Page 29 of Bear In A Bookstore
He watched her silently reading the pages. She relaxed some and looked like she was enjoying herself as she ran a finger beneath each line. Her forehead scrunched as she concentrated. His insides jumped. He’d never wanted to kiss someone so badly in his life.
Kora glanced up and her gaze fell on his lips.
“The exciting thing is that each set of clues alludes to there being treasure of some sort at each location, which might mean there isn’t just one big jackpot, but several smaller ones.”
Taking a drink of coffee to give himself something to do besides kiss her, Desi sat back on his stool.
“Listen, tell me what you think this means.”
A bounty
Where invincible veins
Feed guts of sleepless giants
Flower’s perfume masks bloody mouths
Eyes wide and sparkling, she practically hummed with excitement. “Do you want me to read it again?”
“You’ve figured it out?”
She nodded.
“Are you going to tell me?”
Kora repositioned the book in front of him and came around the counter to slide onto a stool beside him. The fresh smell of shampoo and woman filled his nose. His bear yawned deep inside him, stirring as it woke to her scent. She sidled up to him so closely, they were nearly touching.
“A bounty would indicate the treasure, right? That’s pretty easy. Where invincible veins feed the guts of sleeping giants . . . what do you think that is?”
Hesitating, he began to speak but she hurriedly cut him off. “Rail lines. Going through tunnels in the mountains! What kind of tunnels have a rail line going through them?”
“Mines.”
“Yes! Mines. Okay, flower’s perfume masks bloody mouths. What else besides gold were pulled from local mines?”
He thought a moment. “Iron. Copper—”
“Right! Say the miners were inhaling dust or dirt containing these elements, they might get the taste of blood in their mouths. Because blood gets its signature taste from the metal in our bodies.”
Desi grinned wide. She was on to something. And he knew just where this was going.
“The scent of flowers could be the perfume worn by workers at the brothel. Which means, this clue could indicate the mines directly behind the street your bookstore sits on.”
She wagged her eyebrows. “It was pretty easy to figure out, so I’m sure people have already looked there. But, yes, I think that’s exactly what this is referencing.”
The mines behind the store had been boarded up for over a century. Surely, if there was buried treasure there, someone would have found it by now.
“How would one access the mines if they wanted to have a look around?”
“They wouldn’t if they had any brains. There have been several cave-ins there in the past.”
Desi’s phone rang. “Excuse me a sec.” He answered the call.
“Where you at, son?”
“I’m on a job, Dad. I’ll catch up with you a little later.”
“Meet me at the bakery. We need to talk.”
