The Treasure Seeker Page 6

  A large corkboard displayed a wide array of photos. She went over to them. The first photo caused a twinge of sadness. Linda Sue Adams, her first love and the cause of her first broken heart. Linda Sue, Ry, Jana Scott and Lucy Bennington had become best friends in kindergarten. The four of them had been inseparable. Things had been great until sometime during the tenth grade when Ry realized her feelings for Linda Sue weren’t the same as her feelings for her other two friends. For six months, Ry struggled to find a way to tell Linda Sue how she felt. She finally gathered her courage and decided to make her intentions known on Christmas Eve. Before Ry found the opportunity to speak to Linda Sue alone, Linda Sue had proudly shown them the ring that Roger Collins had given her. He’d made the ring from a nickel that he had hollowed out in shop class.

  The grandfather clock in the entryway struck nine and ended her trip down memory lane. Ry quickly made her bed and headed downstairs.

  Chapter Six

  Ry stopped at the bottom of the stairs and let the sounds of the house settle over her. The low murmur of voices drifted to her from the kitchen. Even though she was unable to make out what they were saying, simply hearing their voices was comforting. Her brother Daniel’s deep voice seemed more serious than normal. He was the family jokester. She would never admit to loving one brother more than the other two, but Daniel held a special place in her heart. Age wise, Ry and her three older brothers weren’t far apart. James, the oldest, was only four years and seven months older. Now that they were grown the years separating them seemed miniscule, but it had been different growing up. James and Lewis had always referred to her and Daniel as the babies of the family. She and Daniel had always thought of James and Lewis as being no fun, James in particular. All he did was go to school and follow their father around. Lewis at least had girlfriends that she and Daniel could torment with their practical jokes.

  As they grew older, she had left the practical jokes behind. Daniel hadn’t. He could still turn the household upside down with some prank or other. She sometimes found it hard to believe he was married with two children.

  She crossed the living room and started down the hallway toward the kitchen. She smiled when she saw Daniel and Elise sitting with her parents at the ten-foot-long rough-hewn log table that had once belonged to her dad’s grandparents. Worn smooth from several decades of use, it sat before two oversized windows that filled the room with morning sunlight and provided a view of rolling native grasses. Her parents had been working with a state land conservationist during the last few years and the land had made a remarkable comeback. Even the natural underground springs were coming back.

  When Ry walked into the kitchen, silence fell. She studied their faces. Would they judge her for what she had done? She needed everyone at this table to remain as they had throughout her lifetime. As she scanned their faces, all she found was love and concern.

  Her mom broke the awkward silence. “I was just about ready to go wake you before Daniel ate everything,” her mom said. She poured coffee into a cup and placed it at Ry’s usual spot at the table.

  “Hey, some of us have already put in half a day’s work,” Daniel chimed in. “We need the extra nourishment.” He scooted his chair back and stood. “Glad you’re safe, little sister,” he whispered as he hugged her.

  Ry made her way around the table hugging her family, relieved that at least here nothing had changed. “What are you guys doing here on a Monday morning? Don’t you have jobs anymore?” She teased as she caught the biscuit Daniel tossed at her.

  “Stop horsing around with the food,” her father said as he poured himself more coffee. “You’re going to break something.”

  “Don’t worry, Dad. It wasn’t one of Elise’s biscuits, so we’re safe,” Daniel teased.

  “That’s why I let you wear the apron at home,” Elise said and smiled at him sweetly. Elise was only five-foot-one, but her sharp wit kept Daniel on his toes.

  Ry laughed. It was true that Elise made awful biscuits and overall Daniel probably was the better cook. He certainly would never admit to it, though.

  “You’re going to wound my manly pride,” he said, puffing out his chest.

  “Careful or your ‘manly pride’ is going to pop the buttons right off that shirt,” Elise countered.

  “She’s right, Daniel,” Ry said. “A man your age needs to start cutting back on the calories.”

  “What do you mean my age?” Daniel protested. “I’m still a young and mighty stud.”

  “Daniel, be careful of boasting,” his mother warned. “Even the largest stud can be brought down by a tiny termite.”

  Ry laughed as Daniel struggled not to roll his eyes at his mother.

  “A guy has no chance around here,” he said as he patted his slight paunch.

  Her father ignored them all. “Ry, I called Victor Orozco last night and told him about the break-in.” He sipped his coffee. “He was pretty upset that you hadn’t called him, until I explained everything that happened yesterday. He wants you in his office this morning.”

  Ry nodded. “I’m sorry. I should have called him last night.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You were exhausted,” her father said as he stood. “Victor wanted to see your truck also, so Lewis drove it in early this morning.”

  “My truck?” she asked.

  “Yeah. I guess Victor is looking for fingerprints or some other clue as to who broke into it. I doubt he’ll find anything now.”

  Ry sighed. One more thing she had screwed up. “Dad, I’m sorry. I should have called him before I came out. It never occurred to me there might be any evidence on the truck.”

  “Don’t worry. Odds are whoever broke into the truck wore gloves anyway.” He set his cup down. “Daniel and I are going over to see if there’s anything we can do to secure the building.”

