“Hey!” A smile broke out as he peeled off his goggles, and his mouth dropped the snorkel mouthpiece. Still attached around his head, it fell to his neck and Dani found herself meeting Jonah’s dark eyes. “What are you doing here?”
His colleague peeled off another pair of goggles. It was the same Trenton Galloway who steered his boat to her dock. He waved before ducking back underneath the water. Jonah hoisted himself up and sat on the bank.
“What are you guys doing here?”
Jonah shifted through the bucket. “We found this cave a little while ago.”
“What’s with the—?” Dani gestured to his hand.
“It’s a freshwater mussel we found. This was supposed to be extinct, but Trent thinks we’ve found the next greatest discovery since the Red River ran north.”
“What?”
Jonah studied the mussel and replied, distracted, “It’s a river on the Minnesota and North Dakota border. It goes up where all the others go down.”
Not what she meant. “Why are you here? How’d you find this place?”
“Oh—Jake told us about it. He said he used to come here all the time as a kid—oh.” Understanding dawned in his shoulders as he suddenly glanced up, wide-eyed. “This was…”
“I found this place. Not Jake.” Dani sat beside him. Rolling up her pants, she slipped her feet into the water and felt it’s warmth against the cold air. This was a day when one shivered as they came up for air. The water served as a warming blanket.
Jonah continued to watch her. “Any consolation, but this mussel’s going to be on the cover of Rivers and Streams. It really is a find. There’s a research team coming to town in a month just for this sucker.”
“And they’re going to violate my cave.”
“Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“You’re right. I’m not. But I understand, if that’s worth anything.”
“This was my spot with Jake.” It went without saying. Jonah was quick on the draw, but she felt the need to say it.
Trenton decided to reappear that moment and grinned at them. “This is awesome, Jonah. Another load and we’ll have a good enough find to get some grant money for this river.”
Jonah shot a cautious look in her direction.
Trenton waved at her. “Ah, it’s Dani. She won’t say anything. Besides, it’ll go public in two months. Plenty of time to solidify our ownership before any freshwater pirates join up.”
“Freshwater pirates?”
Trenton hoisted himself on the other side of Jonah. “When a lot’s been found like this and it has some serious scientific finding, there’s always going to be someone else trying to cash in.”
“Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the scientific world.”
Trenton shrugged. “Yeah, but we want to make sure all the new grant funds are going to come through our department. When the magazine comes out, the word will be officially out. Research teams are going to pop up around Craigstown like ticks in the summer.”
Dani cringed and started itching. “Thanks for that thought.”
Trenton laughed and rifled through the bucket, still in Jonah’s hand.
“What are you doing here, by the way?”
Dani shrugged. “Felt like a drive down memory lane.”
Jonah’s eyes sharpened, and Dani knew he hadn’t bought it.
Trenton looked up. “Huh?”
“This used to be Jake and Dani’s spot.”
“Oh.” Trenton grimaced. “Sorry, Dani. This spot’s going public from now on.”
No doubt.
“So, what’s so special about these mussels?” If she was going to lose her secret spot, she might as well know what the sacrifice was for. If it was worthwhile.
Trenton flashed another blinding grin, and Dani remembered why he’d been their prom king, but he remained silent, letting Jonah do the explanation.
“There’s a few different benefits from this find.” Jonah started out, and Dani realized how truly excited he was. He really did love this river. “The first is that this mussel was thought to be extinct, and this bed is the largest bed of mussels I’ve ever heard about. That’s huge for Falls River because it means it’s pretty damn healthy considering the dam blocks up the water’s travel. The more mussels, the healthier the water system. Plus, they have a natural grey pearl inside. The financial market’s going to go crazy over the grey pearl.”
It was a bit astounding how one piece of shell could ensure a river’s safety. Dani lifted one of the mussels out of the bucket and held it up.
“It looks disgusting.” Its shell was slimy, black, and repulsive. A dead fish hung off the side of it.
Jonah and Trenton laughed.
Trenton piped up, “That’s its decoy for fish. Fish bite onto it, thinking they’re about to have a meal. The glochidia are released inside, and voila, the mussel just landed itself a plane ride for its little babies. The female mussel has her eggs transported into this glochidia stuff. The fish carries it downstream until they drop and form little baby mussels.”
“Smart little buggars.”
“Nah—they’re just another part of nature.” Jonah stood up and kicked off his diving fins. “Nature’s pretty damn miraculous if we wouldn’t stop killing it.”
Dani glanced up, a little startled at the vehemence in his tone. Jonah had always been charming. A good ol’ boy who drew the ladies in like bees to honey. She’d heard of his ruthlessness in business dealings, but she’d never seen him angered. She heard it now, laying just underneath the bitterness.