Page 195 of Cross & Crown

---

is littered with large boulders.”

“Yeah.” JD nodded, eyes sparkling. “I was telling Nick, we

passed a sign for something called Egg Rock, apparently it’s a

big deal. The city even carved a memorial into it. It can’t be

the only one.”

“What are we supposed to do, inspect every rock on the

riverbank?” Nick snapped.

195

“We can try the area around the bridge, at least.” Julian

sounded almost desperate. He took a step toward Nick, one

hand up. “We’ve come all this way.”

Nick met Kelly’s eyes briefly. He seemed at his wit’s

end with this. Kelly knew it was frustrating for Nick to fail,

especially when lives hung in the balance. But it wasn’thisboyfriend who was being held prisoner, and Julian was asking

for nothing but a little more patience. So they headed for the

bridge as a brisk wind plucked at their jackets and ruffled

Kelly’s hair.

Nick stepped onto the wooden bridge and peered over

the edge. It was made entirely of wood, but the ends were

built into rock walls. Spring had brought a lot of rain, and the river was swollen with it. To see the faces of the stones, they would have to get wet. He gestured to Julian. “You two check

the other end.”

Julian and JD headed across the bridge, their footsteps

echoing on the planks. It was a peaceful day, filled with the

sounds of birds chirping, groups of chattering tourists, and

the babbling of the water as it flowed beneath them. Kelly was

kind of enjoying this.

“Who’s going in the water?” Nick asked Kelly.

Kelly held up his fist. Nick mimicked him, and they

counted off. Kelly threw paper, then laughed as he covered

Nick’s fist with his hand. “Always the rock.”

---