Page 14

A marriage buys me time and gives me the collateral I need to turn my angelic good luck charm into the naughty firebrand I know she longs to be. I can feel the passion pulsing beneath her cool surface, and I yearn with every ounce of my being, every cell in my body, to be the spark that ignites it.

In other words, I’m all-in for a woman I’m pretty fucking sure is still trying to scam me.

After ordering from the server, I say, “Tell me more about the actual map.”

“It’s nine inches long by seventeen inches wide and written in fading blue and brown ink on a piece of tracing fabric. After the death of my great-grandfather, a local judge in Fort Gibson, my grandfather found it in his private papers. Great-grandaddy never made mention to anybody about why he kept the map or what he thought about it. As my grandpa dug deeper, he discovered it was part of an indigent’s personal effects, being sorted out by the court after his passing.”

Her story is getting more suspicious by the minute. She comes across as smart as a whip, so how can she not see this?Maybe the same way you refuse to admit Gunner Ridge is no longer profitable and likely never has been.Family pressures and expectations can blind reason. I furrow my forehead, waiting for her to finish.

“I’ve had it appraised by a local museum and an antique dealer, and they both agree it’s authentic and dates to the early nineteen hundreds. My grandaddy ended up sitting on the find because Vietnam came around, and his life got upturned. Then came along my father, who was always a bit of a rebel and never got along with Grandpa. Their strained relationship fractured all efforts to finally travel your way for the treasure. So, Grandpa let things skip a generation. He’s counting on me to find the treasure, but I can’t do that without access to your ranch. When we learned through the grapevine that Gunner Ridge Ranch is in imminent danger of foreclosure, I knew I had to act fast.”

“Laudable, I spose.”

“I’m not looking for your praise, Reese. I’m looking for my gold.”

“Our gold,” I chime in, reaching across the table to take her left hand in mind. My flesh sizzles the moment we touch, and I watch how it undoes her gorgeous face, her cheeks darkening, her nostrils flaring, and her eyes softening and going all bedroom-y. Fuck, I can almost imagine what she’d look likebegging me for her orgasm. The thought unravels me a little more inside, detaching me from anything resembling logical action or thought.

“Do we know who the hobo was and how he came across the map in the first place?”

“His name was Tyler Eldon Hayes, a very odd, very eccentric, and interesting man.”

“Come again?” I scrutinize her face, unable to process her words.

“Tyler Eldon Hayes.”

“Fuck me,” I mutter under my breath. Maybe thereissomething to this map of hers.

“What is it?” She arches her sexy as fuck eyebrow, cocking her head and quirking her mouth in a way that makes me desperate for a taste of the forbidden.

“There’s something I need to show you when we get back to the ranch.”

“Okay. Can you explain a little more or give me a hint?”

“Nope. You’ll have to see it in person.”

She presses closer to me across the table, whispering, “There are structures on the original map along with notes and instructions. It’s difficult to see because the brown ink has faded into a faint yellowish color. But if we can find the starting point, I believe we can figure out the rest.”

“Huh.” Esmeralda’s got my attention. “I would like to see the map in person.”

“And I would like to see your ranch.”

“Fair enough. Let’s finish our breakfast, get hitched, and then head that way.” I notice her hand has melted into mine. She’s not even trying to move it away. This realization, even more than the damn map and the name of the indigent, sends my heart pinging around in my chest. Fuck if this marriage isn’t going to feel too real for comfort.

The blonde shakes her head, looking down at the table and giggling.

“What are you laughing at, Angel?”

“How fast you Nevadans move. I never thought, in a million years, you’d actually agree to a marriage. Certainly, not so quickly.”

I caress her fingers gently, my movements slow and almost imperceptible. My heart races, and her cheeks burn. I’d like to see if the rest of her body is as responsive as her pretty face.

“Ahem,” a testy voice sounds next to us, the server clearing her throat as she looks at our joined hands. She frowns, holding two huge plates of food, making it clear she means to put them right where we touch.

Esmeralda pulls her hand away, her eyes fluttering toward mine for one brief moment. Reluctance is written in them, and it makes my whole body warm from the inside out, like I’m getting microwaved.

“Ketchup? Tabasco? Anything else?”

I look at Esmeralda, and she shakes her head. The server walks away, and my eyes drop to her plate. “You did not.”