Page 5 of Roughing It with the Rancher (Love Along Route 14 #11)

Chapter Five

ESMERALDA

“ A lright, handshake then.” I reach my hand across the table, and he takes it firmly. Flames lick up and down my arm at the touch of his flesh, and my cheeks warm.

“And a ring and a kiss later,” he adds in dark, growly tones that set my body on fire and put a throb at the top of my legs. God, I want this handsome rancher. This is not good.

I lean towards him, whispering, “Okay, I’m trusting you to be a man of your word. This has to stay between us.”

He nods, his face sincere, though confused.

“Did your family ever talk about something hidden on your property? A cache of precious items worth A LOT of money?”

“What?” He looks completely lost.

I raise my eyebrows. “So you’re telling me you’ve never seen this?” I ask, pulling out my phone and flipping to my photos, where I keep a digital copy of the treasure map.

I push the phone across the table, and Reese eyes it for a long moment, his face unreadable. It’s obvious he doesn’t recognize it.

Swiping over the map to blow it up, he says, “You call this a map? What in the hell is this?”

His reaction doesn’t surprise me. After all, what I call a treasure map really looks like a jumble of lines, illegible handwriting, and poorly drawn structures. It’s a tick above third-grade-level art. And not by much.

Lowering my voice, I whisper, “It’s a treasure map for a cache of Aztec gold stolen by the Spanish conquistador Juan Diego Xavier del Constanta de Lupe Hidalgo and his men during the sixteenth century and buried somewhere in northern Nevada.

It went missing for centuries, its whereabouts moldering away in documents that no one read, rumors of wealth fading.

But what no one knew … what no one still knows, is that a treasure map exists.

That’s what you’re looking at, and my grandpa and I have reason to believe the map starts at your ranch. ”

Reese dissolves into uproarious laughter.

The kind that makes his whole body shake, and his eyes tear up.

Swiping the back of his hand over his cheeks, he shakes his head, laughing some more.

“I have to hand it to you, Esmeralda. You are, by far, the most entertaining person that I have ever met. There’s no getting bored with you. ”

I grab my phone, lock the screen, and frown. I shouldn’t be shocked. After all, I reacted similarly when Grandpa first showed me the map. Still, having someone laugh in my face, even a stranger, smarts a bit.

“So, like the Goonies or something?”

“Yes,” I answer, arching my eyebrow. “This map purports to lead to the fabled lost gold of El Cortez, and it starts on your property. That’s why I drove all the way out here.

To find you and talk you into letting me onto Gunner Ridge for the hunt.

I had no clue, not in my wildest dreams, that I’d find you in the Heirloom Rose first.”

He furrows his brows. “And what were you doing here anyway?”

“Waiting out a long night of driving. I went as long as I could, but I started dosing off and pulled over here for food before continuing on to your place. It’s been cheaper and, as you said, far more entertaining than stopping at the Motel Six.”

“The Motel Six? Not in this town. That place is scuzzy. For God’s sake, Esmeralda, you’ve got to promise me you’ll stop taking unnecessary risks.

It’s bad enough hearing about you driving alone.

Or fixing to go to a lonely bachelor’s ranch all by yourself.

But the Motel Six to boot? Hell, no. You’re a Hilton or Hyatt girl. ”

“A Hyatt or Hilton in this town?” I chuckle.

“Or Heirloom Rose. But not the Motel Six.”

“Are you kidding me? I don’t have the money for those kinds of splurges. After all, treasure hunting is expensive.” I could go on and on about my broken-down truck and everything else that’s happened so far, but I spare him the details.

Reese rubs his face with his hands. “So, you really believe this bullshit?” he asks, gesturing to my phone, still resting atop the table with its screen black.

“Of course I do. Or I wouldn’t even be here.”

He grimaces. “I don’t mean to point out the obvious, but there’s no way what you just showed me is a Spanish map from the fifteen hundreds.”

“Correct.”

He furrows his brows.

“What I showed you is a map that dates to the turn of the century scrawled out on tracing fabric. We believe that a ranch hand at Gunner Ridge stumbled upon the treasure. We’re not sure how.

Honestly, that’s kind of where the trail goes cold.

All we know is somebody with some level of education found it and either drew a map of its location or relocated it with the prompts I showed you. ”

“And how much do you think it’s worth?”

“Every bit of what you won at the table,” I level with him.

“That would make us millionaires! But why would you consider sharing that vast a sum with me?”

“Because, as my Grandpa says, one bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.”

Reese sits back, crossing his arms as the server returns to offer us coffee. I press my lips firmly together, waiting for her to walk away before we discuss anything further.

