“And you never saw him again,” Sarah concluded.
“Not until today. When I walked out of the jungle a few days later, I discovered we were both supposed to be dead. The local gossip, though, was that there was a price on our heads if we did happen to show up. The smugglers wanted us to stay dead. I obliged. I got off the island on a fishing boat and that was the end of it.”
“Why did you change your name and create a whole new identity for yourself?”
Gideon turned the beer can in his hands. “It’s hard to explain. The truth is, I saw it as an opportunity to start over. I wanted out of the kind of business Savage and Company did. Twelve years is long enough in that line. Thirteen years in it could get a man killed. But it’s not always easy to walk away. I wasn’t famous like Jake, but a lot of people knew me, knew the kind of work I’d done in the past. Some held a few grudges, like those smugglers who had tried to get rid of us after the last trip. All in all, it was simpler to just start fresh.”
Just like one of my heroes, Sarah thought with a surge of empathy. Gideon had turned his back on the past in search of another life. “What about Jake?”
“I wasn’t sure Jake was dead. In fact, I figured there was a good chance he wasn’t. It took several months and a lot of research but I eventually found out he was very much alive and doing business under the name of Slaughter.”
“You’ve known who he was and where he was all this time?”
“I told you, I like to cover all possible contingencies,” Gideon explained quietly.
Sarah picked up her wine and sat down across from him, thinking quickly. “You didn’t want him to find you again, did you?”
“No.”
“Because you were afraid he’d pressure you into going back into business with him and you wanted out of that kind of work?”
Gideon hesitated. “That was part of it, I guess, but not all of it. I could have resisted the pressure easily enough. But the truth is, I just didn’t want to deal with him ever again. Or any of the people from that old life.” He searched her face. “Does that make sense?”
“Of course. You had a right to try a new path. What better way to do it than under a new name? But why did Jake change his name when he came out of the jungle? Oh!” Sarah clapped her hand over her mouth as the realization hit.
“What is it, Sarah?”
“Yes, I see now. He had to change his name, didn’t he? He thought you were either dead or determined to stay missing and he knew that with you gone Savage and Company was effectively out of business. He knew he couldn’t run it without you. Better to go out a legend than to go on as a has-been who can’t hack it on his own. He had his image to think of and from what you’ve said, his image was everything to him. He couldn’t bear to destroy it by proving how incompetent he was to run Savage and Company without you.”
Gideon studied her. “You really think that was the reason he changed his name?”
“It makes perfect sense when you think about it.”
“I always figured he used a new name because he was afraid of running into those smugglers again,” Gideon said slowly. “Or someone like them. Who knows what other deals he had cooking behind my back?”
“That may have had something to do with his decision to change his name, but I doubt that’s the reason he made it permanent.” Sarah leaned forward. “Tell me something. You say you’ve been keeping tabs on him. What’s he been doing in the past five years?”
“Small-time stuff for the most part. Nickle and dime guide jobs for tourists who want to picnic in the jungle near an old ruin. That kind of thing,” Gideon said vaguely. “I haven’t paid close attention. All I cared about was having him stay out of my way.”
Sarah bit her lip. “But now he’s very much in your way, isn’t he? And it’s all my fault. I led him straight to you.”
Gideon gave her a wry look. “Just how many so-called treasure hunters, salvage operators, amateur adventurers and assorted riffraff did you contact when you first started doing research on Glitter Quest?”
“A couple of dozen, at least,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure what I was looking for at first, you see.”
“A couple of dozen. Hell.”
“Don’t worry,” Sarah assured him hastily, “I only mentioned the Flowers to you and Slaughter, or Savage, or whatever his name is.”
“That’s something to be grateful for, I guess.” Gideon gave her a direct look. “Two dozen. What made you pick me out of the pack?”
“Two reasons. First of all, I knew as soon as your letter arrived that I wanted you and no one else to help me in my research.”
“The famous Fleetwood intuition strikes again.”
“Don’t laugh. It was true. But there was a second reason I picked you. You didn’t ask for money. In fact, after I mentioned the Fleetwood Flowers, you actually tried to talk me out of wasting my time, remember?”
“I remember. For all the good it did me.”
“All of the others turned out to be screwballs or outright frauds who wanted me to invest in their various schemes. I was invited to pour money into every lost gold mine from here to Australia. Jim Slaughter, I mean, Jake, turned out to be more persistent than the rest, though. He liked the idea of teaming up with a writer. I got the feeling that, in addition to wanting me to finance him, he had visions of me doing a book on him or something.”
“Or something,” Gideon agreed coldly.
She ignored that, frowning intently. “What did your family think about you changing your name?”
“That wasn’t a problem.”
“No family?”
Gideon shook his head. “No.”
“And no wife,” Sarah said as she put the rest of it together for herself. “Because Leanna had already divorced you by that time, hadn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
“And she was waiting for Jake Savage, wasn’t she?”
Gideon was silent for a long moment. “That’s about the size of it.”
“Savage and Leanna. Those were the two people who betrayed you.”
