Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Aria
T he café was only open until eleven, but I anxiously watched the clock trying to move the hands forward with my mind. Dex had come in an hour after we opened to help in the kitchen. The customers cheered as he walked in, which I should have taken as a commentary on my cooking, but I was just glad to see him.
Admittedly, I was a touch nervous about my whole theory that the coins were hidden at Lion Rock. What if I was wrong? It would break Dex’s heart. I wished I hadn’t been so darn confident and cocky about it this morning. It would feel like an extra big kick in the pants if it turned out I was wrong.
A few customers lingered long over coffee and conversation, but we started to clean up around them. Dex was cleaning the griddle as I walked in back. I was still having a hard time believing that he was standing there in my café, in my life again. When he showed up at my door, injured and wet and looking as if he was standing on his last thread of hope, I didn’t think twice about inviting him in. I knew right then that I’d made a rash decision sending him on his way. I wanted him to be part of my life. I was more sure of that than ever. The question was—did he need me in his life enough to stay here in Whisper Cove? He’d mentioned more than once that he'd leave after he took care of things for Quinn. If my hunch was right and the coins were at Lion Rock, then he might very well board his tugboat and leave the cove for good. It was a possibility I’d have to contend with. I just couldn’t do it right now. It was a possible ending to this story that would take time to get over. At first, I told myself not to do it, not to give my heart to the idea of being with Dex, because I was scared of having it broken. But I’d decided it was worth the risk. He was worth the risk.
“I can start prep for tomorrow,” Dex said as he looked up from his task.
“We’re closed tomorrow. I don’t like to chop veggies too early. I’ll get it done tomorrow.”
“Not much of a day off,” he said.
“It comes with owning a business. Lack of free time, that is. The last customers just left, and we’re starting cleanup. Then we can go to Lion Rock. And Dex, as much as I hate to admit it, there is every chance that I’m wrong.”
“I know, Aria. But if you’re right, I’m going to give you the biggest darn kiss.” He rubbed his chin. “Actually, you’ll get the kiss either way. Coins or no coins. Unless—” He paused. “Unless I’m misreading something here between us. I don’t want to assume.”
I walked toward him and kissed him lightly on the mouth. “Sometimes assumptions work out better than you expect.”
M y nerves had tripled in intensity, so much so that I couldn’t even absorb and enjoy the giddiness I was feeling about having Dex back in my life.
Dex left his motorcycle at the marina, and I drove us to Lion Rock. The northern end of the cove was walled-in by a steep cliff of craggy rocks. Dune grass jutted from some of the deeper fissures, and the top shelves of rocks were a favorite roosting place for gulls. The midday sun reflected off a mostly glassy sea, and while it didn’t provide much warmth, considering its position in the late fall sky, it gave us exactly the right angle of light.
Dex and I walked hand in hand across the deep sand. My hand felt so small in his, small and secure. I tugged my hand back to let him know we’d reached our destination. We were still a good twenty yards from the rocky wall at the end of the cove.
Dex looked at me, then shaded his eyes as he looked up the tall, rocky cliff. “You didn’t tell me we’d be climbing.”
I laughed. “I only know of two people who tried to climb that wall of rocks, and let’s just say, neither of them made it to the top, but they both earned a trip to urgent care. We don’t need to climb anything. Lion Rock is near the bottom.” I stared up at him. “You’ll be able to reach it on your tiptoes.”
Dex clapped his hands together once. “Great. Where is it?”
I squinted out toward the sun and looked back at the rocks. “Give it a second.”
Dex stood quietly next to me. Energy and anticipation were coming off him in waves. “Does it start to roar or something?”
“Now that would be cool and also make it much easier to find.”
“Wait. You don’t know where Lion Rock is?” He turned to me with a puzzled look.
I held up a finger. “Hold on. No jumping ship yet.” I kept the finger up. A breeze ruffled my hair, and I pushed it off my face. “Wait, here we go. Now.” I started heading to the rocks.
Dex took longer to get moving. “Where are we going? What’s different now?”
“Don’t you see it?” I asked excitedly. “The lion’s head is right there.” I stopped and pointed.
Dex stared ahead. “I see rocks.”
I tapped his arm. “You’ve got to use your imagination, but when the light hits just right you can see the profile of a lion’s head. That jutting round rock is the nose and below it is the open mouth. There are even two sharp protrusions that look like fangs. Hurry, when the light moves, the lion disappears and then it’s harder to find the features.”
“Pretty darn hard to find them even with the light,” he said as he caught up to me.