  “I’ll go with you. Give me time to grab my jacket.” Ry started to stand.

  Her Dad put out a hand. “Eat your breakfast,” he said. “You have plenty of time. Your mom is driving in later.” He turned to Daniel. “Ready?” He left without waiting for an answer.

  Daniel slid his chair back and turned to his wife. “Are you riding with Mom?”

  Elise nodded as he gave her a quick kiss and rushed after his father.

  Ry followed their voices through the living room. Just as they reached the entrance door, they were delayed by the arrival of her other two sisters-in-law, Michelle and Annie.

  As she listened to their voices, Ry ate as her mom and Elise loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. Ry liked her sisters-in-law. They were all funny, intelligent women. Of the four siblings, only Ry’s spouse had failed to blend into this loud and fun-loving family.

  Each year, the entire Shelton clan spent the first week in April camping along the Guadalupe River on property owned by Ry’s paternal grandfather. Over the decades, the family had built a multitude of cabins, a boat dock, a fishing pier, even a shooting range. There was a central location where all the meals were cooked and the family ate together under an arbor constructed from an enormous cypress tree that had run aground on the riverbank during a flood.

  The cabins contained fireplaces to ward off the occasional cool morning. Even during the summer, they never seemed to be too hot due to the large oak and cypress trees that shaded the area and the ever-present cool breeze from the water. There was electricity, but her grandfather insisted there could be no televisions, video games or electronic devices that distracted anyone’s attention from nature. He wanted his offspring to have a taste of what he referred to as “the good life.” This was meant to be one week out of each year when everyone’s troubles were temporarily set aside and all thoughts focused on being with family, fishing, swimming, boating and enjoying the beauty of the natural world. Well, that was her grandfather’s dream, at least. What it had turned into was a weeklong competition of who caught the biggest fish, swam the farthest and fastest or outshot the others at the range. The competition never stopped.
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  Kate had agreed to go on the camping trip the first year they were together. It had gone badly from the beginning. She didn’t like the constant competition and left midweek. Afterward, she always found some excuse never to return.

  Michelle and Annie burst into the kitchen carrying several shopping bags. They dropped the bags and hugged her tightly. The two women couldn’t be more physically different. Michelle was tall, thin and leggy. Annie was short and constantly struggling to control her weight. The battle was even tougher now that she was five months pregnant with her fourth child. She and Lewis already had three girls, and had chosen to wait until this baby was born to discover its gender. They both said it didn’t matter as long as the child was healthy. But, Ry suspected they would both be ecstatic should it be a boy.

  “What is all this?” Ry asked and pointed to the bags. Her mom and Elise joined them at the table.

  Annie grabbed a bag and handed it to her. “We thought you might need these.”

  Ry looked inside the bag and tears sprang to her eyes. The bag contained clothes and shoes.

  “I hope the sneakers fit,” Annie said. “We weren’t sure what size you wore.”

  Touched by their kindness, Ry removed the shirts from the bag and kept her head down to hide the tears.

  “Now, don’t do that,” Michelle said and patted her knee. “If you get Annie started crying it’ll be an hour before we can get her to stop.”

  “Don’t pick on my raging hormones,” Annie said as she sniffled. “Besides, I’ll bet her eyes are watering from that god-awful green shirt you picked out,” Annie teased.

  “Hey, earth tones are in now,” Michelle defended, as she flipped her long, blond hair over her shoulder. “Ry, look at that shirt. Don’t you love it?”

  Ry located the rather dull green shirt in question and held it up. She doubted she would have ever chosen the shirt for herself, but it was far better than the stretched-out sweats she was wearing. “I love it.” She smiled.

  “There! I told you,” Michelle shouted with glee.

  Annie waved her off. “What does she know? She still wears that bright orange knitted hat and scarf.”

  “Wait a minute,” Ry protested. “Granny Shelton gave those to me.” A mental image of the tangled remains of the scarf lying in the wreckage of the bedroom floor hit her. For a moment, she lost her breath.

  “Oh, God, Ry, I’m sorry.” Annie ran and put an arm around Ry’s shoulder. “I’m such a dunce.”

  Ry shook her head as she struggled to regain her composure. “It’s fine.” She waved toward the bags. “I can’t thank you two enough. How much do I owe you? I can stop by the ATM.”

  Michelle gave a dismissing wave. “Your dad gave us his credit card.”

  Ry looked at the mound of bags. “Now I know why Elise wasn’t with you two.” They all laughed. Elise was a shopaholic.

  “I can’t help it if I excel at shopping,” Elise said defensively. “It’s my one true talent.”

  “We knew you wouldn’t have time to go shopping,” Annie said. “Hopefully, these things can tide you over at least until the insurance company settles with you.”

  “Rylene, go get dressed,” her mom said. “I’m sorry we don’t have time to wash the new clothes, but I promised your dad I’d get you to town before eleven.”

  Ry gathered the bags and hurried upstairs. As she unpacked what was practically an entire new wardrobe, her eyes blurred with tears several times. Michelle and Annie had thought of everything right down to a toothbrush.

  * * *

  As soon as they were on the highway, the women began to discuss Annie’s pregnancy. They laughed and joked about her late night cravings. Then they spent several minutes discussing what would be the best gender-neutral paint colors for the nursery.