“Don’t make it sound so melodramatic. Leanna fell in love with Jake and I was in the way. That was all there was to it.”
“Hah.” Sarah was incensed all over again. “It was an outright betrayal. The worst kind. How dare they do that to you? Your wife and your best friend. Impossible to forgive or forget.”
“I wouldn’t put it that way.”
Sarah glared at him. “Have you forgotten?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean I’m still holding a grudge.”
“You’ve got every right to hold one. No wonder you never wanted to see Jake Savage again.”
“If you say so. Look, could we change the subject?”
“To what?” Sarah asked.
“How about we discuss the little matter of Emelina Fleetwood’s earrings? We’ve got some decisions to make now that we’ve located that white rock.”
Sarah scowled and got up to go back to peeling carrots. “Good point. What are we going to do about Jake? I don’t want him hanging around the Flowers.”
“I agree. He’s got his eye on those earrings, all right. And on you.”
“You mean because he thinks he can use me for publicity purposes? You may be right. In any event, he’s definitely the type who will step in at the last minute to claim all the credit. I can see him having a photographer and a couple of reporters waiting in the bushes to cover his big discovery of the Fleetwood Flowers.”
“Yeah, that’s Savage, all right. He always liked to have a photographer or a reporter around.”
“So what should we do?”
“Leave.”
“Leave? After finding the white rock? We can’t just walk away and let Jake Savage dig up my earrings. It’s not fair.”
“I’ve told you, he won’t find them on his own. They’re as safe now as they’ve been for the past few years.”
“You really think so?” Sarah asked doubtfully.
Gideon w
atched her, his legs stretched out in front of him. “Trust me on this. I know Jake Savage.”
“I’m not so sure he’s as incompetent as you say he is.”
“Those earrings are getting more important again, aren’t they?” Gideon asked softly. “This afternoon you said you weren’t very concerned about them at all, but now you’re getting downright agitated on the subject.”
“It’s the principle of the thing. This afternoon I didn’t know Jake Savage was going to pop up. He has no right to get his hands on those earrings.”
“He won’t”
“You sound awfully confident,” Sarah said resentfully. “But I have a funny feeling about him. I know he’s going to try to claim the Flowers, Gideon.” She shivered as her intuition conjured up an image of Jake Savage reaching for the earrings. “I just know it. He has no right.”
“I was his partner for a long time,” Gideon said. “I know his limitations.”
“One of his limitations is that he has no scruples. A man with scruples does not steal his best friend’s wife.”
“He didn’t steal her. She fell in love with him. It wasn’t anyone’s fault.”
“The heck it wasn’t. Neither one of them had any scruples if you ask me. How did you get mixed up with a couple of bozos like those two, Gideon?”
“The same way you got mixed up with Richard Whatshisface and managed to get yourself left at the altar. These things happen.”
She sighed. “I guess.”
There was silence for a moment as the vegetables cooked on the stove. Sarah drummed her fingers on the countertop and stared at the cloud of steam that drifted up from the pot.
“Sarah?”
“Yes, Gideon?”
“About what happened this afternoon… “
She glanced over her shoulder and met Gideon’s intent eyes. “What about it?”
“I know I sort of pushed you into it.”
“You didn’t push me into it.”
“Yes, I did. You’d been trying to resist for the past few days.”
She smiled. “Not very successfully.”
“Are you sure you don’t have any regrets?”
“I’m sure. What about you?”
He looked surprised at the question. “Hell, no. Why would I have any regrets?”
“Why, indeed?” she muttered as she dished up the vegetables.
Three hours later Gideon won another hand of gin rummy. He had been winning steadily since they’d begun the game shortly after dinner. “You’re not concentrating,” he accused.
“I know.” Sarah propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her folded hands.
“Thinking about the earrings again?”
“No.”
“Savage?”
“No.”
Gideon leaned back in his chair. “Then what were you thinking about?”
“Us.”
His eyes narrowed. “What about us?”
“I’m wondering what to do next, if you must know. Nothing has gone quite the way I thought it would since I met you.”
“I knew it,” Gideon said swiftly, “you are having regrets.”
“I am not having regrets,” she snapped. “I’m just feeling confused about a few things.”
“Such as?” he challenged roughly.
“Such as what to do with this courtship.”
“The courtship’s over,” Gideon announced, getting to his feet.
Sarah looked up in astonishment. “It is?”
“That’s right. We’re no longer involved in a courtship. It ended this afternoon when I seduced you on that white rock. We are now involved in an affair.”
He came around the table, bent down and scooped her up out of her chair.
“What do you think you’re doing?” But her pulse was already racing with anticipation.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” He stalked out of the kitchen, carrying her weight easily. “I’m taking you to bed.”
“Oh.”
“Is that all you can say—oh?” He carried her through the bedroom door and dropped her lightly down onto the bed.
She smiled in the shadows. “The truth is, it’s so terribly romantic, I’m left speechless.”
He grinned as he began stripping off his clothing. “You’re bound and determined to think of me as a romantic hero, aren’t you?”
