Thanks, as always, to my beta, daisyduke80, for always inspiring me to continue! To all my readers--I hope you enjoy!
CHAPTER FOUR
Ben glanced from Riley to Rachel, then back to Riley. "How would anyone know?" he repeated, his frown deepening.
"So… you think the person or persons following Rachel might know about the treasure?" Riley's eyes were wide behind his glasses. Ben could tell how serious the younger man was by the lack of a wisecrack.
"I think maybe so," Ben told him slowly. Why else would anyone be following Rachel? He turned to the red-haired girl, speaking calmly. "Rachel, did they follow you all the way here?"
Rachel shook her head. Her face was pale, and her hands were shaking visibly. "N-no. I don't think so. I didn't see them after I crossed 2nd Street."
Riley gave a short, slightly hysterical chuckle. "For a second there, I thought you were going to say Sesame Street."
Rachel glanced at him with big eyes and a dazed smile. "No… There's no Sesame Street in Albemarle… at least, not that I know of."
Ben managed not to roll his eyes. Young people these days. "What I need you to do is calm down for me. Okay?"
"Okay," said Riley.
Ben shot a glance at his friend. "Not you. Her."
"I can be calm, too," Riley announced, raising his hand.
Rachel giggled… then hiccupped.
Ben winced. He wasn't sure what would happen first--Rachel dissolving into tears or Rachel being overcome by hysterical giggles. Neither one would be helpful. "Rachel, take some deep breaths for me."
"Okay. Okay." She focused on his eyes and breathed deeply a few times.
Ben noticed that Riley's hand had mysteriously strayed to Rachel's shoulder, occasionally patting it comfortingly. He barely contained a grin. Riley was falling hard and fast.
"Better?" he asked Rachel.
She nodded quickly. "Better." She looked up at Riley. "I guess I'm safe now."
Abigail spotted Ben's car quite by accident. She yanked her own vehicle across the road, narrowly missing a cracked and weedy median, and into the parking lot of the old, but stately-looking motel. She steered her car into the parking space to the right of Ben's car, then sat for a moment, staring at her husband's vehicle.
"What are you thinking, Abi, old girl?" she muttered to herself. "How are you going to find his room, anyway?"
She took a deep breath, the gears of her mind turning frantically, and climbed out of her car, heading for the motel office.
Rachel was not at all certain what her next move should be. She glanced at Riley and Ben, who were staring at the screen of Riley's computer, their faces illuminated by its glow.
Rachel sighed and took another sip of grape soda from the can Riley had so sweetly offered her. Should she stay with them? Would that be proper? What would her father think…?
"Can you do that?" Ben asked suddenly, drawing Rachel's attention to the two men. The taller of the two was looking at his friend with raised brows.
"I can, and I will," Riley replied, still staring intensely at the computer screen, his nimble fingers flying over the keys. He glanced briefly at Ben, his lips tilted in a smirk. "You're probably about to ask me if I should do this."
"Well, yeah. I am."
"Ben, we stole the Declaration of Independence." Riley's grin broadened. "Hacking into the DMV can't be worse than that."
Rachel fought down the urge to giggle at that. She had been giggling a bit much lately… Being nervous always did that to her. "Uhm," she spoke up.
Both men turned to look at her.
"I… think I'm going to go outside and call my dad," she told them quietly, reaching into her purse for her cell phone. She hoped she didn't sound like a forlorn teenager. She hoped Riley didn't think her immature…
"Okay," said Riley, smiling a bit at her. "Do you want one of us to go with you?"
Rachel melted inside. Outside, she smiled back at him. "No. No, I think I'll be alright." She stood and started toward the door. "But thanks, Riley."
"We'll be right inside if you need us," Ben told her reassuringly. "Just--just let us know if, uh, if you need us."
Such gentlemen these treasure hunters are. Rachel smiled. "Okay. Thanks." She unlocked the door and turned the knob…
…then screamed and jumped back as the door burst open.
Riley and Ben were instantly on their feet, rushing to her side.
"It's okay. It's okay," Rachel assured them shakily, staring at the woman in the doorway. "She doesn't look like an assassin."
"She's not," said Ben, stepping forward. "She's my wife."
"And who is she?" the blonde woman asked tightly, nodding at Rachel.
"Uh, Abi, this is Rachel, Rachel Collins," Ben explained, ushering his wife in the door. "She's helping us with the research."
"Oh." Abigail blinked and flashed Rachel a brief, tense smile, then turned on her husband. "So you're letting this girl take part in your little project, but not inviting me along… I see." She crossed her arms and glared at him.
Watching the pair, Rachel imagined lasers shooting out from Abigail's eyes and reducing Ben to smoking ash…
"Laser eyes," Riley whispered from beside her.
Rachel grinned up at him.
"Uhm, do you need to talk to your dad privately?" Riley asked her.
"Not really. I'm just gonna ask him for some advice," Rachel replied. She glanced at Ben and Abi, who looked like two boxers about to take off their gloves. "You can come with me," she told Riley, smiling slowly. "Who knows? I might get scared all by myself."
Ben worked his jaw as he watched Rachel and Riley make their exit from the motel room. He almost shouted, "Take me with you!" But he didn't. He loved his wife too much, despite the tension that had loomed between them over the last few weeks. He winced, blaming himself. If only he'd spoken with her earlier about what he knew…
"What's going on here, Ben?" Abi asked, jerking his attention into the here-and-now.
