“You’ve had a rough few days. Besides, I’ve enjoyed watching with the boys. I didn’t realize how much more fun it is to watch movies like this with kids. Helps you see them in a whole new way, doesn’t it?”
The movie ended, and Nate turned off the TV. Seth jumped up and ran over to the couch. “Wouldn’t it be so cool to find a place full of treasure like the Cave of Wonders?”
Bailey chuckled. “Yes, it would. Very lucrative, too.”
“Can we look for treasure tomorrow? Maybe there’s more that we haven’t found yet?”
“Look for treasure? Where?” Bailey prayed he was talking about Lego bricks or something similar, but worried he was referring to the old barn. If the latter were the case, she was about to squelch that idea. She really wished Seth didn’t like the place so much.
“By the sunflower field where the lady found that watch. Maybe there’s more.”
“I forgot all about that.” She sat up straight as all remnants of sleep disappeared. “I’m sure someone just dropped the watch near the field and then couldn’t find it again. If there were a treasure, surely we would’ve noticed it by now.”
Seth gave her a look of disbelief. “Then why didn’t we see the watch before?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Maybe we can go out in a few days and take a lookaround.” She doubted they’d find anything, but it might be fun to go for a walk and look for treasures even if those treasures ended up being pretty rocks and discarded feathers. In the end, it would be a good adventure for the boys anyway, which was all that mattered.
That seemed to satisfy Seth. “Come on, Jordan. Let’s go pretend we’re treasure hunters.”
They ran off together to play.
Nate looked curious. “Who found the watch? Do you still have it?”
“A customer brought it in. I intended to post something about it on social media, and then everything fell apart. It’s in the drawer in the kitchen. I forgot all about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Nate accepted the watch from Bailey and turned it over in his hand. They were sitting at the kitchen table where the lighting was good. He was no jewelry expert, but it was a Seiko and looked to be about mid-range. Someone probably spent at least a thousand dollars on it. He told Bailey as much.
“It’s not in the best condition, is it?” It wasn’t working, and there was mud caked in the creases of the band as well as the edging of the watch face. The band had come away from the watch face at one side, which was likely how it was lost in the first place. There was one light scratch across the glass there as well. “It’s hard to know if it looks like this because it’s old or because the elements did a number on it.”
She nodded. “The lady who turned it in said she found it out by the sunflower field. I honestly don’t know where out there, though. That covers a lot of area.”
“Do you remember which day that was?”
“It was Saturday. I’m sure of it because that’s the day I got the threatening letter.”
Nate thought over the last week. “So there was nosignificant weather right before that. Nothing that would’ve caused the dirt around the field to erode enough to reveal the watch. Although one could argue it might have taken years of that to finally unearth it.” He rubbed a thumb over the watch face. “I’ll bet the person who lost this was upset at the time.”
“I imagine so. I was going to put up a vague post and insist that anyone who came in to claim it has to be able to describe it first. I was afraid posting a picture would bring in a lot of people hoping to snag it and resell it.”
“Good thinking. No doubt you’re right.” He turned the watch over again. There was something on the back that looked like it might be more than just scratches. He pointed it out to Bailey. “Doesn’t it look like it could be an inscription?”
She leaned in for a closer look. “It does. I can’t make it out, though.”
“Neither can I.” He was interested in walking around the sunflower field like Seth suggested, although he doubted they’d find anything else.
He set the watch down on the table. “It might be worth taking it in to a jeweler and having it properly cleaned. If thereisan inscription, it would help to be able to read it. I’m assuming if someone legitimately lost the watch, then that’s the first thing they’ll tell you to verify that it’s theirs.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” She rested against the back of her kitchen chair. “Maybe I can take it in tomorrow at lunch. I figure we’ll need a break from working on the store again.”
Nate studied her for a moment and worked to keep his features neutral. “I took a gamble and set something up for tomorrow. Maybe I should’ve asked you first, but then it would’ve given you the opportunityto tell me no.”
Her brows lifted, and she studied him as though she were trying to decide whether he was joking or not. “What did you do?”
He barked out a laugh. “Well, I might have brought it up originally, but it was a group effort.” He paused for dramatic effect. “People from the police station, along with some family and friends, will be dropping by off and on all day tomorrow to help you power through cleaning up the store.” He held up a hand. “And before you object, food is covered.”
