The short drive to Main Street Thrift was pleasant enough. Owen had good taste in music, and I relaxed into the seat letting the caffeine soak in. I tried to be sneaky and admire his profile on the down low while he was driving, but he busted me... a couple times. I couldn’t help myself. He has the cutest dimples when he smiles. And dammit, he just smiled bigger each time he caught me staring. Mmmmmm, dimples.

Stop it Jade. Stop going gaga over the hot guy driving and focus on the task at hand, the necklace. I hoped we could make a day out of it. Buy the necklace, then spend the rest of the day searching for resale items. My customers expect a steady stream of new items, and I needed to keep adding to my website. Just the other day, John from the gym stopped me and asked me to look for old records for him. Vintage vinyl wasn’t something I normally bought, but it was becoming increasingly popular. So, I told him I would. It couldn’t hurt to check out the record selection today. Who knew what we would find.

Owen pulled into the parking lot, and I gestured to the parking spot at the end of the front row. “Park right there.” He looked at me with questioning eyes. “It’s my lucky parking spot.”

Owen parked the car and opened his door laughing. “I didn’t take you to be the superstitious type, Jade.” We walked the short distance to the front of the store.

“What can I say?” I shrugged and reached for the glass door. “If it works, it works.”

He held the door open for me, and I walked into the bustling store. I had forgotten it was Half Off Day, when every retiree, college kid, and single mom in the area stormed the building desperate for a bargain. I usually avoided Half Off Day at all costs. I couldn’t stand all the noise, crowded aisles, people pushing you out of their way or leaning over you to reach something before you had a chance to pick it up.

“Is it always this crazy?” Owen asked. He sidestepped, barely getting out of the way of a child recklessly riding a scooter down the aisle.

“Not hardly.” I laughed. “This is just Half Off Day. A lot of these people are just looking for a good deal.”

I walked up to the counter and pointed to the velvet display, frowning. “This is where it was yesterday.” The necklace with the beautiful green stones was gone! In its place were several cheap rhinestone necklaces, the kind girls wear to prom. I knew it! I fucking knew I should have bought it yesterday! My shoulders slumped when the air of optimism leaked out, like a punctured balloon.

“Maybe they moved it?” Owen offered, hopefully. “Why don’t we ask someone.”

I flagged down an associate as she rushed past, her arms overflowed with rumpled clothes and hangers. “Excuse me, can you tell us where the green necklace is? I saw it yesterday, and decided I just had to have it.” The lady looked at me over the pile of clothes, squinting and thinking hard.

“What did it look like?” she asked, shifting from one foot to the other.

I described the necklace as best as I could remember, hoping she would tell us they moved it somewhere, anywhere. “The necklace had a large medallion and delicate silver chains with green beads, and big green stones. It was in this case right over here.” I pointed to the display that contained the rhinestone necklaces.

“Oh, I know which one you’re talking about.” She smiled as she shifted the pile of clothes in her arms, in a desperate attempt to keep from dropping them on the dirty floor. “We sold it yesterday afternoon.” she said. She started walking towards the shopping carts. “It was a very pretty piece.” Dumping the pile of clothes into the cart, she straightened and eyed me carefully. “I’ve seen you around here a lot. You know you can’t leave stuff and come back for it later.” She pushed the cart full of clothes towards the back of the store, and solemnly advised “You have to buy it when you find it or someone else will.”

“Wait!” Owen said, reaching out to stop the cart, and inevitably her, from going through the Employees Only Entrance to the back storeroom. “Did anything else come in with the necklace?”

“If it did,” she said, “it’s already on the floor.” With that, she pushed the cart through the swinging doors and was gone.

I tried to keep the feeling of defeat from showing on my face, but it was difficult. My face has a direct line to my emotions and likes to tell on me from time to time. I turned to Owen and said, “Come on, O. Let’s go see what we can find.” Maybe we can still find some cool stuff. I started walking through the store before he could question the wobble in my voice.

“O?” He said, hurrying to catch up. “Are we doing nicknames now?”

“Sure, why not,” I quipped. When we reached the housewares department, I stopped abruptly in the aisle.

Owen looked at me pensively. “Do you feel something?”

I did feel something. A familiar tug deep in my stomach. How did he know? I looked up at him and my face did it’s scrunched up thing. Telling him boldly that I was confused. Traitor!

“You have that look,” he explained. “The look of a searcher hot on the trail.”

“I’m not a searcher, Owen,” I said. I slowly walked down the aisle, running my hand over the plates and bowls along the middle shelf. It was comfortable, comforting. It felt good to feel the smooth surfaces run beneath my hand. I did it out of habit, without thinking.

Pointing to my hand slowly grazing the dishes, he smiled. “So what are you doing there? Why are you touching everything, then?”

I looked down at my hand sliding across the top of a stack of plates, almost of its own accord and grinned sheepishly. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve always done it.”

He gave me one of his sexy smiles. “That's one way searchers find artifacts, Jade. They feel energy signatures.”

