CHAPTER FOUR
The three-story bungalow, covered in brick, caught my attention every time I drove by. Windows framed with white shutters blocked the view inside with the curtains covering them. The sign displaying "Aunt Ellen's Bed & Breakfast" hung off two posts, a turquoise, oval piece of metal, flowers encasing it. A few steps led to the front entrance, two double doors set against a wraparound patio. The patio led to the back parking lot, next to the gift shop. The app listed the cache hidden outside, so I didn’t need to go in, which disappointed me a bit, since I wanted to check out the inside.
Since I wasn’t a guest, I didn’t want to park in the lot and utilize the spaces for visitors. Instead, I parked across the street in the church parking lot. As I crossed the street, I evaluated the cache. Easy find, a quick grab, and very small. Great. With my luck at the park, I didn’t count on finding anything. If I didn’t find this one, I’d give up and find a new hobby.
Following the compass on my phone, I made my way toward the garden. Set behind lannon stone, flowers began to bloom, their buds opening, petals expanding from every which way. A small metal fence surrounded the bed, and a stone path led to a white decorative swing.
Enough admiring the beauty of the mansion, I came to find a cache. Based on the coordinates, a mere five feet separated us. I stepped to the left, putting me out of range, somehow. I recalled the website stating a small margin of error existed in the app, the reason many preferred an actual GPS compass. This new to the game, I didn’t want to invest in one. I went back to the right, and another step, putting myself back within range. The cache should be set between the stones somewhere. I set my phone on the rock and let my knees hit the ground. My upper thighs killed me, and now my kneecaps were probably going to be shit, too. I didn’t think geocaching would be such a physical hobby. I stuck my hand in every single opening in the rock. “Shit!” I swiped a spider off my hand and kept looking.
No use. Could it be under a stone? If I moved one, was I damaging property? I moved my phone to the next stone and tried to lift the rock to no avail. Screw this. I pressed for another hint. “Behind.” What did that mean? Behind what? I leaned over the stone into the garden. Searching the property was an awkward experience already. Anyone watching me must have thought I was attempting to steal something. I ran my fingers across the back of the rock, coming up empty.
“Find what you’re looking for?” A man approached me from behind. Dark hair, shorter on the sides, but heavier on top, surrounded his deep set eyes. Muscles ripped through his black tee-shirt, the fabric smooth as it tucked into his jeans, and I noticed the belt buckle right away. Close your mouth, Ally.
“Um,” I stuttered. “I’m just …”
A grin filled his face, while embarrassment filled mine. “Geocaching. I know. People are here all the time. At least once a week.”
While once a week didn’t meet the requirements of all the time as this man claimed, it was more than I thought. The website explained the geocache bug infected millions of people, but I didn’t really believe it. So far, geocaching proved to be the most frustrating hobby ever. And I used to make jewelry, out of tiny beads, requiring my hands to stay perfectly still and fit thin string through small holes.
“First time?” He asked.
“Pretty obvious, huh?” My deer in headlights face gave me away, as I fondled the stone, surely looking like a complete and utter idiot.
“Muggles always struggle. The veteran ones find it in almost seconds.” He hoisted the box he held against his hip to get a better grip.
Ah, so a muggle was a new geocacher. I re-examined the area, trying to figure out how someone could find a cache so quickly. The whole day could pass and I’d probably still be here searching for this damn thing. “I have no clue where I’m supposed to find this. I didn't find anything at the park, and I'm positive I came off as some sort of pervert as I combed the playground filled with kids.” I lifted up my phone and showed the display to him, even though the one I described wasn’t the one showing anymore. “That cache was listed easier than this one and I couldn't even pull it off. It’s my first day doing this, and I’m coming up empty.”
His eyes widened. “First day?” He set the box down and I watched as his hands smoothed down his shirt in slow motion. Oh, man, this guy was hot. “Let me help you. I’m Seth Hayes.” He reached his hand out for me to shake.
