Laguna Beach: A Treasure in Laguna (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Heather Hiestand

  Jenny half-listened to Crowe’s detailed explanation of bandit markings as she walked the perimeter of the cave. Some of it was well lit by Thor’s LED panel lights, but other sections were dark enough that she wished she had a flashlight. She found her flashlight app on her phone and turned it on, running it across the cave floor, then along the walls, amusing herself with the notion of finding more human-made markings. Her finger caught a rough spot on the wall and she lifted her phone to illuminate it.

  The spot seemed to be a long scratch. She had no idea how she could tell if it was man-made or not. Gently, she followed the line. It branched at the top. Had she found a “y”-type symbol? She leaned in, holding her phone at an awkward angle.

  The ground under her seemed to fall away on one side. Her foot dropped. She yelped as she went into the hole. Her phone flew out of her hands. The light arced to the right then pinpointed elsewhere as she went down on her right knee, soaked to the bone in chilly water on the left side.

  She swore and knelt, scrabbling for her phone on her right side while trying to lift her left foot out of the hole. Footsteps approached.

  “Are you okay?” Crowe called.

  A flashlight flared to life. Blinking against the sudden light, Jenny pulled her left foot out of the hole. Only her sock covered her toes. “I lost my shoe down there.”

  “How deep?” Crowe asked, kneeling next to her.

  “Up to my knee.”

  He stuck his hand in the hole.

  “Oh, don’t do that,” Jenny yelped. “It’s wet and disgusting.”

  Justin held the flashlight over Crowe as he dropped to his stomach, ignoring her, and stuck his arm down up to mid-bicep.

  Jenny waved her hands. “Crowe, come on, it’s not important. I mean, I found this marking just above where my foot sank in, but—”

  He glanced up. “Treasure hunting is a messy business.”

  “My shoe isn’t treasure. What creatures might be living in there?”

  “Maybe not your shoe, but that marking might indicate something else of note.” His expression became intent as his shoulder rotated. “You know, I’m not finding your shoe, but I’ve got something else.” He lifted his hand. Rotting vegetation covered his palm.

  Jenny was on her knees, but she still managed to jump back, her knees grated by small sharp pebbles. “Don’t you throw that at me, Erickson.”

  He chuckled and dropped the muck against the cave wall. “Going down. I thought your feet were pretty big for a girl, but your shoe seems to have vanished.” He stuck his arm in again as Jenny huffed in mock outrage.

  “Huh,” Crowe said after a few seconds. His arm came up again.

  “What is it?” Jenny asked.

  He rubbed one palm against the other, vegetation and water dripping off his hand. “Well, would you look at that.”

  “What is it?” she repeated.

  Crowe pinched a small circle between thumb and forefinger and held it up. “It may not be gold, but I think it’s a coin. Look at the shape.”

  Jenny’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God. Are you serious? Crowe!”

  “Got a water bottle, bud?” Crowe said to Justin.

  “Stay in the spotlight,” Thor warned as Justin handed his flashlight to Jenny and opened the water bottle hanging from a loop on his canvas pants.

  Justin poured a thin stream of water over the small circle as Jenny held the flashlight over it.

  “Markings,” she whispered. “It is a coin.”

  Crowe nodded. “And not a modern one, either. Team, we have a mystery to solve.”

  “Tag and bag?” Justin said.

  “Yep.” Crowe pulled a bag out of his pocket and settled the coin into it. “We still have to find Jenny’s shoe.”

  “That’s the real treasure,” Justin joked. “I wish we’d brought the metal detector. It would be much easier to find something in that mess.”

  Half an hour later they walked out of the cave. Everyone but Thor was filthy. Jenny had even managed to get seaweed in her hair. “What a rush,” she enthused. “I can’t believe we found something. Now you’ve got the sizzle for your reel.”

  Crowe grabbed her in a bear hug, toppling them both to the sand. “You have to sign on, Jenny. If you hadn’t seen the marking and lost your shoe, we’d never have found the coin.”

