Claimed: Gem Creek Bears, Book Three

by Snyder, Jennifer

  Liam nodded. “It’s due to their chromium content. We used to offer a black light mining tour after sunset a few nights a week in the summer.”

  “Why did you stop?” I asked as we cut through the same pathway in the bushes I’d taken the night I found Liam filling buckets of dirt by himself.

  “There was an accident a few years ago. Part of the mine collapsed. No one was hurt, but it was enough of a worry that my parents stopped hosting the tour for liability reasons.”

  “Too bad.” I grimaced. “It sounds like fun.”

  “I can give you a private tour, if you’re interested.”

  “That would be awesome.”

  “But first, let’s see how you handle regular gem mining. See if it’s something you even like.” He winked and gave my hand a squeeze.

  The gem mining area was busier than I’d thought it would be. There were few seats left at the bench that lined both sides of the long table with flowing water. People of every age were seated, sifting through dirt. The damp smell of wet earth lingered in the air, and the sound of rushing water trickled to my ears. Everyone seemed happy. They were all laughing and chatting. I spotted Rafe, talking with someone about the different types of gemstones to look for.

  “There’s a spot over there for us,” Liam said. He pointed to the far left near the end of the bench. “You ready?”

  “Yeah. I’m excited.” It was something I’d wanted to do since coming here, but—for obvious reasons—I hadn’t found the time.

  Until now.

  “I think you’ll like it. Most do. That is, if you don’t mind getting a little dirty and possibly a little wet too.” A smirk twisted his lips.

  I chuckled, my mind falling into the gutter for a second, as Liam led me to a shelving unit where buckets filled with dirt waited to be grabbed. He picked out four and carried two in each hand, his biceps bulging, to the empty spot on the bench seat he’d pointed out before. When he set them down, I moved to sit at the bench. It was damp and covered in a layer of red clay. Thankfully, I’d worn my darkest pair of skinny jeans today and a black ribbed tank top.

  “We have aprons if you want one,” Liam said. I glanced over my shoulder to see him point to a row of hooks with aprons hanging from them.

  “I think I’ll be okay.”

  Liam plucked one from a hook and started putting it on. “All right. Suit yourself.”

  I glanced around, watching as others sifted through their dirt. Cold water splashed me from across the contraption in front of me. The little boy opposite me scrubbed vigorously at a clump of dirt, splashing water all over.

  “Sorry. I think I was scrubbing too hard,” he said with an impish grin. His two front teeth were missing, making him look adorable.

  “It’s okay,” I said, returning his smile. “I’m sure I’ll get wet, anyway.”

  “Oh, you’re definitely going to get wet,” Liam insisted as he sat down beside me. He placed two sifter trays in the flowing water and handed me a scrubbing brush. “That’s why we pass out aprons. Are you sure you don’t want one?”

  I glanced around at everyone else. There were only a few people who didn’t wear one, and they didn’t seem to be mining, but instead were watching others from a slight distance.

  “Maybe it is a good idea.” I stood to grab one for myself and then tied it in on.

  “Finally came to my neck of the woods,” Rafe said as he walked past me carrying a few empty buckets. “Have fun.”

  “I’m sure I will.” I flashed him a grin while making my way back to Liam’s side. “Apron on. What next?” I asked as I situated myself on the bench beside him again.

  “Now take your shovel and get some dirt on your sifting tray. Not too much. You still want to leave room to move it around without anything falling into the flume. Then, you look to see if you have anything,” he said. I watched as he dumped a shovel of dirt into the bottom of his tray. He dipped it into the water and shook it around a bit, spreading the dirt into a single layer. “Then, you pick up your scrubbing brush and tilt the tray like this so there’s a little water still hitting everything and scrub. It’ll clean things off so you can see what you’ve got.”

  It sounded easy enough.

  “And, what am I looking for exactly?” My gaze dipped to Liam’s tray before bouncing to the little boy’s tray across from me. Everything just looked like regular dirt clumps and rocks.

