“No kidding.” She glanced down at the truck floorboard. “I mean, if that rust gets any worse, we’ll have to Fred Flintstone it home.”
He laughed out loud. “It’s not that bad.”
She smiled. “If you say so.”
Grant pulled into a parking lot and cut the engine. He shot her a mischievous grin. “You sure you’re prepared for this? We might see lizards and snakes.” He hopped out of the truck.
“I’m not a complete wimp just because I prefer city pavement to dirt roads.” She slid across the seat, thankful he didn’t offer his hand again. The less contact she had with him the better. She walked around to the back of the truck where he was spraying bug repellent on his legs and arms. “About those snakes … are they big ones?” she asked.
Grant burst out laughing. “Not a wimp, huh?”
Madison scowled and grabbed the repellent from his outstretched hand. This was going to be a very long day.
Grant knew he should be ashamed of himself for trying to scare her a little. But she was so much fun to mess with. “I’ve got water in my backpack.” He grinned. “I figured you’d be armed with that big old purse of yours that’s probably full of beauty products, so I packed our supplies.”
Her glare told him he was pushing it.
“Anyway, you can leave your purse in the truck. Just cram it underneath the seat.”
She wrinkled her nose. “This bag cost four hundred dollars. I’m not going to just leave it under the seat. Someone might steal it.”
Grant rolled his eyes. Four hundred dollars? He’d never heard anything so ridiculous. “The upside to having a truck as old as mine is that it isn’t exactly a target for thieves. I feel certain your overpriced bag will be fine for a couple of hours. Besides, you don’t want to lug that thing around.”
She didn’t say anything as she tucked her purse underneath the driver’s seat. She slammed the door and walked over to where he stood. “So what’s our plan?”
He held up the GPS. “We’re going to head down the Spring Trail. There are two caches down there. The other two caches are in different areas of the park. I think these might be a little easier though, so I thought we could start here first. Is that okay with you?”
She nodded. “Lead the way.”
They started off down the trail.
“How far do we have to go for the first one?” Madison asked after they’d been walking for a few minutes.
He stopped and consulted the GPS. “It shouldn’t be too much farther until we get to the first one. Here’s the clue:
The place you seek Was full of flour Once it used The spring as power.”
Madison burst out laughing. “I think I know where we’re headed.”
“I’m clueless on this one. Care to share?” She grinned. “What’s this? Mr. Outdoor World is asking me for help?”
“First time for everything.”
“It’s got to be near the old gristmill. I remember it from when I was a kid. We didn’t do a lot of hiking or anything, but believe it or not, I’ve been down this trail once before to see the springs. And my grandma made sure we stopped at the site of the old mill so she could explain to us how it used to work.”
He liked the way her brown eyes lit up as she talked about her childhood. Something awful must’ve happened for her to turn her back on her family. Something more than just her mom’s early death. The fact that he wanted to know her secrets caught him by surprise. Ever since he and Samantha had broken things off, he’d closed himself off to getting to know anyone new. “It sounds like you’re probably right then.” He looked at the GPS again. “We should be close.”
Ten minutes later they came to the site of the old mill. “Cool,” Grant said. “I can’t believe I’ve never been down this trail before.”
“They burned the mill in the 1930s to make room for the Lake of the Ozarks. My grandma wasn’t born yet, but her parents told her about it burning.”
Grant consulted the GPS and checked the coordinates of the cache. “Looks like it should be right over here.” He walked toward a rustic shelter that housed an interpretative display. “Check underneath this little table.”
Madison came up with the ammunition box. “Here it is,” she said with a grin.
She snapped a picture with her phone and then signed the logbook. “You have one of those fishing lures with you?” she asked.
He grinned. “Yep.” He pulled a bright-pink lure from his cargo pocket. “Look, it matches your shoes.”
Madison giggled. “I guess you know what lure I’ll choose if I ever go fishing.”
“That’ll be the day.” Grant tucked the cache back where it came from then hoisted his backpack over his shoulder. “I’m sure you’d just be a regular Bill Dance.”
She frowned. “Who?”
He shook his head. “Never mind.” He’d grown up watching Bill Dance’s bass fishing show on TV and had even gotten to meet him a few times over the years, but Madison would never understand. “Okay. It looks like the next cache is down the trail and closer to the springs.” He grinned. “You ready to keep going, or do you need to rest?”
Madison tossed her dark ponytail. “I’m fine, thanks.” She grinned. “In fact, this time you can follow me.”
He set out down the trail after her, trying to keep his eyes off her long, tanned legs. She might not consider herself outdoorsy, but she obviously worked out. And even though he still thought she was way too prissy for his taste, he had to admit that her beauty wasn’t lost on him. In fact, his attraction to her seemed to grow by the hour. “How about if I take the lead? Scare off any snakes.”
She stopped and motioned for him to go around her. “Good call.”
They rounded a corner, and the paved trail turned into a wooden boardwalk. “Here’s an overlook.” Grant motioned toward an interpretative panel that gave more information about the spring. From their vantage point, they could see the water. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Wow.” Madison stood next to him, and her bare arm brushed against his. “It’s so pretty.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Sure is,” he whispered. Get a grip. “So it looks like if we just keep going down the path, we’ll find another cache.”