  She lay against him, breathless and content despite the grime on his shirt embedding itself into her cheek. “So I’m the Scooby Doo to the rest of the team?” she asked.

  “As far as I’m concerned, you’re Daphne,” he said, kissing her temple, maybe the one spot that wasn’t speckled with cave dirt.

  Jenny glanced up and saw the red light on the camcorder. “Why are you recording this?”

  “Sex appeal,” Thor said, staring down at them. “I think we should do the promo reel, but also do a full episode. We have an episode’s worth.”

  “That’s not always a good idea,” Crowe said, unscrewing the top of a bottle of water secured by a loop to his shorts, while still keeping his other arm around Jenny. “You want the potential producer and other team members to see what value they can add to the process.”

  “We do it for ourselves,” Thor said as Jenny rolled off Crowe. “Then we’ll know our strengths and weaknesses.”

  Jenny contented herself with wiping the muck off her legs as the brothers argued. She didn’t look forward to walking up the more than two hundred uneven steps back to the street with a twisted ankle, but she hadn’t even mentioned it to the guys. Justin held out a hand and hauled her up from the sand. Crowe was left to his own power.

  By the time they’d hit step one hundred fifty on the return to their vehicles, though, she was limping.

  “What happened?” Crowe asked from the step behind her.

  “That stupid hole.”

  “Climb on,” he said, coming alongside her. “I’ll piggyback you to the top.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous is you limping with every step. Come on, Justin will spot me from behind.”

  “And stare at your behind,” the younger man said, winking at Jenny.

  She rolled her eyes. “Just help me hop,” she said to Crowe. “No piggyback.”

  Somehow they made it to the top. Everyone was huffing and puffing a bit, between the equipment and her injury.

  “I’ll take you to your car and drive you home so you can stay off that ankle,” Crowe offered.

  “But we need to edit,” Thor said. “Don’t you want to finish up the promo reel tonight?”

  “I’m going to take her home,” Crowe said. “Start without me. You guys are officially part of the team now. Act like it.”

  Thor gave him the middle finger and hit the remote key lock for his truck. His truck honked and the doors clicked open. Justin’s gaze went from Jenny to Crowe and back again, then he followed Thor without commenting.

  “Okay,” Crowe said. “Let’s go.”

  “You don’t have to help me,” Jenny said.

  “Sure I do. You’re part of the team now.”

  “You can’t be too happy about that.”

  He shrugged. “Dalton was right. The entire show can’t hinge on one non-famous person. If I were a well-known personality, that’s one thing. But I’m not.”

  “I don’t want to lose you any credibility. The rest of you have studied this material. You have degrees on the subject.”

  “As long as you are happy being the eye candy.” She handed him her keys and he unlocked the SUV, then opened the passenger door for her. Sitting down, she realized how utterly weary she was.

  Funny that she’d gone from being the comic relief on reality TV to the eye candy after turning thirty. Wasn’t it usually the other way around? “I’m less worried about being eye candy and more about the dinner rush I’m missing,” she said, buckling her seat belt.

  “Sorry.” He flashed a smile at her. “But you helped find actual treasure. That’s something.”

  “If it tu
rns out to be anything, you’ll have to track down the McHugheses.”

  “They are in Africa.” He reversed and took them out of the parking space. “You’ll have to tell me where to go.”

  “I forgot you didn’t know where I live. Go north.” She found a couple of ibuprofen at the bottom of her purse and dry swallowed them. The act alone had her feeling better by the time he pulled into a drive-through fast food restaurant, even though the drugs probably hadn’t hit her system yet. “What are we doing?”

  “You have food at your place?”

  “Oh, no, not really. I nibble at the restaurant all day.”

  “What do you want?”

  She ordered a salad to his burger and fries and had half of her Diet Coke finished by the time they pulled into her parking space. Now she really felt better, especially because in a clumsy kind of way, he’d bought her dinner like she’d done for him a couple of nights before.