  “Anything that looks interesting or has color,” Liam said. He continued sifting through his tray. “Garnets can be tricky. Rubies and sapphires, too. Their outside typically doesn’t have much color. It’s the inside that does. People throw them out thinking they’re just a rock when they’re not.”

  This was going to be harder than I thought.

  “Quartz crystal is typically what everyone finds. There are many varieties, but I’d say the most popular are clear quartz and rose quartz.” Liam dipped his tray into the running water, washing away more of the dirt and red clay he’d scrubbed free. “Well, give it a go. Let’s see what you can find.” He nodded to my bucket, and I swore I noticed a challenge reflected in his eyes.

  “All right.” I scooped out some dirt and dumped it in my tray. A large chunk of dirt took up the bulk of the scoop. I tried cutting it with my shovel, but it didn’t do any good. It was hard, like a rock.

  “Put more oomph into it.” Liam chuckled. “It’s dirt. You won’t hurt anything.”

  “Like this,” the kid across from me said as he hacked away at the clump of dirt in the middle of his tray. Water splashed everywhere and I was thankful for my apron when it hit me.

  I laughed, wiping droplets of water from my face, and sliced at my own clump of red clay. It broke into a few pieces, and then I dipped my tray into the water. My gaze drifted to Liam, watching as he smoothed a dirt-covered rock between his fingers. He was focused intently on it.

  “Find something already?” I asked.

  “Nothing big. Just a tiny shard of an emerald.”

  I leaned closer to him, wanting a peek. His woodsy lemon scent filled my nose, and I felt my heart flutter. He held out his index finger, balancing the shard on the tip.

  “Teeny tiny,” he said.

  It was a thin sliver of green. I would’ve missed it if it had been in my bucket. Honestly, even if I had thought it was something and washed it off, I probably would have tossed it thinking it was nothing but a piece of colored glass.

  “Here. Take it and hold it up to the light,” Liam insisted.

  I did, and that was when I was able to see the shade of green I’d always associated with emeralds. It was beautiful. Perfection wrapped up in the tiniest little package.

  “Now see if you can find one bigger,” Liam said. There was no mistaking the challenge ringing through his tone this time.

  “You’re on.” I smirked as I handed the tiny emerald back to him and then returned my attention to my tray.

  I didn’t know how much time passed, but I knew my hands and arms were sore from sifting through two buckets of dirt. The apron did little to help against the water I’d splashed onto myself, but it had soaked up all the red clay and dirt. However, my hands might be stained orange for a day or two.

  It was worth it, though.

  “All right, let’s see who found the most actual stuff.” Liam took my plastic container after we’d cleaned up and set it on the bench beside his. Mine was almost completely full while his had barely anything. Since I hadn’t been sure what was real and what was just a random rock, I’d decided I’d have a better chance at beating him if I kept everything I thought might be something. “Here’s a rock. Another rock. That’s another rock. Oh, this is a piece of blue quartz. Nice.” He held it out to me.

  Funny thing was, I’d actually thought it might be a rock when I’d tossed it into my container. I was horrible at this.

  “I didn’t know blue quartz existed.” I took the gemstone from him and stared at it. Dark blue lines cut through it in places.

  “Yup,” h
e said as he continued to sift through my container. He placed a few more in the rock pile before holding another stone out to me. “This is a nice hunk of peach moonstone.”

  “Cool. I just thought it was pretty.” I took it from him.

  A breeze blew, sending a shiver through me. Sitting in wet jeans and a damp tank top was getting to me. Goose bumps prickled across my skin.

  “Here’s some jasper, a couple quartz crystal pieces, some tiny garnets, and an even tinier smidge of fluorite. You did good,” Liam insisted, holding the container with my findings out to me.

  I smiled as I took it from him and added the two stones I’d been holding. “Cool. Now, let’s see what you got.” I nodded toward his nearly empty container.

  “I see you’re pretty competitive.”

