“That’s fine,” she said, “but you’ll want it for the mine.”
“Who puts sunscreen on in a mine?”
Jessie smirked and pulled my favorite baseball cap from her backpack. I snatched it out of her hands and put it on.
“Where’d you get that?” If she’d been in my casita, snooping…
“Your mother gave it to me when I told her what we were doing. She also said you probably wouldn’t want the sunscreen but to make you wear it anyway.”
“Come on, Jade.” I scooped Jade up and marched through the parking lot. Jessie followed behind, still wearing that know-it-all grin.
She took the lead as we started up the path toward the building but paused in front of a giant sign with a diamond on it. After shoving me in front of it and taking a forced picture, for which I did not smile, she led us into a lobby with several diamond displays and a small gift shop. Instead of pausing in here, though, she took us out through the other side of the lobby, where a long covered platform spread out on both sides. And I stopped dead in my tracks. There was not a cave to be seen. Just acres of…mud. Lots and lots of mud.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Jessie let her head fall back and laughed a little too hard.
“It’s not that funny.”
“What did you thinkcraterof diamonds meant?” She pulled Jade from my arms, and taking her hand, put her on the ground. But before getting in line at one of the little windows along the side of the building, she tossed me the sunscreen. “You might want to try this after all.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this stupid as Jessie happily bought us tickets and then rented us the “mining” supplies. They looked like the sandbox toys I’d played with as a kid, only these were made of wood and steel mesh.
“These,” she told Jade as we made our way out into the field of mud farthest to the right, “are going to help us separate the dirt from the rocks.” She got down on her knees and beckoned for Jade to do the same. Then she dug into the dirt and began to sift it through the mesh frames.
“Derrick.” Jade looked up at me and pointed at the ground beside her. “Come dig.”
Mucking around in a field of dirt wasn’t exactly how I’d planned to spend my Saturday. In spite of my annoyance at Jessie, however, it was impossible not to smile at Jade’s joy. I’d never seen her so focused as she and Jessie hunched over the mesh frames together.
“Don’t my parents pay you for five days a week?” I asked as I obeyed my sister and filled my first frame with dirt. “Because in case you didn’t know, it’s day six.”
Jessie paused in her work and grinned up at me, her eyes sparkling just a bit too much. “This is pro bono,” she said, flipping her ponytail out of her face.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I let Jessie and Jade enjoy their digging while I answered. I was rewarded with Amy’s chirpy greeting.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy this week,” she rattled on. I could hear her loading her dishwasher in the background. “We just finished one of our big cases, so I thought I’d give you a call.”
“I’m glad you did.” I put my hand on my hat and looked around. “You won’t believe where I am right now.”
“Hopefully not any place I’ll have to get you out of.”
I laughed. It felt good to laugh with my fiancée again. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until now. “No, Jade’s obsessed with rocks, so Jessie thought it would be a good idea to take her diamond mining.”
“Oh, I’ve heard about that! It’s actually on my list of things to try.”
Really? “If spending a day getting covered in dirt is your idea of a good time, be my guest.”
Amy giggled again. “You know you can’t blame Jade or even her nanny. This is your fault for being so stubborn. If you weren’t so determined to always be with—”
“I know, I know.” I huffed. “Hey, have you given any thought to my offer?”
She sighed, and I had to keep myself from visibly cringing. The moment was gone.
“I was wondering…” she said in a small voice. “Is there a weekend that maybe Jade doesn’t have some sort of event?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. I’d have to ask my mom. Why?”
“I was just hoping that maybe you and I would have a little more time together…alone when I came. That’s all.”