“It’s easier to see him from back there, where we were standing. I’ll show you sometime when we’re not hot on the trail of stolen treasure.”
I stopped right in front of the rock just below the mouth crevice and closed my eyes. “Come on Whisper Cove fairies, I could really use a little good mojo right now.” I turned to Dex. “Take it from here, Gigantor.”
Dex walked closer to the rock. He didn’t even need to get up on his toes. He stood there for so long, staring into the crevice, that a knot of dread started to form in my stomach.
“Well?” I asked.
“Looks like the lion swallowed the coins,” he said grimly.
“Oh man, I was sure I was right.”
He laughed and pulled out a canvas bag. “You were right.” The bag slipped back, exposing a wooden box. Dex set it down on top of the bag. We both crouched down next to it, and he opened the latch and lifted the lid. Inside was a pile of shiny, bright gold coins that looked as if they’d been hammered by hand. Each coin had an elaborate design of a cross and lettering.
“My gosh, this really is like buried treasure,” I said. “Isla and I once brilliantly thought we could hide foil wrapped chocolate coins in the sand for Ella, Ava and Layla to find. We told them that we found a treasure map and that they could have it if they each gave us a dollar. They found the treasure all right, but it was a gooey chocolate mess. Nonna made us give their money back. But these,” I said on a breath. “Can I touch one?”
“I don’t see why not.” Dex and I reached into the box and each pulled out coins.
“It feels so heavy and old and like it has a thousand good stories to tell,” I said.
The loud rumble of motors made Dex stand up. “I think we might have been followed.”
We put back the coins, and Dex returned the box to the bag. We took off toward the car.
“Should I be excited that we were followed?” I asked. “Because I’m slightly terrified but in a good way.”
“I knew I liked you right from the start.” Dex reached back to take my hand. I had to take big leaps to keep up with his long, fast stride. “We might have to make a fast getaway. Give me the keys.”
I was breathing hard but managed a loud throat clearing. “If there’s going to be a high-speed chase, then I’m sitting behind that wheel. Not missing my chance to live out a dream.”
Dex chuckled. “If you say so, Speed Racer. Wasn’t he Gigantor’s sidekick?”
We were running. “Uh, I think it was the other way around.” We reached the road. Sure enough, the two creeps who’d made me fix them lunch the day before were sitting on their choppers. The big one pointed us out.
“Hurry,” I said, though Dex was already at the passenger door. My hands were shaking, and I was still trying to catch my breath from the run across the sand, so I had a hard time matching the key to the door lock.
Dex looked at me over the top of the car. “We should probably get inside.”
The choppers started up, scaring me and making me drop the keys. “Geez, clumsy, clumsy, clumsy,” I chided myself as I swept up the keys.
“Aria,” Dex said urgently.
The key went in. “Bingo.” I unlocked the door and pushed the button to unlock the passenger side. My small sedan wobbled side to side as he sat in the seat.
“I guess those remote key fobs come in handy in a situation like this,” I said. “They weren’t a thing when I bought this car.” I started the engine, checked my mirror and pulled out onto the road.
Dex was staring at the side of my face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Not sure if twenty miles per hour qualifies as a high-speed chase. Was this how it looked in your daydream?”
I patted the dash. “As mentioned earlier, she’s vintage. It takes her a few minutes to get warmed up to the idea of going fast.”
The car vibrated as the two choppers pulled up on each side of us. “This might be a little scarier than I pictured,” I said. “What should I do?”
“Do you know where the police station is?”
“I grew up here, so, yes, of course. And I only had to go in there once, when my friends and I were caught throwing toilet paper on the principal’s house.”
Dex turned slightly. “It seems a rowdy bad girl has stolen my heart.”
I smiled at him. “Have I?”
His green gaze held mine. “Yes, you have. And we can do the whole flirting and kissing thing after this. First, drive to the police station.”
“All right. Kind of takes the whole shine off the ‘being chased down for stolen treasure’ part of this, but if you say so.”
The station was only two miles back toward town. The choppers stayed on each side, like a pair of noisy, official escorts. The second I pulled into the police station, they took off. “Well, that was easy. I guess they figured they were no match for me and my race car.”
“Or maybe it was their natural aversion to police stations. Park in the visitor’s spot.”
I pulled into the spot and turned off the car. Dex picked the bag up from between his feet and pulled out the box. “Well, let’s go turn in the stolen treasure. Once it’s in the right hands, the wheels will start spinning to get Quinn’s sentence reduced to time served.” The whole afternoon had been exhilarating, and we were still buzzing from the excitement of finding the coins, but Dex’s smile faded.
“Just need him to wake up.”