Page 109 of A Rancher's Love
“I still have it,” Dustin confessed, quieter now. “I put it in the box along with the rest of my baby stuff Mom had saved.”
Caleb laid a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, but didn’t say anything.
Luke held up fingers. “Okay,work togetherwas the clue. Caleb got straw bales and I got a horse. Add in Dustin’s cat, and the first place I think of is the barn.”
“God, I hope not. I don’t see how anything could still be hidden in there after all these years.” Ginny leaned harder into Tucker’s side.
He curled an arm around her and squeezed. “Keep going. Walker—how does your treasure box fit into the barn theme?”
Her brother shook his head slowly. “It’s not made of barn wood, it’s not even a real box.” He frowned. “Why does it feel as if I’m missing something? Like something teasing at the edge of my memories.”
Tucker turned to Ginny. “And your present. Don’t forget to include it.”
She blinked. “Mine? How do the journals possibly mix in?”
He tapped her on the nose. “No, goddess. The journals were part two. You got the puzzle pageanda necklace.”
Her jaw dropped. “I totally forgot.”
“You didn’t tell us you got something else,” Kelli said.
Ginny reached into her shirt and pulled out the wooden piece she’d started wearing constantly. “I didn’t think of it as a present.”
The instant she held it up in her palm, a loud whoop echoed through the room.
“Holy cow, that’s it,” Walker shouted. “I think I know the answer. To all of it.” He turned on his heel and headed toward the door.
“Walker?” Ginny asked.
“Come on,” he insisted. “We’re headed to the barn for a trip down memory lane.”
They must have looked quite the sight. The entire Stone family, all eleven of them, plus Tucker, marching across to the main barn and climbing into the old, old hay loft. The place where Tucker had so many memories from summers filled with love and laughter.
Surprisingly, Walker led them straight to the OperationProve Itheadquarters.
He grinned as he glanced at his sister. “Seems Caleb isn’t the only one good at making hay forts.”
Ginny tilted her head toward him. “Tucker’s got skills.”
Kelli snorted.
Tamara gave her a look, but her lips were curved at the corners. She let Tyler down to play in the pen-like area formed by the bales. “You plan on letting the rest of us in on the big mystery, Walker?”
“Hold on.” He leaned toward the window, examining the boards closely. “Ginny, this is your discovery to make. Come here.”
Ginny squeezed Tucker’s fingers before letting go and joining her brother at the window. “Time for the big reveal, Houdini.”
Walker glanced around at his siblings. “Confession first. When I was little, Mom caught me digging holes in her garden to bury treasure. Which she said was creative, but a poor way to get a carrot crop. So she gave me a treasure box and told me to find places to hide it that didn’t involve her garden. It was a magic box, so if someone did discover it, they couldn’t open it without having the secret key.”
Ginny frowned, placing a hand on the wooden sill at the right edge of the window. “A magic treasure box?”
“Made of wood. I stopped using it at one point and gave it back, but I had told her some of my favourite hiding spots. I think she used it for your present.”
The entire group of them leaned forward with Ginny as she examined the vertical wall closer. And when she wrapped her fingers around what looked like part of the windowsill and pulled, Tucker held his breath.
In her fingers, she held a brick-sized box.
“Oh my word.” She lifted her gaze to Tucker. “We found it.”
