This Fearless Girl (St. Clary's University #2) - E. M. Moore Page 0,27

“It’s a shame it’s been kept in this safe all these years.” He reaches down to squeeze my hand, his fingertips skirting over my ring finger. I understand his meaning, but I’m not ready to broach that right now. I’d first have to get over the fact that I’ve thought the ring was bad luck my entire life.

“Ready for the next thing?” I ask.

Wyatt tips his cowboy hat back. “It feels like Christmas, not gonna lie.”

I tip the canister even more, and a gold nugget hits the stone top. Several gasps escape the guys, but I barely hear them over my own. The misshapen kernel is a little smaller than I remembered, but it’s beautiful all the same. I let it sit there. “My dad says we kept this so we could prove when we were on the old Wilder gold vein. We can match up the metal from the same area and we’d know we were really close to the treasure.”

“That’s really...genius,” Stone breathes. “Have you had it tested?”

I shake my head. “There was that pesky problem of being poor.”

Wyatt reaches out. “Well, if you all aren’t going to….” He picks the nugget up between his fingers, bringing it close so he can inspect it. “This is too cool. Actual gold.”

“Actual gold,” I mimic.

“I’ve never seen it in this form,” Lucas says as he holds his palm out so Wyatt can drop the nugget there. He tests the weight of it. “Huh. I thought it would be heavier.”

Stone takes it next. Again, he brings it close to his face, so he can study its exterior. When he’s through, he passes it to me, and I do the same. The yellow gold color gleams. The sphere shape is pocked like the surface of Mars, and for such a small piece, it definitely has some heft to it. It’s a cool piece of history to hold, but I’m anxious to get to the next item. This is where Stone and his resources might come in handy.

Placing the gold nugget and the ring aside, I take a deep breath, reaching inside the tin. The object is covered in old leather for protection. I carefully unroll it and spread it open in front of us.

“Boys,” I say, licking my lips. “This is the only known treasure map of the Wilder treasure.”

Stone gets to his feet, his fingers dancing along the edge of the weathered paper. “Holy fuck,” he breathes.

Wyatt flinches as he stands abruptly. He props himself up with his hands, leaning over the greatest secret of all to get a better view. “An honest-to-God treasure map?”

“Mmm-hmm.” I’m smiling from ear to ear.

Lucas nudges me. “This is… Jesus.” He dives his fingers through his hair, ruffling it in his messy yet sexy way.

“Well, the only problem is that the landmarks may be different,” I say, repeating my father’s words I’ve heard so many times. “Erosion. Rock falls. There’s no key, and it’s doubtful it’s to scale, but yes, it’s a treasure map.”

Upside down v’s skirt along the left and right sides of the map, and a curving line cuts up the center. There are squares scattered throughout with more than a few x’s. They say X marks the spot, but that’s not the case with this map unless all the stories are wrong and there are several treasure hordes.

“Do you know what any of this means?” Stone asks. The awe has left, and he’s back in his analytical brain.

I sigh. “I wish. This was drawn up by my ancestor—the youngest son of the original finder. He never went back into the mountains after he and his mother were left devastated, but he made this for the generations to come. We have all this information,” I say, gesturing toward the yellowing antique paper. “But we can’t find where to start. It’s assumed that these upside-down v’s are mountains. This curving line was originally thought to be a trail, but we’ve since speculated that it’s meant to represent a river. We’re not sure about the squares, and the x’s, well, your guess is as good as mine.”

It doesn’t matter that we don’t know exactly what the map means. To me, it’s always held hope. It just needs that least piece of the puzzle locked into place.

Stone falls back into his chair, his head tipped back so it catches the sun’s rays.

“I think you broke him,” Lucas whispers.

Stone lifts his hand and gives his friend the middle finger. When he lowers it, he opens his eyes