When she returned with the camera, he was flat on his back, staring up at the coin. He heard the click of the shutter and glanced her way.
“Just documenting the find,” she said.
He rose up on his elbow and patted the hearth next to him. “Come on down, darlin’。”
Shaking her head, she took another picture.
“What was that one for?”
“I might frame it and call it the Playboy Prospector,” she teased, joining him in front of the fireplace.
She lay back and wiggled into place so her head was next to his. She was looking up at the coin, but Silas was watching her face.
“I kinda like being in this position with you,” he said.
She rolled her head to the side to give him a glare. “Focus, Wright.”
“Oh, I am, Mags. I’m focusing on a nice comfortable mattress. Clean sheets. Rain on the window. Your hair spilling out like—”
“Silas. Aren’t you the least bit excited?”
“I’m real excited,” he promised darkly. He trailed a finger down her neck to the delicate ridge of her collarbone.
“You’re terrible,” she whispered. But there were goose bumps cropping up on her skin. She extended her arms and framed the coin on the camera screen. “I never found gold before. Matchbooks. Every back issue of Bikini Babes. A rat skeleton. But no gold.”
She took several shots and then tried a few other angles to catch the raised detail on its surface.
“Now we just need to figure out how to search for gold coin designs. I wonder if a reverse image search would work?” Maggie mused.
“I can do you one better than some online search,” he said, patting her leg. “Come on.”
He climbed to his feet and helped her up.
“Where are we going?”
“Into town.”
Fortyflirty: Did anyone else catch the hot, dirty landscaper in the background of Dean’s video on FB today? Just me?
JesusLuvsMe39: I HATE HATE HATE the tile she picked for the main bathroom. Ugh! Maggie has lost her touch. This show is basically one giant homage to horrible taste.
Leo4Life: A low maintenance woman who can swing a sledgehammer like that? Marry me, Maggie!
20
They left Kevin snoring in Maggie’s bed and headed into Kinship in Silas’s truck. She’d changed into clean jeans, a tank, and a soft cardigan that had him fantasizing about her wearing nothing but it and a pair of easily removable underwear.
The rain had slowed to a steady patter on the windshield. It was the perfect afternoon to slow down.
“Got time for a detour?” he asked, pulling up to the first traffic signal at Kinship’s town limits.
She frowned. “Detour?”
“My source has something going on this afternoon until two. We’ve got some time to kill.”
“I could have finished cleaning the surround,” she complained.
His girl was wound tight.
“Trust me. You’ll like this.”
“You always say that just before you try to talk me into something I don’t want to do.”
He slipped his fingers through hers and brought the back of her hand to his mouth. “And you always have a good time once you’re smart enough to give in.”
She sighed and then perked up. “Five bucks says I won’t like it.”
“I will take that bet, and maybe I’ll be gentlemanly enough to buy you a coffee with my winnings. Now, be a sweetheart and text my mom back and tell her we’ll bring coleslaw for the cookout Sunday.”
He handed her his phone.
“What do you mean ‘we’？”
“You and me, Mags. You and me.”
“I don’t know what kind of ‘see where things go’ you’re used to. But you can’t force me to meet your family.”
“You’ve already met Michael,” he pointed out. “That means my moms are not going to be patient for much longer. It’s only a matter of time before they just drop by the house. Besides, I already told them I’d bring you.”
“Mom or Mama B?” she asked.
“Mom,” he said.
Maggie typed up the message he dictated and hit send.
“How often do you all get together?” she asked.
“As a group? Once every week or two. But we mix it up with smaller get-togethers all the time.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if I could do that. Have a family obligation every week? I’m just not much of a social animal.”
“Says the woman with 999,150 followers,” Silas pointed out.