Page 17 of Chance

Chance dropped to his knees and started his day with prayer. His mother and father had taught all his siblings to pray. It was helpful in getting him through the different things in his work life that troubled him. He found himself praying for Kelly, for the Stone family, and for his brothers and sister.

Once he finished, he flipped through the journal, hoping for more clarity today. He paused on the scribblings of the cross that matched the one in Wilmington. He tried to think about how two Navy SEALs—his father and the Stones’ father—would handle a situation like the gold. They must have been very good friends if his father had agreed to help.

There still wasn’t clear evidence, besides the letter, that his father had taken the gold off their hands. Heaven knew they’d spent a long time looking for the gold on the property.

Chance moved into the bathroom and paused as he saw his reflection in the mirror. At first he’d hated the changes, but now he sort of liked seeing himself as a beach guy. He had a day’s worth of growth on his face, and he decided to leave it. He was on vacation, after all.

He thought about taking Kelly to dinner tonight, and something akin to teenage nervousness bubbled inside of him. Which was ridiculous. They weren’t teenagers. From their brief conversation, he knew she had to be running from something. And he was determined to find out what.

Half an hour later, Chance walked into the Stone family kitchen. Ava and Trey were both there, and they looked like they were expecting him.

Trey gestured to the seat at the table. “We thought we could talk today. You came in last night and went straight to bed. We wanted to hear more about that cross you told everyone about on the call yesterday.”

Ava put down a plate of food. “Eat, and let’s chat.”

“Thank you.” Chance was starving. He sat, said a simple prayer over the food, and began eating.

Trey put the tips of his fingers together and squinted. “I have this feeling that you’re not telling me something. I’ve learned to trust those feelings in my life.” It was a little daunting to see the look on this man’s face—almost like he could see into Chance’s soul.

With a sigh, Chance said, “There might be a slight complication to this whole mission. I ran into a woman I knew from Cross Creek a long time ago.”

Ava lifted her brows. “A woman? You mean someone you dated?”

Leave it to a woman to ask those questions.

He nodded. “We’ve been friends since we were young, but we also dated.”

“Seems like there was more to it than that.” Trey leaned in. “What did you say to her?”

Against Chance’s better judgment, he told them about the whole conversation. “We were friends growing up, and she lived on her grandparent’s ranch. Funny thing was, when we were twelve, we went with her grandparents on this RV trip and crossed the US. We actually vacationed in South Port for a week. She says that’s the reason she decided to put down roots here.”

Ava shook her head. “Putting down roots? What’s her name? I haven’t heard of anyone new.”

“Kelly Hamilton.”

Trey laughed. “Oh gosh. Just what we need—a woman to complicate things.”

Chance couldn’t help but smile. “Believe me, it’s not my preference.”

Ava sat down on the other side of him. “So was she your true love?”

“Ava.” Trey rolled his eyes.

Chance couldn’t help but laugh. “She was definitely important to me.”

“Did you almost marry her?” Ava squinted at him. “You can tell us.”

“Ava!” Something akin to compassion washed over Trey’s face as he turned to Chance. “I’m sorry. My wife and the other women around here are obsessed with this stuff.”

Chance tried not to appear uncomfortable. “She may have been someone I would have married.”

Surprising him, Ava put her hand gently on his shoulder. “That’s rough. But I am sensing a second-chance romance here.”

Chance shook his head. “No, but I do need to talk to her tonight. I told her to call me Rob and not tell anyone I’m from Cross Creek.”

“That’s so exciting.” Ava sighed wistfully.

Trey shook his head. “Ignore my wife. You know how these women are, always matchmaking and thinking everything is a romance novel. You do need to make sure she doesn’t blow your cover. What have you told her?”

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