Page 108 of Knotting With A Stranger

Inside, stacked in neat rows, are dozens of gold bars, each about the size of a smartphone. Mixed among them are leather pouches Hunter picks up, and they clink with the unmistakable sound of coins.

“Holy shit,” James breathes, crouching beside Hunter. “How much do you think is in there?”

“Millions,” Archer estimates. “Gold prices today... this could be worth five, maybe ten million.”

I stare at the gleaming treasure, struggling to process what I’m seeing. It’s like something from a movie, not real life—not my life, certainly.

Hunter reaches in among the gold and pulls out a sealed envelope, yellowed with age, then he comes out into the basement. His hands tremble slightly as he breaks the seal and unfolds several pages of handwritten text.

“It’s from Grandfather,” he whispers, as if it’s hard for him to contain his emotions. He clears his throat and begins to read.

My dear Hunter,

If you’re reading this, then you and Travis have finally put aside your differences long enough to solve my little puzzle. For that alone, I am proud of you both.

I must confess something that may anger you initially: I have known the location of the ‘lost’ Thorne treasure for over forty years. I found it one summer, hidden in a cave system on the north ridge where no one had thought to look before.

I did not keep this discovery secret out of greed or selfishness. I used much of it to rebuild our family’s legacy—the cabin where you now stand, the ranch that has provided for our family for generations, the additional land that ensures our privacy and self-sufficiency.

The remainder I have divided equally—half here in your home, half in an identical hiding place in Travis’s ranch house. Yes, there is a secret compartment there as well.

I know Travis is difficult to understand. His path has been harder than yours in many ways. The abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother’s family haunts him still. I tried to gain custody of him after your parents and his father died, fought through legal channels for years, but I failed him. This treasure is my small attempt to make amends for that failure.

My deepest wish is that you boys find a way to make peace. Family is the only treasure that truly matters in this life. Everything else is just metal and stone.

The gold is yours to do with as you see fit. I ask only that you consider what truly brings happiness before you decide how to use it.

With all my love and faith in you both,Grandfather Malcolm.

Hunter lowers the letter, his ice-blue eyes suspiciously bright in the dim light. For the first time since I met him, the mountain man looks vulnerable, his usual stoic demeanor cracking to reveal the pain beneath.

Without thinking, I move to him, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders. For a moment he stiffens, then relaxes into the embrace, his head bowing to rest against my shoulder. James places a steadying hand on his back while Archer rests a palm on his arm. The four of us connected in a moment of shared emotion that tightens my throat.

“Travis has the same amount waiting for him at his place,” Hunter says finally, his voice rough. “He just didn’t know it. I will let him know.”

I stare at the three men surrounding me—Hunter with his intense strength, James with his protective possessiveness, and Archer with his addictive affection. Men who were strangers justdays ago but now feel more essential to me than almost anyone else in my life.

I think about the bakery, about Hannah coming to pick me up later today, about the reality waiting for me outside this mountain cabin. Something twists painfully in my chest at the thought of leaving.

“So what happens now?” I ask, looking from one man to the next. “With the treasure? With Travis?” With us, I want to say, but the words refuse to come. My chest is clenching really hard.

Hunter rises to his feet, carefully folding his grandfather’s letter. “We need to pull the treasure out first,” he says, practical as always.

James and Archer move to help, the three of them working together to slide the heavy container out of its hiding place. Thor watches from the stairs, tail wagging with excitement at all the activity.

“As for Travis,” Hunter continues once the chest sits in the middle of the basement floor, gleaming dully in the overhead light. “Maybe someday we can make up. Maybe. He’s still the one who broke into my home and endangered everyone here.”

“One step at a time,” Archer suggests, resting a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “The old man was right about one thing—family matters.”

“Family isn’t always blood,” James adds quietly, his gaze moving between all of us.

The words hang in the air, full of meaning I’m almost afraid to examine too closely. I don’t know if that includes me… not sure how it can when we are just getting to know each other. Am I just a guest they helped, someone who’ll leave their lives as quickly as I entered it?

My stomach turns with uncertainty, but as I watch them, I’m struck by how right it feels to be here with them. How natural.

“We should celebrate,” Archer announces suddenly, breaking the somber mood. “This calls for champagne, or at the very least, some of Hunter’s expensive whiskey.”

“It’s barely noon,” I point out, though I can’t help smiling at his enthusiasm.

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