“Sure, I do.” Jeremy pushed his plate away and leaned his arms on the table. “Tell me.”

Grandma scooted her chair out. “I’ve got to clear the table.”

“No, no.” Bea jumped to her feet and gently pressed Grandma back into her seat. “I’ll do that. You tell the story.”

“All right, all right.” She wiped her hands on her apron and folded them in her lap. “If you’re sure.”

“Of course, my lady.” Jeremy gave a funny little bow and doffed an invisible hat. “Proceed.”

Bea stifled a chuckle.

Grandma cleared her throat and put on the serious storytelling face Bea knew so well. “Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a man named Miner McGee. He had spent his life traveling all over the country, searching for treasure, and had found a little gold here, a few gemstones there, but never struck it rich. And, boy, did he want to strike it rich.”

As Bea moved around the kitchen, she found herself keeping one eye on Jeremy as the story unfolded, wanting—needing—him to love it like she did.

“Eventually, his travels brought him to Moose Creek,” Grandma continued, “on the first day of winter. The same day the whole town was abuzz with a fantastical rumor.”

Bea smiled to herself. Fantastical was Grandma’s favorite story word.

“The rumor told of an enormous diamond hidden away on the mountain—the Big Sky Diamond—and that only a man willing to give up everything else would ever be able to find it. Well, Miner McGee couldn’t believe his ears. He knew he was that man. He’d been waiting his whole life for this. So he stocked up on supplies, strapped on his headlamp, and headed up the mountain.”

Jeremy raised a finger in protest. “All by himself?”

Grandma nodded gravely. “All by himself. Everyone in Moose Creek begged him to wait until spring, but Miner McGee believed he had already waited long enough to fulfill his destiny. Up the mountain he went, just as the worst blizzard Moose Creek had ever seen fell upon the land. The wind began to blow, the snow began to fall, and the roads became impassable. It didn’t let up for three whole days. When the sky finally cleared and the sun came out, the people of Moose Creek gathered to discuss whether to send a search party up the mountain for Miner McGee’s body right then or wait until the thaw.”

Jeremy gently pounded a fist on his knee. “He died?”

Grandma fixed her eyes on him, and Bea inched closer to the table, her task forgotten.