Page 37 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

Cutting off whatever Mom is about to say, she says, “Mom, Lachlan just walked in the office. He really wants to talk to you! Yeah,” she nods. “Okay, I will be sure to do that. Bye, Mom.”

She tosses the phone at me while she runs around the counter. As she rushes through the front door, she collides with Callum, and they land on the ground in a twist of limbs. I watch Ingrid's eyes widen as she frantically pushes off his chest. Inthe process, she accidentally knees him in the crotch. Without looking back, she sprints toward the barn, her face flaming red.

I stand there with my jaw slack, watching my best friend roll around on the ground. My mom's voice catches my attention, and I realize she is trying to talk to me.

Aislinn runs over to Callum to see if he is okay as I clear my throat. “Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“Hi, Lachy. I got your message and was just returning your call when Ingrid picked up. She seemed a bit distracted,” she says.

I stare at Callum as he slowly pushes off the ground, and Aislinn helps him waddle toward a chair in the entryway.

“We were out on Topaz Ridge Trail with the horses when you called. We just got back. The reason I called earlier was to see if you knew anything about a mine on Gramps’ property,” I state.

Mom goes silent for the first time that I can remember, before murmuring, “You found it.” It’s not a question but a statement. She sounds in utter shock about the discovery.

“Mom, what do you know about the mine?” I ask.

She doesn’t utter a word, and I actually look down at the phone to see if we got disconnected. Usually, I can’t get a word in with Mom and end up sitting while she tells me a monologue.

She releases a heavy sigh. “I always assumed it was just a legend. It wasn’t Gramps’ mine, but his father’s, back in the early 1900s. My father was the oldest of his three siblings. He was only eight years old when his father, your great-grandfather, Hamish, passed away in a mining accident. The story your grandfather told me was that Hamish mined topaz, which helped support the family, but he did it solo. Your grandmother, Isla, saw him off one morning when he left for the mine, but on that day, he never came home. She assumed he died in the mine. Unfortunately,she didn’t ride horses and therefore had never accompanied him to the mine. The location was never discovered. Your grandfather named the trail Topaz Ridge because his mother always pointed that direction as the path Hamish would take to reach the mine. When some townspeople went searching, they never found any evidence. There were lots of places where horseshoe prints were visible, but since all of his supplies could be carried in saddlebags, there were no cart tracks.”

“What about his horse?” I ask, captivated by her story.

“The horse was found tied to a tree, but there were no signs of Hamish. It was as if he disappeared into thin air. The trail was a dead end,” she sighs.I hear her take a long drink of water before continuing, “I have a few pieces of jewelry, which were passed down to me, containing raw cut topaz. Where did you find it?”

I respond, “At the top of Topaz Ridge, there is a ledge. I was out there last night when Aislinn fell down the embankment and landed on a ledge. While we waited for Noah to arrive with some rope, Aislinn discovered an old rope ladder on the hillside and then the entrance to a mine. We took pictures today.”

But I’m cut off by my mom’s desperate voice. “Aislinn? Who is Aislinn?”

I clear my throat as my cheeks warm. “Uh, she is the new vet in town, Dr. Aislinn Braniff, and the woman I’m currently seeing.”

I know we haven’t talked about it, but I have no plans on seeing anyone else, and I hope she feels the same. I glance over and see her grin at me. She bites her lower lip and gives me a little nod of agreement. I internally sigh in relief. I’m falling for this woman as hard and fast as a category five hurricane.

I’m brought back to the present by a shrill squeal. “Wait till I tell your father! When do we get to meet her, Lachy? Are you coming over for dinner soon? Make sure you bring her.”

I shake my head, laughing. “Don’t worry, Mom. We will make our way over there, but please don’t scare her away. Maybe you can come to a Saturday night barbeque at the ranch?”

The feeling of a soft palm pressing into mine startles me just before I feel Aislinn’s breath on my ear. “I don’t think your mom could scare me away if she tried. I believe you are stuck with me.”

Smiling down at her, I squeeze her hand. I quickly redirect the conversation, asking, “Mom, do you know anything else about the mine? We are planning to get ahold of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Hopefully, someone can get out here and tell us a bit more about whether it’s safe or operational. We saw lots of evidence of stones still unharvested in the rockery.”

“Can you send me the photos?” she asks.

“As soon as we hang up, I will send them your way,” I reply.

I can hear the smile in her voice as she says, “Okay. I love you, Lachy. You will see your dad and me soon.” Before she hangs up, I hear her yell, “Graham! Honey? You will never guess what Lachlan found. Grandpa’s topaz mine and a girlfriend all in the same week!”

Shaking my head, I hang up. I look over and see Aislinn grinning with a twinkle in her eyes.

“You are such a lucky man. A mine and a girlfriend in the same week,” she says erupting in laughter.

I wrap my arm around her shoulders. “You know it! Ready to sit down at the computer to see what the next steps are with the mine?”

Before Aislinn can answer, Callum chimes in, croaking, “Hey, Arsewipe, I’ll live. Thanks for asking. Your sister is driving me crazy. What is wrong with her these days?”

I shrug. I’d totally forgotten he was sitting there. “No clue. Are you seriously just noticing, Callum? My sister has always been a bit weird, but I still love her. Maybe she had a bad date or something.”

Callum stands up and storms off with a noticeable limp to his gait.I watch him round the corner toward the barn, then shake my head. Pulling Aislinn onto my lap, we sit in front of the laptop and begin our search for contact information.

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