Chapter 17
CHAPTER 17
M icah
Micah didn’t know exactly what was happening between him and Cheyenne. All he knew was that both hunting for this gold and being with this woman were exhilarating.
Just as they were about to head up the stairs to the library, the doorbell rang and a notification popped up on Micah’s phone from his Ring camera. The pizza had arrived.
He opened the door and gave a tip to the guy in exchange for the pizzas. “Thanks.”
As he shut the door, Cheyenne pointed back toward the kitchen. “I’m starving and I bet you are too. Should we eat in here? I don’t want to get pizza all over that nice library.”
Micah nodded. “That’s another reason it would be a deal breaker between us.”
She grinned and followed him into the kitchen. “What?”
He opened the pizza box and grabbed some paper plates and napkins. “Too tidy. I mean, you’d always be hounding me about keeping things clean.”
“Do you not keep things clean?”
He gave her a mock grin. “I do, but it would be annoying if you hounded me about it. That’s all I’m saying.”
“That one makes no sense.”
He laughed. “And you ‘feeling too safe’ around me makes sense?”
She laughed too, and he stared into her beautiful aqua eyes. He wanted to tuck that stray hair behind her ears, but he restrained himself.
Seeming to sense the shift in his thoughts, she blushed. “Should we eat?”
It was mostly out of habit, especially when he was home, but he reached for her hand. “We always say grace in this house. Are you okay with that?”
She looked dumbfounded but took his hand and bowed her head. “Of course.”
“Dear Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you for this pizza. We thank you for the good time we had together, and please bless this food. Please also bless our families. Please bless us to be safe and smart in all that we do. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
“Amen,” Cheyenne echoed, and then they were both diving into the pizza. She took a slice of the pineapple half, and he took a slice of the anchovy half. Of course, he downed two pieces in the time it took her to eat one. But after two, he finally remembered that she might be thirsty. He grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge.
She took hers. “Thank you. But that’s another reason things would never work between us.”
“What’s that?”
“Too polite. I couldn’t handle all this politeness all the time.”
“Yeah, I can see it being a real drag. You probably like your guys to be jerks.”
She shrugged. “Keeps it interesting.”
She was teasing, of course, but two could play at the annoyance game. He took the lid off his bottle and flicked a bit of water at her.
She jerked her gaze to him, stunned. “What the?—”
He laughed. “Still too polite?”
She surprised him by flicking water back at him. It was a lot more than he’d flicked at her. “Sorry,” she said, laughing and backing up.
He couldn’t help but flick her again.
She started to return the favor but froze and looked down. “Oh gosh.”
Micah followed her gaze. They’d flicked water on the frame of the pirate ship painting, which they’d left on the table. Quickly, he grabbed a kitchen towel and dried it off. “No harm, no foul.” He picked it up and then went to the wall, placing it back up.
She peered anxiously over his shoulder. “Is it okay?”
He finished hanging it. “Right as rain.”
She pointed down on one side. “Maybe tilt it a little that way.”
He fixed it, and her hand rested lightly on his shoulder as they evaluated it together. It was stupid to react like this when she touched him, but he was feeling more and more attracted to this woman every time they were together.
“That’s good.” She smiled. “At least you’re not too good at hanging things. That could get annoying.” She moved to turn away, but he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her back into him.
Shock washed over her face.
Her scents from earlier overwhelmed him: mango, strawberry, and lemon. That fruity combination drove him crazy. He leaned into her, drinking in her smell.
“Ahh.” She didn’t move for a second, then relaxed against him, even putting her head on his shoulder.
He turned and more fully hugged her, unsure what was happening between them but helpless to stop it.
For a long time, they just held each other. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted it badly, but …
There were so many buts, both real and teased about.
After a bit, Cheyenne pulled back and peered into his eyes. She gave him a small smile and said, “It’s a good thing we can’t be together, because you holding me in your strong arms would sure be a turnoff.”
He laughed and squeezed her extra tight before releasing her. “Okay, should we go see if the amulet can tell us anything about that map?”
“Let’s go.”
They both took off racing up the stairs. He found it funny that she was actually trying to beat him, but he wouldn’t let her win.
