Page 20 of Love Bank
“What’s happening?” The back of my neck was tingling, which always happened when something was going on and could possibly turn bad. I didn’t choose the law enforcement life, the law enforcement life chose me.
“It’s just the young kids being stupid. There’s a legend here in Auburn Hill you should probably know about.” Titus dropped his voice down low.
I couldn’t help myself. I leaned in, wanting to hear every detail. There was something in the human DNA about a good story told around the fire.
Rip took up the story, he and Titus tag teaming. “The first gold nugget in California was found in 1848 in Sutter’s Mill. The first gold nugget to be found in what would become Auburn Hill was found in 1851. Men flocked to the area, looking for their own treasure.”
Titus jumped in. “Thank you, Mr. Historian. People found gold, all right. All the way up until a year later when it seemed to run out. Just like today, there were hundreds of sea caves in these cliffs. It was rumored that the only remaining gold was in the sea caves.”
“’Course, blasting away in a sea cave is fairly dangerous. Several men lost their lives in a horrific sea cave collapse and the group of forty-niners left standing voted to stop mining for gold in the area. It was just too dangerous.”
Amelia wrapped a blanket around her tighter. I was sure they’d all heard this story a hundred times over by now, but everyone’s gaze was firmly trained on the two men. Titus leaned in, his face highlighted by the flickering flames.
“Legend has it that a huge gold mine in one of the sea caves will reveal itself when the time is right. Now, Hell Raisers never miss a chance to have a good time, so over the years the legend morphed into the gold mine revealing itself when the right couple has sex in the right sea cave.”
Rip shook his head like it was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard and I had to agree with him. “So watch yourself, Warden. If you’re ever hiking and come upon a sea cave, might want to give a warning holler before traipsing right in. Half the damn town has been caught in a compromising position.”
Titus made a face like he bit into an unripe lemon. “That’s how I got an eyeful of Poppy Strauss, the mail carrier pushing retirement age. Couldn’t even see the guy she was straddling. Haven’t been able to look her in the eye when she delivers my mail for over three years now.”
I tossed my head back and laughed, hearing it echo back to me off the rocky cliffside. The warmth of the fire kept me from shivering though my skin which was cool from the wind coming off the water. The ocean waves crashing against the shoreline were a perfect backdrop to a perfect evening.
This town was crazy.
And I liked their brand of crazy.
8
Lucille
My car had a weird knocking sound under the hood this morning and it was making me anxious. Of course, everything was making me anxious. I’d blackmailed the warden and hadn’t heard a peep. I may have been a blackmailer, but I at least had some tech savvy. I put a read notice on my email, so I knew he’d opened it. He’d had almost twenty-four hours to respond. What had I gotten?
Crickets.
And the wait was about to drive me right out of my mind.
“Oh dear Lord,” I muttered out loud.
The town sign entering Main Street was graffitied again, this time a bright red spelling out “Hell.” The rogue artist had even spray-painted horns onto the top of the sign, adding a spark of creativity I found comical. The mayor was probably already having a fit over his breakfast, as I was sure the news of the addition had made its way to his house phone.
The smile had barely left my face when I barked out a laugh at the sign in front of the only motel in town. No graffiti here. Just a huge sign with those removable letters you can rearrange for a different message every day if you so choose. And someone chose to. Today’s message was “No meth heads or little dogs in purses.”
Very specific. And totally understandable.
That should keep the riffraff out.
The engine knocked again, a little harder this time as I felt it in my hands on the steering wheel, right as I pulled into the last parking space at Coffee. I really needed to call the mechanic and have him take a peek under the hood. Seemed she needed major work once a year, costing me a small fortune, but I couldn’t bear to give her away. I kept my life buttoned up in most areas—barring the recent blackmailing thing—and the convertible was the one thing I allowed myself to not be practical about.
I climbed out and slammed the door shut, taking the time to pull out my phone from my big tote bag and call the mechanic. I made an appointment for Monday and hoped she made it until then. That done, I headed into Coffee and got in line, scrolling through social media while I waited. I didn’t like working on a Saturday, but many times clients had weekday jobs, which didn’t leave a lot of time for things like fertility treatments.
Normally, I’d socialize a bit while I waited, but with the way my hands were shaking, I didn’t think today was the day to get all friendly. Shaky meant clumsiness waiting to happen in my book. Who knew what would come out of my mouth. I needed some food to settle my stomach and nourish my brain so I could determine my next course of action with the warden.
What kind of name was Bain anyway? I’d finally done some research, discovering the annoying man was from the San Jose area, which made all kinds of sense. He was from The City, thinking everyone in a small town operated on the same premise of strangers even when we’ve seen each other a million times. Nuh-uh. Here we said good morning to just about everyone, dropped by with food when you were down with the flu, and turned a blind eye if we saw you sneaking into a sea cave with a good-looking friend.
Bain.
More like the bane of my existence.
“Next!”
