Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73665 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
If I had to guess, this place has probably been in the family for generations. It has seen a lot of kids growing up. I wonder, with its state of disrepair, if there’s anyone left who wants to come back. What will happen to the family farm when Mr. and Mrs. Davis pass away? I hope there’s someone who will come back and care for it.
History like this deserves to be preserved.
This beauty, all these stories, the land, the buildings, the sky, the endless years, the earth…
I fill my lungs with crisp country air, my spine melting against the driver’s side door as the tension I didn’t realize I was carrying all spooled inside my muscles ebbs away.
I can’t help myself. I grin like Bellatrix did. Hers was at some private joke, I’m sure, but mine is just for the joy of being out here again. It’s for the excitement of the hunt, of all those treasures just waiting to be discovered. I don’t think it matters how rich you are, or what age, or where you came from. If you love that kind of thing, you’re always going to love it.
It’s been too long.
Far, far too long.
I would never have thought Bellatrix would plan something like this.
Last night, I might have guessed what we’d be doing, but based on her plans the first time, I never would have guessed this would be on her list of experiences to give me.
“Hey, Rowleigh?”
I startle, borderline jump-scaring out of my skin, and find Bellatrix just a few feet away. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t even see her coming. That, and I’m also still angled away from the house.
She tosses me a water bottle and a white mask, the kind actually meant for farm wear. “Do you think you can out-treasure-hunt me? It’s been a while, so you’re probably pretty rusty. Do you even know what an antique looks like anymore?”
I catch the water bottle in one hand and the mask by the strings. Barely.
She grins saucily, thrusting out a hip in a cocky pose that draws my eyes straight to her flowing curves, her long legs encased in those tight jeans, and the way her shirt is a little bit tight over her breasts but flowy everywhere else. I have to get my mask in place, and I’m not talking about the N95.
“Treasure hunt,” I blurt, my voice so high that it sounds like I just tea-bagged myself. “Out hunt me? Yes, probably.”
She snorts. “It’s not a challenge if you don’t rise to it.”
“With picking, either you find stuff, or you don’t, but it’s not always the obvious finds that are worth it.”
“Uh…” She removes the mask from the plastic packaging, flexes the plastic strings, and slips it over her face. “I’m not sure I’m following.” She sounds like she’s talking through a wall of cotton.
“You might want to wait to put that on, or you’ll be sweating it out in no time.”
“I’m good.” She shakes her head, causing her messy bun to wobble.
“You don’t have your glasses on today.”
“They’ll fog up with the mask. I’m wearing contacts.”
“They might attract dust and dirt,” I say to her.
“I brought some solution, and I’ll take them out as soon as I’m done. I’ll be okay. Besides, how bad could an old barn be?”
My mind peels back the years, going through the many, many picks I did. The worse the hoard looked, the more fun it was to sift through. I throw my head back and laugh, my throat turning up to the sun. I laugh until my stomach starts to hurt a little, and I only stop when I catch Bellatrix giving me a strange side eye and studying me while pretending she’s not.
“I’ve seen some floor-to-ceiling packing before. Did you ask how long it’s been since the barn was touched?”
“They said just a few years,” Bellatrix replies.
“Great. Let’s go crack the door.”
I opt for the big double doors at the front since they’ll let in more air. They meet in the middle, so I set my water bottle and the mask down, head over to one, and put all my weight into pushing. It creaks like it’s been a heck of a lot more than a few years. The moan that shakes loose from the barn is so eerie that Bellatrix jumps in place.
“What was that?”
“Just the building shifting now that the door is open. It’s like a person taking a big gulp of air after bursting through the water’s surface.”
She brushes past me, trailing a mouthwatering scent of strawberries and pears, and peeks into the gloom. A low sound tears from her throat. It’s the kind of whimper that hits me straight in the nuts. I didn’t know nuts swelling was a thing, but mine feel…enlarged. It was that sexy as fuck noise she made, just like she did at the piano when I touched her…