A Gift from the Past

“What are you going to do with the treasure if you find it?” he asked.

She eyed him, her gray eyes almost silver in the moonlight. “I don’t know, maybe hire the help that you think I need. We don’t need anyone full-time, just maybe a day or two a week so I can get a part-time job and help out with the bills.” She reached a hand up and touched a length of her hair.

“And if there’s anything left over, maybe go to the beauty shop and have your hair and nails done?” He smiled at her look of surprise. “I haven’t forgotten how much you used to enjoy a trip to Betty’s Beauty Spa.”

A tiny smile whispered at her lips. “I can’t remember the last time somebody else washed my hair for me.” The smile disappeared. “I still don’t understand what you wanted to talk to me about.”

“I have a deal to offer you.”

“What kind of a deal?”

“I’ll help you find that treasure while I’m here, if in return you help me find out something about Daniel and Sarah Walker.” It had been an idea that had been boiling around in his head all evening. He knew Claire would never take anything from him, but hoped she’d let him help her get at least some of the money they so obviously needed.

“How am I supposed to find out anything about those people?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Mayfield was begun in 1849. Maybe they were citizens. You used to like digging around in the old records at City Hall.”

“I don’t have the time,” she exclaimed.

“You could take the time while I’m here,” he countered. “I can entertain Sarge and give you the time to take a break from here and see what you can find.”

She frowned, obviously thinking about it. “They can’t be long-lost relatives of mine. I did our genealogy a long time ago and I don’t recall any Walkers in the family tree.” She swirled a strand of her hair between two fingers and he wished it were his fingers touching the silk of her hair. “Why do you care about those people in the picture anyway?”

“Aside from the fact that they look just like us?” He stared up at the moon, trying to find the words to explain to her what he’d felt from the moment he’d seen that photo.

He looked back at her, wondering if she’d think he’d lost his mind. “I just feel as though fate put that picture there in the ground for us to find, that we were meant to find it for a reason.”

She stood and brushed off the seat of her shorts. “And I’d say fate already had its go at us and I have no intention of letting it dabble in my life ever again.”

She moved to the front door. “But I’ll take you up on that deal. You help me find the treasure money and I’ll see what I can find out about Sarah and Daniel Walker for you. With any luck, both can be accomplished very quickly.” With these last words she disappeared back into the house.

Joshua remained where he was seated. He tipped his head back and once again stared up at the moon, as the sound of the night insects created a lullaby.