Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

My luck continued to be rotten. The next day, I had woken up on the couch with the same paralyzing headache I had gone to bed with. At least there was a bottle of ibuprofen and a sleeve of crackers on the side table by my head.

Everything was woozy and my memories of last night’s festivities were a blur. I had no memory of driving home, so someone must have done it for me. Stabbing pains met my every move as I took the pills. I’d just have to ask Anna for the details when I was feeling better.

Two days, six episodes of The Great British Baking Show, and many ibuprofen later, I was fully recovered from all my aches and pains and was ready to go into town. I’d found my car in the driveway and keys on the counter the day before, which was only confusing for a split second. It made sense that Anna would drive me home and leave me crackers.

I grabbed the ruby in its little plastic canister from my nightstand and headed into downtown Franklin. It was a little over ten minutes to Ruby City Gems & Minerals, my favorite gem shop from my childhood. As a kid I’d had no need for their appraising services, but their glow-in-the-dark rock museum was pretty cool.

It took me a couple minutes to find a parking spot I felt good about. That was the thing about these small mountain towns, every surface seemed to be uneven and there were no parking garages or giant parking lots like I had become accustomed to.

A bell chimed as I entered the enchanting little shop, and I was instantly met with the soft smell of incense. Sometimes I forget how big a place like this is with hippies and TikTok witches. A whole wall was covered in cases full of salt lamps, quartz crystals, and the like.

“Welcome to Ruby City!” a male voice called from the lower room to the left where all the rough stones were kept.

My eye twitched involuntarily. Which I thought was odd, until I saw the voice’s owner emerging from the side room.

“What are you doing here?!” I demanded with thinly veiled shock and dislike.

Spencer quirked a brow and gave a bemused half smile. “Uh, I work here?”

No doubt I was still gawking and looking dumb, I was just thankful that at the moment it only seemed to be the two of us in the shop. “I thought you worked at the mine.”

His caramel brows knit together in disbelief. “You do know it’s owned by the same people, right? This is literally the shop they told you to go to…”

Flames burned in my cheeks. “W-well!” I protested. “How was I supposed to know that? I haven’t lived here for… over a decade!” My hands seemed to have a life of their own, the way they were gesturing wildly.

He just looked at me pitying, clearly trying not to laugh.

Suddenly, I was wondering if there were any security cameras that might see me if I wiped that smug look off his face. But seeing as this was a jewelry store the answer was definitely yes. I settled for a hot sigh.

“Whatever. Can you please find someone to help me then?”

Spencer’s cheeky grin just grew as he slipped past me, not breaking eye contact. Huh. Had they always had that dark blue ring? He kept walking towards the main counter.

“Unfortunately, I’m the only one in right now.” Swiftly, he slipped behind the long counter, past the jewelry case, and propped his elbows on the wooden end by the register. He leaned across the countertop and casually extended an expectant palm. “So d’you bring in the ruby?’

“Oh!” Thankful for the reminder of my mission, I quickly retrieved the plastic canister from my satchel and started making my way over. “Yeah, I did actu—” The words died in my throat. My hand froze in the air above his.

“… What do you mean ‘the ruby’ ?” My eyes narrowed at him suspiciously, and I drew my hand back. “How did you know I found a ruby?”

Realization slowly dawned in his eyes. Apparently, he hadn’t meant to say that. “Uh…”

I clutched the little canister protectively close to my chest. I had no idea how he knew this but I couldn’t think of a single answer I liked.

“Uh, Judy told me!” he lied. Even if Judy could have told him, no innocent man looked so desperate.

My suspicion turned to a dirty glare. “Spencer,” I ground out in warning, “don’t mess with me right now.”

“I-I’m not—” His pathetic denial cut short with a sigh. He seemed off his game today, out of sorts, almost nervous beneath my hard gaze. I could see him thinking, trying to figure out what lie to tell next.

“How did you know?” I pressed. As much as I never liked him, Spencer wasn’t one I had pegged for stalkerish behavior. But at this point I had no idea what to think.

He stood up straight and heaved a sigh, rolling his eyes. “Okay, well, no need to freak out on me. It’s nothing to worry about. There’s like a dozen ways I could have found out!” He spread his hands innocently.

“Spencer!” I snapped at him. “Can you stop dodging the question?!”

Silence hung in the air for a moment as our eyes locked in a battle of wills. Eventually, I won. Spencer sighed in frustration and crossed his arms, leaning back against the wall behind the counter.

“Fine. I did it.”

“What?”

He nodded his chin to the ruby in my hand. “I put it in your bucket.”

I was flabbergasted for a solid ten seconds. “Why would you do that?”

“Why do you think?” he asked, all passive-aggressive, just standing there looking condescending and handsome, as if I shouldn’t even have asked. Did he think I was stupid or something?

“You know what? Fine. I don’t care!” I strode up and slapped the plastic canister down on the counter. The little ruby rattled around inside. “ You keep it.”

His eyes went wide and his confrontational bravado dropped, as if he was actually surprised. “Woah, wait. Wha—Leah!” he called after me, but I was already storming out.

He even had the audacity to try and follow me. He kept saying things—stuff like ‘stop’ or ‘wait’ or whatever—but I didn’t care. I wasn’t listening to him anymore. The door was open and I was through it and he was still on the clock. Soon I wouldn’t have to hear his voice anymore.

“—cause I like you, Leah!”

I stopped. I blinked.

What…? My head canted, and I rubbed my ear. Did he just say what I thought he said?

I heard him sigh behind me. “Thank you. Now, could you please come back inside so I can explai?—”

“Save it, Spencer,” I called back and kept walking. I didn’t know what kind of game he was going for, but I wasn’t playing.