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Topaz Treasure (Pot of Gold Geocaching Romance 1)

By Valerie Comer

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Chapter 1

Lyssa Quinn clutched a bright pink folder stuffed with advertising forms against her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. Please, God. Help me be brave. She squared her shoulders and released each cramped finger individually. She could do this.

This new business in downtown Jewel Lake looked like the kind of corporate sponsor the Pot of Gold Treasure Hunt needed. If only the small sign in the window didn’t say, “Opening Soon.”

What to do? Lyssa hesitated, her hand on the door handle. She didn’t have time to wait for them to be open to the public, not if she had any hope of having all the advertising and sponsorship in place before the beginning of June. Why hadn’t she made the rounds before now? Gah, she was such a chicken. The better question was, how had Pastor Eli even talked her into volunteering in the first place? And her roommate had been right there, encouraging Lyssa to get out of her shell. Meet new people. Live a little. And, of course, benefit the cause.

Frigid air conditioning laced with the odor of new carpet blasted into the warm Montana day as Lyssa shouldered open the glass door. Unlocked. Whew. Fluorescents blazed down, illuminating stacks of cardboard boxes lining the aisles next to partially filled shelves. Somebody must be around. If she were lucky, somebody sympathetic.

Lyssa’s fingers tightened again. Maybe she should come back another day. Or never. She glanced at the folder in her hands, covered with decals from her third-grade class. Cute stickers with chalkboards and apples. #1 Teacher. If she could face twenty-nine kids five days a week, surely she could face one manager.

A guy in jeans strode out of the back room, his face and upper body obscured by the box in his arms. “Good morning, and welcome to Communication Location: Home of Gizmos, Gadgets and More. How may I help you?”

That voice.

Lyssa froze. Even muffled by cardboard, it shot her straight back to her college days. But it couldn’t be. There was no reason her Humanities professor would be here in Jewel Lake, stocking shelves.

He slid the box across the countertop and appeared from behind it. Dark hair and deep brown eyes, just like Lyssa remembered. A dimple appeared as he grinned.

No way. Lyssa sucked in a ragged breath, her fingers white-knuckling on the folder. In all the nightmares she’d endured since being bullied into seeking patrons for the church outreach event, this scenario had not remotely elbowed its way in. She pivoted and forced herself to take even steps toward the door. No bolting like a frightened deer.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I was practicing my welcome line. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Afraid? Yep, shaking. Lyssa halted in her tracks mere inches from the door. This was ridiculous. She was a grown woman of twenty-six, for heaven’s sake. And just the sight of one of her college teachers made her flee?

But not just any professor.

Muffled footsteps approached on the carpet. “We’re not open for business yet, but I might be able to help you anyway. Is there anything in particular you’re looking for? If it isn’t unpacked yet, I should at least know when it’s coming.”

Lyssa forced herself to face him. The temptation to ask for comparisons of various GPS units rolled over her. But no, she had a reason for being here, and that wasn’t it. She braced herself and looked up.

His intense brown eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled encouragingly. And waited.

“My name is Lyssa Quinn, and I’m here on behalf of Creekside Fellowship.” She paused for a split second, but his grin did not waver — to her shock — so she plunged on. “We’re hosting our first-ever geocaching event this summer, and we’re looking for donations and corporate sponsors. Since you sell global positioning systems and cell phones, both useful in geocaching, we thought you might be interested in sponsoring our event.”

There. She’d gotten all the words out and publicly aligned herself with the church.

He did not laugh, though his eyebrows all but joined in a deep vee.
Lyssa pulled a sheet of paper from the folder and shoved it at him with trembling fingers. “If you want any further information, please call the number listed.”
She started to turn away. Oh, man. Why didn’t it have the church number listed instead of her cell?

“Just a sec.”

The floor gripped Lyssa’s sandals like it was made of double-sided tape.

He glanced over the paper then met her gaze.

She tried to wrench her eyes free but couldn’t. Even in Humanities, six years ago, she’d found him mesmerizing. Even when he taunted Lyssa’s roommate in front of the class day after day.

He held out his hand.

Lyssa reached out and clutched it like a drowning woman, sweaty palm notwithstanding.

“I’m Kirk Kennedy, just in town to help my brother get his new business off the ground. Your name is Lyssa?”

She nodded and tugged her hand free. Also her gaze. The arrogant professor she’d once known didn’t seem the kind to help out a sibling. Had she judged him too hastily back then? Not likely.