  “I can be.”

  Another shiver slipped through me.

  Liam arched a brow. “Cold?”

  “Yeah. It’s these wet clothes.”

  “We can go so you can change if you want.”

  “Let’s see who won first,” I said.

  “All my stuff is smaller than yours, so I think we’re about even.”

  “Which means you won, but you don’t want to say so,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m competitive, but I’m not a sore loser.”

  Liam flashed me a grin. “I just figured we’d go off size, not quantity. If we go off size, you won. If we go off quantity, I won.”

  “So, it’s a tie, then.”

  “Sure. We can call it that.” He chuckled. “I planned on offering to buy you ice cream after being out here in the heat for so long, but since you’re cold, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Actually, ice cream sounds good,” I said. “Let me head back to Ruby and change into something dry first, then we can head over to the general store.”

  “Okay. Good, I know I still owe you an ice cream. I haven’t forgotten.”

  My brows pinched together. I had no idea what he was talking about. How did he owe an ice cream?

  “From after you healed Nash,” he said, leaning in so no one else would hear. I still didn’t remember what he was talking about though. “When you found out that you take on some of the pain or sickness you pull from one of us after you heal us. I was carrying you up the stairs at my cabin when you made a comment about how you should get ice cream or something nice instead, and I told you ice cream could be arranged.”

  “Oh. Right. I did say that, didn’t I?”

  Liam nodded. “Yeah, you did.”

  I flashed him a teasing grin. “Well, in that case, you better have mint chocolate chip. It’s my favorite.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Mint chocolate chip ice cream had to be the best flavor ever invented. I sat with Liam on the steps of the general store, enjoying the creamy sweetness. The sunshine melted it faster than I could eat it, which was fine since I’d opted for a bowl and not a cone. Liam had done the same.

  “Today has been fun,” I said before licking my spoon clean. Even though the ice cream was amplifying the cold sensation in my chest, it was so good it was worth it. “Thanks for asking me to go gem mining with you, and for the ice cream.”

  “Thanks for agreeing to come with me.” He spooned another bite of cherry vanilla into his mouth. “I’m glad we had mint chocolate chip for you. I wasn’t sure we did.”

  “I’m glad too.”

  “After I get things done around here tomorrow, would you want to do something else together?”

  I could feel his eyes on me, gauging my reaction, but I didn’t glance at him. Instead, I purposely kept my expression neutral and locked on my ice cream. Mainly because I was trying to figure out if today, and what he was proposing for tomorrow, counted as a date.

  Were we dating now? Or was this him trying to spend more time with me so he could get to know me better since I was staying?

  “What did you have in mind?” I asked, finally shifting to lock eyes with him.

  He shrugged. “Fishing, tubing, or canoeing. Do any of those sound good to you?”

  “All the above actually.”

  I’d been fishing only one time. A guy I dated briefly in ninth grade had been in love with fishing. His family had a huge pond on their property stocked with fish. He took me there once. I lost his favorite lure in two point four seconds flat and was never invited back again. Tubing, however, was something Penny and I did a lot during the summer. Living in Opal Pine meant there wasn’t much to do besides be outdoors. At least once a week there was a group of us paying the five dollars each fee at the local tubing place to rent big inner tubes. We’d pack coolers full of sodas—and sometimes cheap beer—to drink while we floated together down the lazy river in the middle of town. Canoeing was something I’d never done before though.

  “Okay, well, think on which you’d rather do, and I’ll make sure it happens tomorrow,” Liam said. The excitement in his tone was adorable.

  “I will. What time do you think you’ll be done with things around here?”

  “Why? You offering to help?”

  “I can if you have something you want help with, but actually, I was contemplating heading to Earl’s Diner to put an application in.” It was something I’d mentioned to my mom and still hadn’t done. Getting a job not only was a necessity at this point, considering how low my funds currently were, but it also seemed like something that would help occupy my mind. My hope was that it would keep thoughts of Jessica and everything that happened away.

