Titan's Jewel, Part Two (3/16/11)

Hello again! Here's part two of Titan's Flash! Hope you enjoy.

*LANGUAGE WARNING* (Just for one word, but still.)

Brett watched his sassy counterpart march away with a smirk playing on his features. She’d be easier to play than he thought. When Tom, his dearly departed grandmother’s oldest friend, suggested bringing the feisty financial advisor onboard Brett was initially opposed.

But how could he keep objecting when he saw the expert ease with which she handled the excavator? Not to mention the legs and quick wit. He felt almost guilty bringing Shiloh along on this potentially wild goose chase. She was down on her luck anyway, and if they didn’t find it…well, they wouldn’t be going home any richer.

If they did find it, they’d be going home secret billionaires.

Legend said the diamond was drug up from the depths of the ocean by a lonely and deformed young fisherman. He took the jewel to the most beautiful young maiden in the village and promised it to her with her hand in marriage. But she was in love with a handsome Lord.
Greed won and together, the Lord and the lady plotted against the poor fisherman.

When the fisherman heard of the plot, he went mad and killed the lady, the Lord, their families, and with the lady died the tiny child growing in her womb. The fisherman is said to have buried the diamond in the city somewhere and in a fit of depression and fury threw himself into the ocean. The locals next town over say anyone who's searched for the diamond have never returned.

With a resigned sigh, Brett threw several boxes onto his shoulder and made his way through the low crawling fog towards a monstrosity of an RV. Tom had tugged one along that someone might have seen in the days before the war heading towards the Grand Canyon with a small circus in tow. But no one traveled across the new boundaries anymore. New generations didn’t know the joys of standing on a precipice looking over the edge of the world, and likely never would.

Shiloh was stacking canned goods in the cabinets when Brett sidled through the small door. She hummed softly while working, making him smile to himself at her optimism. “What are you so happy about?”

“What’s not to be happy about?” she replied with a trace of sarcasm. “We’re in the middle of an abandoned fishing town on the tip of America with winter blasting us. But,” she amended, “we have the chance to find this rare jewel and go home changed people.” Shiloh put a can of green beans down with a wistful sigh. “Dad could finally retire and I wouldn’t have to take over.”

Brett cast her a sidelong glance. “You don’t want to take over the family business?” He should have known the VP of a financial firm would be too good for a construction career.

She seemed to snap out of her reverie. “Well, don’t get me wrong here, Brett. Dad runs an honest business, which is more than I can say for most of the fucking scum in the financial sector. But I didn’t grow up to work in construction.”

“But you did grow up wanting to work in accounting?” He couldn’t wrap his head around someone wanting to work with numbers for the rest of their lives.

“No.” Shiloh slammed some cans down with a little bit more ferocity than necessary. “No, I didn’t say I don’t want to work construction.” There was a story, Brett realized.

“So why don’t you?” He leaned an elbow against the counter next to her, having put his boxes away while they talked, and watched her closely. Shiloh had a way of ticking when she got nervous; he’d noticed it when Tom was discussing the proposal with her so many months ago. Her hands jerked in an uneven fashion and her chest seemed to palpitate in an odd stroke here and there.

She swallowed thickly. “Construction is a man’s field,” she replied softly and stared at the can in her hands, twirling it back and forth absentmindedly. “Don't look at me like that. I learned early on. That’s all.”

With the subject effectively closed, she threw the can in the cabinet and walked into the fog for the next round of boxes without another word.

~End~

Be sure to check out the other magnificent Silver Flashers:

LM Brown (M/M)
Lily Sawyer (M/M)
RJ Scott (M/M)
Sui Lynn (M/M)
Pender Mackie (M/M)
Heather Lin (M/F)
Victoria Blisse (M/F)
Julie Lynn Hayes (M/M)
Ryssa Edwards (M/M)