“Why don’t you come sit down and tell me more about this event? I could use a break. I’ll grab us each a cola, if you like.”

Lyssa found her voice. “No, thanks. To the cola, I mean.”

Kirk — no longer her professor — grinned and ushered her toward the door he’d exited a few minutes before. “We’ve got ginger ale, too.”

Her wooden legs propelled her to the back of the small shop. “No, thanks. I’ve seen kids in the classroom who drink pop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whose infant siblings get it in their bottles. So unhealthy, with all the sugar and chemicals.” To say nothing of making a teacher’s job more difficult.

He chuckled behind her. “Well, then. Water?”

Lyssa hesitated. Probably all he had was bottled, and then she’d feel obligated to get into issues like plastic in landfills and how recycling didn’t work as well as everyone had been led to believe. “I’m good, thanks.”

Kirk motioned her into a brightly lit staff room with a chipped Formica table and vibrant red chairs. “Have a seat.” He pulled a pop can out of the bar fridge and saluted her with it. “I hope you don’t mind if I have one.”

Not like her opinion would matter, and why should it? In a few minutes he’d jeer at her for being on church business and send her on her way. Might as well get it over with. She laid her papers on the table and perched on the edge of a padded seat.

He straddled the opposite chair and popped the tab on his can. His chin poked toward her pocket folder. “So, what’s the purpose of this event?”

Here it came. She believed in God just as much as she believed in healthy food and drink choices. Why was it so difficult speaking up about her faith?
Mentioning the hunt was a church function shouldn’t be a big deal. Dad would have managed to get in an entire sermon by now, not that she wanted to follow his tracks. But polar opposite wasn’t healthy, either. Eli and Sage figured working this event would be a good first step to coaxing Lyssa to bravery, but they hadn’t counted on Professor Kennedy.

Neither had she. Lyssa breathed a quick prayer. “Um… our youth pastor wants to do a big event to get more community interaction. He’s a fan of geocaching and thought it would be fun to do a summer-long treasure hunt.”

Kirk took a big gulp from the can and swallowed. “Geocaching? I’m new to this business. It’s really my brother’s thing.” He pointed at Lyssa’s folder.
“Explain, please.”

There he went sounding like an authority again, just when she’d almost managed to regain confidence. “People hide small containers called caches containing trinkets and a logbook, and then they load the GPS coordinates to the internet.”

“Lats and longs?”

She nodded. “Then other people can search for the caches and log in when they find them.”

“Then the prize will go to the person who finds them all most quickly?”

“That’s part of it, but in order to make the event last two months instead of two weeks, we’ve added other ways for participants to gain points, such as discovering specific tokens and planting more caches. There will be riddles and puzzles that need to be solved.” Lyssa poked her toe at the metal table leg. “And they’ll get additional points for coming to rallies at the church.”

“I see.”

Here’s where that once-familiar sneer would cross his face. She peeked up at him through her lashes, but instead he merely seemed thoughtful. “Does any gadget that operates on satellite locators work for geocaching?”

No comment on the church affiliation? That was a shock after all her recollections of sitting in his class. “Well, yes. There are dedicated satellites only for global positioning, just as there are dedicated GPS units to use them. But most smart phones have the capacity to run those applications as well.”

Kirk tilted his head as he considered. “Would a ten-percent-off coupon for registered participants be helpful? Or are you looking for other kinds of sponsorship?”

Lyssa jerked her head up and stared at him. He was actually on board? “Um… that would be cool, but to be listed in our brochure, we need donations of cash or prizes. The advertising price list is on that sheet.”

He glugged the rest of his pop as he glanced over the page. “A coupon might help get some folks started that wouldn’t otherwise and be great advertising for Communication Location at the same time. We’ll participate. How much for the main ad spot, or is that already taken?”

She struggled to her feet. “No, it’s still available.” Along with most of the other spaces other than a few that church members had signed up for. “Th-thank you. Do you want the coupon to be valid on any units, or are there specific ones you’d prefer to include? Maybe something your supplier could discount?”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll ask.” Kirk picked up the paper she’d handed him earlier. “Is your phone number on here? I’ll get back to you with the details in the next day or two.”

“I’m only available after hours for now. I’ll be in the church office late some afternoons and Saturdays.” Her face burned. Sounded like she was encouraging him to call for social reasons. Attractive as he was, that was not an option, though she was certainly curious what caused the change in him. Nah, she was probably imagining it.

He flashed her a grin. “I’ll swing by in the next couple of days.”

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