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She sounded discouraged and he hated to see her lose hope. “We have the crash site and you know where he supposedly ejected. Let’s look and see if we can narrow down his landing site.”
Sitting in the grass, the two of them hovered over the map of the area, trying to figure out the best place to start their search.
“You think he actually made it to the caves?” Anna asked.
He shrugged. “If the plane crashed here and he ejected somewhere here...” He pointed to the area on her map. “Then he could have made it. In fact, he was fairly close...”
Her eyes widened. “I’m sure he would have tried,” she said excitedly.
“So? Should we try?”
The expression on her face was all the answer he needed as they headed out on foot to make the treacherous descent down the other side of the mountain toward the caves.
And a long three hours later, they made it. Tired, sweaty and dehydrated...but they were finally there.
“These are incredible,” Anna said in awe, scanning the interior of the large dark cave.
“I can’t believe places like this exist and almost no one ever gets to experience them...” Dwayne said, taking in the breathtaking sight. He’d lived in Alaska his entire life and explored the backwoods, but he had never been to these caves. The dangerous terrain leading into them and their distance from civilization made him suspect very few ever had.
Anna looked around, disappointment on her pretty face. “Unfortunately, no treasure.”
“No.” He wasn’t entirely surprised, but he realized a part of him had been hoping that the old stories were true...at least for Anna’s sake.
He saw something glimmer behind a large pile of stones gathered near the back of the cave, and his heart raced. Moving toward it, he picked up the shiny object and dangled the old, tarnished chain. “But there is this,” he said with a smile, feeling as though all their efforts had been worth it, even without the promised fortune.
Anna turned, and even from that distance, he could see tears glistening in her eyes when she saw the compass. “It was here,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She walked toward him and he met her halfway, giving her the cherished family heirloom.
“The mystery of Winters Lot lives on,” she said, softly taking it and lovingly running a finger over the gold-embossedW.S.“Thank you, Dwayne.”
“For what?”
“Everything,” she said, looking up at him with appreciation and affection in those beautiful eyes. “But most of all, for following your gut.”
CHAPTER FIVE
OH,HEWASin for an earful...
As they climbed out of the helicopter at the Madden Heli-tours landing pad much later that evening, Dwayne’s mother was pacing inside the office. Even from that distance, he could see her face was flushed and her mouth moving as she practiced the lecture she was about to dish out.
It was the same since he was a kid. He always heard the lecture twice—once when he waited it out in his bedroom, thinking about what he’d done while she rehearsed downstairs, and then when she formally gave the speech hours later.
He turned to Anna as they crossed the parking lot. “You know what? You better not go in. I’ll face the music alone.”
“You sure? I mean, she looks really pissed,” she said, nodding toward the office.
Dwayne swallowed hard and resisted the urge to bring Anna along for reinforcement. His mother would go easy on him in front of a paying client... “I’m sure,” he said.
“Okay... Well, um...thank you. Again. And sorry for getting you in trouble,” she said with the most adorable grin that said she’d get him in trouble every day of the week.
Damn, she was the most appealing woman he’d met in a very long time. Her daredevil, risk-taking, adventure-loving and the-hell-with-rules nature spoke to him. Standing there now with her hair a mess, dirt streaked across her forehead, but the happiest expression at having found what she’d been searching for, she was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.
“That’s okay. I’m happy you found the compass,” he said.
She looked as though there was something more she wanted to say...and he waited, holding his breath. Would she want to see him again? She was headed home... They’d only just met...
She cleared her throat and nodded. “Right. So, thanks again.”
Dwayne watched as she headed toward the taxi station on the side of the road. Maybe he could ask her to dinner while she was still in town? Maybe she’d consider staying a few more days...
