Crashed in Oasis Read online

  Crashed

  In

  Oasis

  Oasis Book Three

  "Romance in the Grand Canyon State"

  Verna Clay

  This book is dedicated to seekers of treasure not only in the earth, but in the heart.

  Crashed in Oasis

  Oasis Series

  Copyright © 2014 by Verna Clay

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information contact:

  [email protected]

  Website: http://www.VernaClay.com

  Publisher:

  M.O.I. Publishing

  "Mirrors of Imagination"

  Cover Design:

  Elaina Lee (For the Muse)

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Preface

  Chapter 1: Midlife Crisis

  Chapter 2: Crash

  Chapter 3: Rescue

  Chapter 4: Red Tape

  Chapter 5: Collin Banks

  Chapter 6: History's Mysteries

  Chapter 7: Hiding In Plain Sight

  Chapter 8: On The Sly

  Chapter 9: Spaghetti And Apple Pie

  Chapter 10: Digging Into The Past

  Chapter 11: Visit With Shiloh

  Chapter 12: Just Old Junk

  Chapter 13: Change Of Plans

  Chapter 14: I'd Love To Go For It

  Chapter 15: It's…Perfect

  Chapter 16: Meeting Her

  Chapter 17: Meeting The Crew

  Chapter 18: Diving Dottie

  Chapter 19: Graduation

  Chapter 20: Big Day

  Chapter 21: Hauling Ass

  Chapter 22: You Snore

  Chapter 23: Questions Without Answers

  Chapter 24: Reassessment

  Chapter 25: Shocking News

  Chapter 26: Full Plate

  Chapter 27: Things Get Worse

  Chapter 28: J.D.

  Chapter 29: The Shard That Unbinds

  Chapter 30: WindRunner

  Chapter 31: Crutch Punch

  Chapter 32: Beaches, Sun, Aqua Ocean?

  Chapter 33: Irony

  Chapter 34: Home Sweet Home

  Chapter 35: A Real Clue

  Chapter 36: Desi's Recollection

  Chapter 37: Another Clue

  Chapter 38: Bird's Eye View

  Chapter 39: There's No "X" To Mark The Spot

  Chapter 40: What Now?

  Chapter 41: And Yet Another Clue

  Chapter 42: Final Resting Place

  Epilogue

  Author's Note

  Stranded in Oasis (excerpt)

  Oasis, Arizona Series #1

  Dream Kisses (excerpt)

  Romance on the Ranch Series #1

  Novels and Novellas by Verna Clay

  Preface

  While writing book two in the Oasis Series, I received inspiration for book three, Crashed in Oasis. Because Oasis was founded as a mining town in the early 1900s, I decided to spice the series up with a gold robbery to be solved a hundred years later (the timeframe of this story). Of course, I needed a "spicy" guy as my hero. Enter now, Collin Banks, a man who has made treasure hunting his career.

  As for my heroine, I wanted a woman Collin would overlook in a crowd…someone he'd have to spend time with in order to recognize a treasure of the heart. For that starring role, I made Dottie Arnez, introduced in book one, the perfect woman for Collin.

  Although each book in the series can be read as a standalone, I did give a teaser in book two, Branded in Oasis. Desi (one of the trailer park residents), disclosed a tantalizing tale regarding a stolen gold shipment. He also revealed that he was given a treasure map. Just when I thought my tale couldn't get much better, I suddenly envisioned a plane crash outside the town of Oasis, and voila, that's how I brought Connor and Dottie together. She saves his life by pulling him from wreckage at great peril to her own life.

  I also did something else. Although not part of this series, my young adult novel, Fragile Hearts, (written under the pen name of Colleen Clay) has a supporting character that I made the daughter of Dottie Arnez.

  Since reading Fragile Hearts is not necessary to this series, why did I tie the books together even though most readers will never realize it? I guess the answer is because I like the challenge of fitting lives together. Perhaps when I'm very old I will have tied all of my books together.

  Of course, while writing Crashed in Oasis, I had to update readers about Max and Pilar Rutherford, and Kade and Skye Blackwell, the stars of books one and two.

  Also, the town of Oasis has gone through a metamorphosis, what with the remodel of downtown by the mysterious owner that only we (author and readers) know the identity of.

  This has been a fun series to write and I hope you enjoy Connor and Dottie's romance!

  Verna Clay

  Chapter 1: Midlife Crisis

  Dottie Arnez locked the door to Dottie's Dime Store and strolled the new boardwalk past Cowboy Haven with its two windows of mannequins displaying red and blue western garb. She rounded the end of the building and circled to the back of the line of businesses. Walking to the service entrance to her dime store, she doubled-checked to be sure it was locked. Satisfied that everything was in order, she headed for her car parked a few feet away.

  Puffing a long sigh, she turned the ignition and pulled onto Main Street in the small desert town of Oasis. On both sides of the avenue a few tourists walked the boardwalks and peered into windows of closed establishments.

  Even though tourism had increased since the remodel of downtown, local proprietors still closed up shop between five and six every evening. Well, all except for Porky's Pizza Parlor and Desert Princess Diner.

