bag open. When he did, the bag practically disintegrated in his hands, and what poured out was the most beautiful array of colors he’d ever seen. In the light of the waning candle, the glittering jewels lit up the cave, splashing it in an array of colors that was just like a true-to-life rainbow in the center of a mountain.”
A smile pulls at Lucas’s lips. Wyatt kicks at a plant, causing dust to plume in front of us, and Stone just listens silently.
“Well, my great great great you know Granddad almost had a heart attack. He opened up all the bags, gleaming at the treasure before his eyes. There was gold, silver, and jewels. The prettiest jewelry one could ever imagine. He put everything right back where it was before he packed up his gear and went home. For ages, he acted like nothing happened. You know how secretive mining can be. He never told anyone about the vein he was on, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell anyone that he stumbled upon a treasure the likes no one had ever seen before. Secretly, he did his homework, wondering what in the world he’d come across. When his sons were old enough, he started taking them to the cave, showing them not only how to mine the gold, but the treasure he’d found years ago.”
“It happened like that,” I say, “Every Wilder passing it on to their children. Did you know I’m the only Wilder child in history who isn’t a male? Dad said that never mattered though because I have a heart of gold and the smarts, too.”
Lucas leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek. “He’s right, you know.” He beams at me, then asks, “How did the secret get out?”
My blood curdles. “When my great great great you know grandfather had his fiftieth wedding anniversary with his wife, he wanted to get her something really nice. To show her how much he loved her. So, he asked his eldest son to grab the prettiest piece of jewelry he could from the mountain treasure. When he gave it to her, he told his wife they’d earned it mining, but in reality, it was from the deposit they’d found. The one he’d never uttered a word about before. It’s as if he knew what was about to happen.” I grind my teeth together. “Once she started wearing the ring around town, the other miners got jealous. They thought he’d struck it rich up there. Clary was like it is today. No one was making much money, so he was always very careful. He let it slip one time to get his wife something nice. Just one time.”
The end of this story never ceased to make me madder than hell and more determined than ever to find the treasure. It’s like I’ve been wanting to stick it to the people of Clary my whole life. Stick it to people like Stone Jacobs.
“Next time the son went into their cave, he was followed. A guy from town laid in wait, searched the caves while Wilder was mining. He found the treasure alright. He tried to take it out, right in front of my ancestor’s eyes. They got in a fight, and my great great whatever granddad was killed. The loudmouth thief left the body and the treasure there, but when he got back to Clary, he started spilling the beans. It got back to the patriarch of the Wilders that his son was dead. He was so fuming mad, he went into the center of town where a bunch of townspeople were mounting horses to get to the treasure, and he shot that thieving son of a bitch dead for what he’d done.” I gulp. “Unfortunately, he had a heart attack right there in the center of town. It destroyed my family.”
I clear my throat to stifle some of the emotion threatening to burst out. It’s a terrible story any way you look at it, but when you think that it’s your own history. The same genes that ran through them run through me, I can’t help but feel it more. “When word got back to the family that not only the dad was dead but his brother, too, the youngest son told his mom what they’d found. They vowed never to talk about it again. Most of the clues out there come from that thieving asshole’s mouth when he told the townspeople where it was located.