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He’s hired someone to run his father’s businesses while he finishes school. We haven’t matriculated back into Saint Clary’s yet, and since finding the treasure, we actually don’t need to, but...what else are we going to do?
We have to find something to do with the rest of our lives.
Lucas has an idea for another treasure hunt. He’s been reading up on the outlaw Jesse James stashing gold around the southwest, but I don’t know. The Superstitions are my home, and now that I have a museum to run, I might want to follow in my family’s footsteps. Not treasure hunting—been there, done that—I’m talking about adventurous treks up the mountains. I’m sure tourists would love for the finders of the Wilder treasure to take them through step-by-step how they did it.
Stone holds his hand out, wiggling his fingers. “Let me see the speech.”
My stomach turns, but I hand it over anyway. I know he’ll give it to me straight.
Lucas hobbles back to his seat, past the tulips Stone bought me on the kitchen island, and I glare at him. “Um, walker?”
“I’m fine,” he says, waving my worries away. And really, he usually is. He went up into the mountains to get Maria Luisa’s treasure with us. Sure, he was laid up for a while after we got back, but he recovered.
Today was another one of those rough days. We got to go in the museum today for the first time and walk the different exhibits. I actually stood in front of a glass wall with the Wilder treasure map safely encased on the other side through a quarter-inch thick glass casing. Yes, I was making sure nothing else ever happened to that map again. It’ll never be back to its former glory, but at least we still have it. It’s sitting exactly where my father and I always wanted it.
All the walking at the museum got to Lucas, but tomorrow, he’ll be back to almost his normal self. The doctor says he’ll be brand new as soon as everything properly heals. He’s not supposed to do anything too strenuous, but the treasure—and his libido—win out. Eventually, he’ll make a full recovery though.
Stone hands my speech back. He clears his throat, and I stare into his glassy eyes. I suck my lip into my mouth. “Is it good?”
He nods. “Yeah. It’s really good, Dakota.” He clears his throat again.
The injury on the back of his head healed in no time. He really did just hit it on a rock and knocked himself out cold, which is probably good so he wasn’t standing when the bullets started flying. None of us were.
“What is it?” Lucas asks his friend, worry creasing his brows.
“Nothing,” he tells him, avoiding our gazes.
“Aww,” I move over to Stone, straddling his lap. His gray-blue eyes focus on me, and I melt. “It’s really good?”
He runs his hands down his face. “Yeah.”
Wyatt plucks the speech off the couch and reads it himself. He’s quiet when he finishes, and when Lucas calls for it, he walks over and hands it to him. Lucas blinks a few times, then stares at me. “You’re going to have to get over here now.”
“No. No way,” Wyatt protests. “We’re far past Lucas getting special attention.”
I move to the other couch despite Wyatt’s teasing, and Lucas pulls me down next to him and stares at me. “Family is the greatest treasure of all,” he recites, quoting the last line of my speech.
There’s a bit before that, where I talk about how we all came together to make my dreams come true, but then when we found it, I realized I’d already found my treasure after all.
Not going to lie, the gold was a win though. And the jewels. So. Many. Jewels. Many of the pieces sit in the museum for everyone to see. Others got shipped off to the Smithsonian and several museums in Spain.
But two pieces, I still own. Two that we stole back from Lance Jacobs. The ring, which we never told anyone we had, and the gold nugget.
Stone and Wyatt move over to us. Stone touches the ring on my right hand. He’s already told me that one day he’s going to make me wear it on my left. I’m already bound to all of them, so when that day comes, it’ll just be a formality. A fun formality, but one nonetheless.
“I think your speech is perfect,” Wyatt shares, dipping his head low so I can barely see his eyes under the rim of his cowboy hat. Next week, he’s taking us to his ranch like we’d planned. We would’ve gone sooner, but we needed to settle things here before making the trip. I can’t wait to see the land my cowboy loves so much.
“She’sperfect,” Lucas murmurs, feeding his fingers through my hair.
“They’re going to love it,” Stone confirms. “And even if you tell them you discovered the last clue by accident, we know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”
After a few moments, Wyatt asks, “Is Cole coming tomorrow?” He and the gang leader are on much better terms now.
I hold back a smile. Cole’s been busy in the Heights, but he still finds time to text me every day. He doesn’t want me involved in his gang life, so he isn’t around as much anymore. One day, he’s going to want out, and I told him when that day comes, he’s got a place to stay.
I answer Wyatt’s question with a nod. “Yeah. He said he wouldn’t miss it.”
“Of course not,” Stone states. “He knows how much the museum means to you.”
Looking up, I take in the faces of my guys. In each pair of eyes, I find the same overwhelming love I hold for them.
A piece of them is in me, forever scored on my heart and soul. And now, a piece of us will live on after we’re gone.
Our pictures hang in the showroom of the last exhibit. I opted for a group photo while the rest of my family has single portraits, including my father. Seeing his picture today, just before mine and after our generations of ancestors, brought everything full circle. My eyes welled with tears, and I knew in that moment that I’d never be able to thank the man I knew as my father enough for what he brought into my life.
I’m Dakota Wilder. I come from a long line of treasure hunters. Because of me, the Wilders will go down in history. Maybe the line won’t end. Maybe it will. If it doesn’t, it’ll be up to future generations to find their own treasure, and I’ll make sure they know that it’s not always about shiny things. Treasures can be found in everyday life—a cool breeze on a balmy day; a foot rub after a long hike in the mountains; the touch of a man you thought you were going to lose forever….
But the only way you’re going to find those treasures, is if you actuallylive.
Something I plan on doing every day of the rest of my life with Wyatt, Stone, and Lucas by my side.