“What’s the clue on this one?”
Grant groaned. “Whoever wrote this one isn’t much of a poet. It doesn’t even rhyme.”
“Let me see.” She grabbed the GPS and scrolled to read. “Two rocks meet But never touch. To find the treat You’ll have to climb.”
Madison consulted the GPS. “Let’s just keep going and see if we figure it out once we’re at the right coordinates.” She motioned for him to follow.
“I can tell we’re getting close to the spring because it’s getting cooler.”
She stopped suddenly, and he ran into her.
Grant put his hands on her waist to keep them both from tumbling. “Sorry,” he breathed. He was close enough to smell her shampoo. He let go of her and stepped back. “You okay?”
Madison glanced over her shoulder with a grin. “I didn’t mean to stop like that. But look.” She pointed ahead at two large rocks with just enough space between them for a person to fit through. “I think that must be the first part of the clue.”
He followed her through the opening. “You’re right. Two rocks meet but never touch. It’s got to be these.”
Madison stopped in front of a tree. “Okay, according to the GPS, we’re here.” She pointed upward. “And now we have to climb.” She laughed. “Well one of us does. And I nominate you.”
Grant smiled and shrugged the backpack from his shoulders. He grasped a low limb and shook it to see how sturdy it was. “I haven’t climbed a tree since I was a kid.”
“Were you good at it?”
He made a face. “Only broken bone I ever had was from a tree climb gone wrong.” He shimmied onto the first limb and looked up. The box was right above him. “But this isn’t bad at all. Guess they didn’t really want us to get too far off the ground.” He
grabbed the box and held it out for Madison to take.
She snapped a picture of the box and then opened it. “Isn’t this cute? A little plastic castle.”
“Yes, so cute,” he said mockingly once he was on the ground.
She rolled her eyes and passed him the logbook and box. “Don’t forget the fishing lure.”
Grant held up a bright-turquoise lure. “Of course not.” He closed the box and hurried to put it back in place.
“Check this out,” Madison called.
He made his way to where she stood in front of a trail sign.
“I’m glad this is the last cache on the trail.” She pointed at the sign. “Because otherwise we’d be climbing 316 stairs. And they look pretty steep.”
“Sounds fun to me.”
She shot him a dirty look.
He held up his hands in surrender. “But maybe on another day when we don’t have two more caches to find.”
She glanced at him. “How about you come back another day without me? You can send me a postcard and let me know how the climb goes.”
He nodded. “Right.” He kept forgetting that she’d be leaving soon. Off to the bright lights of the big city where she could find some guy who wore business suits and drove a fancy car.
But the sooner she was gone, the sooner he could get back to his old routine.
Somehow that didn’t make him feel any better.
Chapter 7
Okay, where to next?” Madison asked once they were back in the truck. “The castle ruins. Ever been there?” She shook her head. “I’ve seen it from the overlook, but never actually gone to the ruins.” Even though she’d never visited the ruins, she still knew the story behind the spot. In the early 1900s a businessman from Kansas City visited the area and found it so beautiful he immediately bought 5,000 acres and began construction on a European-style castle. A year later, he was killed in a car accident, and construction stopped, but his sons stepped in and finished the project. Eventually the castle was turned into a hotel, but in the 1940s a fire broke out and gutted the insides. Thirty years later, the area became a state park, including the castle ruins.
“I’ve been to the overlook, too. Grandpa wanted to go a couple of years ago, and I took him. But we didn’t go to the ruins, either. I always think what a sad story surrounds the place. That guy who wanted to live there never got to. It just seems like tragedy went with the place, you know?” She nodded. “Is it a long hike?”
“I think it should only be about half a mile from the parking lot.” He pulled into a space. “Ready?”
“Yep.”
She followed him down a wooded path. “What’s the clue?” He stopped and checked the GPS. “They just get worse and worse,” he said with a grin. “It’s time to stop And get your fill Take your bottle Try not to spill. “
Madison returned his smile. “Okay, obviously we’re looking for water.” The thrill of solving a clue and finding hidden treasure was a lot more fun than she’d expected it to be. Of course, she’d gone through a phase as a child when she wanted to be Nancy Drew.
She glanced at Grant. He concentrated on the trail, glancing every now and then at the GPS. Maybe he had something to do with her sudden change of heart about geocaching, too. He wasn’t as much of a Neanderthal as she’d expected him to be. In fact, if he were to put on a coat and tie and trim his curls a little bit, he could probably fit in anywhere. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. He probably didn’t own a tie. And he certainly didn’t seem too interested when she talked about her life in the city.
“Check it out.” He stopped as they came into a clearing. “A water fountain.”
She grinned. “That’s got to be it, don’t you think?”
“Only one way to find out.” He walked over to the fountain and looked around it. “Here it is.” He knelt behind the fountain and pulled out a small box.
“Smile,” she said, holding up her phone and snapping a picture.
Grant opened the box. “Another little plastic castle.” He grinned and dropped a yellow fishing lure in the box.
