Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
C heyenne
As the two of them walked up to the beach house, Cheyenne was impressed by its appearance. It looked like it had been restored recently.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted.
Micah squeezed her hand. “Me too. But like I said, the fact that he is having us over to his house and not making both of us call our families is a good sign.”
Micah knocked on the door, and Cheyenne’s heart felt like it would beat out of her chest.
It wasn’t long before Raine opened the door. He pulled it back and said, “Come in.”
There was classical music playing, and she caught a whiff of some type of pasta. She realized she was starving.
Raine cocked an eyebrow at both of them and then looked at their hands. “Is more going on this week than a simple gold hunt?”
Cheyenne felt frozen and didn’t know what to say.
Micah laughed awkwardly. “Do you need any help with dinner?”
Raine winked at him. “Sure. If you guys could help finish the salad, we can eat. The pasta is almost ready.”
Raine’s living area had floor-to-ceiling windows, much like the Stone Family Inn. It was furnished with bookshelves and a huge fireplace. It was a smaller home than the Stone Family Inn, and it was painted a deep purplish blue, but the rustic decor offset the color. They stepped inside the kitchen, and she saw that it was all stainless steel with white cabinets. The color and grain of the wood floor reminded her of the beach.
There were pictures of Raine and his wife, Sarah. Cheyenne had met them both before, but never under the best terms. She saw a picture of a little girl who was probably two.
Micah washed his hands at the sink, and she followed suit. Then he moved to the kitchen counter where the salad was half prepared and picked up the knife, casually chopping up the vegetables. “Where are Sarah and little Cindy?”
Raine was at the stove, stirring the pot. “They’re in Snow Valley visiting her family. I was going to head up there tomorrow morning, but I think I might be distracted for a couple days.”
Cheyenne stayed close to Micah’s side, avoiding Raine’s gaze. She picked up another knife and started cutting cucumbers.
Raine pulled the pasta off the stove and went to the sink to drain it. Then he took it to the table. “When that salad is done, we’re ready.” He moved to the fridge and got some salad dressings out.
Cheyenne finished the cucumbers, and Micah finished the rest. He picked up the bowl, and they brought it over to the table.
Raine sat down at the head of the table, gesturing for them to sit on either side of him. He put his hands out. “I’ll say grace.”
With her hand in Raine’s, Cheyenne nervously bowed her head.
“Dear Lord, we are so grateful this night to be together for dinner. Please bless Sarah and Cindy. Please bless the Stone and the Cross families. And please bless Micah and Cheyenne and this food. Please help the truth to come out and help us to lighten things that might seem heavy. Please help us to have trust and faith in Thee and in each other this night. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
“Amen,” they said.
Raine picked up his fork and put his napkin on his lap. She and Micah did the same. He nodded to the food. “Please, eat.”
All of them piled food on their plates, and Cheyenne found herself eating one of the best meals of her life. “Oh my gosh, Raine. This pasta is amazing,” she said between bites.
Raine grinned. “I think if you’ve been in jail, food tastes better.”
Cheyenne could tell that he was teasing, but she and Micah froze. Then they all burst out laughing.
Cheyenne put a hand to her chest and knew she was blushing. “That was my first time in jail. I’m not a criminal. We shouldn’t have done what we did, but we were actually putting it back.”
Micah cleared his throat. “Cheyenne.”
Raine put up his hand. “No, please, tell me what you guys were doing.”
For several seconds, Micah said nothing. He glanced at her.
She nodded. “We might as well tell him. Maybe he can help us.”
Raine put his fork down. “Yes, Micah, tell me. Maybe I can help you, or I can strangle the both of you for getting involved in this mess.” The last part of that sentence was suddenly unfriendly.
Obviously Raine was not happy that they were talking about the gold.
Micah looked uncomfortable, but he told Raine the whole story. Raine seemed to process everything Micah had said for several minutes, then said, “So you took the amulet back and that’s when you were caught?”