  “What floor do you live on?” He glanced up at the second level.

  “Up the steps,” she told him. “But if I hang onto the railing I’ll be okay.”

  “I’ll see you up.”

  “Aren’t you going to bring your food in and eat with me?” she asked.

  “I told the guys I’d go back and edit.”

  She bit back a sarcastic comment that wouldn’t have endeared herself to him at all. Especially since they might end up working together. As much of a long shot as his show was, he’d proven excitement happened around him. And television magic had struck his family once already. She might not consider herself in his league, but she’d been on a show herself before, and his brother and Justin were very attractive men. They could be the treasure hunting eye-candy show, one that attracted women viewers as well as men.

  That might attract one of the cable channels.

  He grabbed both of the food bags from the console and got out of the car. Apparently, he’d decided to eat with her. Her ankle was screaming again by the time they reached her door.

  “You’re limping again,” he observed. “Do you have an ice pack or some frozen vegetables?”

  “There’s a bag of peas in the freezer for just these occasions,” she said. “I’m always doing something to my knees.”

  She half-sat, half-collapsed into a chair at her dining room table, extending her leg onto another chair. He brought over the bag of peas, then took a cushion from her living room sofa and tucked it under her foot before dropping the peas on top. Finally, he set down the food.

  “Probably cold now,” he commented.

  “That’s why a salad is better for takeout. I hate soggy lukewarm fries.”

  “So you weren’t trying to show me up by eating healthy?”

  “I wouldn’t dare.” She pulled the plastic cover off her salad and tore open all the little bags with the extras. Everything went on top and she mixed it all up.

  “That does look more fun than just pulling fries out of a box,” he said.

  “You can play with the ketchup packets,” she suggested.

  “I forgot to ask for any.”

  “There’s some in the refrigerator. Knock yourself out.”

  “Nah.” He selected the longest fry and bit off the top, then waved it in the air. “Still pretty warm. Want some?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  Crowe had polished off his food before Jenny was half-done with her salad. He felt fidgety. That coin gnawed at the back of his thoughts. What had he found? But then again, was he, at twenty-eight, already so old and work-obsessed that he cared more about some old coin than a hot girl sitting across from him at the table? Sex versus coins.

  “What?” Jenny asked, setting down her fork. She had a drop of blue cheese dressing at the corner of her mouth.

  He wanted to lick it off. No, he was fine. Sex was winning over the coin discovery. He handed her a napkin. “You might want this.”

  She turned slightly pink as she dabbed the napkin on her lips. “Sorry.”

  “Why? I like enthusiasm.” He stared into her eyes. “It makes me wonder what else you might attack with that kind of fervor.”

  Her pupils dilated. “You like it rough?”

  “Passionate, certainly.” They still stared at each other. He wondered who would look away first.

  “We haven’t agreed to go to bed.”

  “We’ve kissed twice. But I have to admit I’m curious. Want to open negotiations?” The pulse in his neck pounded even though his blood flowed south. Priorities rearranged themselves.

  She glanced at the napkin, still crumpled in her hand, and started to set it on the remains of her salad.

  “If you aren’t going to finish that, I will,” he said. He needed to build stamina.

  She pushed it toward him. “Go ahead. I think I’ll take a shower. My leg is covered in dried muck.”

  “So is my arm,” he said around a mouthful of salad.

  “Not that I’m much cleaner anywhere else.” She stood. “I’m sure you can find your way to my shower if you want.”

  His blood rushed south, swelling his dick. Not noticing how her remark had captured his attention, she walked away, her generous bottom tilting from side to side. He was transfixed by her comment. Was it an invitation? He thought so. Maybe he would get to editing late tonight. That was fine. He could spare an hour. Thor knew what he was doing.

  Crowe finished off Jenny’s salad, more to give her time to get into the shower than because he felt hunger with his dick gnawing at him for attention, then set her now-lukewarm peas back in the freezer. She’d probably need them later.

