clue,” he said, confirming her suspicion. “A piece of a map. I need to hike up Aspen Creek Trail. Can I, please?”
A pang of sorrow and grief hit Maya square in the chest. The trail was on the lower half of Eagle Crest Mountain. The other side of the mountain was where the skiing resort and runs were located. And the road on which her parents had perished.
The urge to remind Brady that finding the Delaney treasure was a hopeless cause rose up strong within her, but she bit the words back. They’d gone down this road so many times over the past few weeks, ever since the peculiar billionaire, who lived on the outskirts of Bristle Township, had put out to the world that he had hidden some sort of treasure somewhere along the Rocky Mountains.
The man hadn’t said where in the Rockies. And considering the mountains ran from Canada down to New Mexico, that was a lot of territory to cover. Towns all along the Rockies were being overrun with seekers of fortune and fame who ate up every clue, and then spent hours and hours searching the canyons, forests, peaks, hills and valleys of the rugged mountain range. Bristle Township and County was no exception.
Not that the townsfolk didn’t appreciate the business the fervor stirred up, but for Maya it was a constant worry. Brady loved puzzles. The more challenging, the better. He’d glommed on to the treasure hunt with both hands.
She glanced at the clock. Just after nine in the morning. If he left now, he’d be at the trailhead in fifteen minutes. She doubted Mr. Delaney had hidden his prize along such a well-used hiking path, but following the clues made her brother happy. Thankfully, Brady wouldn’t be alone out there. Even in the fall when the air turned cool, there were sturdy souls who hiked the trail every day.
“Are you done with class and homework?” He went to classes three days a week at the local high school and worked with a special education teacher. The other two days a week, he did an online course and homework.
“All done. And turned in.” He grinned. “Mrs. Vincetti wrote that I was a rock star.”
He was so eager to learn. It broke her heart that the school couldn’t afford the special education teacher on a full-time basis. But he was excelling at his studies. “What time do you need to be back?”
He thought for a moment. “By lunchtime.”
“Which is?”
He tapped the large round watch on his arm. “Noon.”
“That’s right. So that means you need to be aware of the time to see how far you go in so that you know when to turn around to be back by noon. If I have to worry, we won’t be doing this again.” She made this speech every time.
“I won’t make you worry, Maya. Do I ever?”
Oh, had he. When she’d first started to loosen the reins, letting him have some freedom, she’d known it would be a learning curve for them both. But Pastor Michael Foster and his wife, Alicia, had insisted it was time to let Brady grow up, and Brady’s doctor had agreed.
Because Maya respected and cherished the older couple and Doctor Brown as well, and relied on them for sound counsel, she’d done as they’d suggested and given Brady more control and allowed him to make his own decisions.
But he wasn’t good with directions or managing his time, something they’d been working diligently to change.
This would be his fifth outing seeking treasure in as many weeks. She was pretty sure he understood the concept of time now and knew how to use his compass, but that didn’t stop the little flutter of unease from curling in the pit of her stomach.
For her own piece of mind, she’d filled his small backpack with a first-aid kit, insect replant, sunscreen, reflective thermal blanket, a compass, a walkie-talkie, a cell phone and a flashlight, along with a water bottle and snacks.
“Your house keys?”
Brady unzipped the front pouch and pointed to a set of keys dangling from a carabiner attached to the inside of the bag. A small square wireless tracker covered by a sticker of Brady’s favorite cartoon character hung next to the keys. She had the corresponding GPS tracking device in the office.
“It’s packed and all set to go, Maya.” Brady zipped the pack closed and secured it over his shoulders on top of his blue down jacket.
“Hat?”
He yanked his baseball cap from the pocket of his jeans and secured it on his head. “Okay?”
Her heart squeezed. “Be careful. And stay on the path. No straying.”
With a salute, he ran out the side exit, the echo of his booted feet ringing in her ears.
She hurried to the front window in time to see him pedaling his bike down the sidewalk toward the far end of town where he’d turn onto the road that would take him to the trailhead. He waved to people on the street who waved back.
She touched the glass pane and said a prayer of protection for her younger brother.
A stab of guilt ate away at her. Her gaze lifted to the white snowcapped peaks of the mountains. If she had prayed for her parents that long-ago winter night instead of being angry that she’d been stuck at home babysitting her brother while they went off and had fun, maybe they’d still be alive.
Movement across the street drew her gaze to the tall good-looking sheriff’s deputy lifting his hand in a wave, his dark-eyed gaze locking with hers.
Embarrassment flooded her and she snatched her hand away from the windowpane. She quickly stepped back. Great. The handsome officer probably thought she was flirting with him. Ugh. The next time he came in for tack would be uncomfortable.
The last thing she wanted in her life was romance. There’d been a few men over the years who’d shown interest but she had her hands full with Brady and the store.
To complicate things with a relationship... The thought was overwhelming. What if she fell in love and then something happened to the guy?
She had Brady, her friends and the town. What more did she need?
* * *
At noon, Maya had watched the back entrance, expecting Brady to come racing into the store any moment. At one o’clock, she paced by the front window, her gaze searching the main street of Bristle Township for signs of him. She checked the GPS device. The red dot showed he was on the Aspen Creek Trail. Most likely he’d found something or was digging beneath a bush with no clue how worried she was waiting for him to return.
By two, when the red dot hadn’t moved, dread that something had happened to him set in. She flipped the open sign over, jumped in her Jeep and drove to the trailhead. Brady’s bike was sitting in the bike rack.
Trying to keep her breathing even, she told herself not to panic, even though her heart rate was way faster than normal, making her chest hurt. She checked the handheld GPS device, glad to see the little red dot indicating that Brady was still on the trail but worry poked at her. He hadn’t moved in a long time. Had he fallen and was injured?
The thought galvanized her into action. She hurried up the dirt path. “Brady!”
On either side of the trail,