  Ry tried to join their banter and get into the swing of the moment, but nothing felt right. Kate wasn’t here. She hadn’t tried to call again after Ry had ignored her call the previous night.

  Everything felt off-kilter. Even the clothes she wore, except for her boots, were foreign to her. Someone else had chosen them. She started to tremble when she realized practically everything she had was gone.

  “Are you okay?”

  She turned to find her mom watching her. Ry shook her head. “What am I going to do?” She rubbed her face, ignoring the pain that flared in her cheek.

  Her mom took her hand. “It’s going to be fine. I’m sure Seth already has a plan.”

  “Mom, I can’t keep depending on you and Dad to bail me out of every jam I get into.” She turned to look out the window. “Why do I keep screwing up?”

  Her mom made a hissing dismissal sound. “How have you screwed up? This wasn’t your fault.”

  “Mom, I’ve always been a screwup. I changed my major three times before I settled on design. It took me almost a year to finally get a job, and they fired me after six months.”

  “After you lost that job in Dallas, you eventually got a much better design job that brought you back to San Antonio,” her mom reminded her.

  The sisters-in-law had gone silent.

  “A job I couldn’t keep.”

  Her mom’s voice suddenly changed and grew sterner. “Rylene Shelton, I won’t have you sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, what happened is horrible. I can’t begin to imagine what you went through yesterday. I know how much you value life of any kind.” She took Ry’s hand and her voice grew gentler, “Honey, you and Kate are safe. That’s all that matters. I’m sorry about your store, but it’s only wood and glass. It can be fixed.” Her voice broke slightly. “When I think of what could have happened to you and Kate…”

  “Mom, Kate’s mad at me.” She wondered how to explain. It seemed silly when she thought about it. “I got my feelings hurt when she went home to her parents. Then she wouldn’t talk to me and I told her not to bother coming home.” She saw Michelle and Annie exchange glances. Elise had suddenly become engrossed in the passing landscape.

  Ry knew they were listening. They were probably thinking here we go again with Ry and her rocky relationships. Her fourth in thirteen years.

  “So call her and apologize,” her mother said. “You two should sit down and talk. Almost anything is possible with a little give and take.” She didn’t allow Ry time to deny the possibility. “Your father and brothers are at your store right now. They’re already looking the damage over to see what needs to be done to get the shop open and running again.”

  Ry cut in, her voice sharper than she intended. “Mom, you don’t understand. There’s nothing left. Someone took an ax and destroyed everything.”

  Doreen Jeter Shelton seldom ever lost her temper. When she did, everyone scattered for safety. Now, a small spark of that temper flared. “No, Rylene, he did not destroy everything. Whoever this horrid person is only destroyed material items.” She grabbed Ry’s hands. “You still have everything that truly matters.” She looked Ry in the eyes. “You still have your health and your family. Nothing else matters in the end and don’t you ever forget that.”

  The conversation ended abruptly when Michelle parked in front of The Antique Nook. The women sat staring at the yellow crime scene tape stretched across the door for a long moment before Doreen took charge.

  “Let’s go see what can be done,” she said. She gave Ry’s knee a quick, affectionate slap.

  “Don’t they have to process the crime scene?” Annie asked, as they climbed out of the vehicle. “They won’t let us go in, will they? I mean, don’t they keep the crime scene tape up for days or weeks?” Annie’s habit of stringing questions together had been annoying when she and Lewis were first married, but over the years, it had become endearing.

  Ry stared through the front display window. The interior damage was clearly visible even from the curb. “I guess the investigation will be handled by the city. If so, I doubt their budget will allow for little more than a cursory once-over.” Ry knew her family was there for moral support and she was grateful she
wouldn’t have to face the ordeal alone.

  “Ry.”

  She turned to find Ben Harrington, the owner of the bakery from across the street. She wasn’t surprised he would be the first to appear. The man never missed anything. She couldn’t help thinking it was too bad Ben didn’t live above the bakery, because nothing got past him. He would have seen whoever had broken in and called Victor.

  “I’m so sorry about what happened to your shop. Nancy and I were so relieved to hear neither you nor Kate was home when this happened.” He glanced at the women with her. “Where’s Kate? Is she okay?”

  Doreen quickly intervened. “Kate had to attend to some other things.”

  “I can’t believe this sort of thing happened in Jackson City,” Ben said. “We moved here from the city because we thought it would be better for our kids.” He continued shaking his head. “I just can’t believe it.”

  Carlos and Lupe Sanchez joined them. They owned the hardware store a few doors down. Shortly afterward, Lacy Wayne, the owner of the small gift and stationery store across the street, came over. The crowd steadily grew as various business owners and townspeople stopped by to offer their help whenever she was ready to reopen.

  Ry lost count of the number of times she fielded inquiries about Kate.

  When the crowd’s focus changed from reassuring themselves that Kate and Ry were safe, to speculation on why and how something like this had happened, Doreen took charge and gently urged the women toward the side entrance and away from the mass of well-wishers. After they were free of the crowd, Michelle turned to Ry. “I’m sorry. I should have parked around back.”