Page 20 of Librarian for the Jock

Chapter Twenty

CHET

As I pulled up to the edge of the woods, the sun began to dip low in the sky, casting long shadows across the familiar landscape. Brad was already there, leaning against his truck with a grin on his face, holding the metal detector Mr. Saavedra had been gracious enough to lend us, yet again.

“Well, well,” Brad said with a smirk as I hopped out of my car. “Look who finally decided to remember where we buried our pirate treasure.”

I chuckled, holding up the old, hand-drawn map I’d found in my childhood room. “Hey, cut me some slack. It’s been what, twenty years? I’m surprised I remembered anything at all!”

Brad laughed, clapping me on the shoulder. “Fair point. But I’ll give it to you, finding this map was a stroke of genius. I had completely forgotten about this place.”

I looked down at the map, tracing the childish lines I had drawn so many years ago. “Yeah, me too. Until I saw this thing, I’d forgotten all about our secret hideout… and all the trouble we used to get into back here.”

Brad snorted. “Trouble? You mean like when we tried to dig a tunnel to China and ended up stuck in the mud for three hours?”

I burst out laughing. “Oh man, I forgot about that! Grandpa Joe had to come rescue us. He was probably so worried because we had missed lunch, which was NOT normal. And then he gave us that whole speech about how if we wanted to dig tunnels, we should’ve started in our own backyard.”

“Yeah, because that would’ve been so much better—your grandmother would have killed us for digging up her yard and garden!” Brad grinned at the thought. “Grandpa Joe was always the one to encourage our wild ideas. Remember when he helped us rig up that ‘pirate flag’ from his old fishing gear?”

I nodded, smiling at the memory. We’d been obsessed with pirates that summer, and Grandpa Joe, always game for a good laugh, had brought out his old tackle box and helped us make a pirate flag out of an old bed sheet and some of his fishing rods. We’d felt invincible, like real explorers staking our claims.

“Those were the days,” I said, more to myself than to Brad. “Everything seemed so simple back then. Our biggest worry was whether our ‘fort’ would hold up in the next rainstorm.”

Brad’s grin faded a little, replaced by a thoughtful expression. “Yeah, simpler times. Now, here we are, two grown men searching for jewelry we stole from my sister twenty years ago. Life comes full circle, huh?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Borrowed, not stole! We were planning to give it back, right? If you’d told me back then that we’d be doing this, I would’ve said you were crazy. But here we are. I guess some things never change.”

Brad nodded, holding up the metal detector. “Ready to find that treasure?”

“Let’s do it,” I said, feeling a spark of excitement.

We started making our way into the woods, following the map’s rough directions. The sounds of the forest around us—the rustling leaves, the chirping of crickets, the distant hoot of an owl—brought back more memories of our childhood adventures. I could almost hear the echoes of our young voices, shouting out orders and pretending to be lost pirates on the hunt for gold.

After a bit of searching, we came across the spot I thought might be marked on the map—a clearing with a few old, twisted trees and a large boulder that looked vaguely familiar. Brad and I exchanged a look, both of us feeling the same rush of nostalgia.

“This is it,” I said, pointing to a spot near the boulder. “I’m pretty sure this is where we buried it.”

Brad nodded, turning on the metal detector. He swept it slowly back and forth, listening for any telltale beeps. We were quiet for a few minutes, both of us focused on the task, but also lost in our own thoughts.

Then, out of nowhere, Brad started laughing. “Remember when we convinced that nosey, irritating girl—what was her name, Cathy, Catrina, Cynthia? She moved away when we were in middle school. We convinced her that this place was haunted by the ghost of ‘Captain No-Beard’?”

I grinned, shaking my head. “Oh man, I do! I totally forgot her name though. She wouldn’t come near these woods for months. And then she got her revenge by hiding behind the shed and jumping out at us with that old rubber spider. Scared us half to death.”

Brad chuckled. “Yeah, we made her swear never to tell anyone she scared us like that. She was craftier than we gave her credit for.”

We continued scanning the area, and suddenly, the metal detector started beeping loudly. Brad and I exchanged an excited look.

“This could be it,” he said, his voice filled with anticipation.

We started digging, the dirt giving way easily under our shovels. As we dug deeper, my mind drifted back to all the times we’d dug holes here as kids, convinced we’d find buried treasure, even when all we really found were old nails and rusty cans.

And then, with a soft clunk, my shovel hit something solid. Brad and I froze, and for a moment, we just looked at each other, like we couldn’t quite believe it.

“Did you hear that?” Brad whispered, even though there was no reason to whisper because we were literally all alone in the woods.

“Yeah,” I said, my heart pounding. “I think… I think we found it.”

We dug a little more carefully after that, and soon, we uncovered a small, rusted tin box, barely bigger than a cigar box. My hands were shaking as I reached down and lifted the small box out of the hole.

“This is it,” I said, almost in disbelief. “This was our treasure.”

Brad leaned over, peering at the box. “Man, I can’t believe it’s still here. After all these years…”

I slowly pried the lid open, and inside, I saw the familiar glint of gold. Paige’s jewelry, wrapped in a faded bandana, was still intact. I felt a wave of relief and triumph wash over me. We’d actually found it. After all this time, we’d done it!

Brad grinned, clapping me on the back. “Looks like we finally struck gold, partner.”

I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief. “Yeah, but it’s not about the jewelry, is it? It’s about the memories… the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.”

Brad nodded, his expression softening. “Yeah, it really is. This place, this town… it’s been good to us. And maybe it’s time we start being good to it.”

I looked at the jewelry in my hand, thinking about Paige and how much this jewelry meant to her. “Yeah, I think you’re right, Brad.”

As we packed up the tin box and headed back toward the trucks, I felt lighter, freer somehow. We may have found some old treasure tonight, but my heart told me something of greater value was about to happen.

“I’m gonna go wash up and head over to Paige’s afterward. Wanna come?”

“Nah, I think this is something you should do alone.” He winked at me. “I really like the two of you together. Good luck!” He grinned, jumped in his truck, and took off.

I stared, dumbfounded, as his truck drove away. Clearly, my feelings for her were obvious if Brad had figured it out. I wondered if she might feel something for me too. I hoped she would.

After showering, I made my way to Paige’s house, finally finding myself standing outside her front door with the small tin box of her jewelry in my hands. My heart was pounding, I was so nervous, and I couldn’t understand why when I knew I had nothing to be nervous about. Surely, she would be excited to get her jewelry back.

I rang the doorbell and waited. It felt like forever before the door started to open slowly...