  Liam arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Why do you look so surprised?” The coldness in the center of my chest vied for my attention. I rubbed my palm against the area, and goose bumps prickled across my skin as a fresh shiver slipped down my spine when the wind blew.

  Ice cream probably wasn’t the brightest idea, but it was so dang good.

  “I’m not surprised. Not really,” he said. “I mean, getting a job is logical when you’re living on your own. It just signifies that you’re really staying here.”

  “Yeah, well, I did say that was something I planned on doing. I like it here.” I wanted to add that I liked him too, but didn’t. It felt too cheesy to say.

  Liam’s eyes brightened as his bear surfaced for a moment. “I’m glad.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but the sound of a vehicle coming our way caught my attention. It was a big black truck with huge mudding tires. A guy sat behind the wheel. My stomach dipped when I realized he was staring at me while he drove up. There was an intensity about his features that let me know right away he wasn’t human—he was a shifter.

  I set my Styrofoam bowl on the step beside me and felt adrenaline spark through my system. Liam’s back straightened as he tensed.

  Not good.

  Knots formed in my stomach and my heart kick-started in my chest as the truck continued toward us. I stood when it was too close for my comfort, ready to run. In my head, all I could think about was not being abducted again. The pool and the mine were filled with people. I could make it to either place quickly if I pushed myself. No one would be stupid enough to abduct me in front of that many witnesses.

  Right?

  My hands balled into fists at my sides, my nails digging into my palms. I inched down one step, my eyes never leaving the guy in the truck as he continued toward us. Should I say screw it and bolt for my Jeep instead? Which option would be better? Safer?

  “Where are you going?” Liam asked, glancing up at me from where he still sat on the steps.

  “He’s a shifter, isn’t he?” My voice shook when I spoke. “Which means he’s probably here for me.” I crept down the final step, still debating on which way I should run.

  Liam caught my wrist. “Yeah, he is. That’s Soren. He’s not here to hurt you. I can assure you of that.”

  The truck came to a stop, and the engine cut off. The uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach expanded.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “Because I know him. He’
s a decent guy,” Liam insisted. “He must have news about the second Mystic. That’s probably why he’s here.”

  “Oh,” I said, hoping he was right.

  I held my breath as a tall, muscular-looking guy with short-cropped black hair and blue eyes spilled out of the truck. I immediately questioned if all shifters were attractive while I struggled to calm my racing heart. Liam released his grip on my wrist as Soren’s eyes shifted between us before returning to me, his expression stony. I swallowed hard.

  Please, just be here with news.

  Liam stood and stepped forward. He folded his arms over his solid chest, and I wondered if it was a protective move. Like maybe he was trying to get between me and Soren?

  Crap. I didn’t like this. All I wanted to do was go back to eating my ice cream and talking with Liam.

  “Soren,” Liam said with a nod.

  Soren shifted his gaze to Liam. “I have news about the second Mystic,” he said, getting straight to the point. My tension eased a tiny bit. “One of mine felt her presence at an inn. You wanted to know if anyone spotted her, so here I am letting you know she’s been spotted.”

  Why couldn’t he have called to tell Liam that?

  Soren’s gaze drifted back to me, his blue eyes piercing. “I see the original Mystic is well.”

  “Yeah,” I said, my voice flat. Another shiver slipped through me, but this one had nothing to do with the coldness in the center of my chest. It was because of the intense way Soren stared at me.

  He walked toward me in confident, deliberate strides. My heart skipped a beat. What was he doing? Should I run?

  “Soren Callahan. Nice to meet you,” he said, holding a hand out to me. He flashed me a lazy smile that immediately softened his features.

  “Uh, nice to meet you too.” I shook his outstretched hand. “I’m Tris, Tris Abbott.”

  The instant my hand touched his, something shifted across Soren’s face that I couldn’t name. His gaze seemed far away and the color of his eyes hazed over becoming cloudy white. I jerked my hand back.