by Bill H Myers
Just the burble of the slow-moving water in front of us making its way east. It was peaceful, and if we weren't on a mission, I would have liked to sit on the rocks and watch the river go by. But we couldn't do that. Not yet.
We needed to set up camp and go find Kat. After that, we'd have time to come back to the river and relax.
Abby could sense my impatience. She said, “Okay, enough with the scenic tour. Time to get the motorhome parked and go see Kat.”
She grabbed my hand and led me back up the path to the level ground across from where I had parked the RV. She stopped at the picnic table on the river side of the road, directly across from where I thought we were going to camp.
“This is our site. Here. There's plenty of room for your motorhome. You'll just have to back up slowly and stop before you get to the slope leading down to the river. Get in, I'll guide you.”
She walked over to the picnic table and waited for me to start the motorhome. As soon as she heard it rumble to life, she moved over and stood where I could see her in my mirror.
I eased my foot off the brake and followed her hand signals to get into the site. When she held both palms up, followed by a cutting motion across her throat, I killed the motor and set the brake.
While I was doing that, she walked up to my window and said, “You might want to check to make sure the slide room will clear.”
I trusted her judgment but decided to get out and look anyway. It would cost thousands if I ran the slide into a tree or picnic table.
I got out and followed her to the back of the site. She pointed to the slide and asked, “What do you think?”
Even though there were no painted lines showing where the site started or stopped, the motorhome was perfectly positioned on the narrow gravel pad. The rear tires were a foot from the end of the gravel, the utility compartment was lined up with park's power pedestal, and there was plenty of room to extend the slide.
I nodded and said, “Good job. I couldn't have done it without you.”
She smiled and said, “You're right. You couldn't have done it without me. That's why we make a good team. You and me. Together.”
She pointed at the power pedestal. “You get us hooked up, I'll go inside and get things ready.”
As she walked away, I thought about what she'd said about us making a good team. We'd only known each other for two days, but so far it had worked out well.
Having her around felt good, which was a strange feeling for me. I'd spent a lot of time living alone in the motorhome and had gotten used to not having anyone else around. But with Abby, it was different. Life with her had been interesting and drama free. At least so far.
I got us connected to shore power and went back inside. She was waiting for me, sitting on the couch with Bob in her lap. His little stub of a tail twitched side to side. He was enjoying the attention she was giving him. She rubbed his ears and said, “I'll take him to the back while you run the slide out.”
She knew Bob didn't need to be anywhere near the wall when it was moving. He could be crushed if he were in the wrong place at the wrong time. She picked him up and headed to the back and as soon as I heard the bedroom door close, I took care of the slide and called out, “Okay, it's safe.”
When she came back up front, she pointed at the couch and said, “Want me to open some windows?”
I did. In fact, opening the windows was exactly what I was thinking when she asked the question. I wasn't sure whether her asking it was a coincidence or something related to her 'gift'. It didn't matter; she already knew the answer.
She opened the windows up front, and I did the ones in the back. To increase air flow, I opened the two Fantastic fan ceiling vents—the one over the couch and the one in the hall.
With the windows and vents open, the cool mountain air would keep it comfortable inside for Bob while we were gone. He could hop up onto the back of the couch, lean up against the window screen, and spy on the birds and squirrels outside. It was one of his most favorite things to do, and as soon as the windows were open, he did it.
Abby beamed like a proud parent when Bob jumped up on the back of the couch, and stretched out against the screen. His chirps of joy brought smiles all around.
We watched him for a few moments, then Abby turned to me and said, “We need to get over to the crystal mine and see if we can find Kat. You go wash up, and I'll grab a couple bottles of water and meet you in the Jeep.”
She headed outside, and I went back and checked Bob's food, water and litter box. His food was a little low, so I topped it off with his favorite dry mix. The litter box needed tending to again, but that would have to wait until we came back. I washed my hands, combed my hair, locked up the motorhome and went outside.
Abby was waiting for me, sitting on the hood of her Jeep. She was wearing faded jeans over tan hiking boots. A white button up fishing shirt, a dark blue ball cap pulled down tight, a short ponytail out the back. Dark sun glasses and a smile pulled it all together.
It was a great look for her, one that wouldn't have been out of place on the cover of an Eddie Bauer or Columbia Outdoor catalog. A beautiful girl waiting for her next big adventure.
I probably stared at her a bit too long because she cocked her head and mouthed the word, “What?”
I was pretty sure she knew why I was staring. She looked good and she knew it.
She slid down off the Jeep and said, “Let's go.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The Sweet Surrender Crystal Mine was six miles north of our campsite at the Highway 27 Fish Village. Abby knew the way. She'd asked about it when she'd registered at the campground and they told her how to get there. They warned her that the road, the one they called Horseshoe Bend, was dirt and would be muddy after the previous day's rain. But since she was in a Jeep, she shouldn't worry, at least about that part.
