She set the map on her laptop’s screen so they could study it. “If that’s the case and this drawing had fallen into the wrong hands, Dad wouldn’t have wanted his gift to be marked with a red X or a picture of a treasure chest.”

“Exactly.” A few seconds passed. “I wish there were some words on this map.”

“I do, too. He hasn’t named the pond, the hills, or anything else. We’re going to have to figure out the location of the treasure using these landmarks alone.”

“Do you recognize anything here?”

Dad had sketched a few lines through the trees that might be roads or might be trails. “No.”

“Is this a map of the property where you grew up?”

“No.”

“A map of the land surrounding this house?”

“No.”

“Your aunt and uncle’s house?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I wish I recognized this. But I don’t.”

“Which means your father hid the treasure on a piece of land that you and Robbie don’t own. He’s expecting you to trespass, locate the treasure, and get away carrying diamonds or cash or a Fabergé egg.”

She laughed.

He cocked a questioning eyebrow.

“It’s just that a Fabergé egg is the last thing I would’ve expected you to mention.”

“It’s the last thing I planned to mention. Forget I said that. It’s not manly.”

She’d trade a year’s worth of herbal tea for permission to slide her hand into his silky, overgrown hair. “Just you watch.” She placed the map on the side table. “We’ll find the treasure, and it will be a Fabergé egg.”

“You were supposed to forget I said that.”

“Never.” She brought up a Google Earth image of northern Georgia on her computer. “Historically, my dad doesn’t plant clues farther than a three-hour drive from my house. It’s a safe bet to conclude that the treasure is buried somewhere inside that radius.”

She zoomed in so that even small country roads came into view.

Starting with her home and working outward, they hunted for a configuration of stream, roads, and pond that matched her map.

After thirty fruitless minutes, her eyes started to cross from a combination of strain and impatience. “This might take a lot of time. Maybe even days. While I’m very enthusiastic about this new development and incredibly impressed by you, since it turns out you’re a bit of a mastermind—”

“I am not a mastermind.”

“I’m thinking we should table this for tonight and pick it up tomorrow. Squinting at my computer for the rest of the evening wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for my Saturday night.”

“Okay. I’ll head back to my apartment—”