"Riley's hacking into the DMV's system so we can try to figure out who owns the car that was following Rachel tonight." Ben shrugged. "The usual."
"Really?" His wife raised an eyebrow. "Exciting," she remarked dryly.
"And also we're looking for a treasure--"
"Naturally."
"--that was hidden around the time of the Revolutionary War. Turns out the map was in Rachel's church's piano, so--"
"So you invited her to come with you."
"Well…" Ben scratched his head. "She sort of invited herself. You see, I think she's kinda sweet on Riley--"
"Sweet on Riley? That's… sweet." Abigail looked away from him then, her face blank.
Ben wished he could read her mind as easily as he could read a history book. But it wasn't happening. "Abigail, we need to talk."
She looked at him sideways. "What a revelation."
"Look." He took a step closer to her. She smelled good… like roses. "I had a reason for not inviting you on this… adventure."
"It had better be good," she told him, her eyes narrowing.
"It is. It is." He stared at her, wondering how to say it…
"Spit it out, Ben!" Abi exclaimed impatiently.
"I think I may have figured out what's been… going on with you lately," Ben told her hesitantly, wondering whether he should take a step back…
"What's going on with me?" She frowned in confusion… Then her face lit up with realization. "You mean… you know?"
"Yeah." He shrugged, barely containing the sudden excitement rising up in his heart. "You're--"
"I'm--"
"Pregnant," they said together.
Then they stood staring at each other…
Abigail suddenly smiled, her face glowing. "You were trying to protect me."
"Yeah." Ben nodded. "I guessed, and I--I wanted to take care of you, and--"
"Oh, hush, you big, chivalrous idiot!" Abigail flung herself into his arms.
Ben blinked, startled, then grinned, putting his arms around her. She smelled even better close up. "I've even thought of a few names."
Abi laughed. "Historical ones?"
"Do you like Theodore for a boy?"
Abi groaned.
"Dad, I'm kind of in a bind." Rachel took a deep breath and waited for her father to answer as she stood in the parking lot of the motel.
"What's the matter, Rachel?" her father asked in his deep, calm preacher-voice.
"I'm helping some friends out--some really good guys--and someone has sort of been… stalking me, possibly because I'm helping these guys, so…" She sighed heavily. "I might not be coming home tonight. Do you think it's… okay for me to stay with these… people I'm helping? I mean, one of them is a girl, a woman…"
There was a brief pause from the other end, then Reverend Collins asked slowly, "Does this have anything to do with the men who came to the house asking about the piano?"
Cold fingers of dread traipsed up Rachel's spine. "Men came to the house?" she asked breathlessly. "Asking about… the piano?"
"I didn't like the looks of them, Rachel," Collins told her gravely. "They seemed… dangerous."
"Oh, Daddy, I think this might have to do with them," Rachel whispered quickly. "And the piano."
"Rachel, I want you to be careful," Collins said firmly.
"I will, Dad. These friends of mine will take good care of me." She tossed a smile in Riley's direction. What beautiful eyes that boy had…
"May I ask who they are?"
Rachel smiled. Her father had been the one to get her interested in the adventures of Ben and Riley and Abigail. "Uhm… You know who they are. I have one of them's book."
"Huh." Collins' voice was incredulous. "You don't say. My little girl is on a treasure hunt with Ben Gates and company?"
"Uh, yeah." Rachel grinned, barely able to contain her excitement. "Aside from being stalked, it's pretty fun."
"Well just be careful, Rachel," her father told her. "I'm proud of you." His voice softened. "And I'll be praying for you."
"Thanks, Daddy," Rachel replied quietly.
"I'll see if your sister or Aunt Rhonda can look after the bookstore until you get back," said Collins.
"I appreciate it. And hey--I'll keep you updated on our adventures," Rachel assured him.
"I'd like that, Rachel."
Riley watched from a slight distance as Rachel closed her conversation with her father. She was grinning and pacing, obviously excited, the shock and anxiety from being followed melting away in light of the adventure she was taking. She looked awfully pretty when her cheeks glowed like that…
Rachel snapped her cell phone shut and turned to Riley with a slight smile. "Well? Think the storm has blown over?" She nodded toward the door of the motel room.
"I hope so," Riley said, following her gaze to the green-painted door. "And I hope Ben hasn't been blown away with it." He offered his arm to Rachel in a courtly manner. "Shall we?"
She nodded and slipped her arm through his.
Riley led her between parked cars and toward the door. "So… Is your dad okay with you braving danger with us?"
"Yes. He likes you guys," Rachel told him. Her smile suddenly faded. "Oh! And he said some men came to the house today, asking about the piano. He said they seemed… dangerous."
Riley felt his body tense. "Is he okay?"
"Yeah. He's fine." A pensive frown touched the redhead's features. "I think they're following us now, not him."
The squealing of tires caught Riley's attention, and he looked around quickly, tightening his hold on Rachel's arm. He soon spotted a large black car barreling into the parking lot of the motel.
"Do you think--?" Rachel started, eyes wide, fingers tightening convulsively around Riley's arm.
"No time to think! We gotta get moving!" Riley told her, picking up the pace. "Come on!"
Together, they sprinted toward the door. Riley glanced over his shoulder once. The black car had screeched to a halt, and someone very big and very intimidating was climbing out of the driver's seat.