The half hour walk to the cabin was mostly done in silence. Sunny seemed lost in thought and Jason didn't have the heart to shatter her illusion of finding something. After all, the cabin had probably been abandoned for seventy-five years. Before buying the property, he had done a title search and learned that the home he now lived in had been built in 1940. After a chance conversation with a local old-timer he'd learned that the builders of his home had been a young couple who'd lived in the cabin prior to moving into their dream home. However, tragedy had struck when the husband was killed during World War II. The widow had never remarried and become unstable after the loss of her husband. She had died around 1968 during foreclosure of her property. It appeared she hadn't paid property taxes in years. The property had reverted to the state and subsequently sold in the early 1970s. Since that time it had gone through a couple more owners. However, the last owner had lost it in 2010 due to the economic crunch that began in 2006. The home had remained vacant until purchased at auction by Jason.
As they approached the cabin Sunny stopped and set her backpack on the ground. Jason did the same. She asked, "Do you want to eat first?"
He chuckled. "And keep you from searching for a needle in a haystack? No. Besides…" he glanced at his watch, "It's only nine thirty."
She gave him a sheepish grin and twisted her hands behind her back in an endearing gesture. "Do you have any idea of how we should begin?"
"Not really. From the passage you read, it wasn't clear whether the box was in the house or somewhere outside." He considered the best plan of attack and then said against his better judgment, "If we don't find anything today, perhaps we could rent a metal detector." The brilliant smile Sunny gave him made his heart thud.
She exclaimed, "I just knew it!"
"You knew what?"
"That you're a closet treasure hunter."
He lifted his hands in self defense and said good-naturedly, "No. No. No. I'm only doing this for you." Immediately, he regretted his slip of the tongue.
Her eyes widened and something flashed between them—mutual attraction. The famous, talented, and pretty Sunny Sundance was attracted to him. Quickly, he knelt to retrieve the tools he'd stored in his backpack and said, "Let's start at the perimeter of the house and work inward."
"Okay," she said softly. "I'll start with the only standing wall."
Methodically, over the next hour, Jason actually crawled around the exterior searching for anything that could be a hiding place, and every time he started to dig, Sunny rushed to watch. They found nothing. Next, he concentrated on the porch, lifting old boards and sending lizards scurrying.
Sunny returned to the kitchen wall after yet another disappointment of watching Jason uncover not a metal box, but a large stone under the porch. She refused to be daunted. Returning to the spot she'd left, she felt between the grooves of logs for anything out of the ordinary. Ancient mortar crumbled into her hands and brought sadness for what had once been and was now returning to the dust of the earth. She simply had to find a way to convince Jason to sell her the property, and, if not, to allow her to restore the cabin. She had a sudden inspiration. Maybe he'll sell me just the cabin and outbuildings. The idea gave her comfort and renewed vigor. When she had finished her exploration of the log wall, she sighed and decided to reread the passage about the treasure. She glanced around and saw Jason leaning against the ancient oak near the ruins of the barn and waved. "What are you doing over there? Are you ready to eat?"
He pushed away from the tree. "I was just scoping out the barn as a possible hiding place. And yes, let's eat."
Sunny knelt beside her backpack and pulled out a thermal bag with sandwiches and chips and a small iced compartment with two sodas. She also retrieved the journal.
Jason motioned toward a portion of the porch that was still intact and they sat on the edge of it. She handed him a sandwich and Pepsi. They ate in silence for several minutes.
Sunny swallowed a bite of sandwich and waved around the property. "After reading the journal I can visualize how it looked in the 1800s and the desperate people coming here. There are so many wonderful stories about impossible healings of people and animals. Between Tana being a healer and Thomas a doctor, they performed miracles." When Jason didn't respond she glanced sideways at him.
He was also looking at her. "Miracles?"
"Don't you believe in them?"
"Not really. Tana and Thomas were just skilled at what they did."
"That doesn't explain the animals willingly coming to them. And I mean predators that became harmless while being treated." She pointed to the fallen logs of the barn. "In that barn wolves, rabbits, horses, mules, birds, beavers, coyotes, and other animals, all coexisted in harmony. How do you explain that?"
"I can't. But I know stories can be embellished over the years."
"So you've said. But this information came directly from Dr. Matthews, an eyewitness."
Sunny kept her gaze on Jason and he merely shrugged. She continued, "If you read his writings, I think you may change your mind."
"Perhaps," was his response.
Sunny reached for the journal she'd set beside her and opened it to the page about the treasure. Silently, she read it for the hundredth time.
When she removed a small metal box from its hiding place, I knew something of significance was inside. She opened the cover and I saw the gold nugget that had been instrumental in saving our lives, as well as numerous stones and gems. She emptied them onto the bed and I gently touched diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jaspers, quartz, and other stones. I was not surprised because of the remedies she created using them. I had seen several before, but never asked where they were kept. They belonged to Tana alone.
Sunny tapped her cheek and reread the passage. Aloud, she pondered, "I wonder…" She lifted her eyes to Jason's.
"What?"
She read the passage to him and he said, "What do you see that I don't? And also, I've been meaning to ask how a gold nugget saved their lives. What happened?"
Sunny's eyes twinkled. "You'll have to read the journals because I'm not telling."
"I had a feeling you'd say that. So, what do you see that I don't?"
"Okay. Thomas sees Tana remove the box from its hiding place and then she empties the contents onto the bed. He didn't say anything about being outside and bringing the box inside. It's as if they were already near the bed."
"That sounds reasonable, but a journal entry condenses information."
Sunny jumped to her feet and hurried inside the ruin. Over her shoulder she called, "There's only one way to find out."