Ry nodded. It wasn’t perfect, but it was at least a place to start. As long as Kate was still around there was a chance they could work out their problems.
The following morning, Ry woke before daybreak. She lay in the dark staring at the red blinking light of the fire alarm on the ceiling. It gave her an odd mixed feeling of security and annoyance. Surely, there was a better place in the room for it rather than directly over the bed.
Before Kate had left the previous night, they stuffed the bags of money beneath the bed and agreed that Ry would take them to the safe deposit box the following morning. They had made no definite decisions about how the money would be used, but they both agreed it should be used to help others.
Victor would be able to help with that, if they could find a way to pick his brain without telling him they had the money. Eventually he would figure it out, but she didn’t think he would care if they weren’t personally benefitting from the money.
Ry rubbed a hand over her face and wondered if she would ever be able to repair the damage she had caused in her relationship with Kate. The blinking light grew more irritating. Suddenly she sat up. She’d had enough of living in the cramped motel room. She got out bed and showered. The sun was just clearing the horizon when she dropped the key off and settled her bill. She had to wait for the bank to open. It only took her a few minutes to stow the money in her safe deposit box. By the time she parked her truck in front of her granny’s old cabin the sun was shining brightly. She shut off the engine and sat staring at the front porch. She hadn’t been back here since the shooting. Ignoring the fist that gripped her stomach, she got out of the truck and walked slowly to the porch. Other than a few new planks on the porch and the missing hummingbird feeder, it looked as it had when she stepped out the morning she had been shot. Either her father or one of her brothers had replaced the bloodstained boards and cleaned away the broken glass.
She sat in one of the rockers on the porch and looked across at the pond. The pair of mallards was still swimming about and a male cardinal flitted about among the cypress trees. A plan began to form as she relaxed in the rocker. The Antique Nook would not reopen. She would either sell or lease the building. She would move out here to the cabin. The solitude would allow her the opportunity to freely experience and learn to understand her new abilities. When she was ready, she would use these abilities as her grandmother had said—to help others. And, if she were truly lucky, a little treasure hunting would be involved occasionally.
Then, she began to reflect on her family. It was time she started thinking more about them. She had always thought of them as being there for her. It was time for her to start being there for them as well. Lewis had been right in some of his accusations. She was spoiled. It was time to grow up.
Kate—how could she regain Kate’s love? She couldn’t bear the thought of her leaving. How could she go through life without Kate?
Ry walked to the edge of the porch. As she gazed out at the serene landscape, a gust of wind hit and caused the cypress limbs to creak. She glanced up at the massive limbs and closed her eyes as a sense of peace settled over her. She was a treasure seeker. There was no way she was going to lose her greatest treasure of all. She opened her eyes and smiled as she dialed Kate’s number.
Bella Books, Inc.
Women. Books. Even Better Together.
P.O. Box 10543
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Phone: 800-729-4992
www.bellabooks.com
The Treasure Seeker Page 23