What? Other people don’t rub all over the merchandise? I turned to the shelves laughing. “In that case, let's feel this place up.” Owen doubled over, laughing. I turned the corner and started scanning the next aisle with my frisky fingers. We walked in silence, my hands skimming over each shelf, feeling for energy. Owen silently followed behind me. He was near enough to touch me, but not too close that it creeped me out. We went down every aisle but the tug in my stomach didn’t ease up.

“I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach,” I said quietly as I looked around at the shoppers grabbing clothes off of hangers and shoving them into their baskets.

Owen nodded and smiled encouragingly. I walked towards the furniture section. The tug got stronger the further I walked into the section of discarded tables and chairs. An ornately carved wooden box sat on top of a dining room table. It wasn’t very big. Maybe about fourteen inches long, ten inches wide, and six inches deep. It was striking, and I felt drawn to it. My hand tingled with warmth and my stomach fluttered when I reached out to touch it.

“A Tor…” Owen said in amazement.

“A what?” I asked. I carefully lifted the wooden box off the table to examine the intricate designs carved into the top and sides. The designs looked foreign to me, Egyptian or Greek, something mythical. Maybe Celtic runes? I knew I should have paid attention in school. Did we learn about stuff like this? We should have.

“A Tor is a warded box,” Owen explained. “Like a magic safe. I’ve seen a few, over the years.”

“How do you open it?” I asked, turning it over. I looked for a clasp or hinge but couldn’t find anything that would show where it opened. It just looked like a decoratively carved wooden block.

“It’s spelled to only open for the Searcher it belongs to.” Owen glanced around quickly as he stepped closer to me, placing his hand on my elbow. “We should probably check out now,” he said and he steered me towards the checkout line.

Intrigued with the box, I forgot all about looking through the record section for John. Maybe we can stop somewhere else for records. After hastily checking out, Owen settled me into the passenger seat before shutting the door and glancing furtively around. He quickly slid in behind the wheel, and hit the ignition button. The engine purred to life.

“Let’s get you back to your apartment,” Owen said , pulling out of the parking lot and glancing in the rear view mirror.

“You’re acting weird,” I said, watching him check the mirrors and change lanes. Again.

Owen’s blue eyes darkened and he looked at me pensively. “You’re a searcher, Jade. We weren’t sure before, because it’s not always hereditary… But you are.”

“That’s good, right?” I asked, my leg bouncing nervously.

“It’s good, Jade,” he placed his hand on my thigh. His intense blue eyes bore deep into mine. “We'll keep you safe.” He said it with such conviction, such confidence. I wanted to believe him. I watched his happy fun loving spirit be replaced with determination .

Protect me? A searcher like my dad? A million things raced through my mind. I sat back in the seat, overwhelmed. I distractedly traced the etchings of the Tor with my finger while my mind wandered.

Owen glanced my way with a furrowed brow. “I’ll talk to Tobin, and see what he thinks.”

Just then my stomach revolted, letting out a loud grumble. “Can we get something to eat first?” I asked. “I don’t think I’m ready to deal with Tobin’s attitude right now.”

“Sure thing, Kiddo,” Owen maneuvered the car to the outside lane. “We can get drive-thru. What do you feel like?”

I crinkled my nose at the endearment. Kiddo? What am I four? “How bout hamburgers?” I said. “They just opened a new place by my apartment.” I pointed to the large sign up ahead.

“That looks perfect,” Owen slowly turned into the driveway. “We can take it back to your place, and eat while we wait for Tobin.” I grimaced at the thought of Tobin growling at me, his dark eyes searing my soul.

“Fine,” I conceded “but you’re gonna have to buy me a chocolate shake too.”

Owen arched his brows. “A burger and a shake? You think dealing with Tobin is worth all that?”

“That’s just for dealing with everything today,” I sighed. “Dealing with Tobin is going to require alcohol, and lots of it.”

“Oh, he’s not so bad, Jade.” He pulled the car up to the speaker. “Tobin grows on you like a… tumor.” Laughing at his own joke, he rolled down the window to order.

A few minutes later, the car eased back on the road headed for home. A large bag of burgers and fries were tucked behind the driver’s seat. The smell was delicious, and my stomach took the initiative to voice its need. We’re almost home. I grabbed my shake and took a big sip. It was a thick creamy masterpiece of a shake, and satisfied my screaming stomach. I think I’m in love with this shake.

The Tor weighed heavily on my thoughts. The pressure it exerted on my lap was nothing compared to the mental pressure it subjected me to. I wonder how different things will be, now that Owen thinks I’m a Searcher. Can’t I just go back to my everyday life and forget about the sexy intruders? I mean, I probably won’t ever forget about them because they’re hot, but can’t I at least try? I thought about my dad and all the fun we had when I was growing up. He said I would be a Searcher like him one day. Did he know? Was he teaching me? I always thought we were just spending time together and making up stories. I was truly happy when he was home. The memories of our adventures made the time he was away bearable. Am I really like you, dad? Am I a searcher?”