“Ally Couper, Geocaching Virgin,” I titled myself. Thankfully, he smiled. “Now, where is this thing supposed to be?”
“Hey, I said I’d help you. I’m not going to arbitrarily give up the location. What’s the fun in that?”
The fun would be I find what I’m looking for and move on. Probably home, because, to be frank, this sucked. “I guess. The clue said ‘behind.’ All that’s behind this is the garden.”
Seth shook his head. “You’re being too literal. Not behind as in directly behind. Think of the stone.”
“Behind the stone. The garden is behind the stone.” What, was I in school again? He took my hand and led me into the garden. “I don’t want to damage the flowers.”
“So don’t step on them,” he stated. I watched my step until he stopped us. Grabbing my shoulders, he turned me away to face the stone. “There. Now, look.”
What was I supposed to do? This steaming hot guy expected me to find this and I couldn’t be more clueless. Thank God I’d never seen him around town, because chances were I’d never see him beyond today, and he must have thought I was a total jackass. “I see the stone wall.”
“Yes. You do. Look at all the stones. Do you see anything?”
“Like what?”
“Cracks or holes?”
“There are spaces between all the rocks. I’ve checked those.”
I shivered when he moved his head next to mine. “Look closer. Not between the rocks. Examine every single one, each individual surface.” If I turned my head, I could kiss him. Since I only met him two minutes ago, probably not the best idea.
I started by counting the stones, ten from top to bottom, some more worn than others. The sharp edges brought character to them.
“Touch them. Run your fingers against them.”
Oh, man, this dude got me hot just describing rocks. I stepped forward and touched the first one, and ran my palm against the side, all the way across the seven stones running the length of the wall. I didn’t feel anything but the coldness of it. I did the same with the second set, and then the third. Halfway through the third, I felt air on my palm as I crossed the fifth stone from the left. I stopped and peered in - a hole. I stuck my finger in and plastic wrap greeted me. I pulled at the plastic wrap, yanking it out. A small paper rolled into a cylinder fit snug inside. I pulled it out and unrolled it, on it a list of names. “Is this it? I found it!”
Seth gave me a thumbs up.
I didn’t expect such exhilaration to take over upon locating my first cache and (almost) on my own. Sure, the guy with the hot bod and pearly whites guided me, but I actually found it. I jumped up and down, waving the paper in my hand, and before I could stop myself, I threw my arms around Seth. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around my back, and pulled me in, jumping along with me. Once I realized what I was doing, I quickly pulled away. “I’m so sorry,” I said to him as I straightened out my hair. “I guess I got a little excited.”
“Don’t worry,” Seth replied. “I remember when I found my first cache.”
“Oh, so, you’re a geocacher?” My voice raised several octaves.
Seth wiped his thumb across his eyebrow. “I didn’t realize that would be so surprising. Do I not look like the type of person who geocaches? Is there a certain kind of person who fits the description?”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “I guess I don’t know what I expected. I just figured if people come by here all the time, you’re familiar with it.”
“No. I go every weekend, usually, but this weekend I had to hold down the bed and breakfast, so I couldn’t go. I starte
d almost three years ago. I’ve even planted my own cache.”
“What kind?” Since I was new at this, and the first I found was simply a piece of paper, I really didn’t know what kinds you could plant. The website listed all the types, and I hoped to eventually see one more than just a piece of paper in a container.
“Just a small one. Nothing too fancy.” He glanced at the paper I held in my hand.
“More exciting than the one I’m holding, right? I mean, I only get to write my username on here, right?”
“There’s a little bit more to it, yes. This is only your second one, and the first you found, right? Are you planning on doing any more today?”
“Now that I found this one, I kind of want to keep going and see what else is out there.” I rubbed the paper between my fingers, anticipating a forthcoming offer to go geocaching together. Although, I wasn’t one to sit around and wait. “Would you like to join me?” I gripped the paper tighter, hoping my sweaty palms didn’t rub off the names already logged.
