Rockhound Love

"I don't mind trying to find something for myself for a change. I've really been focused on the business end of things lately so it would be a nice break."

"Good, this should be a fun trip if you're not familiar with the out of the way places we will go to."

"Brett, about yesterday at the show. Thank you for standing up for me. I really did appreciate it, I should have shown it."

"I knew you did, so don't worry about it."

I looked out the window and wondered how it was he knew, I mean I thought I had really blown it. I finally decided I needed to know. "Brett, I don't understand...I mean..."

"Samantha, I knew when you called out for me to come back. I'm under no illusions that the guy who was speaking to you knew you well. He thought he did, he made an attempt to take advantage of what he knew and you stood up for yourself. I admired that and gave you a chance to show me you were interested enough to spend some time with me. That's why we're together today, I appreciate the woman I saw yesterday."

"Even if I'm stubborn and won't admit I was wrong?"

He glanced over at me with a smile, "I can be stubborn too."

We both laughed and went on to talk about where we were going and what it was he expected to find. I was surprised when he told me he thought this specific site had not been visited by anyone in over 50 years—I was intrigued.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I don't think anyone has been able to find it before. The old records I found showed the mining claim had expired over 30 years ago and when I went to find it there was no evidence of people having been there. Believe me, it takes some work to get to, which is why I'm sure it hasn't been touched."

We went off the paved highway about fifteen minutes later onto a graded road, then half an hour later onto a faint two-track that was a slow crawl due to how rough it was. We reached the end of the two-track at a grove of sycamore and walnut at the base of a narrow canyon almost forty minutes later. Brett was right—there was no evidence anyone had been here. We got out and stretched our legs and I watched as Brett walked a short distance away and disappeared behind a group of shrubs and stood still. It must have been the power of suggestion as I felt I needed to go too. I headed in the opposite direction and found a secluded spot and soon joined him at the truck as he was lowering the tailgate and pulling the ramps down to unload the four-wheeler.

He explained to me it was still almost a mile to where we needed to walk to reach the collecting site. I looked towards where he pointed and saw the igneous intrusion amid the sandstone mountain. We loaded our collecting gear, food, and water onto the ATV. He left a note under the windshield wiper with the date and an estimated time of return. I climbed on behind him, holding onto his waist after a few minutes—with no trail from where we had parked it had gotten rough in a hurry. It took almost half an hour to reach the tree-shrouded base of the mountain at the end of the canyon, stopping where a dried-up stream bed indicated water flowed off the mountain after storms and snow melt.

I climbed off from behind Brett and scanned the area for evidence of recent human activity. There was none, not even an empty faded beer can, a sure sign almost anywhere you went. I smiled to myself—no Coors, no humans, it seemed apt. I wandered around a little as Brett gathered his collecting bag and hammer and joined me. "We need to walk towards the base of the mountain before we can find anything."

About ten minutes later we arrived at a small heap of rubble and poked around. I found several interesting minerals mixed into the jumble of granitic rocks, though nothing too exciting.

"Well, what do you think this tells us?"

"What do you mean?" I was a little puzzled by the question.

"Where do you think this stuff came from?"

I looked at the jumble of rocks, then upward towards the top of the mountain. Of course! How could I have missed it before? It was then I knew he was testing me. It was overburden from a mine that had been dumped here. The pieces varied in size but were smaller than you would expect from material wearing off a rock face where there would be everything from large boulders to smaller rocks, and flakes down to the size of sand.

I smiled as I scanned the face of the mountain. "Okay, where's the mine?"

He laughed. "You're one smart woman. Come on, this way."

We walked to a narrow path that led upward, no more than ten feet wide, hidden behind shrubs and trees at one side of the canyon. You had to be right on top of it to find it. We started up and I expected to see a gaping dark hole in the rock face, but there wasn't after we had climbed for three of four minutes. Then there was a turn in the path that cut in behind a huge outcrop of rock, hidden behind it was the entrance to a hard-rock mine. There was a small shelf that had been blasted out of the mountainside that contained a few pieces of gray weathered wood and rusted metal.

"Brett, how in the world did you ever find this?"

