"We'll get some food to go and then we can eat at a beach that's probably empty."
"An empty beach? Around here?" Lana asked.
Brayden laughed. "Sounds strange, I know. But it's pretty far from the general touristy stuff, so most people never even find it. You won't find any ice cream trucks there."
"Or dancing livestock?" Lana asked, her lips twitching.
"None of that."
"Sounds like the ideal place for a lunch date."
Brayden drove them to the main part of town and they got baked chicken, potato salad, and some fruit. They were set for a picnic lunch at the beach.
Lana couldn't wait to see the location most tourists knew nothing about. She was going to see a treasure with the most wonderful guy she had ever met.
When they arrived, her breath caught. "It's gorgeous."
"And it looks like it's all ours." He took her hand and they headed for a picnic table not too far from the shore. They set the food out and dug in, both eating quietly.
Lana's mind wouldn't calm down. Between her adoration for Brayden and the thought of solving an old mystery, she couldn't have been more excited. The fact that they might solve it together made it even better.
Once the food disappeared, they discussed the logistics of hiking in the woods. Lana was going to need to buy boots unless her sister or mom had brought some. They needed food, water, and backpacks.
"We probably want to bring extra, just to be safe," Brayden said. "It seems that every year, some hiker ends up lost or missing, and I don't want us to become a statistic."
Lana agreed and then brought out her phone, adding everything into her notes app. By the time they had covered everything, she found herself exhausted.
"Think you can have your stuff ready in four days?" Brayden asked.
"No problem." It would be nice to have a distraction from thinking about him. Not that she minded, but it made the time pass so slowly, waiting for his next day off.
They threw their trash away and then walked along the shore for a while, Lana falling behind him.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes full of concern.
"Just tired. All that planning wore me out."
"Me, too, actually. Want to catch a movie? I'm not sure what's playing, but there has to be something interesting."
"A movie with you? I'd love nothing more."
He scooped her up, and Lana squealed. "If you're tired, I'll carry you."
She laughed. "You don't have to."
"I know." He nestled his face against hers. "But I want to."
They went to the theater and arrived just before a romantic comedy started. Brayden held her hand the entire time, and Lana spent more time sneaking peeks at him than actually paying attention to the movie.
Afterward, he took her back home and gave her one more kiss on the porch before saying goodbye. Lana hated to see him go, but she was ready to fall asleep.
"Did you have fun?" Cora asked as soon as Lana had closed the door.
"Of course."
Cora dragged her to the couch. "Tell me everything. What did you do?"
They discussed the date at length before Lana headed up the stairs.
"What about dinner?" asked her mom.
"I'll warm some up later. I had a huge lunch, followed by popcorn and candy. It's time for a nap."
"You're not overdoing it, are you?" called her dad from the other room.
"No, Dad. He's a cardiologist, remember? I couldn't be in better hands." She went up to her room and climbed under the covers, not even bothering to change her clothes. She could smell Brayden's cologne, and she didn't want to lose that.
Breathing in the wonderful smell, she relived their kiss in the library as she fell asleep.
When Lana woke up, it was dark. She checked her phone. It was just after two in the morning. She'd probably slept eight hours which had to be why she had woken. Her stomach rumbled, so she went downstairs to warm up leftovers.
Just before opening the fridge, she heard a strange sound. Something scratched against something else. It sounded wooden. Lana stood still, trying to figure out what it was.
The noise seemed to come from the direction of the back door. Skin crawling, Lana tiptoed toward the family room. Sure enough, the sound grew louder. She released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The noise continued.
Lana crept to the door and looked out the peephole, hoping to see some kind of critter or a branch rubbing against the house. Instead, she saw two men dressed in black, both wearing ski masks over their faces.
Unable to help herself, she screamed. The two men stepped back and the scratching noises stopped. She heard footsteps on the stairs.
"Two men are trying to break in!"
Her dad shoved her out of the way. "Go upstairs."
Lana didn't budge.
He opened the door. "That's right! Run, you cowards!"
Behind her, Lana's mom spoke to a dispatcher over the phone, explaining the situation. Cora and Marcus ran down the stairs.
"What's going on?" Marcus demanded.
"Someone tried to break in," Lana said, her voice noticeably higher than normal.
"The police are on their way," her mom whispered.
"How did you hear them?" Cora asked. "I didn't hear anything until you started screaming. I'm surprised the boys slept through the noise."
Lana leaned against the wall, feeling like she was going to lose her balance. "I was hungry from skipping dinner. My appetite is gone now."
Seventeen
Brayden knocked on the door to Lana's house. It was quiet in the house. Nolan and Ryder had to have been somewhere else.
Susan answered the door, looking tired.
"Good evening." He smiled, despite his own fatigue. Brayden had worked all day in the clinic and then he'd gone to the hospital's gym and worked out. It had been so long that his muscles burned worse than they had in a long time.
"Come on in." She moved aside, not smiling back.
He walked in, seeing the boys sitting quietly on the couch.
Maybe they'd had a busy day running around the beach.
"How are you boys doing?" he asked, sitting in between them.