She giggled when they got to the top. “I’m always racing my brothers everywhere.”
The side of his lip quirked up, and he moved toward the library. “My male ego could not let you win.”
She laughed harder as Micah turned on the lights and moved toward the case that held the map. He pulled up his phone to get the code Trey had sent and typed it in. The latch moved, and he gently pulled out the map and took the amulet out of his pocket.
“Do you think we’ll have better luck with the original map?” he asked.
“We’re about to find out.”
He spread the map out in front of them, then gestured for her to have a look. “Go ahead.”
Gingerly, she took the amulet and tried to look through it. “Nothing. It’s just foggy. I still can’t see through it.”
Micah held out his hand. “Would you care if I try?”
She handed over the amulet. “Of course.”
He brought it up to his eye. She was right; everything still looked foggy. He leaned closer and then pulled back to get his bearings on which part of the map he was looking at, but he couldn’t see anything. Disappointed, he put the amulet down on the glass on the counter. “Bummer.”
Cheyenne was already peering into the glass case below them. “Is there anything else in here that the amulet could be used to read?”
Micah moved across from where she was and evaluated everything in the case. “Not that I know of.”
“Is there anything old?” She pointed to his grandfather’s journals. “How old are those?”
Carefully, he reached inside the case and pulled one out. “Pretty sure you’re not gonna be able to see anything on these. My grandfather wrote them in the eighties and nineties.”
She reached for it, and he handed it to her. Carefully, she thumbed through it. “I remember hearing about some type of pictures and how they were clues.”
Micah was impressed. “Yep. My grandparents, Jack and Susan Stone, left all kinds of treasure hunts for Trey and his siblings.” He let out a light laugh. “All of them wanted this treasure hunt to be over, so they decided they were done when the house was nearly blown up, Mr. Banks was killed, and the family was put through a lot of difficulty.”
Cheyenne nodded. “I heard about that.”
Micah shrugged. “But it can’t be over until it’s all the way over, you know? We know the gold went to Wyoming. My grandfather took it to your father.” He smirked. “That sounds weird. But it’s never over. We’re always uncovering something new in this gold hunt, and it’s always at the back of everyone’s mind.”
Cheyenne lightly brushed her hand over the journal. “Where is it, Jack? Do you know?”
“Are you hearing any answers?” Micah asked, smiling.
She rolled her eyes and put the journal back inside the case. “No, but we need to get the amulet back to where it belongs, or I guarantee I’ll be hearing about it from Saint Catherine. When can we return it?” Her expression was miserable as she looked toward the windows. “It’s getting dark.”
Micah put everything back inside the glass case and shut it, securing it all with the proper code.
Cheyenne moved to the large window overlooking the ocean, and Micah joined her. The sun was setting, casting orange and pink streaks across the sky. Hardly any people were out on the beach.
Micah wanted to take her hand and kiss her. Her long blonde hair was almost all the way down her back. She was the rodeo queen, and she was trim and fit. Plus, she was feisty and fun. What would be the harm in having a relationship with her?
She turned, as if she could read his thoughts. “It’s beautiful here.”
He rested his arm around her shoulders. “It is.”
They stayed that way until the sun completely set.
Cheyenne looked up at him. “Should we return the amulet tonight?”
He shook his head, thinking about the crypt beneath the church. How could they sneak back in without raising any red flags? “No. It’s late. Let’s go tomorrow.”
She tugged her phone out of her pocket. “Wow. It is late.” She yawned. “I’m more tired than I realized. It just hit me.”
Micah was all keyed up by her presence next to him. His mind was running through all kinds of scenarios that had Cheyenne in his life, in his future. “I’ll take you back tomorrow, and we can have an adventure putting something back into a grave this time.”
Cheyenne nodded. “Sounds like a good reason to never date you, with a pickup line like that.”
Micah laughed, wanting to come up with a zinger of his own, but he was suddenly lost in those eyes. Without thinking, he moved closer and pulled her flush against him. Every part of him was yearning, wanting, begging to kiss her.
Cheyenne looped her arms around his neck. “Are you ever going to kiss me, sailor?”