  He went through the living room. A short corridor off the main room led to four closed doors. He followed the sound of running water. When his fingers went to the doorknob he wondered if it would be locked, the whole thing a tease, but the knob turned under his fingers. He unlaced his boots and tucked his grimy socks inside it. Like her, he had dried muck on his legs. Maybe they should dress a little less Laguna Beach and more sensible explorer on these cave visits. At least he’d decided against the flip-flops.

  He walked in, pulling off his shirt. The mirror had already gone foggy and her shower door was the kind of glass that shaded what was going on in the tub. “Do you have a roommate?” he called.

  “No. Just me,” came the voice from inside the shower.

  Leaving the door open, he pushed off the rest of his clothes and his watch, letting everything drop on the bright blue and yellow rug in front of the stylish sink. Her restaurant must be doing well, or she had great royalties from Laguna Nights.

  “Are you ready for company?” he asked.

  She didn’t answer. He stepped closer, ready to repeat his words, but then the door opened. She peeked out, her auburn hair speckled with droplets of water though she hadn’t yet fully put her head under the spray. “Ready.”

  Her gaze dropped down his body. He remembered his erection, and fought to keep his hands at his sides instead of moving them for protective coverage. Her eyebrows lifted. She held out her hand.

  “Cool.” He went to her and climbed in.

  She immediately stepped against him, her body lining up with his. Spray misted on one side of his body. Dirt turned to thin rivulets of brown.

  “Cave exploration is not a clean business,” she said. “Waitressing can be messy too, but nothing like this.”

  They watched the brown stuff puddle in the drain. “You got it all off already.”

  “I thought you’d had second thoughts about joining me. It felt like I was in here alone forever.”

  “It only seemed like seconds to me.”

  She glanced down at his erection, pressing up her belly. “You had time to get that going.”

  “Oh, that happened the second you invited me to join you,” he admitted.

  “I’m flattered.” She bit her lip.

  “What?”

  “You know I’m not that reality television girl, right? I mean, that was years and years ago. I’m not a fantasy.”

  “You’re
you, and that’s plenty special.”

  She stared hard at him, the water dampening her hair. Why didn’t she believe she was special? He didn’t get it. Pretty, successful, smart. She was the total package. He couldn’t understand why she was single. Or at least, she’d been single until they met. Now, if the show took off, they could share adventures together. He couldn’t wait.

  Sex versus coins. Here he was naked in the shower with a beautiful woman, thinking about the show again. Let it go, bud. Staring into her eyes, he stroked his hand up her narrow rib cage, and cupped her breast.

  “Game changer,” she said in a strangled voice.

  He ran his thumb over her nipple. It pebbled immediately. “Do you feel that all the way down, between your legs?”

  “That’s a very personal question.”

  His other hand moved down the valley between her breasts. He found the pendant she wore and pulled it up. “A Roman coin?”

  “Delilah gave it to me. My thirtieth birthday. We’re part Italian.”

  He rolled the uneven edge down her soft skin, the all-but-forgotten emperor turning impassively, until he reached the end of the gold chain’s slack. “You wear treasure. I like that. A real turn-on.”

  He let go of the coin and his fingers trailed south. She looked down, seemingly fascinated by his journey down her belly, through the crisp hairs on her mons. He slid one finger across her soft lips, dipping in to see how slick she was, then circling her clit. She arched into his hand with a soft cry. Her eyes had unfocused and no sooner had he glanced at her face than she was pressing it to his shoulder.

  While he wanted to see her, they were too new to each other for him to make demands. He wasn’t like one of those creepy guys in romance novels, always telling lovers to do things his way. He and his brothers had laughed hysterically at some of the scenarios shared by their sister, who loved reading those kinds of books.

  Instead, he nuzzled Jenny’s neck, hoping it would make her tilt her face up for a kiss. His free hand went to the smooth muscles of her round bottom, kneading her there while he patiently circled her clit with his other hand. He wanted to slide into her, fill her, get himself off, but he didn’t have a condom on him.