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They’d dug all along the edges and were now digging down. “It’s huge,” Twyla said. “I didn’t know they made suitcases this big.”
“That’s because you’re used to the little one your uncle Dave carries samples of whiskey in,” Forrest said teasingly. “This is the size people pack clothes in for trips.”
She scrunched her nose at him. “I’ve seen other suitcases. People bring them to the resort all the time.”
“Then you’ll see,” he said, still digging. “They’re about the size of this one. You’ve just never had to dig one out of the ground before.”
“You’re right,” she said, “as usual.”
He laughed, and so did she, her heart overflowing. Finding a suitcase like this was fitting. Everything with Forrest was an adventure.
Once they had dug all the way around it, she leaned back while Forrest pulled the suitcase upward. “I don’t know what’s in it, but it’s heavy.”
Twyla grabbed the bottom of the suitcase, pushing for all her worth. The last bit of ground seizing the suitcase crumbled and she and the case tumbled against Forrest. The suitcase landed on his lap as he grabbed her arms, keeping her from falling on top of it.
“You all right?” he asked.
She couldn’t even nod, not when she was close enough to see the dark centers of his eyes. Her gaze wandered down to his mouth, and her entire being wanted to lean forward and taste his lips all over again. If only she could make him love her.
“Twyla?”
“Fine,” she said, her mind snapping to attention. She couldn’t make him love her years ago, and couldn’t now. “I’m fine. What’s in the case?”
“I don’t know yet.”
The look in his eyes stole her breath away. He still had a hold of her arms, but it was an invisible connection she felt more. Something strong and powerful, and as old as time. Accepting she’d never be able to fight it—the love she felt for Forrest—she closed her eyes.
The kiss didn’t startle her. It was exactly what she wanted. A slow, tender merging of their lips. But it was short. Much too short.
“Let’s see what’s in it,” Forrest said as his lips left hers.
Convinced nothing in that case could be as amazing as kissing him, Twyla almost said it could wait, but didn’t. Instead she reminded herself that nothing was forever. Even Forrest. He was only here for a short time again. However, rather than moping about it, she was going to take it for what it was. Enjoy every moment to the fullest, and treasure those memories when he disappeared again.
“What are you grinning about?” He let go of her arms, after easing her backward, to where she sat on her knees again.
Gravel dug into her shins and she glanced down. Dirt covered the front of her white-and-pink-striped dress, enough that it was sure to be stained forever. Not even that mattered. “Because I want to know what’s in the suitcase,” she said. “Open it.”
Forrest shook his head, but then let out a low whistle as he lifted the lid.
Twyla crawled around to peer in the case. “What are those?” She gestured to what looked like a box of metal bricks.
Forrest held one up. “They’re engraved printing plates.” Turning it slightly, he added, “From the American National Bank of Los Angeles.”
Excitement laced his words. She picked up a block, but couldn’t read it. Everything was backward. “They’re what?”
Forrest was looking through the case. “Printing plates,” he said. “To print money.”
Twyla surveyed the piece she held more closely. “Money?”
“Before the Federal Reserve Act was enacted in 1913, banks printed their own money. All their plates were to have been turned in, so I doubt these are originals, but I’d bet they’re exact copies.”
“How do you know all that?”
He grinned. “You, the girl who claims to love money, doesn’t know the history of it?”
She shook her head.
“Money became a necessity when trading commodities, fish for corn, or bread for meat, became too cumbersome to keep up,” Forrest said. “First there were coins, and then paper money. Local banks would print notes for people to exchange based on the collateral they gave the bank, but a lot of the bank notes were only good in specific regions. During the Civil War, Congress created demand notes. They were different from banknotes, because they were backed by the government and payable upon demand in coin at certain treasury locations, and legal tender across the entire United States, no matter where they were printed or spent. Later those became U.S. notes and the National Currency Bureau was formed to oversee national banks across the nation, who printed national banknotes.”