“You sure do have a lot of those lures.” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Don’t you use them?”
He shrugged and quickly signed the logbook. “I’ve got plenty at home.”
Madison put the box back where it came from. “Oh yeah. I’ve been meaning to ask. Where exactly do you live?”
An unmistakable shadow crossed his face. “Actually, not far from here. I live in a little cabin on the Niangua River. That’s the branch of the Lake of the Ozarks that runs by the park here.”
“Cool. So we’re kind of in your neck of the woods then?” He grinned. “Something like that. A lot of the time when I work as a fishing guide, I like to fish the Niangua. I’ve had a lot of luck there.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “You want to go on to the castle while we’re here? Or would you rather turn back, since we’ve already found the cache?”
“I definitely think we should go to the ruins. I mean, if you want to.” She met his eyes and was struck again by how blue they were.
Grant nodded. “Let’s go.”
They walked side by side toward the looming castle ruins. Just as they reached them, a boom of thunder ricocheted around them.
Madison jumped and grabbed hold of Grant’s arm.
A jagged streak of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by another boom of thunder.
Grant pulled her close. “The rain is coming. I should’ve checked the weather.” He looked around the castle ruins. “Do you want to wait it out here or make a run for it?”
The nearness of him clouded her ability to think straight.
What she wanted right that second was for him to hold on to her and never let go. But that wasn’t an option. “Let’s run.”
He grabbed her hand, and they took off toward the truck just as the bottom fell out of the sky.
Grant let go of her hand so he could unlock the door. He flung it open, and a soaked-to-the-bone Madison jumped in and slid across the seat.
He climbed in behind her and closed the door. The rain pounded so hard against the truck, it sounded like a million tiny hammers. “You okay?” He glanced at her.
Water dripped off of Madison like she’d just climbed out of a swimming pool. She managed a smile. “I kind of need a towel.”
He’d been afraid she would freak out at the prospect of being soaked through. “I’m glad you’re a good sport.” He turned the key, and the truck roared to life. “Let’s go to my place and dry off. Maybe by then the storm will have passed.”
She nodded. “Dry sounds good.”
Grant carefully exited the park. Even with the windshield wipers on high, he could barely see. “It’s not far, I promise.”
Madison flicked water from her arm. “Okay.”
Two turns later, and they were parked in front of his rustic cabin. “You want to sit here and see if it calms down or make another run for it?” he asked.
She grinned. “I see no reason to wait it out now. We look like drowned rats. Besides, all this water might rust out your floorboards right before our very eyes.”
He chuckled. “Smarty-pants.” He got his house key ready and opened the truck door. He took off running toward the door and stuck the key in the lock.
Madison squealed all the way to the door. “Hurry, hurry, hurry!” She raced inside after him and slid when her wet shoes hit the hardwood floor. She grabbed him to steady herself.
Grant instinctively slipped his arms around her. “Whoa.” His face was so close to hers, he could see the water dripping off her eyelashes. He grinned. “Way to make an entrance.”
She laughed. “What can I say, I’m a little dramatic.”
He realized he was still holding on to her and quickly let go. “So welcome to my humble abode.” He waved an arm around the wood-paneled living room.
“It’s … cozy.” She looked around the small room. “Do you have a towel or something?”
“Sure.
Hang on a sec.” He went into his bedroom and grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts out of a drawer. “These will have to do,” he said, walking back in the living room.
She took the clothes and eyed them suspiciously. “Thanks.”
“The bathroom is the second door on the left. There are towels in the cabinet.”
He quickly changed into dry clothes and flipped on the TV to check the weather.
“This is so not my style.” Madison emerged from the bathroom in his T-shirt and shorts, holding her soaked tennis shoes in her hand. Her face had been scrubbed free of makeup, and her wet hair was drying in loose waves.
Grant couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d known she was beautiful all made up and wearing her fancy clothes. But he’d had no idea just how naturally pretty she was. “You look amazing.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Shut up. I look scary, and you know it.” She put her tennis shoes on the mat next to the door and sat down on the couch.
Grant shook his head. “I’m serious. You always look nice and well put together and all that. But right now you’re on a completely different level.”
She ducked her head and smiled. “Thanks,” she said quietly.
He knew he was playing with fire by telling her what he thought, but he got the feeling she thought she was nothing without her designer clothes and expensive makeup. “So I guess the storm has kind of messed up the day.”
Madison shrugged. “Do you think we really have a shot at winning the treasure hunt anyway? There are some people who are seriously hunting all the time. I looked at the website last night, and there are a couple of groups way ahead of us.”
“I think we make a great team.” He grinned. “Besides, I was looking over the rules. Maybe we’ll find that Rainbow’s End geocoin thing. It would give us extra points.”
She looked at him blankly.
Grant chuckled. “I take it you didn’t read the rules?”
She made a face. “I sort of relied on Brook for that. Sorry if that makes me a loser teammate.”
“Hey … don’t talk about my partner like that.” He grinned. “The deal with the coin is that you get five points if you find it. And you can either keep it and prevent anyone else from finding it or turn it in at the church, and it will be rehidden.”
RAINBOW’S END: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION Page 12
