Something Wilder

The image sent a jolt of awareness straight through her, pinging parts of her body that ached to be touched. She could have gone to Leo’s tent. She’d definitely wanted to. He would have let her in, too. Lily knew he would have said or done whatever she asked. He always had.

“Thanks for pitching mine,” she told her. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Oh, I know what you were thinking.” Nicole swung a leg over a wide rock and sat facing her. “And normally I’d tell you to get yours and ride that boy like a bronco, but I thought we were focusing on this.” She pointed out to the canyons and the wild, coiling landscape that would undoubtedly need all their attention over the next two days.

Lily carefully measured coffee grounds, avoiding Nic’s eyes. Nicole was risking just as much as Lily was. They would both be liable if something went wrong. Leo was a distraction they didn’t need. “We’re doing this,” Lily assured her. “I didn’t have my head on straight last night, that’s all. It would never work between us anyway.”

“I don’t know about that.” Nicole tilted her head. “Anyone who says money can’t solve problems has always had money.” She lifted the pot of boiling water and poured it slowly over the grounds. “We find this treasure, and your whole outlook’ll change. Hell, maybe I’ll buy out the property next to the ranch. Imagine the spread!”

Lily liked this plan, a lot. Too much to look at it directly. “What if it’s not for sale?”

Nic winked. “When you got money, everything’s for sale.”

A throat cleared behind them, and they turned to see Leo clutching an armful of wet clothes. All three of them knew exactly why those clothes were wet, and Lily’s cheeks burned.

“Okay if I put these out here?” He nodded to the small tree where Lily’d hung her own sodden pile.

Nicole stood, her lips stretched in a smug smile. “I’m gonna pack up my tent and wake the others.”

Leo took care of the clothes, and Lily handed him a mug of strong coffee.

“Can we talk about yesterday?” he asked.

“I’d rather not.”

He took a sip and stared down into the dark liquid. “Okay. Sure.”

But she knew it wasn’t okay. She’d pulled him back. She’d kissed him.

“I need you to not…” She trailed off. Look at me like that. She blinked over to the fire, searching for the words there. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think you’re sorry you did it.” She looked up at him, surprised. “And I’m not sorry you did it. If you did it again, I wouldn’t stop you.”

“I won’t,” she told him firmly. “We’re not teenagers anymore, Leo.”

“I wasn’t a teenager when I worked at the ranch.” He smiled but held up his hands when she set her jaw and glared at him. “Okay. I’m done.”

With a wild flame of golden waves atop his head, Bradley walked over, still yawning. “Jesus. That was some storm last night.” He poured himself a mug of coffee, oblivious to the tension hovering over the small campfire. “Thought we’d get washed right out of here.”

“Nah.” She waved this off. “That was nothing.”

Walter joined them, too, scruffy and shuffling sleepily over. He looked like he belonged out here. The rugged look worked. Lily poured him a coffee while he found a place to sit.

“What about when we go down today?” Bradley asked. “Can we expect more rain?”

“I didn’t even know it rained in the desert,” Walter said.

“We get about ten inches a year,” Lily told them. “Mostly in the spring.” She looked up to where the sky had gone from sherbet-hued to bright blue. The air felt calm. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. “The ten-day forecast had about a thirty percent chance for showers yesterday, but normally we’d be pretty high up, so I wasn’t worried. Should be clear the rest of the way, though.”

“Just slick as shit, so be careful,” Nicole added.

“Can I ask what might be a dumb question?” Leo asked, staring down as he flipped a short stick along the backs of his fingers.

“Shoot,” Nicole answered.

“Now that we have this photograph and we have an idea of where we’re headed, what exactly are we expecting?” He looked up, squinting at Nic and then at Lily in the weak morning sun. “Once we get down there, let’s say we find the cabin. Hopefully we find the stump. Do we think that’s where Duke hid everything?”

“It’s possible, but I’m guessing not.” Lily winced. “You remember how my dad lived for puzzles and games? Well, if a code or riddle near the stump doesn’t tell us where to go to find the money, hopefully it will at least tell us our next step. I bet you my left arm that if this treasure hunt is real, he left ciphers all over the place.”