  Turning off of Main Street onto Third Street, Dottie headed toward the outskirts of town. Her short jaunt through the newly refurbished downtown had put a smile on her face. Most of the town was owned by an unknown benefactor, and the mystery person had spared no expense in updating his or her real estate. The town now boasted a business and tourist district to be proud of, and judging from the increase in tourism, word was getting around. Of course, a spread in a popular travel magazine had started the ball rolling.

  The pictures had been taken by one of their own residents, Skye Blackwell. When the townspeople had questioned Skye as to who had hired her to create the spread, hoping it would shed some light on the owner's identity, she'd shrugged and said, "Sure wish I knew."

  Thinking about Skye, Dottie's grin widened. Only a few months back the successful photographer had given birth to the newest addition to the community, a baby girl she and her husband Kade had named Sunny Shiloh—Shiloh being the name of the baby's paternal great-grandmother. Close to eighty years old, the woman was sharp as a tack and doing well after a hip replacement.

  About a year earlier Skye had married Shiloh's grandson, Kade Blackwell, and they'd immediately started their family. Kade, the local mechanic, had pictures of his wife, daughter, and grandmother plastered all over the office in his garage. Dottie knew this because she'd brought her car in for an oil change about a month back and Skye had been there with the baby. Skye had insisted she join them in Kade's office for a soda.

  Dottie had asked if she could hold Sunny and Skye had smiled proudly, handing the rosy-cheeked baby over. Kade, who had been talking to Tommy, another mechanic, had entered the office, and Dottie still got a lump in her throat when she remembered the love in his eyes for his wife and daughter. Dottie's own departed husband
had once looked at her and Lucy the same way. After all these years, she still choked up just thinking about him.

  She was so caught up in her remembrances that she almost passed her turn off. Braking quickly, she swung onto Gold Nugget Drive and followed it past several Santa Fe style houses built during the early nineteen hundreds, some restored, others needing major repairs, until she reached the road to her home, Schneider Way. Following the dead-end street past the only other house, she pulled onto the long drive at the end of the road. She'd once measured the distance by punching the odometer and found it to be approximately an eighth of a mile to the detached garage next to her house. The garage had been built back in the forties and Dottie was considering hiring Gator, the handyman at Desert Princess Trailer and RV Park, who had been one of the main builders of the park's new recreation center, to tear the old garage down and build a larger one with lots of shelf space and an automatic garage door that worked all the time. The one she had now opened about half of the time, and thankfully, today, it decided to cooperate when she punched the fob on her visor.

  Grabbing her purse and some invoices she wanted to review, she climbed from her car and stepped through the side door of her garage to walk the few steps to her house. Unlocking the kitchen door, she went to the small drop-leaf table and dumped her purse and paperwork. Next, she kicked off her shoes, stretched and yawned, and did a few toe touches. Because she was indoors most of the day running her dime store, she often did stretches to stay limber. She also jogged or walked just about every evening following a path that led from her house to one of the wilderness roads. Often people with three or four wheelers or jeeps used the wilderness roads outside of town for recreational driving. This particular road led to cliff views of amazing rock formations.

  She changed into jeans and an old T-shirt, slipped on her socks and hiking boots, and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge to place in her backpack. Checking to make sure her pepper spray was in a side pocket just in case of unpleasant encounters with wild animals or humans—something that had never happened—she tossed her cell phone in another pocket.

  She pulled her shoulder length hair into a low ponytail and frowned when she saw another gray strand. Plucking it out by the roots, she studied her reflection in the mirror. Although forty-four years old, she had often been told she looked much younger. She'd even been told she looked more like her daughter's sister, than her mother. Now, scanning for more gray hair, she wondered if those days were over. Skewing up her face, she tilted her head from side to side looking for wrinkles. Yep, the creases around her eyes were becoming more pronounced. Glancing at her strawberry blond hair, she wondered if she should call Myrtle and make a hair appointment. Her wispy bangs needed a trim, as did the length, and she could ask what to do about the gray.

  Staring at her own green eyes in the mirror, she smiled and asked, "Are you going through a midlife crisis?"

  She grabbed a tube of sunscreen to cover her face and arms. Being a redhead, her complexion always burned. And even though it was only early May, the evening sun could be cruel to a woman with delicate skin. As a child, she'd often suffered sunburns by being careless, but she'd never developed freckles like so many redheads. Her daughter was the same.

  Thinking about Lucy brought a smile to her face and made her forget about her "midlife crisis." Now a junior in college, Lucy was the pride and joy of her mother. Not a day went by that Dottie didn't send loving thoughts to Lucy. It had been almost a year and a half since her daughter had saved the life of a ten year old girl by donating a kidney to the child. It wasn't until a few days before the surgery that Dottie even knew what Lucy was up to. Lucy had said she didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

  The surgery had gone well and the girl now led a normal life, but Dottie had been furious with Lucy for not discussing her decision to donate her kidney. But that was Lucy—ruled by compassion. Of course, Dottie's anger had evaporated when she'd seen the outcome of her daughter's selfless act.