"Not too hard when you have a lot of time and no girlfriend," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Plus a good map and copy of a mining claim," I laughed.

"That helped some too," as he shrugged off his backpack after setting his collecting bag and hammer down.

"So, have you been inside?" I asked as I peered into the dark opening.

"Yes, it's not very deep, about seventy feet I would guess. They must have abandoned it fairly quickly. I suppose they were looking for a rich vein and didn't find it. Probably looking for gold, not iron pyrite."

I scanned the outside of the mine while taking a long swallow of water. It was already mid-morning and the sun was up, but the mine opening was completely hidden from the sun at this time of day and you couldn't see into it from the canyon floor at all. No wonder no one had found it before. I turned to see Brett had fished a flashlight out of his backpack—another sign he had prepared well for this trip.

"Ready?" He asked as he took the first few steps into the mine after having put his backpack on again.

I followed along close behind him, watching as he played the beam across the mine walls, ceiling, and floor. It was definitely cooler inside and my bare skin registered the temperature differential in less than a minute. The interior of the mine glistened in the flashlight's beam as it reflected off the flat exposed surfaces of crystals giving a surreal effect—it was magical. The mine was about eight feet high and no more than ten feet wide, just enough to get materials in and out with a small wagon or cart.

We were perhaps fifty feet inside when I looked back towards the opening, a window of light showing where the outside world began. I was about to look back when I saw movement, a silhouette appeared. My pulse quickened—mountain lion!

I swallowed hard, keeping my eye on the silhouette, then said as calmly as I could, "Brett, a mountain lion is standing at the opening of the mine."

Brett switched off the flashlight as I felt his hand on my arm. We stood silently and watched as the cat stood stock still, then after what seemed minutes, it disappeared. I wasn't panic-stricken, but I was frightened as I whispered, "What do we do now?"

"It didn't seem to want to come in so I expect it was just curious, after all, that's what carnivores do. Let's take a look to see if there are any young in here—that would be the only reason a female would come in after us I think. If there is we're going to have to be very careful when we leave."

Brett turned the flashlight on and shone it towards the rear of the cave. The beam revealed a bare rock face and nothing more but loose material that had eroded from the ceiling and walls. I breathed a sigh of relief as I turned my attention back to the opening that showed no animal surrounded by light.

Brett played the light around on the rough surface of the mine and after a minute said quietly. "There's enough fine material on the floor to show prints and I don't see any suggesting animals are spending time in here, no droppings either other than bats. Now let's take a look at the small material on the floor that has eroded out, we should be able to find some nice crystals of iron pyrite and other minerals." Then he laughed, "All we have to do afterward is get past that lion with them."

"Brett, that's not all that funny!"

"Samantha, don't worry. That cat would have to be very hungry to want to try for us—we aren't typical prey. But I want you to know that I'm comfortable with you leaving the mine first and I'll follow behind you."

"Brett!"

"Well, you're smaller and I'm sure you would taste a whole lot sweeter than I would," his face wearing a broad smile in the dim light of the flashlight.

I finally had to laugh, knowing he was more right than wrong, at least when it came to humans not being a favored prey item. Most lions stayed as far away from humans as they could. Still, the thought I was smaller and better-tasting were somehow funny even to me. I knew he was trying to get my goat.

"No, I plan on staying behind a big, strong man with a flashlight thank you very much," as I squeezed his arm.

"I thought so!"

We both laughed and crouched down to examine the floor of the mine, though I couldn't help but glance back at the mouth of the mine a few times. We slowly worked our way towards the entrance, collecting some nicely formed crystals of pyrite on the way. When we reached the entrance Brett walked out and inspected the area directly around the entrance, then motioned for me to come out. Yeah, I had let him go first—after all, I was better tasting and would make a good dessert.

We walked back to the ATV, working our way back down the path looking for something else of interest. We did find a few rocks containing mixed minerals that exhibited characteristics that would look good when polished, something that would sell easily and we could use in our tumblers between major projects. It was after one o'clock so we sat in the shade and ate lunch. I was pleased with what I had collected but equally as pleased with Brett's company, I even liked his sense of humor. After lunch we took the ATV back to the pickup and loaded it up, well Brett did as I watched, giving me a chance to appreciate the finer aspects of his anatomy.

