Once she disappeared, Jules appeared at the top of the stairs, wet hair matted to her forehead and some color on her cheeks. Emma squeezed her hand on the way past and lingered in the doorway to the living room to watch as Kyle swept her into his arms and crushed her to him.
Kyle gave Jules a quick spin before setting her back down.
Hours later, Emma found herself wedged between her mother and Jules in the back of the high school theater, reliving her glory days with Jack. He was sitting on the other side of the room, with his son next to him, and she kept sneaking glances at him. When the final curtain rose and the students came out to take a bow, Jack came to find her, brushing his hand against hers in greeting.
Outside, it was no longer snowing, and there were kids running around and shrieking. A few people stood in a half-circle around the town Christmas tree. When carolers came up and started singing, more and more of the townspeople joinedthem. Jules and Kyle drifted away, and she spotted them by a snow globe vendor, heads bent together in conversation.
Jack released a deep breath and smiled. “Are you ready for the eclipse?”
In silence, they came to a stop in the middle of High Street, at the exact location on the map where her grandfather had once stood. Emma’s heart was in her throat as she turned to Jack and saw Marley over his shoulder. She hurried over to them, with Marie in tow, and they all exchanged quick, furtive glances.
Was she finally on the edge of a precipice—of unlocking something greater than herself?
Emma didn’t know for sure, but she welcomed it either way.
With the eclipse only an hour away, it was time to learn the truth about the Sullivan family treasure once and for all.
Chapter Seventeen
“Ithink it’s this spot over here.” Marley peered into the distance and gestured to a secluded area in the park behind a row of trees.
Steady chatter rose and fell around Emma as she paused to glance behind her at the hordes of townspeople already gathered for the eclipse. Sighing, Emma straightened her back and glanced ahead, a smile hovering on the edge of her lips when she spotted her mother wheeling Henry in their direction.
He was pale, and his eyes were pinched, but there was no mistaking the gleam in his eyes.
Nothing, not even a stroke, was going to get in his way.
He hadn’t even bothered to ask how Emma had learned so much about the eclipse—hadn’t thought to question her about the clues she’d found in his study.
But Emma was sure there would be time for that later.
Jules fell into step beside Emma and laced her fingers through hers. “This is so exciting. What do you think is going to happen when we find the treasure?”
Emma shrugged and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. “I don’t know.”
“But we’ll tell the town, right? Otherwise, they might get suspicious or something.”
Emma shot her daughter a sideways glance. “That’ll be up to your grandpa.”
Since he was the true heir to the Sullivan family treasure, whatever he chose to do with the findings was entirely up to him. Emma hoped he had enough common sense to use some of the money to ward off the threat of foreclosure, but when it came to her father, she never knew what he would do.
Even now, his face didn’t give anything away.
Jack was the last to join them behind the cluster of trees, and everyone lapsed into silence. Marley ran a hand over another tombstone, the same one mentioned in the letters, and exhaled. Then, she stood up straighter and took a step back, melting into the shadows. In the background, excitement was reaching a fever pitch as a few more clouds gathered, and everyone waited with bated breath for the sun to be blotted out.
More and more townspeople were spilling out of the school auditorium, eclipse glasses perched on their heads.
Emma tilted her head back and stared through her glasses, the low thrumming in her ears only growing louder.
“Looks like it’s going to be a while,” Marley said, one hand raised to her face and the other tapping her thigh. “Anyone feel like going for a walk?”
Unable to stand still, Emma looped her arm through Marley’s and tugged her away. In silence, the two women stepped out of the park and wandered around the town square. A few horse-drawn carriages ambled past, with people leaning sideways to wave at the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Emma spotted a few kids rolling up snow while others raced over with carrots and an assortment of hats and twigs.
Marley stopped in front of a vendor who sold several types of hot chocolate and bought two cups. Wordlessly, she handedEmma one. She smiled when the lingering taste of peppermint filled her mouth. She took a few more sips and glanced over her shoulder at Jules, who held on to Kyle with one hand and used the other to make a sweeping gesture.
Despite the winter wonderland unfolding around him, Kyle only had eyes for her daughter.
It both warmed her heart and frightened her.
