Page 36 of Cheyenne

Micah was impressed. “Yep. My grandparents, Jack and Susan Stone, left all kinds of treasure hunts for Trey and his siblings.” He let out a light laugh. “All of them wanted this treasure hunt to be over, so they decided they were done when the house was nearly blown up, Mr. Banks was killed, and the family was put through a lot of difficulty.”

Cheyenne nodded. “I heard about that.”

Micah shrugged. “But it can’t be over until it’s all the way over, you know? We know the gold went to Wyoming. My grandfather took it to your father.” He smirked. “That sounds weird. But it’s never over. We’re always uncovering something new in this gold hunt, and it’s always at the back of everyone’s mind.”

Cheyenne lightly brushed her hand over the journal. “Where is it, Jack? Do you know?”

“Are you hearing any answers?” Micah asked, smiling.

She rolled her eyes and put the journal back inside the case. “No, but we need to get the amulet back to where it belongs, or I guarantee I’ll be hearing about it from Saint Catherine. When can we return it?” Her expression was miserable as she looked toward the windows. “It’s getting dark.”

Micah put everything back inside the glass case and shut it, securing it all with the proper code.

Cheyenne moved to the large window overlooking the ocean, and Micah joined her. The sun was setting, casting orange and pink streaks across the sky. Hardly any people were out on the beach.

Micah wanted to take her hand and kiss her. Her long blonde hair was almost all the way down her back. She was the rodeo queen, and she was trim and fit. Plus, she was feisty and fun. What would be the harm in having a relationship with her?

She turned, as if she could read his thoughts. “It’s beautiful here.”

He rested his arm around her shoulders. “It is.”

They stayed that way until the sun completely set.

Cheyenne looked up at him. “Should we return the amulet tonight?”

He shook his head, thinking about the crypt beneath the church. How could they sneak back in without raising any red flags? “No. It’s late. Let’s go tomorrow.”

She tugged her phone out of her pocket. “Wow. It is late.” She yawned. “I’m more tired than I realized. It just hit me.”

Micah was all keyed up by her presence next to him. His mind was running through all kinds of scenarios that had Cheyenne in his life, in his future. “I’ll take you back tomorrow, and we can have an adventure putting something back into a grave this time.”

Cheyenne nodded. “Sounds like a good reason to never date you, with a pickup line like that.”

Micah laughed, wanting to come up with a zinger of his own, but he was suddenly lost in those eyes. Without thinking, he moved closer and pulled her flush against him. Every part of him was yearning, wanting, begging to kiss her.

Cheyenne looped her arms around his neck. “Are you ever going to kiss me, sailor?”

CHAPTER 18

Cheyenne

Micah stared at her lips, and she could feel the tension in his body. If she wanted to make a bad joke, she could tell him it was hard to be in the presence of someone with such strength. But it really didn’t feel like a time to joke. She was caught up in the intensity of this man. He was so strong, yet sensitive enough to ask her if it was okay to pray over their food. At every turn, he had tried to help her, and he had made this whole experience amazing.

Her heart raced as she waited for him to press his lips to hers, though she didn’t know what that would mean.

A smile quirked the corners of his lips as he said, “Do you want me to kiss you? Because I’m not in the business of kissing women who don’t want to be kissed.”

Again, she was amazed by this guy and his manners and so many things that seemed so right about him. “Yes, I want you to kiss me.”

A small, guttural noise came out of him, and then he bent and pressed his lips to hers.

Hanging out with her sisters-in-law and hearing their stories about falling in love with her brothers had done a number onher. At one point, she’d refused to hear any more sappy love stories. Yet here she was, completely caught up in one of her own. His lips were soft, her knees went weak, and she found herself holding onto him tighter, moving her lips against his softly and then more hungrily.

She wasn’t sure how long they kissed, but he finally pulled back and sucked in a long breath of air. A huge grin filled his face. “Wow. Just wow.”

It was impossible not to laugh at the complete honesty in his reaction. His childlike wonder at the kiss made her feel like she’d gone from soaring in the skies to speeding in a spaceship. She giggled.

He kept her close to him, pressing his forehead to hers and peering into her eyes. It was a funny way to look at her.

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