They both nodded.
Raine sighed. “No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.”
For a few moments, all of them were quiet.
Then Raine shook his head, letting out a long breath. “As you both know, I’ve been through a lot with this gold. I’m not blaming the gold itself, because it’s an inanimate object that has no power.”
Cheyenne watched him carefully. If he decided to, he could rat them out to both of their families and get them in a lot of trouble.
He sucked in another breath and let it out. “Losing my brother was hard. It was very hard. But I will tell you he had tendencies that didn’t go well with the gold hunt.” He took off his glasses long enough to wipe the moisture from his eyes. “I don’t know how much either of you know about me. It’s not a secret that I grew up in foster care. Truman was my foster brother. We grew up in a rough situation. We served in the military together, and then we were con artists.”
Cheyenne gasped. She hadn’t known that about Raine and Truman. She had known that they were brothers, but the rest was new to her.
“I found the Lord a couple years ago,” Raine went on. “Here, in this town. And I am eternally grateful for that. If I had not found Him, my life would be drastically different. I’m not saying I would’ve been like Truman, but I had no purpose in my life. I had no reason to do good things. And my background showed me a world of people who would take advantage of me in a heartbeat. My point in telling you both this is that you do have good families. You do have God. At least, I think you both do.”
Micah nodded. “Of course.”
Cheyenne was surprised that she was so invested in Micah’s answer. It made her like him even more. Not that she wasn’t already twitterpated about the guy.
Raine took a sip of water. “Truman let the gold consume him. Of course, he was not mentally well. He had a lot of grudges in his life. I guess I was one of them in the end when he felt like he’d lost me.” He teared up, and Cheyenne felt her own eyes watering. Her heart went out to him. “I don’t know why you called me to bail you out of jail today, Micah. Other than the fact that I know your father and mother, I know Cheyenne’s brothers, and I know that both of you are going to be in a lot of trouble.”
He laughed, breaking the tension, and they joined in.
He reached out and put each of his hands over one of theirs. “I guess the reason I had you come here tonight was because God prompted me to. I was prompted to share my story about my brother and how gold can change people. I know that hunting for gold is fun. I do. But I just wanted to caution you both with my experience. It stopped being fun really quickly.”
Cheyenne nodded and felt sufficiently schooled. “Thank you for sharing with us. I guess I have felt somewhat left out of the gold hunt.” She couldn’t believe she was confessing this. “My brothers are pretty protective of me, and they cut me out of a lot. So part of me wanted to take a shot to find something myself. It was exciting. But today, it did go too far.”
Micah reached across the table to grasp her hand. “It did go too far,” he agreed. He glanced at Raine. “I’m grateful you shared that with us. But do you have anything that you’ve been holding back? I mean, maybe your brother left you something?”
Cheyenne pulled her hands back, bracing herself when Raine’s mood darkened again.
Raine stood and then paced to the window. “I don’t know what he would’ve left behind. Honestly, ever since he passed away, I haven’t involved myself in any of it.” He turned back to face them, and Cheyenne felt horrible for him.
Micah didn’t reply. He picked up his fork and returned to his food.
Cheyenne didn’t know what to do. She was still hungry, so she started eating again as well.
For a long time, Raine said nothing. Then he sat back down at the table and took a quick bite. “You both know you need to call your father and brothers. But I do find it ironic that I got something in the mail today from my brother. Apparently, he arranged for it to be mailed to me in case he died.” Raine sniffed. “I haven’t opened it yet, but I was going to share it with your families as well. Because I want complete trust between all of us.”
Cheyenne’s heart hammered.
Micah looked incredulous. “It arrived today?”
Raine nodded. “I got it right before you called me to bail you out of jail.” He stood and walked into the main room; Cheyenne and Micah scrambled to follow him. “It seems …”
“Like a big coincidence,” Micah finished for him.
Raine snorted and picked up the package that was resting on a side table. “Should we open it?”