“It’s not a fantasy, you know. You are a fascinating, romantic man and I—” She broke off abruptly as he came down beside her on the quilt. It was not yet time to tell him how passionately in love she was. He was not yet ready to let himself believe in love even though she was certain he was in love with her.
“You what?” Gideon gathered her close, nuzzling the delicate curve of her shoulder.
“I think you’re also the sexiest man I’ve ever met.” She leaned over him, tasting him with her tongue, tangling her legs with his.
“I don’t know about that,” Gideon said as he began unfastening her jeans, “but I do know for a fact that you’re the most exciting thing that’s ever walked into my life.” He stopped working on her jeans and framed her face between his big hands. “Sarah?”
“Yes?”
“Promise me you won’t walk out again for a long time.”
“Never, Gideon. I swear it.”
“Don’t make impossible promises,” he advised. “Just swear you’ll give me a little time.”
“All the time in the world.” She brushed his hard mouth with her own.
He took the silent offer of reassurance, his arms closing fiercely around her and then there was no more talk.
SARAH WAS MIXING THE BATTER for blue corn griddle-cakes the next morning, listening to the sound of the shower so she could gauge when to start cooking when she heard the roar of the black Jeep in the drive.
“Damn him, anyway,” she said beneath her breath as she went to the window and watched Jake Savage step out of the vehicle. The man looked as rakishly handsome as ever. She wondered if he traveled with a valet. No normal man could keep such a perfect crease in his khakis or such a polish on his boots.
As he walked to the steps, Sarah saw that Savage had something in his hand. It was a bunch of flowers. She groaned as she went to open the door.
“Good morning. Ms. Fleetwood.” Savage held up the flowers with a flourish. “I thought these might brighten up the place a bit. This cabin Gid rented isn’t exactly the Ritz, is it?”
Automatically Sarah took the flowers. “The cabin suited us perfectly.” Behind her the shower was still going strong. She wished Gideon would hurry and get dressed. She did not like being alone with Jake Savage. “What can I do for you, Mr. Savage?”
“Invite me in for breakfast? I can’t remember when I last had a real home-cooked meal. Is that coffee I smell?”
Sarah wondered if there was any civilized way to refuse him a cup. But it was difficult to think of an excuse while she was holding the flowers he had brought. “I’ll get you some. Gideon should be out of the shower in a minute.”
“Thanks.” Jake’s smile had just the right touch of boyish masculine charm and gratitude as he followed her into the kitchen. “I guess I make you a little nervous, don’t I?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Relax. I’m not after the earrings, if that’s what’s worrying you,” Jake said as he took Gideon’s seat at the table. “But I can arrange some great publicity for you as well as myself when you find them. A little PR never hurt a writer, did it?”
Sarah felt chilled. Very carefully she put the flowers into a pan of water. “How did you find me up here in the mountains?”
“One of your neighbors told me you’d gone over to the coast to meet the publisher of a magazine called Cache. After that, one thing led to another. I talked to a few of Gid’s neighbors, including the one who was letting you use this cabin. It finally hit me just who Gideon Trace really was. When I showed an old picture of him to the guy who runs the motel where you stayed, I knew for certain. Hell of a
coincidence, huh? Turning up Gid along with you?”
“Amazing.”
Jake looked briefly contrite. “Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t scare me.” She poured a cup of coffee and put it on the table in front of Jake. “Where have you been living since you got out of that jungle?”
“Gid told you the story, huh? Did he tell you about me getting trapped in that cave while he escaped?”
“He told me you didn’t make it out with him,” Sarah said cautiously.
Jake shrugged. “No hard feelings. I don’t blame Gid for leaving me behind. That’s the way it goes. Sometimes you’ve got to look out for number one and let your partner take his chances. Who knows? If I’d been in his place, maybe I’d have done the same.” But his wry smile and clear blue eyes said he’d never abandon a partner in a million years. A man could count on a guy like Jake Savage.
Sarah watched him with increasing fascination. She poured herself some tea and sat down. “That’s very broad-minded of you, Mr. Savage.”
“Call me Jake. Or Jim. Doesn’t matter. Hey, this coffee’s terrific. Trust old Gid to find himself a woman who could cook this time around. He never makes the same mistake twice. You and Gid been together long?”
“We’ve known each other for over four months,” Sarah said.
Jake nodded. “When did you tell him about the Fleetwood Flowers?”
“Why?”
“Just curious. Wondered if Gid was still doing business in the usual way. Did he ask for up-front money and a cut of the action? That was the usual policy.”
Sarah stirred her tea, thinking of Gideon’s demand for one pair of earrings—his choice. “I haven’t paid him a dime.”
Jake grinned, showing an expanse of sparkling white teeth. “Fair warning, little lady, Gid never works for free. If he didn’t take any up-front money from you, then that means he really does believe in the treasure and it means he’s got his eye on a chunk of it. You sure you don’t have a contract guaranteeing him a slice of the pie?”
“We have a verbal understanding,” Sarah said stiffly.