  Before putting her backpack on, Dottie jogged to her mailbox like she always did, and then sprinted back to her house. Flipping through her mail, she saw that it was mostly bills and there wasn't anything from Lucy.

  Donning her backpack, she headed back outside and jogged toward the trail. It was now around six o'clock and the weather was beautiful. Soon, summer would arrive and evenings would be too warm to jog after scorching days. She reached the wilderness road and slowed her speed to a brisk stroll, often stopping to enjoy the beauty of a desert in bloom. The white flowers of the saguaro cactus, Arizona's State Flower, always inspired awe. It amazed her that the cactus could grow up to 40 or 50 feet tall and survive as long as 200 years. Now, walking past a particularly tall one, she marveled at the blooms clustered and peeking over the top of the central shoot and the five shoots branching off from it. Another smaller cactus of a different variety, a prickly pear that was maybe three feet tall and spread out over about eight feet, caught her attention with its bright yellow flowers. In a couple of months red fruit would be ripe for the picking for those knowledgeable of harvesting a cactus. Being raised in the desert, Dottie had that knowledge and sometimes made prickly pear jelly.

  In the distance she saw a small herd of wild donkeys lumbering slowly along a wash with a couple of foals sticking close to their mothers. It made her smile. A cactus wren, the state bird, flew to a saguaro and perched. It was joined by another and Dottie knew that the nest she saw may or may not be its home. The species built many nests as decoys.

  As always, her evening walk invigorated her as she observed nature doing what it did best, surviving and thriving.

  Chapter 2: Crash

  Scanning the terrain below from his Cessna Skyhawk, Collin Banks enjoyed his birds-eye view. He'd traveled the world as a treasure hunter for twenty plus years and seen every landscape possible, but he'd always had a fondness for the desert. The starkness and vastness touched his soul, perhaps because of the starkness he recognized within himself. Although often surrounded by crowds and the media because of the success he'd experienced in his profession, he was a loner at heart who didn't want attention. However, publicity was a necessary evil in order to attract investors. Over the years, his sponsors had been well rewarded with finds of sunken treasure discovered in such diverse oceans as the Atlantic's Devil's Triangle, also known as the Bermuda Triangle, the Aegean Sea, and the Indian Ocean. He'd also uncovered hidden codices in an ancient tomb in Israel, and dug gold coins from an island off Australia's coastline. Those were the most notable of his finds, but many smaller caches had been unearthed over the years—caches that had required much study, insight, and luck to locate.

  And that's why he was now flying his plane over the town of Oasis in Arizona. About two years back, he'd wanted to solve another mystery and after searching the internet, he'd begun an investigation of the Manfred Schneider Gold Heist back in 1911. Because of other obligations, he'd only been able to gather and review information periodically, but now his time was freed up enough to pursue this latest quest—locate the whereabouts of the stolen gold ingots.

  Before actually visiting the town and surrounding areas, he wanted to get a feel for the terrain, and that's why he'd flown his Cessna from Florida to Arizona, with a few stops along the way to visit friends. Now he banked the craft over the town and dipped lower, viewing the grid of the streets. After that, he headed east of town, toward the Weaver Mountains.

  He noticed three wilderness roads leading from town into the desert and decided to follow one. Flying lower still, he saw a lone figure walking the road. He passed overhead and banked to turn north when a loud pop rocked the plane, followed by another pop, and then a sputtering of the motor before complete silence.

  "What the hell!" Conner shouted.

  The propellers slowed and then ceased movement.

  Connor had often found himself in dangerous situations, so he knew panic only increased his odds for an unfavorable outcome. The first thing he did was radio his situa
tion and while doing so, he scanned for the best place to set down along the stretch of road. He wanted to get as close to civilization as possible without bringing harm to anyone below.

  Thankfully, the plane would glide and not fall like a rock from the sky, and he positioned it for landing. Using the hand pump he lowered the landing gear and briefly saw the lone figure standing and staring up at his plane as he flew overhead.

  Down, down, he came.

  Chapter 3: Rescue

  Dottie had watched the small plane and wondered who could be in it. Big jetliners were often seen on their way to and from Phoenix, but rarely did small aircraft fly over the area. The plane had banked and she'd figured it was leaving the vicinity so she'd lowered her gaze. That's when she'd heard a loud noise followed by another one. Gazing upward again, she'd noticed dark smoke pouring from the plane.

  Now, in disbelief, she watched the aircraft suddenly drop altitude and position itself over the wilderness road. As it silently glided over the top of her, she knew immediately that the pilot was about to make an emergency landing.

  Her heart pounded as she shouted a prayer, "Oh, God, please save the pilot!"

  The plane's wheels touched down with a thud and then the unthinkable happened—the plane tilted and a wing crashed into the ground, sending metal, rocks, and dirt scattering everywhere.

  Dottie started running toward the disaster. The craft continued its precarious landing until it finally halted about fifty feet off the road.

  Except for the sound of Dottie's hiking boots hitting the ground as she ran, there was no other sound for a few seconds, and then a terrible hissing noise came from the plane. Dottie saw fire in the back end.