Page 140 of He's the One

“Have a lovely holiday. Bring me back some rum cake.”

“What’s wrong with my rum cake?”

“Nothing,” Col said quickly.Shit.

“We’ll do a taste test when we get back,” said his father.

“And I’ll win. How is everything, Col?”

“Great.”

“How’s Dominic?” his mother asked.

“He’s doing okay. He put Theo on his list so he can visit with me.”

“And Theo wants to go?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry we weren’t more supportive of you over your brother,” said his father.

Col sagged. “All that he did was for me.”

“We just thought you’d be better not remembering,” his mum whispered.

“That’s impossible.”

“You’ve been a kind and loyal brother. We should have expected that.” His mum cleared her throat. “What are you up to today?”

“Theo’s taking me metal detecting this morning.”

“How exciting,” she said.

“Don’t find a bomb,” his dad added.

“Livingston Thomas,” she snapped. “What a thing to say! Col make—”

“Yes, I’ll be careful.”

“We have to go now. Text me when you’ve stopped using the detector so I know you’re safe.”

“I will. Bye.”

Col wondered if finding a bomb was actually a possibility. Not one he wanted to think about.

He spotted Theo bounding his way, a broad smile on his face. While Col was watching, Theo did one of those little jumps in the air, tried to click his heels and fell over. He dusted himself down, tried again, and when he managed the click, he flung his arms in the air in delight.

“I got the batteries. Almost more difficult to track down than treasure. We’re ready to go. Well, once I put the batteries in.” He pulled them out of his pocket.

Moments later, Theo picked up the detector, Col grabbed the bag and shovel, and they set off.

“Explain what it can do,” Col said.

“Detect to a depth of 30 cm and differentiate between ferrous and non-ferrous metals. I can set it to only look for precious metals though that means we’re less likely to find anything and not everything special is made of gold and silver. The beep tone is different for each substance. You get used to the sounds.”

“What if we find a bomb?”

“I did a bomb disposal course, just in case.” Theo didn’t miss a beat. “Though I kept getting the wires mixed up.”

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