We returned the way we had come, then Brett took a small road that led to a dry creek bed in a dry wash through sedimentary deposits. It didn't take but a fifteen-minute walk before we found a nice layer containing fossils in slate-like material. This seam was fine-grained and contained preserved plants and animals in fine detail in thin sheets. The exposure was very small but lay in such a way that it was possible to use our rock hammers to pry sheets apart. It took us about two hours to find seven good fossils, five small fish, a reptile, and a fern-like plant leaf. I was thrilled with what we had found and knew if we if had taken more time we could have found more and would be worth a return visit.

We were walking back with our finds when I turned an ankle on a rock, bruising my leg above my boot and sock. The pain was sharp at first but was subsiding as I sat down on a boulder to look at it. The bruise was throbbing and still hurt like hell. Brett fished around in his backpack and pulled out a small spray bottle of antiseptic and pulled out his container of water.

"Okay, hold your leg out and I'll wash the area first and then give it a shot of antiseptic."

I looked at him and was just going to tell him I was fine and didn't need his help when it occurred to me to just shut up. I didn't need to be a dumb-ass again. I held my leg out and he placed it on his knee as I lay back resting on my hands as he poured the cool water onto it. I flinched as the water hit the raw, scratched flesh. He dabbed it gently with his clean handkerchief and then sprayed it with the antiseptic, which also seemed to reduce the pain. I looked up at him as he held my bare leg in his hands as his eyes went upward towards where my leg went into my shorts. He stood up, reached for me then pulled me up onto my feet. "How's that?"

"Better," I replied honestly.

We walked back slowly to the truck and put our finds into the bed of the truck, then we sat down and ate a snack and drank some water—it was mid-afternoon. We hadn't said much to each other on the way back. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence by any means, just well...relaxing in a way, as if just being together was reward enough—I knew I felt that way. Half an hour later we were working our way back to the main road and highway.

Over two hours later we pulled up in front of the house and pulled my specimens out of the truck bed and took them inside. My parents wanted to see what I had collected so we spread the fossils and minerals out onto the wooden table on the veranda. We were looking them over when my mother came back with cold lemonade. We sipped lemonade as Dad looked the specimens over.

He was obviously pleased, and really interested when we related the day's events to him, including the mountain lion. "You two seem to have had quite a day, these are excellent finds. I'm impressed."

"Thank you, Mr. Adams. I'm not sure Samantha will want to go with me in the future given how much effort it takes to get to this place, not to mention the lion. I'm not sure I should ask her to go with me again."

"Well, perhaps not. You know I really need her around here."

I was about to say something quite unladylike until I saw the smile on Brett's face. He was setting me up and my father was playing along. Then, I knew how to get him back.

"If you don't ask me you'll never get a chance to hold my leg like that again," I said as nonchalantly as I could.

Brett laughed, something I hadn't expected him to do as I thought it would embarrass him. "Then I guess next weekend would work well for you?"

Shit! Now if I said I wanted to it would seem that I wanted him to hold my leg. I felt my face go warm. He didn't give me a chance to reply. Instead, he said goodbye to my parents and stood to leave. I walked outside with him knowing he had bested me. This was getting out of hand as I was used to dealing with men and coming out on top. He pulled a small notebook out of the door pocket, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to me.

"You can call me if you change your mind about next week. Of course, you can pick a spot to go to if you want. I had a good time today Samantha, thank you. Sweet dreams."

I watched as he got into the cab, closed the door, and then looked at me out the open window, a broad smile on his face, "You know you have fine looking legs. Please take care of them for me until next weekend."

He had bested me once, he wasn't going to again, "I have a good looking ass too, bet you didn't even notice."

He braked to a sudden stop, the gravel crunching under the tires, and looked at me with a wicked grin, "Yeah, I did," then slowly drove off.