Neither looked up or responded.
"We had a bit of an incident last night," Dwight said, coming into the room. We're all tired and won't let them run around like usual."
"Incident?" Brayden asked, concerned. "What do you mean?" And where was Lana?
"Someone tried to break in last night. Luckily, we scared them away."
"I'm glad everyone's okay." Why had their home been broken into? Attempted, anyway. There hadn't been a single break-in all year in Kittle Falls, and now in less than a week, there were two—and both places were where he and Lana lived. Brayden covered his growing concern.
"I'll sure feel better when a security system is installed," Susan said. "We're told it'll take a day or two."
"A day or two?" Brayden exclaimed. "That's not acceptable. Who are you renting from?"
Dwight told him the name of the company.
Brayden shook his head, anger building. "I went to school with the guy who owns that." He pulled out his phone and searched for the number online. He dialed and demanded to speak to his old schoolmate.
"Parker Jacobs. How can I help you?"
"This is Brayden Hunter. I—"
"Brayden, old buddy! How are you? Still in Dallas?"
"I'm not calling to chat, Parker. Did you know about the Summers family renting one of your homes?"
"There are a lot of families renting my homes and condos. Can you be more specific?"
"The family that had an intruder. Does that ring any bells? They need to have a security system installed now—not days away. What kind of a business are you running?"
"Hold on, Brayden. I haven't heard anything about this. Give me a second."
Brayden heard the clicking of a computer keyboard.
"Okay. I've found it. … Attempted br
eak-in. Police came. Family requested security system …. Why is it supposed to take so long?"
"That's what I'd like to know." Brayden had to force himself to remain calm, especially with Nolan and Ryder on either side of him. They watched him with wide eyes.
"Tell you what, Brayden. I'm going to call the security company myself and do whatever it takes to get this done before they go to bed tonight. Then I'll deal with the screw-off who messed this up."
"Thank you, Parker."
"Anything else I can do for you?"
"No. I appreciate you taking care of this." They said their goodbyes and then Brayden looked at Dwight and Susan, standing. "The company owner apologizes for the way you were treated is going to personally make sure you have the system installed tonight."
"Oh, thank you." Susan hugged Brayden. "I can't thank you enough."
He returned the hug. "And I can't believe you guys were treated like that. Not in my town."
Lana came down the stairs looking as stunning as ever. Brayden's heart skipped a beat, his anger dissipating.
"What's going on?" She looked at her mom, who still hugged Brayden.
Susan stepped back. "Brayden saved the day. We're going to have an alarm on the house tonight."
Lana's eyes lit up. "Really? How?"
"I couldn't let your family go without, especially after what happened last night."
She ran over to him, hugging him also. "Thank you, Brayden."
"My pleasure. You sure you still want to go out for dessert?"
Lana looked at him. "Of course I do."
"Dessert?" asked Ryder.
"Can we go?" Nolan begged.
They both stared at Brayden, their big eyes wider. They both held their fists together over their hearts.
"Boys." Susan looked at Brayden. "Sorry."
"Please?" Ryder wrapped himself around Brayden's leg.
He laughed and looked at Lana. "I don't mind if you don't."
The boys turned to Lana, tugging on her clothes. "Only if you're on your best behavior."
"Yes, yes," they promised.
A half an hour later, Brayden and Lana finished their ice cream cones while Ryder and Nolan ran around the park like wild monkeys.
"You'd think they'd just been released from years of imprisonment," Lana said.
"It probably felt like that to them today," Brayden said. "I couldn't believe they just sat on the couch when I arrived."
"Everyone's been on edge since last night. No one could handle their running around, so they had to play quietly all day."
Ryder ran up to Lana, grabbing onto her legs. "Base! Can't get me."
Nolan frowned.
"I doubt I could have sat still all day when I was their age," Brayden said, winking at the boys.
Nolan moved closer to Ryder, ready to pounce.
"No puppy guarding," Ryder complained. "Go back to the slide."
Brayden burst out laughing. "I haven't heard 'puppy guarding' in years. I can't believe kids still use it."
"It's funny what sticks around and gets passed down," Lana said. She looked at Ryder. "Give your brother some space."
Pouting, Ryder backed up about a foot.
Brayden finished the last bite of his ice cream cone as Lana removed Nolan from her legs. "Run off, you two."
"You better be fast," Brayden said, "because I'm 'it' now."
The boys screamed and ran off, sending dirt flying in all directions. Brayden heard Lana laughing as he chased after her nephews. They were surprisingly fast for being so small. Nolan went in one direction while Ryder darted in the other. Brayden went in the middle and hid behind a climber.
Nolan ran his direction and Braden jumped out, roaring. Nolan screamed again and ran in the other direction. Brayden went after him and chased him until they passed Ryder, and he went after him.
Lana ran over. "Now I'm 'it,' so you all better run."
"Girls against boys!" Nolan shouted. He grabbed Brayden's hand, tugging him away.
"Better not get too close to me," Brayden warned.
"Why not?" Ryder asked.
"Because I want her to catch me." He smiled over their heads at Lana.