The challenge would be when she got to the Sweet Surrender turnoff and took the road up the hill to the mine. They said it wasn’t really a road, more like a logging trail the mine owners had carved up the mountain. Not paved, not gravel, just dirt. After a good rain, it might be impassable. Even without rain, four-wheel drive was recommended.
Abby said she wasn't worried. She'd already driven her Jeep up a muddy mountain road in heavy rain and knew what it could do. As far as she was concerned, her little green Jeep could go anywhere.
When we got to the Sweet Surrender turnoff and saw the deep ruts going up the hill, she rolled the Jeep to a stop, shifted into four-wheel drive and said, “No problem.”
She steered toward the middle of the muddy track and eased the Jeep up the hill. I held on and watched her instead of the road ahead. She had both hands on the wheel, a smile on her face and she looked like was enjoying the adventure. If anything, she looked disappointed when we reached the top of the hill where the road ended in a parking lot. She wanted the ride to last a little longer.
There were four other cars already in the lot. Two four-wheel drive pickups, a newer looking Land Rover and a primer gray Nissan Pathfinder. The right rear passenger window on the Pathfinder was covered with plastic and duct tape. A faded sticker with the words “Git-R-Done” hung from the rear bumper.
Abby saw it first. “Isn't that Digger's?”
I nodded. “Yeah, looks like it. Wonder what he's doing here.”
She laughed. “Maybe he's looking for suckers to buy his secret crystal maps. Like we did.”
I grunted. She was right. I had forked over a hundred dollars for a map he was selling to others for twenty bucks. I'd been taken and should have been mad.
But the map had led us to Crystal Mountain, and according to the woman we'd found there in the rain, led to museum quality crystals. The one she had given to Abby was wrapped in newspaper in the Jeep’s glove compartment. It was the nicest I'd ever seen.
The parking lot of Sweet Surrender wasn't paved, parking spots weren't marked and it looked like you could park anywhere you wanted. Abby figured Digger had been to the
mine before and knew the best place, so she pulled over and parked next to his Pathfinder.
I started to get out, but she stopped me and said, “If we find Kat, go along with whatever I say. No matter what it is, go along with it. Okay?”
I nodded. “Sure, no problem.”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out the wedding ring she had put on two days earlier. She put it on her finger and said, “This is going to be part of our story. Put yours on.”
She had given me a wedding band when we first met, and I'd worn it until we left the casino. I couldn't remember where I had taken it off or where it had ended up, but I didn't have it on my finger.
I shrugged and said, “Sorry, but I don't know where the ring is.”
She pointed a finger at me and said, “When we get married for real, I won't abide by you losing your ring. You'll wear it all the time. You understand?”
I figured she was joking, so I went along. “Yes dear. When we're married, I won't lose the ring and I'll wear it all the time.”
She smiled, reached into her pocket and pulled out the missing wedding band and handed it to me. “Put it on and don't take it off until we get back to Florida.”
I took the ring but didn't put it on right away. I didn't mind wearing it for a few hours if it helped us find Kat, but no way was I going to wear it until we got back to Florida.
I didn't tell Abby this, though. No need to upset her. I put the ring on and showed it to her on my finger.
She smiled and said, “Good.” Then she pointed at Digger's car. “He didn't go into the mine. He's over there under that tree, smoking a cigarette. Why don't you go talk to him, see what he's up to while I go look for Kat”
She got out of the Jeep and headed toward a woman wearing a straw hat carrying a clipboard. I got out on the other side and walked across the dirt parking lot toward Digger.
He watched as I walked toward him but didn't say anything until I got close. When he did speak, he said, “You followed the map up to Crystal Mountain?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we did. Went up there at night, in the rain.”
“You find anything?”
“Yeah, we found a woman who'd bought your map. She said she paid twenty dollars for it.”
He nodded. “She find any crystals?”
“Yeah, she did. Some pretty nice ones.”
He smiled. “I told you the map would lead you to crystals.”
I motioned toward his car. “What brings you out here? Trying to sell more maps?”
He took a drag on his cigarette, held it in, and then blew out a smoke ring and coughed out his answer. “They won't let me go in there, won’t let me sell my maps either. I've been banned.”
I could understand why. If I owned the place and someone like Digger showed up trying to sell maps that made customers want to go somewhere else, I'd ban him too.
Still, he had come to the mine, and I wanted to know why. “You drove all the way out here, but you can't dig crystals, and you can't sell maps. Seems a long way to go for things you can't do.”
He casually pointed to the graded field where a few people were searching for crystals. “Your friend over there paid me to bring him here. Fifty bucks each way and all I had to do was drive.”
His answer surprised me. As far as I knew, I didn't have any friends in this part of the country.
“My friend? You sure about that?”
He nodded. “Yeah, the guy who was with Kat. He paid me to bring him out here. Said he needed to talk to her and he knew she was here. The money was good, so I drove him. When he gets done talking, I'm going to drive him back.
“Meanwhile, I'm going to sit here on this rock and smoke another cigarette. You're welcome to join me.”
Chapter Forty
I passed on the offer to smoke with Digger. Instead, I headed to the mine hoping to find Abby before she ran into Kat and Dylan.