I'm sure my jaw was dragging on the ground as I watched him leave, cursing to myself he had done it again. A damn government geologist was doing this to me! I walked back into the house and sat down across from my mother and inspected my hands as if they were new or unusual. I wore no rings or even nail polish, my hands were as plain-Jane as the rest of me—yet Brett made me feel as if I were a beautiful woman. I looked up to see my mother smiling at me. "What!" I exclaimed somewhat defensively.

"Honey, you just met a man that can best you. What are you going to do about it?"

My mind tumbled and tossed at her words. I knew she was right, he had. Right in front of my parents. He hadn't been timid, he had confidence in himself as a man. He had stood up to me and hadn't flinched—once again the thought came into my mind—I was in trouble, real trouble.

After a few minutes I looked at my mother, "I'm going to show him I'm not a push-over. He thinks I can't handle him, but I can and I'll prove it."

Seconds later I got up and went to my room to take shower and get ready for bed. I had specimens to clean and prepare, prices to check for the fossils, and some bookkeeping to do tomorrow. Afterward, I went out to the veranda where my parents were sitting and bade them goodnight. I was walking away when my father said, "Samantha, he's a good man. Not too many around like him."

As I lay in bed and thought about the day, images of Brett filled my memory. My arousal grew as I saw his face and his tight ass in my mind, I pulled down my panties, placing my fingers where pleasure would come, at first with gentle caressing, then with a firm, fast pressure. Afterward, I washed my hands and got into bed. Pulling the sheet up to cover my naked breasts. It had been over eight months since a man had last touched me where it mattered most. I finally fell asleep.

I had looked at the slip of notebook paper several times a day for the past four days that had Brett's cell phone number on it. I had been stubborn, telling myself I wouldn't call him, he had to call me to set up plans for the weekend. But I had been thinking about how it was he had found the lost mine last week. There had long been rumors that there was an old mine on our ranch, but several searches had failed to locate but a small excavation that went but ten feet into the rock face. There were several old photographs in the family that showed something more extensive and it had always bothered me that perhaps we hadn't found the real mine.

I found myself calling Brett at lunchtime. He answered right away and we talked for a minute, then I told him about what I knew of the mine on our ranch and suggested perhaps he could check the old mine claims to see if there one existed that corresponded to our ownership. He said it wouldn't take much to check as there were duplicate copies of all the claims in his office. Later that night he called me to tell me he had found a description of a mining claim and a rough map. I suggested that be our destination for our next collecting trip on Saturday and he agreed. I was ecstatic as if we found a mine with good material it would be a real bonus as there would be no restriction on what we could harvest and it was close.

Two days later I was up by six AM, my gear packed, along with food, and water, waiting for the telltale sign of his truck coming up the ranch road. The possibility of finding the mine had kept me up most of the night...well...it wasn't only the mine that occupied my mind. It was chilly yet as he pulled up in front of the house and I met him at the door.

"Good morning, Samantha," he called as he got out of his truck.

I ushered him inside with a smile and offered him something warm to drink if he wanted it. I was having a cup of hot chocolate and when he saw the package on the counter said that would suit him fine. I already had a pot of hot water sitting there and I placed the steaming hot cup in front of him as he talked with my parents. He had brought a map and a few pieces of paper in with him and I sat down next to him as he explained what he had found. The mining claim showed a mine at the location we had located it in the past, but there was another spot symbol on the map denoting an alternative site that was much more difficult to access given the topographical slope shown on the map.

We gathered a few bags from the shed near Jenny's corral and Brett walked back to his truck and returned with a large apple. I watched as he cored the apple, then cut the apple in half and gave it to Jenny. She finished off the apple and nuzzled Brett for more. I teased him he was spoiling her as we had never given her anything but grain and hay.

We elected this time to use the ATV rather than Jenny and it was about an hour along the rough, old road we seldom ever used to reach the base of the mountain, as far as his truck could travel anyway. We unloaded the ATV, loaded our gear, and headed upward to the mine we had located previously. The sun was up and was warming the air quickly. Once at the mine, we stopped and studied the map again. We walked toward the small pile of debris that had been excavated. I had walked in this direction two times before and stopped where the dumping site ended and sorted through some of the debris to see what it contained.