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The funeral was small. Only a few people came, though they seemed to have really loved Dad. The Ray’s restaurant fed us all afterward, everyone avoiding the fact that we’d dug him out of the ground just to put him back there.
“Is there anything I can do to help, Samantha?” Scott asked quietly as I sat staring at the pasta in front of me.
“I want to keep searching in the pit,” I answered strongly, the thought that’d been lodged in my mind finally breaking through. “My mom wanted me to come here and spread her ashes with him. He wanted to find the treasure. I fulfilled her last wish and I want to do the same for him.”
Staring at me, it was clear he hadn’t thought Oak Isle would rise in the conversation at all. Floundering for words, he glanced around the room, almost as if he were expecting a camera crew to jump out and yell “surprise!” When it didn’t happen, he looked back at me seriously. “Samantha, I don’t think you understand what you’re saying.”
“Oh, I do,” I responded, nodding furiously. “I inherited all of his stuff—including his secret stocks. He told me it was all coming to me when I first got here. I have everything I need to keep going. Please, Scott, I need to do this. With or without your help.”
Mark, who’d been standing not too far away, nodded at me as I spoke. Good, there was at least one person who knew what to do. I didn’t think it would take much to convince the twins either, since they’d been so helpful during it all. For some strange reason, I felt like I needed Scott on this, like I couldn’t do it without him. Finally, he sighed, rubbing his face with his hands.
“All right. I’ll do it.”