“I would love too, since I didn’t get a chance to get out yet this weekend, but, unfortunately, I’m manning this place on my own right now. I can’t leave until my sister can take over.”
“Do you own this place?” I stared at the large mansion, imagining being so young and running such a place of my own.
“Kind of. I inherited it when my mom passed away last year.” His eyes left mine as he focused his attention on the pavement. I couldn’t help but notice (and be jealous of) his long eyelashes.
“I’m sorry.” At twenty-nine, I found more and more of my friends losing close relatives and parents. I didn’t volunteer information about my father.
“Thanks. My dad didn’t want the responsibility. He technically owns it, and gets a paycheck, but he spends most of his time away from here. It’s too painful.”
“That’s sad. What does he do then?”
“Um, I guess he wanders? That’d be the best way to describe it.” He grabbed his ring finger (and I noticed no ring occupied it. Yes!), and pulled at it. “He takes small day trips around the area, and sometimes window shops. I think he goes on these outings to think, really, if you can call that doing something.”
Unsure of how to proceed with the conversation, I was grateful, yet somewhat jealous, of the lady with the dark curly bob that approached. Her dark eyes shot like lasers into Seth’s, her eyebrows darting. “What are you doing, Seth? Mr. and Mrs. Hollers need new towels in their room.”
“Sorry, Kate, I was headed back in. I didn’t see you come back.”
She crossed her arms across her almost non-existent breasts. “Of course you didn’t. You’re too busy chatting. Now, go, get inside and help them, please.”
Seth shifted on his foot. “Ally, this is my sister, Kate. Kate, this is Ally. I helped her with her first find geocaching, and time got away.”
“Oh, God, another one?” She rubbed her hand on her forehead. “I don’t know why you ever allowed that.”
He squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth. “You know why.”
Definitely brother and sister. They sure didn’t seem to get along. Of course, I wasn’t in the norm. My brother, Perry, and I got along like best friends. He was three years older than me, and lived in Las Vegas. Of course, living so far away made it easy for us to get long.
“Are you going to help them or not?”
“Fine, but if you’re back for the rest of the day, I’m going to head out and show Ally the ropes of geocaching when I’m done.”
Kate rolled her eyes, then snarled. “Seth, we’ve got work to do.”
“You know this is important to me.”
Geocaching or going with me? I couldn’t ask, but I hoped for the latter.
“Just go.” She shooed him away. “Get out of here, but be back tonight. You’re on night duty. Got it?” Seth smiled and went in to hug his sister, who shoved him. “Stop it. Now go, before I change my mind.” I might have seen a smile from her face.
He sneaked a kiss on the cheek in, and turned to me. “She’ll handle the towels. You want to drive?”
CHAPTER FIVE
I quite possibly would win “Idiot of the Year” for inviting this stranger into my car. Okay, fine, I was a complete idiot. I met him all of ten minutes ago, and here he sat in my car, next to me, and could pull a knife and slit my throat at any moment, or take control of the car and force himself on me. Chelsea sure would kick my ass as soon as I told her about this. For some reason, though, I felt safe. Seth emulated a friendly tone, a safety about him that drew me to him. Yeah, his dark eyes and bulging muscles helped, but my body pulled to him, like a magnet. If he wanted to help me and spend time with me, so be it. I wasn’t going to argue. Besides, he lived in town, and violent crimes didn't happen much around here. Sure, vandalism, drug use, the occasional bar fight, but the last murder in our little town happened well over twenty years ago. I shot a quick text to my brother to say hello and mentioned I met someone named Seth and we were going hiking (I didn’t want to explain geocaching). Perry didn’t respond to call me crazy, and if anything did happen, he knew the details on my whereabouts.
“Tell you what,” Seth said as I sat at the stop sign across from the bed and breakfast, utterly lost as to where to begin this journey. “Let’s head somewhere I know a decent amount of caches are hidden, and pretty easy ones. Sound good?”
