected.
“Are you surprised to hear that?”
“It’s not something I hear every day,” she says and goes back to staring at the ceiling.
“You should.” I don’t know why I’m suddenly frustrated, but I am. She should be told that she’s stunning every goddamn day.
There’s a knock on the door.
“I hope you like fried chicken,” Sandra says with a smile as she carries the tray into the room. “I brought up some waters and a bottle of wine as well. If you’d rather have something else, just call down.”
“This looks delicious,” Lena says with a smile.
“And heavy. Here, let me help.”
“Oh, I’m fine.” She sets the large tray on the table by the window and gestures to a wooden box also sitting on the table. “This is for you as well. Feel free to open it any time. It’s yours to take.”
“Thank you.”
She nods happily and leaves. Lena uncovers the food.
“I vote for eating first,” she says. “And then open the box.”
“Sounds good.” The meal is hearty and delicious. We devour the food quickly, hardly talking to each other in the process.
“I need to get her recipe before I go,” Lena says with a happy sigh. “I’m so full, but I don’t want to stop eating.”
“Eat as much as you want.”
She shakes her head and pushes her plate away. “No. I have to stop. I’ll regret it if I don’t.”
I carry the tray across the room and set it on top of a dresser.
“Let’s open the box.”
Lena nods happily and I reach for the beautiful wooden box. The lid flips up, and inside is another box, made of velvet, and a letter.
“Read the letter aloud,” Lena requests. “I like your voice.”
“Dearest Mason and Lena,
“By now you’ve traveled all over the country on a silly treasure hunt that I schemed up some months ago. I want to explain why I sent you to those particular places, and the story behind what’s inside the velvet box.
“Mason, you asked me many times over the years to tell you what was in the chests in my bedroom, but I wasn’t ready to talk about them. You see, it was a heartbreak too deep to talk about with a small boy. You wouldn’t have understood.
“When I saw you with Lena six years ago, I knew that you belonged together. You are kindred spirits. You fit together. I know, I know, I’m just the meddling aunt. What do I know? Well, I know what I saw, and that was a light in your eyes when you looked at each other. It’s special. Trust me, you don’t find it very often.
“I only found it once. Charles was the greatest love of my life, and I cherish every moment we had together, even though it was cut entirely too short. In my early twenties, Charles and I took trips all over the country, very similar to the one you just went on. Of course, we didn’t have a private jet; that’s a perk that I’m happy I was able to throw in for you. Charles and I had the treasure hunting bug, and boy did we ever have some wonderful adventures! Hunting for precious stones was one of our favorite past times, but we also loved searching for dinosaur bones and other fascinating things. As a woman, it was frowned upon for me to go to college for archeology, but I didn’t give a damn. I knew what I wanted, and I went for it. When Charles and I were asked to go on a dig in Mexico, we jumped at the opportunity! But then my mother fell ill, and I had the responsibility of staying home to take care of her in her last few years.
“Charles went on ahead of me. It was supposed to be a six-month dig, but it turned into two years, then three. We sent letters back and forth, and oh how I missed him so. My heart ached with longing every day that we were separated.
“My mother passed away, and I was settling her estate, ready to join Charles in Mexico when I received word that he’d been killed in an accident on the job site. It felt as though my heart was ripped from my body, and I bled in grief every day for the rest of my life
“And now we circle back around to the two of you. As you’ll see in the velvet box, there’s a necklace.”
I stop reading and open the velvet box, revealing a beautiful necklace made of yellow gold. There are stones; emerald, opal, quartz, jade, and many others in the necklace.
“That’s gorgeous,” Lena says in awe. She has tears flowing down her cheeks. “Keep reading. This is the best story I’ve ever heard.”
Me too, love.
“All of the stones you see here are ones we found in the locations that you’ve been to in the past few days. They were our treasure, and Charles had this made for me as a memento from our travels.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why you’re in Montana now. Well, there’s a sapphire mine there that was Charles’s and my favorite place to mine. The mountains there are the most beautiful I’d ever seen, and we went there often. The engagement ring that Charles proposed with was not a diamond ring.
“It was a Montana sapphire ring, and when you’re ready for it, Mason, it’s yours, just like the rest of my belongings.
“I would love for the two of you to go find your own sapphires. Enjoy Montana for a few days. It’s unlike anywhere else in the world. I truly believe that it’s a magical place. Lena, you’ll appreciate that.
“And finally, the point I’m trying to make is this.
“It’s important to make your way in the world. Traveling and discovering is a part of the human experience that can’t be compared to anything else. But just as important are the relationships you forge in life, and nurturing those relationships.
“Digging for something or someone who’s been dead for thousands of years is important work.
“But being with the living and breathing person who loves you is the most important work you’ll ever do. The dead won’t thank you, Mason. They don’t care that you dug them up so you can learn about them.
“But your love? Well, learning and exploring, growing with each other, that is what life is all about. I wish that Charles and I had learned that lesson before we decided to endure the time apart. We had no idea that six months would turn into forever.
“I hope that this trip has taught you many new things about each other.
“With all of my love,
“Aunt Claudia”
Easy Fortune: A Boudreaux Series Novella
Kristen Proby's books
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- Play with Me (With Me in Seattle, #3)
- Baby, It's Cold Outside
- Breathe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #7)
- Come Away with Me (With Me in Seattle, #1)
- Fight with Me (With Me in Seattle, #2)
- Forever with Me (With Me in Seattle, #8)
- Rock with Me (With Me in Seattle, #4)
- Tied with Me (With Me in Seattle, #6)
- Under the Mistletoe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #1.5)