Page 127 of A Moment In Time

“The mayor’s girlfriend and escort to all social events.”

She nodded. “I can work with that.”

“Good.”

Sydney cocked her head. “Do either of these promotions come with a raise?”

Gage grinned. “I believe the Calaway Report can afford to bump up your wages some. And as for the other, it comes with some perks.”

“Really? Like what?”

He shrugged. “You get to sleep with the mayor.”

Sydney laughed. “Good perk. But I’m already doing that.”

He pointed at her. “No. You’re sleeping with the mayor elect.”

“Right. Okay. I gratefully accept both promotions.”

“Great. Your first assignment as the mayor’s girlfriend is to order dinner to go, then escort him to his house in the woods.”

“Will I be coming home tonight?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

She stood. “I’ll go get that food ordered.”

“And put a sign on the door. We’ll open again Monday morning.”

Gage and Sydney were sitting on the front porch. They’d just finished the meal she’d ordered from the tavern, and she reached for his hand.

“Will you tell me about him?”

Gage was quiet for a moment. “We were inseparable. We did everything together. The twin connection thing was strong with us.” He turned in his seat toward her. “I’ll never be completely whole.” She nodded, and he went on. “He was more outgoing than I was. My parents told me when we were toddlers, he did all the talking for us. They were a little afraid I’d grow up in his shadow, and that once we got to school, he continue being our voice. But they didn’t have the heart to separate us. And I did just fine. In fact, I got in trouble for talking in class more than he did.”

“You must miss him terribly.”

“I do. And I always will.”

“Can you tell me what you were looking for in your office yesterday morning?”

Gage took his wallet from his pocket, then removed the baseball card. He handed it to her.

“Is this valuable?”

Gage shook his head. “Only to me. The guy only lasted a couple of seasons in the majors. But I gave it to Seth for our birthday.”

“Oh.” She studied the card for a moment, then gave it back to him. “What did he give you?”

Gage put his wallet into his pocket, then took out his key ring and showed her a small silver key. “This is the key to a buried treasure.”

“What was it?”

Gage shrugged. “I don’t know. I never opened it. He’d hidden it in a secret spot we had in the barn. It’s still there.”

“Aren’t you curious about what’s in it?”

“I think about it once in a while. Someday I’ll open it.”

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