Flexing his jaw muscles as he grinds his teeth in deep thought, he says, “So, if we hadn’t met here this morning, I would have seen you later today at my house?”

“That was the plan.”

“With this ridiculous story?” he adds, his face incredulous.

“It’s not ridiculous. Grandpa and I have verified it with enough independent sources to know we’re onto something serious … with the potential of more wealth than you or I have ever imagined.”

“I’m starting to see a pattern here,” Reese frowns, wrapping his big, sexy digits around the white chipped coffee mug in front of him.

“And what’s that?”

“More wealth than I can imagine as long as I give you half. I mean, it is on my property, after all.”

“And you knew nothing about it until this moment,” I remind, arching my eyebrow.

“Believe me, you’ll never find the treasure without me and the map.

Hell, I’m not even sure we’ll find the treasure with it.

Grandpa and I have obsessed over this for four years, and yet so many mysteries remain.

My only hope is that finally setting foot on Gunner Ridge and looking around will jar a few epiphanies and help me fill in the remaining clues. ”

“And so that’s where the marriage comes into play? Only temporary. An act of good faith on both of our parts that when we find what we’re looking for, we’ll share.”

“Yes.”

He chuckles, emptying a couple of white cream containers into his coffee and swirling the light brown liquid with a spoon.

“I don’t need to go off on some vain attempt to find an old Spanish dude’s treasure.

While your wealth is written on a piece of leather signed with a hope and a prayer, mine’s the real deal waiting with the cashier.

” Even as he speaks, his eyes wander back to my phone, and I can tell he’s itching for another look.

“Fabric, not leather,” I correct. “You’re intrigued, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. So you mean to tell me you drove all the way out here from Oklahoma just to reenact your own version of Indiana Jones?”

“For fortune and glory.”

“Fortune and glory,” he chuckles. “For a sassy, headstrong, down-to-earth Okie, you’ve definitely got a bit of an idealistic streak.”

“Call it optimism. And my proposition is ultimately no different than yours. After all, you’re asking me to trust in a man’s earning capabilities who nearly lost everything at the Craps table this morning. Sorry, but I’m going to need something a little more binding than your word.”

“Rose gold, yellow, or silver?” he asks, reaching across the table and taking my hand in his. His pointer finger and thumb slide over my ring finger, eyeing it. My guess is you’re a four and a half or five?”

“Rose gold and a five. Does that mean you’re in?”

Reese frowns. “I’ve done far more foolish and impetuous things tonight … today, whatever time you want to call it,” he says, nodding toward the gaming floor. “Besides, you’re my good luck charm, right?”

Licking my lips, I add, “And you’re my ticket to Gunner Ridge Ranch.”

He uses his big, muscular free hand to rub it over his beard.

I savor the uber-masculine, scratchy sound.

“What else do you know about the El Cortez treasure?” My eyes trace the veins of his tanned hand down to his thick, toned forearm, my heart racing at the mouthwatering sight.

What I wouldn’t give to feel his strong hands grazing over my flesh, just one time.

“According to Spanish historical documents, it’s a small, though priceless, horde of gold objects recovered from Mexico.” I scrutinize his skeptical face. “Put another way, it’s enough to secure your ranch’s future for generations to come.”

“Generations to come,” he mutters. “I work far too hard to go looking for a wife or starting a family.”

“You forget,” I tease. “You’ve already got the wife part figured out. Although, sadly for you, I don’t feel especially interested in helping you with progenitors.” My skin steams at the bold-faced lie. In my imagination, we’re already post-coitus sharing a damn cigarette. And I don’t even smoke.

“That’s a shame,” he flirts.

My cheeks burn, annoying the hell out of me.

He smiles. “No worries. Do I really look like a man cut out for a family anyway?”

I shake my head, chuckling.

“Alright, this may be Nevada, but we still have to hustle if we want to get a prenup, a marriage license, and a ceremony all in one day.”

“What I just revealed to you feels an awful lot like the guarantee you’d need from a prenup.”

“You have a point,” Reese says, nodding towards my phone. “Send me a copy of that treasure map, and we’ll call it even.”

“Deal, but promise me you won’t backstab me or try anything sneaky.

“Esmeralda, you may have yet to figure this out, but you’re the real treasure as far as I’m concerned,” he declares with a smoldering gaze.

My heart skitters around in my chest, coming back to rest in the new spot that Reese’s presence has carved out for it. This is bad. Very, very bad. But I can’t let him know he’s under my skin. “Yes, I am your treasure. Don’t forget it, husband.”