"You're crazy." Nolan let go of his hand and ran away.
Brayden stood still and Lana grabbed his arm. "You make it too easy."
He pulled her close. "That's because I want to do this." He kissed her.
A chorus of ewws surrounded them as the boys ran around them. Brayden pulled back. "Now we're both it!"
The boys screamed again and ran off. Pea gravel sprayed against their legs. Lana and Brayden chased them, Lana scooping Ryder up and Brayden getting Nolan.
"We win," Lana said in a sing-song voice. "Now you guys play by yourselves for a bit while we watch."
Brayden took her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb.
She looked up at him, a serious look on her face. "Do you think the break-ins are related?"
"It seems that way. Those are the only two all year."
"And they both happened after we'd been to the museum."
He continued to rub her palm. "Do you have second thoughts about going exploring?"
"No way. Tomorrow I'm dragging Cora shopping—not that I really have to drag her."
"It almost feels like these are warnings, don't you think?" he asked.
"Why would anyone care about a one hundred-sixty year old mystery?"
"If someone is living off the gold, they might not want us snooping. From the sounds of that letter, there's more than anyone's ever seen before." Brayden paused. "I want us to be careful. Gold fever is probably as strong as it ever was, but most people don't think about it these days. Whoever is breaking in to our homes wants us to stay away."
"We're not going to take the gold. They'll figure it out and then leave us alone. I just want to find out what really happened to Billy Kittle."
"Me, too, but maybe someone doesn't want us to know that, either. Who knows what they're trying to protect? They might be afraid that if the truth is revealed, Billy's descendants will want in on the gold."
"Are they still in town?" Lana asked.
"One family is. They live on the outskirts of town in the middle of a large lot of land."
"So you don't want to go?" She begged him with his eyes.
Brayden looked away, not wanting to give in. "We should be careful. What if they come after us with more force?"
"What are they going to do? Blow up your building? My rental?"
"I think you know that answer to that." He ran the back of his hand along her soft face. "I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." He looked over at the twins chasing a group of girls. "Or your family. We have to think of them, too."
"Do you really think it's that dangerous?" she asked, glancing over at the boys.
"Why don't we wait a week and see what happens. If everything remains quiet, we'll revisit the idea."
She looked him square in the eyes. "They went through your condo, but didn't touch you, right?"
"Yeah."
"If they wanted to hurt you, they would have. Maybe they just thought we found something, and they wanted it. What if no one knows where the caves are? Maybe generations of Kittle Falls residents have been in search of that hand-drawn map."
Brayden thought about it. "You could be right. No one laid a hand on me, and they ran away when you guys confronted them."
"We didn't even really confront them," Lana said. I screamed from the inside.
He laughed. "So, the big scary thieves are afraid of a girl?"
Lana shoved him. "See? Nothing to worry about. If they wanted to hurt us, they would have tried a lot harder."
"I can't argue with that. But I still don't like the idea of following the map."
"We could bring someone else with us. My sister and her husband?"
Suddenly, Brayden figured it out. "My brother, Cruz. He's had a wilderness survival course and won a bunch of trophies from boxing. If anyone goes after us,
we can fight them off while you run for cover."
"I'm not helpless."
"Never said you were. I don't want anything happening to you."
"I can't promise I'll run away like a damsel in distress, but if you want to bring your brother on our date, it's your call." Her eyes shone, obviously teasing him.
"What?" Brayden asked, coating his words with false innocence. "You don't think my brother should join us on our date? I thought of asking him to come on every single one after this one."
Lana burst out laughing. "He can go hiking with us. We can discuss his presence on future dates later, assuming we survive."
Brayden opened his mouth.
"Kidding." Lana shook her head. "I'm sure our hike will be uneventful."
"I sure hope so."
Eighteen
Lana tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She wondered if anyone in the house other than the kids could sleep. Nolan and Ryder obviously had no idea how serious the near-break-in had been. After running around the park for a couple hours, Lana and Brayden had had to carry them back to the house. Ryder had fallen asleep in her arms, and Nolan nearly did in Brayden's.
Oh, to be young again without any worries. Growing up, she'd believed her parents could protect her from anything. Now she realized how little power adults actually had.
She climbed out of bed and looked out the window, down into the backyard where the criminals had been. It had been around this same time, too. Lana scanned the roads, barely lit by the street lamps. Nothing moved, not even leaves on the branches. The night was perfectly still.
If only her mind would calm down. The security system was supposed to be the top of the line, sending a message to the police department directly if it was tripped. The cops would be there before anyone in the house knew anything was wrong.
Lana went downstairs to warm some milk. That had always helped her sleep when she was younger. Considering she'd been awake for about twenty-four hours, if fatigue alone didn't help her sleep, she had her doubts about the milk.
She poured some milk into a coffee mug and put it in the microwave for a couple minutes. When it was done, she sat at the table, moving aside some of her dad's papers. Surprisingly, she hadn't seen him touch them all day. The break-in had even shaken him up.
Seaside Heartbeats: A Sweet Romance (The Seaside Hunters Book 2) Page 10