Page 36 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

She laughs, boldly and confidently, allowing her head to fall back and her hair to brush the top of her backside. “All youwant to do is nuzzle? I had other plans in mind beyond just nuzzling, but fine, we can take it real slow, cowboy.”

My eyes widen as she laughs.

I growl, “What I meant to say is, can we start with nuzzling and see where it leads? Better?”

She nods and opens her mouth to respond, but Callum interrupts us. “Okay, canoodlers, let’s go.”

Aislinn blushes as she pulls my arm toward the edge. I lean down and bury my face in her neck and hair, causing her to giggle as my scruff brushes against her neck.

We make our way over to the ridge and peer down the embankment. It doesn’t seem quite so daunting in the bright daylight. We have lots of rope that we tie to various trees. With sturdy knots in place, we begin to ease our way down the hillside two at a time. I glance over and see Aislinn has on a sturdy pair of hiking boots and thick leather gloves today and smile. Hopefully, this will be an easy trip down to take photos.

My mind wanders. How and who I should contact about this mine once we have photos and GPS coordinates. Callum and I agree it’s still on our land. Hopefully, Mom will get back to me this evening with information about what she might know about the mine.

I wonder if it could still be operational or not.

My feet hit the rocky ledge, and I’m glad it’s a solid ten feet deep and easy to maneuver about without risking injury.

I look up and see Callum and Noah making their way down. I extend my arm, reaching out for Aislinn. Wrapping her in a hug, I kiss the top of her head. Inhaling deeply, I take in her calming scent. I’m relieved our descent went smoothly.

Callum and Noah come up behind me, and one of them strongly pats me on the back.

Callum says, “Alright, man, lead the way.”

We stride toward the shadows of the overhang, and as we leave the bright sun, we pause, allowing our eyes to adjust to the low light. I blink into the darkness. Suddenly, a bright light illuminates the area. I glance over my shoulder to see Noah holding a massive floodlight. He pops out the legs on the flashlight and sets it on the ground so it’s pointing toward the entrance of the mine.

Large timbers create an eerie entrance. Dust fragments shimmer in the beams of light. The opening is crudely cut into the hillside. The light reflects off bits of shiny pieces as it bounces into the rectangular opening.

“What kind of stone is it? Or is it copper?” asks Callum.

Noah responds first, “Since your grandfather named this trail Topaz Ridge, I’m guessing it’s topaz, Lachlan. I see amber and pale blue colors bouncing off the wall.”

I nod in agreement. “That would make sense. But I thought topaz was open mined on the surface.”

Aislinn looks at me sheepishly. “So I did a little research during my lunch break and read that it can be surface mined or underground. Who knows, maybe your grandfather slid down the side like I did last night and noticed some stones on the surface. As he chipped away, maybe he found more. Then he turned it into an amateur operation.”

I place my hand on my jawline and think about it. “I suppose so. It just seems like such an odd location. But this is definitely old and done by hand. This wasn’t a professional operation at all.”

Noah clears his throat to get our attention, “Okay, so let’s get some photos of the entrance, up close of the timbers, and if we can get some shots of the raw gems, that would be greattoo. I’ll plug the coordinates into my GPS to give us an exact location.”

We all take out our phones and start snapping photos of what we think may be important to document. I see Aislinn going toward the mine. Just as she goes to step into the entrance, I quickly reach for her bicep.

“We really shouldn’t go in there until it’s deemed structurally safe. We also don't know if the air quality is breathable,” I whisper in her ear as I pull her close.

She nods and wraps her arms around my waist. “I know, I just wanted a closer look. Should we go?” she asks.

I give her one last squeeze, then step away and look toward Noah and Callum. “Let’s head back up and returm to the main office. I looked up the website this morning for the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and I’m hoping Mom will call back soon.”

Noah reaches down and flips off the flashlight, allowing the shadows to envelop us once more. We can see the sunlight straight ahead and slowly walk toward the brightness where our ropes are waiting for us to make the climb back to the top.

Chapter 33

Lachlan

Aislinn’s delicate hand is encased in mine as I open the office door and stride to the front desk. Chloe and Finn come bounding around the counter and greet us in a flurry of fur.

I look up and see Ingrid on the phone. She seems to be listening and rolls her eyes, pointing at the phone. It must be Mom. I smile, knowing she is lecturing Ingrid on some aspect of her life. I’m up next, but at least I have to ask her about the mine and get her onto a different topic than why she doesn’t have grandkids.

Deciding to end Ingrid’s misery, I reach my hand toward her, motioning for the phone. Ingrid is smiling and nodding.

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