The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

around. Eventually, he unearthed a cache of jewelry, bowls, vases, carvings, and coins worth millions. The radiocarbon dating indicated some of the organic material near the items unearthed dated between 500 BC and 200 AD and matched the dates on the coins.”

“Where’d you find that article?” Kenzie asked while opening her laptop.

“I googled ‘Roman artifacts found in America.’ It was at the top of the list,” Henry said.

Except for the clicking of Kenzie’s nails against her laptop keys, there was silence in the room. Then she looked up and slapped her hands on the table. “Robbie and Henry McBain, next time I see you, I’m giving you both the ass-kicking of your practical-joker lives.”

Robbie and Henry started laughing hysterically.

Kenzie turned her computer around. “The last line of the article Henry was referring to says, ‘April Fools, everyone! Have fun!’”

“It’s a joke?” The muscles in Elliott’s jaw twitched.

Kenzie nodded. “Your grandsons just pulled a late April Fool’s joke on us.”

“Kick them out of the meeting,” Elliott said to David calmly, but with a bite that could chop off a head or two.

“Wait! Don’t do that—” Robbie said seconds before the twins’ squares disappeared.

Silence pervaded the room until snickers slipped out around the table, and then they all burst out laughing.

When Elliott pulled himself together, he said, “Let the lads back in.”

When Robbie and Henry appeared again, Robbie said, “I’m sorry, Grandpa. I know this is a serious meeting”—another laugh bubbled up, and Robbie turned away from the camera to get himself under control. He turned back around, sucking in his cheeks until he’d composed himself, and started again. “We found another article, and this one is legit.”

“Let me, Robbie. You’ll just start laughing again,” Henry said.

Although they were identical twins, Henry’s background was a bulletin board full of polo players. The picture in the center was of the twins riding Thoroughbreds as large as Austin’s, looking like warlords swinging their mallets. They looked fierce in the photograph. But at the moment, the eighteen-year-olds studying at Cambridge looked more like jokesters. Ensley had a hard time reconciling the two—or four—personalities.

“A smaller cache,” Henry began, “was discovered in a cave in the North Dakota Badlands—”

Ensley gasped. “Where?”

“It doesn’t say, but a reporter digging into the story reported that the current owners bought the ranch two months ago.”

“Holy shit!” Ensley said. “That could be mine! We only closed on the deal a couple of weeks ago, but it was under contract for two months. The buyers rented the property until the closing.”

“But if they found a treasure, wouldn’t they have kept it a secret until they owned the property?” Robbie asked.

“You’re right. It couldn’t be mine. So what’d they find in the cave?” Ensley asked.

“The owners shipped the entire cache to the Museum of Roman Civilization in Rome, and the museum put a lid on the story. So no one knows,” Henry said.

“Someone knows,” David said. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird they found a treasure on my ranch?”

“We don’t know that for sure, Ensley,” Austin said. “It could be a cave on a neighbor’s ranch.”

“Maybe,” Elliott said. “But ye all know what I think of coincidences.”

“It goes something like this,” Penny said. “‘If fate or mystery or God…or even brooches…can cause coincidences, then the cause is known, and there are no coincidences.’ Do I have that right?”

“Yer memory is correct, lass.”

“So Erik parked a treasure on MacKlenna Farm and another one on Ensley’s ranch in North Dakota, knowing someday she would find at least one of them?” Meredith asked.

Everything seemed to rush past Ensley like a hum in the cottonwood trees, and she wanted to run away before the hum turned into a screech.

“Maybe Erik hid the first treasure, traveled into the future, and discovered the loot was found and returned to Rome, and he couldn’t get it back,” Ensley said. “So he collected an even bigger treasure and hid it inside a cave on MacKlenna Farm. If it’s not there now—I mean in the present—we’ll have to look in Colorado.”

“Why Colorado?” Henry asked.

Ensley looked up at Austin, hoping he would answer Henry’s question.

“Because Ensley’s moving in with me.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Henry said. “Then if Erik knew your future, there might be a treasure there, too.”

“It’s possible,” Elliott said. “The members of the Illuminati are often a step ahead of us.”

“Then they could attack one of us again if they discover the cave on the farm,” Robbie said.

“Well, thank God somebody agrees with me that the danger is real,” JL said.

“There’s no disagreement, JL,” David said. “But we still have to get inside the cave to inventory the contents, secure the premises, and set up twenty-four-hour surveillance.”

“I agree with David,” Kenzie said. “We must make sure the treasure is still there and secure it. I think everybody agrees with that.”

“I don’t,” JL said. “And it’s too dangerous right now to relocate all that stuff. And really, how much more secure can you make it? To even get inside the treasure room, you have to have a brooch, and it’s not like you can buy one of those at your local Target store.”

“The Illuminati has a collection of brooches,” David said. “If they know about the cave, they can get to the treasure.”

“Let’s put this to a vote,” Meredith said.

“Good idea. We’ve had enough debate. So what’s the question?” Kevin asked.

“Should we allow David and his team to enter the treasure cave, determine if any items have been added or removed, secure the premises, and set up video surveillance?” Braham asked. “And if nothing has changed inside the cave, then they should develop a plan to relocate the entire treasure to a different secure facility.”

“I know I’m pissing in the wind,” JL said, “but I want to go on the record with my professional opinion. I firmly believe we should stay the hell away from that cave. Putting even one foot inside will open Pandora’s box and set loose an evil we’re not prepared to fight and possibly can’t win. And proving