Page 36 of These Reckless Hearts

Wyatt presses his lips to my shoulder and then gets up, moving toward the tent where he disappears for thirty seconds before coming back out. “Since we had extra help, I packed one of these away.” He shows off a bottle of moonshine. “Straight from the Black Licorice,” he grins, referencing the moonshine bar in town. It’s actually a really cool place. They sell all different flavors, sweet and spicy. Some that will burn your throat like you just drank a lava stream, and some that will trick you and bite you in the ass the next day.

“What kind is it?” Stone asks, grabbing the bottle from him and gazing at the label.

“Chocolate caramel. You know I like it sweet.”

Stone smiles while he twists the lid off, then he pours some back, throat moving as he swallows. He gets it down and then shakes his head a bit. “It’s got a kick but it’s damn good.”

He hands it to me, and I take a swig. It’s sweet when it hits my tongue, but when it glides down the back of my throat, it gets hot, the kick that Stone was talking about in full force. I hand it to Lucas.

“If we had cups, we could toast to this occasion,” Wyatt laments, gaze drifting toward me to see how I’m doing.

Damnit, I love this cowboy.

Lucas hands the bottle off to Wyatt, then wraps his arms around me once again. I lie back against his chest, staring at the stars. Footsteps travel around us in circles about fifty yards out, but I block the noise of the guards and stare at the twinkling sky. The midnight-blue expanse seems bigger here, like it’s waiting for us to make wishes. I can’t tell you how many times my silent hope was that my dad and I would find the treasure; that he’d be the one to do something his family couldn’t.

Wyatt passes the now significantly less-full bottle back to me, and I take another swallow, warming my belly, before Lucas takes it off my hands.

We sit there and drink. They don’t ask what I was upset about—not because they don’t care, but because I think they already know, and they don’t want to force me to talk about it. I’m grateful for their silence. I can’t even untangle the mess in my head, let alone try to explain it to them. It’s one of those things that defies logic and understanding. My heart feels one way in one instant, then changes drastically in the next. It’s like whiplash of the soul.

Whatever I may think in any given moment, Clark Wilder will always be a part of my life, and that’s something I can come to grips with. Like Wyatt said, I’ll allow myself to feel. I’ll allow myself the thoughts—whatever they are. Even if I don’t agree with them. Even if they make me want to crumble.

I lick my lips, watching the glitz above me. It’s as if the stars sparkle just for us.

I may have found the lantern, Dad. I may have found it.

In my heart, I know that if there’s any possible way he can watch us right now, he is. He lived and died for the treasure. He committed a heinous crime for our family’s legacy. He’d do anything, including getting a front row seat up in heaven for the search.

“What do you want to do?” Stone asks, once again passing the decision making to me. It probably kills him inside, but he’s trying, and I adore him for it. This gift might even be better than any bouquet of flowers.

It only takes me a moment to come up with the answer. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning. If this isthelantern, we need to verify it ASAP, then we’ll know the route to take. If it’s not, we need to know that, too, so we can keep searching.”

“But tonight,” Lucas gushes, lifting the bottle of moonshine up, “let’s get a little tipsy and pretend we just found an important piece of evidence to the Wilder treasure.”

My heart thumps. It’s easy to believe when the alcohol is doing its job and deadening the stress, letting wild ideas take over. I take the bottle from him and lift it into the air. “Here’s to having sex in the stream and possibly finding the missing link. Who knew sex literally solved everything?”

Wyatt swipes the bottle of moonshine away from Stone before he can get it next. “I knew that. I literally knew that all this time.”

Footsteps approach as Wyatt gulps down more than his fair share. The good dude that Ninja is, he doesn’t avoid our gazes even though I’m positive he heard way more than he bargained for. My voice echoed and echoed and echoed.

I’m not kidding. It kept going. That’s the nature of the Superstitions. It’s science or some shit.

I giggle, happiness clinging to me. Maybe I don’t care that Ninja and Dave were an audience to our foursome because I’m starting to feel really good. Moonshine will do that to you.

Ninja tilts his head as he watches us pass the bottle around. “Having too much fun?”

I nudge the lantern with my toes, and he focuses on the piece of metal. We explained to him the significance of this item on our way up here. Maybe we shouldn’t have shared so much, but he was such a keen listener that we may have gone overboard. And obviously, Cole trusts him, so it’s probably okay.

“You’re shitting me?” he effuses.

I shrug, feeling giddy. “It might be.”

He stares at it, mouth hanging open. The treasure will do that to you. He’s already jumped on the loot train.Chuga-chuga-choo-choo. All aboard!

Lucas chuckles into my ear, and it’s then I realize I said that aloud. Oh well. I have my guys around me and maybe the first piece of evidence found in well over a hundred years.

Take that, family legacy. I’m not even a Wilder and I’m going to find your shit.

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