Racing the Tide Read online

  The canoe struck bottom suddenly, squealing in protest. Arms deadened, she stumbled out, tripping over her own feet. Landed on her ass. She got up, rubbing at her posterior, and pulled the boat the final few feet to safety before sinking back down onto the ground. Took a few deep breaths. The air tasted sweet, tinged with the fragrance of freedom.

  Hide the gold. The mantra kept her moving. She followed the pre-existing plan to the letter. Bore the heavy weight of the treasure one full backpack at a time to the hole she’d dug last night inside an old hollowed-out tree trunk. Covered it over with soil and leaves. Pulled the phone from her jacket pocket to mark the spot with a photo.

  Somehow, she made it the quarter mile back in the canoe. She docked the boat in its rental spot ready for its next adventure, doubting the craft would ever again see what it had just gotten her through. Hefting her backpack, she picked up the moose head and wearily trudged back to the hotel. Slipped through the side entrance. Each stair felt a mile high as she forced her feet to move. Inside the room, door closed, she fell face-first on the bed. She just needed five minutes…

  Her cell phone chirped. She groaned. Rolled over. Checked the number. Aha. She should have known. This would take more than mere talking.

  Casey crawled over to the side of the bed and grabbed her laptop, quickly opening it. She leaned back against a nest of pillows, exhaustion forgotten for the moment. With a few quick clicks of her mouse, she set it up.

  A few seconds later and the video conference screen dinged and opened, a montage of happy female faces filling the twelve-inch screen. She savored the moment, quashing down her secret, which was bursting to escape.

  “So, did you find it?” Rebecca asked, her honey-blonde waves of hair swaying around her animated face.

  “Find what?” Casey teased.

  “You know! We’ve got heavy action on this. ’Fess up!” Lacey demanded, her red curls sparking with megawatt voltage, an all-too-true indication of her wild-child character. Her green eyes shone. Her identical twin’s face crowded in from one side, nearly interchangeable with Lacey’s, and Miranda, the sweetest pixie in the whole world, huddled too, her short dark hair gleaming under the overhead light. Casey could barely see Ava’s thick golden-brown bangs perched above black-framed glasses in the background, next to uber-blonde Elin who towered above her. Oh, and there was the top of Tessa’s curly head. All the Ringers accounted for.

  “Okay. Oh, yeah, we’re in business!” She couldn’t hold out as long as she would have liked, enjoying the immediate whoops of satisfaction from her friends more than relishing the secret another second.

  “So, what time did you find it?” Lily asked, biting her bottom lip in concentration.

  “About four o’clock this afternoon. Who wins?”

  “Damn. I had this morning between ten and eleven-thirty,” Lacey grumbled.

  “I had three to four-thirty,” Ava said, pushing in between Miranda and Lacey to look right at Casey. “Right smack-dab in the middle. I win!” Her usual solemn lawyerly expression had gone, replaced by full-on exuberance.

  “All yours, Ava. You get the forfeits. Sweet, now we get to watch Lacey do a pole dance for Will and won’t he be surprised,” Rebecca confirmed, grinning. William James Thornton Ш, the twin’s BFF, could use the distraction, having recently returned from his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

  “Not much of a stretch,” Lily deadpanned, rolling her eyes. The forfeitures were chosen by others in the group—not the one who had to pay it. Kind of unfair, but a whole lot more fun. Some good-natured grumbling filled the airwaves.

  “How did it go? Any problems?” Rebecca asked, pushing in closer.

  “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Casey said, dismissing their concerns.

  “Tell me. I can sense something popped up.”

  “Pretty uneventful, really.” She shrugged. “Just one visitor. No biggie. Name of Duncan MacLean.”

  “You can’t be too careful. I’ll check him out.”

  Casey yawned, exhaustion crowding in. “Okay, up to you. I gotta get some sleep, guys. Congrats, Ava. See you all soon.”

  She closed her laptop lid. Lay in the dark, grinning ear-to-ear. She’d done it…

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  About the Author

  January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full-blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create a series that features strong women who don’t take life too seriously, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope the stories of her beloved Brass Ringers will capture your imagination as much as they did hers when she wrote them.

  If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with two furry babies trying to prove who does a better job of guarding the doorway. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously replied to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.

  Email: [email protected]

  January loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.

  Also by January Bain

  Brass Ring Sorority: Winning Casey