Page 53 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men

CAMRYN

My dash to the back office was quick and deliberate. I returned holding the giant canvas, taller than me.

“Get the diamonds,” I said excitedly. “That’s what Sarge told you, right?”

The boys squinted back at me in total confusion. They nodded slowly as I spun the canvas around.

“The diamonds beneath the tree.”

I leaned forward and tapped the big painting, dead center. The enormous, out of proportion tree stretched the entire length of the canvas; from the crown of leaves at the top, to the great spiderweb of roots spreading outward at the base.

“Great,” said Jaxon. “It’s a tree.”

“Yes,” I smiled.

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen a tree that looked anything like that. Not on this property.”

“That’s because it’s not on this property.”

I tapped the painting again, trailing my fingers over it. The trunk felt thick and rough beneath my fingers, that’s how much paint Sarge had used. Almost like the bark of a real tree.

Ryder set his hands on his hips. “If it’s not on this property, how would we find it?”

“You already found it,” I beamed.

They squinted even harder. “Where?”

“Right here,” I tapped again.

Jaxon and Oakley shifted uncomfortably on their bad legs. Ryder stared back at me, squinting even harder from his puffed up eye. But it was Bryce whose confusion first gave way to perception, then excitement.

“Holy shit,” he breathed. “And all this time I thought he was just a terrible artist.”

“He was a terrible artist,” I beamed. “And he used way too much paint. So much paint. Almost like…”

I tapped again, this time near the roots of the tree. Four pairs of eyes shifted downward, to where irregularly-shaped balls of brown and green paint jutted out from the canvas like Milk Duds.

“Remember what Sarge said?” I asked again. “Find the diamonds; beneath the tree. And you told me you asked him which tree. And he said—”

“The tree at the cabin…” breathed Oakley.

He took an enthusiastic step forward and nearly fell. Bryce caught him, and propped him back up.

“Here,” I said. “Allow me.”

I grabbed one of the jutting brown nodules, twisted it off, and peeled back the layers of soft acrylic paint. The second I finished, my breath caught in my throat.

Sitting in the center of my outstretched palm was a gleaming white diamond. Its irregular, uncut surfaces were already picking up the glow of the firelight. I didn’t know diamonds, really. I’d never owned one. But there was one thing I did know:

The stone in my hand was enormous.

“Holy mother of…”

They rushed forward, or hobbled in some cases, plucking at the canvas like chickens pecking at a cob of corn. When they were finished, the paint at the base of the tree was in tatters. But each man soon held a small fortune in the palm of their hand.

Or maybe even a not-so-small fortune.

“All that digging,” Ryder breathed, still peeling his diamonds. “All those trees we took down, all those roots we dug up…”

“Why didn’t he say the tree in the cabin?” Oakley lamented. “That would’ve made it so much easier!”

Ten minutes later we were at the table, staring collectively at the glimmering, shimmering pile. I’d been hugged until my spine hurt. Kissed until my lips and face were numb. But I couldn’t feel any of it, really. The fountain of pride and happiness welling up inside me blocked out everything else.

I kept stealing glances at Bryce, to see if he’d caught on.

Either he was too preoccupied to notice all three men kissing me on the lips, or he simply wasn’t surprised.

The latter was a distinct possibility, given the circumstances.

He’d been stalking the exterior of the cabin for several long months, now.

It only made sense he’d have an idea of what went on inside its walls.

Together we drained a pot of coffee, as Oakley picked through and cataloged every last stone.

Jaxon and the others talked about what happened next.

Apparently, finding the right buyers would be a long, somewhat complicated process.

But these were patient, well-connected men. They knew how to get things done.

“So what’s the verdict?” asked Ryder.

Oakley rubbed his eyes one more time, then set his pen down and pushed back in his chair. “We’re rich,” he sighed contentedly. “Stupid rich. All five of us.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Five?”

“Oh don’t play coy, Daytona,” he smirked, “You already know you’re in. Besides, you’re the one who found the diamonds.”

“Yes, but—”

“You think any of us would’ve found those things, stuck to the surface of my brother’s shitty painting?” asked Bryce. He let out a gruff laugh. “We would’ve chopped down every tree on this mountain if it weren’t for you.”

“He’s right,” Jaxon admitted. “Total deforestation.”

“I’m almost ready to pull down every terrible canvas and look for more stones,” Ryder admitted. “But a tree’s a tree. And you figured it out, even when we couldn’t.”

He squeezed my shoulders; as he got up to make a second pot of coffee. We already knew it was going to be a long night.

Rich.

The word held no meaning yet, especially to someone like me. Someone already accustomed to paying their rent late, or suffering the embarrassment of having to put things back at the grocery store, because I didn’t have enough money to buy them all.

Stupid rich.

I was still in shock. The idea of no longer worrying about bills hadn’t hit me yet.

To be able to finish my novel at my own pace, publish it, and enjoy the feedback without having to worry about sales, net profits, or anything like that.

No, the whole thing seemed totally absurd and unreal.

I expected to find out at any moment that the diamonds were worthless rocks, sitting in a pile.

“So what are you going to do with your share?” Oakley asked Bryce.

The big man stared back at him, his face grave. “After what happened, I shouldn’t even have a share.”

“Ah, but you do,” said Ryder, clapping him on the back. “Sarge wanted it that way. And in case you hadn’t noticed, Sarge pretty much always got what he wanted.”

“Including those,” Jaxon agreed, pointing to the diamonds.

Bryce seemed to consider this for a moment, then grunted. “My brother always was a stubborn prick, growing up. He could never let go of things.”

“That might run in the family,” I quipped.

He scratched his ear and chuckled. “It might, yeah.”

For a moment he sank his head into his hands.

It was strange, not knowing anything about this man who’d caused so much trouble for so long.

And yet right now, sitting around the table, I sensed an instant level of acceptance.

A transitive camaraderie, based purely on their love for Sarge, and his own love for his brother.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with my share,” Bryce finally admitted.

“But I know I was too hard on Colton, for way too long.” He sighed, bitterly.

“And it sucks that you can’t buy time, no matter how much money you have in the bank.

Because if you could…” he nodded at the middle of the table.

“I’d trade all that just to have him back. ”

The room fell silent again. But for the first time, not uncomfortably so.

“Let’s take you back into town,” said Ryder, sliding his chair back. “Go and get your stuff.”

Bryce looked confused. “My stuff?”

“He means whatever’s still left in that hotel room that we didn’t bleed all over,” added Jaxon. “Which probably won’t be much.”

Bryce looked at Oakley, still perplexed.

“You didn’t think we were putting you back up in the Sayonara, did you?” Oakley smirked. “With the rats and cockroaches?”

Slowly, a smile began forming on Bryce’s face. I had to admit it looked good on him.

“I dunno,” he said, pondering. “By now, some of those cockroaches are my best friends.”

“Yeah, well you have new friends now,” Oakley elbowed him. He pointed in the direction of the living room. “You also have a warm fire and a soft couch, until we get these rocks all figured out.”