I wanted to give her a heads-up so she could adjust her story if needed. But as I walked toward the mine, I was stopped by the woman with the clipboard and straw hat, the same one Abby had talked to. She smiled and said, “Before you go in, you have to register and pay.”
I pointed to Abby. “I'm with her, the woman you just talked to. Abby. She should have registered for both of us.”
The woman look confused. “Abby? I thought her name was Paige.”
“Oh right. Paige. Don't tell her I called her the wrong name. She'll get mad.”
The woman smiled knowingly. “Old girlfriend’s name? The new ones always get mad when you call them the old name.”
She tapped her clipboard. “You must be Tony, her husband. She said you'd be coming over. She said to tell you she left her purse in the car and for you to pay. But there's no need for that. Being that you folks are on your honeymoon, we don’t want your money. You and your wife can have free access to the mine all day long.”
I started to say something about us not being married, and certainly not on our honeymoon, but figured it was best not to go against Abby's story. I thanked the woman and headed into the mine.
When you hear the word mine, you probably think of a dark tunnel leading to a deep hole in the ground with old timbers supporting the roof and water seeping through. Some mines are like that. But not crystal mines.
Instead of a dark hole going into the ground, crystal mines are usually open fields of cleared and plowed forest lands. Visitors dig through piles of tailings cut from the crystal rich seams.
Serious hunters will bring digging tools, screwdrivers or small shovels, and dig through the tailings, but most visitors just walk around picking up crystals they find on the ground.
According to the lady with the clipboard, recent visitors to Sweet Surrender were finding nice clusters and some large points. She said that most were coated with iron, giving them a dark color until they were cleaned. She said to bring anything we found back to her, and she'd show us how to clean them.
I wasn't interested in digging or cleaning crystals. I wanted to find Abby and Kat, and with so few people working in the mine that early in the morning, it was easy to spot them. Two women standing close to each other and next to them, a man I presumed to be Dylan.
He was about six feet tall, had longish blond hair, and was wearing faded jeans and a black T-shirt. He wasn't carrying digging tools or a finds basket, which meant he probably didn't come to dig crystals.
I walked toward them, and when Kat saw me, she broke out into a big smile. She ran over to me, gave me a hug and said, “I can't believe you're getting married. You're the last person I figured would tie the knot.
“But you picked a good one. Abby is just perfect for you.”
I wasn't sure what she meant by that, Abby being perfect for me. It could have been a compliment or maybe not. It really didn't matter though; Abby and I weren't really getting married. It was a ruse she had cooked up. I didn't know the reason behind it, but I went along with it. It was easier that way.
I smiled and said, “I never thought I'd get married either, but then I met Abby and things changed.”
Kat looked at me and shook her head. “Never thought it would happen.”
Abby came over and put her arm around my waist, trying to make us look like a real couple. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, helping to sell the illusion.
Dylan stepped over to me and said, “You must be Walker. Kat has told me all about you. You still living in a motorhome?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I am. But that'll probably change, what with me getting married and all.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Abby and Kat take a few steps back. They started talking to each other in a whisper.
Dylan either didn't see them move away or didn't care. He was more interested in talking to me. He said, “You live in Florida?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. Near Sarasota.”
He didn't seem surprised. Kat had probably already told him where I lived. His next question was unexpected.
“You heading b
ack soon? In your motorhome?”
“Yeah, probably in a few days.”
He looked around, then asked, “You got room for an extra person?”
It was a strange question, especially to ask of a man who was supposedly on his honeymoon. I thought about it before I answered, then said, “If I were traveling alone, there'd be plenty of room. But not this time. Not with Abby and me on our honeymoon.
“You looking for a ride back to Florida?”
He said, “Yeah I am. Kat said she's not going back anytime soon, and I have business I need to attend to.”
“Business? What kind of business you in?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crystal. “I sell these to the tourists in Key West. Came up here to restock and now that I've got a full load, I need to get back.”
I nodded, having learned from the deputy more about his real business than Dylan probably wanted me to know.
“So, you're going back soon? When you leaving?”
He nodded toward Kat. “Soon as I get her to unlock the motorhome so I can get my backpack. It's got my money and ID in it.”
Upon hearing us talk about her, Kat and Abby rejoined us. She said, “I heard my name. You two talking about me?”
I shook my head. “Not me. I know better.”
She turned to Dylan. “What'd you say about me? Fess up.”
He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to the parking lot where Digger was waiting. “I told him the same thing I told you, that I need you to unlock your motorhome so I can get my backpack. Then I'm heading to Florida.”
Kat didn't seem surprised with his answer. She just nodded and said, “You know you'll have to go without me. I'm staying here for a while.”
He smiled. “No problem. Stay as long as you want. I just need to get in your RV for a minute. I'll grab my pack and be on my way. Give me a key, and I'll let myself in.”
She shook her head and said, “I came here to dig crystals. I'm not going back to the motorhome today, and I'm not going to give you a key.”