“Easy sounds great.”
Seth smirked, and immediately I wanted to recant what I said. No sense in back peddling because that always made things worse.
“Do you know where Pumpkin Peak is?”
Of course I did. Over the years, Pumpkin Peak became the premier place for teens to make out, and eventually lose their virginity. I swallowed. Hard. I’m sure he didn’t miss it.
“Don’t worry. We won’t go up where everyone parks. Right before you get to the top, there’s a small area where about three are hidden. I use the term hidden loosely.”
Great. Did he mean loosely as in relation to geocaching, or was this some sort of a reference back to my “easy” comment? As much as a peek at what hid behind that shirt and those jeans tempted me, I wasn’t my ex-fiance. I could hold back jumping into bed - or the back of my car - with Hottie McHottie Pants. Maybe I would let him kiss me a little if he wanted.
Enough with the daydreaming. We headed out to Pumpkin Peak, my eyes glazing over from Cupid hitting me right in the back. I tended to over analyze these things, though, and I was crazy to think this little trip would lead anywhere. A short (minute-wise) but long (daydream-wise) drive later, we pulled into the drive of the park.
“Should I park in the lot and we can take a trail to wherever you’re taking me, or am I driving up the path?”
He pulled his phone out and glanced at his app. Good, he downloaded the same one. I did something right. “The first one isn’t too far from here. Let’s park.”
At the mention of the word park, my thoughts wandered to Seth and I making out in the backseat of my car. The app kept his complete attention, his thoughts nowhere near matching mine. A tad disappointed, I found a spot and parked, ready to go where Seth planned on taking me.
“Okay. If you look here,” he shifted his phone between us as we began to walk off the lot into the trail, “this tells you all about the cache. It’s listed as a level two difficulty and one terrain, so it’s not too hard to find, and is more or less on a flat surface. Also, it’s a micro, which is similar to the one you found at the bed and breakfast.”
“An exciting piece of paper! Yippee!” A fake smile spread across my face.
He moved his hand to his side, pulling the phone away. “You make jokes, but you seemed pretty excited before.”
“Oh, whatever. Move on,” I teased.
He chuckled, and showed me his phone again. “You’re able to view others who logged a find if you click here.”
The more he scrolled, the more I realized I needed to find the cache, because everyone and their brother marked it as a find. I’d be
too embarrassed if I couldn’t find an “easy” one while out with him. “I know all about the hints, too.” I pointed to that button.
Clicking on it, he said, “Well, if there is one.” He pushed his finger into my shoulder. “Aw, too bad. No hint. You’re on your own.”
“I can do it,” I reassured him.
“Can you?” I resented the doubt in his voice. “I recall you needing my help before. Did I imagine that?”
I pulled at my hair, brushing it against my shoulders. “You won’t give that up, will you?”
We entered the trail, called Peter Peter Way (as in Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, get it?). The path wasn’t as muddy as the one the day before, probably due to the heavy tree coverage. Despite the shining sun, the pathway remained shadowed. The wind seemed heavier in the wooded area, the leaves swaying and whispering to me. Seth handed me his phone with the app already open, allowing me to follow the compass. We weren’t too far away, but close didn’t describe our distance either.
I didn’t know if he felt awkward as though on a first date, or if he simply had nothing to say, but he didn’t say an entire word to me as we walked. Of course, I didn’t offer conversation either. When we reached the end of our silent walk, the trail opened to a park like area, complete with a few large trees centered throughout, and a bench next to each of the trees. The compass insisted I move Northeast, so I started in the direction.
“Glad you know your directions.”
If this guy wasn’t fall over gorgeous, and I wanted for things between us to possibly go somewhere, I might have considered punching him the gut. Instead, I used it to my advantage as we started to walk toward the other side of the park. “Date a lot of airheads in your time?”
Caching In Page 3