“I’ll join you for breakfast,” Gideon said. “I didn’t get a chance to eat before I left the house this morning.”
“Your own fault.” She locked the door behind her and started across the street to the small coffee shop. The lights were just coming on inside. To the right, the narrow, two-lane road vanished around a bend into the fog-shrouded trees.
“You hold a mean grudge, don’t you?” Gideon paced beside her. His hands were thrust into the pockets of a sheepskin jacket.
Sarah said nothing more until they were seated in a booth in the corner of the coffee shop. She studied Gideon for a long moment, remembering all the fleeting thoughts, hopes and dreams that had come to her in the night. She fought back the sense of longing that threatened to overwhelm her and tried to make herself speak coolly and logically. There would be no more impulsiveness on her part, she vowed silently.
“Let me get this straight,” she said. “You think I’m an opportunist who uses sex to get what she wants, but you’re willing to help me search for the earrings if you get to keep one pair for yourself, right?”
His big hands folded around the mug in front of him and his eyes met hers in a level gaze. “I’ll help you search for the earrings. Let’s leave it at that.”
“All right. I guess that makes us both opportunists, doesn’t it? At last we have something in common.”
He stared at her unblinkingly, the way Machu Picchu would stare at a mouse. “We’re in this together? We’ve got a deal?”
“Sure. Why not? I came to you in the first place because I don’t know anything about treasure hunting. You do. That makes you very useful to me and I’m willing to bargain with you for your talents. Since you claim it’s unlikely we’ll ever find the earrings, I’m getting a heck of a deal, aren’t I? If there aren’t any profits in this, I won’t have to split anything with you.”
“I see you’ve decided on the role of tough little cookie this morning. Just for the record, it doesn’t suit you.” Gideon took a swallow of his coffee.
“You like me better as a scheming little seductress?”
He grinned reluctantly. “I really ruffled your feathers, didn’t I?”
She glared at him. “I made a serious mistake in dealing with you the way I did yesterday. I can see that now. I should have been restrained and businesslike right from the start. Unfortunately that’s not my normal nature.”
“I gathered that much.”
“That does not mean, however, that I can’t behave in a restrained and businesslike manner when I put my mind to it.”
He looked frankly disbelieving. “Think so?”
“Of course. And a restrained, adult, businesslike manner is precisely what I will project from now on. No nonsense. I shall just think of you as a business partner and deal with you as I would with one.” She put her hand across the table. “Very well, Mr. Trace, we have a deal.”
He stared down at her extended palm and then slowly reached out to solemnly shake her hand. She allowed him to crush her fingers for about two seconds and then she quickly withdrew her hand to safety. “What about your cats?”
He shrugged. “They’ll be fine for a week or so. I’ve left them on their own before. My neighbor will check their food and water.”
“How long will you need to pack?”
“I packed last night.”
“You’re suddenly very eager for the hunt.”
“When do you want to leave?”
She took a breath. “I’ll be ready as soon as I settle the motel bill.”
“Fine. We’ll take my car. You can leave yours at my place.”
Sarah looked at him and wondered if she was really intuitive or just plain crazy.
Half an hour later she signed the credit card slip in the motel office while Gideon waited out in the parking lot, leaning against the fender of his car.
“You a close friend of Trace’s?” The inquisitive-eyed little clerk glanced out the window and back at Sarah. He was a thin, balding man in his sixties, dressed in brown polyester pants and an aging polo shirt. He had been pleasant enough, but it was clear he had a keen interest in local gossip.
“We’re business associates,” Sarah said crisply. She finished her scrawling signature with her usual flourish.
“Business associates, huh? Didn’t know Gideon had any business associates. Thought he worked on that treasure-hunting magazine of his all by himself.”
Sarah smiled loftily. “He’s acting as a consultant for me. I’m doing some research on treasure hunting for a book.”
“That right? Interestin’. Never met a real-life writer before. Except for Gideon, of course. And he don’t exactly write books, just articles for that magazine of his. The two of you goin’ somewhere together?”
“A business trip.”
“Right. A business trip.” The clerk chuckled knowingly. “Wished we d had business trips like that in my day. Well, at least this time Trace won’t be goin’ off alone on one of his business trips.”
That stopped Sarah just as she started to turn away toward the door. “He’s gone off on trips before?”
“Well, sure. ‘Bout once a year he just ups and disappears for a while. Sometimes as long as a month.” The clerk winked. “I asked him once where he went and he said on vacation. You the one he’s been vacationin’ with all these years?”
“I don’t really think that’s any of your business.” Sarah closed the door behind her on the sound of the desk clerk’s cackling laughter.
Gideon straightened away from the fender and unfolded his arms. He scowled. “Old Jess give you a hard time?”
“Not really.”
“Why’s he falling all over himself laughing in there?”
“He thinks he’s a stand-up comedian.”
They drove both cars back to the big old house on the bluff. Machu Picchu sat placidly on the top step watching as Gideon transferred Sarah’s luggage from her car to his. Ellora flitted about with an air of delicate concern. The silver-gray cat hung around Sarah, tangling herself up between Sarah’s feet and asking to be picked up and held.
When Sarah obligingly lifted Ellora into her arms, the cat purred.
“I think she wants to come along,” Sarah announced.
“That’s all we’d need. A couple of cats to keep track of while we’re traipsing around the Cascades. Forget it. The cats are just fine staying here by themselves.”
Sarah held the cat up so she could look Ellora straight in the eye. “Hear that? You have to stay behind. But we’ll miss you.”
There was a low, grumbling cat roar from the top step. Sarah glanced over and saw Machu looking more cold-eyed than ever. “You, too, Machu. You take good care of Ellora while we’re gone.”
Machu Picchu looked away, his ears low on his broad head, tail moving in a slow, restless arc.
“He hasn’t got the most charismatic personality in the world,” Gideon said, “but you can count on old Machu. He’ll do a good job of taking care of Ellora and watching over the place, won’t you, pal?” Gideon scratched the oversized cat briefly behind the ears. Machu tolerated the caress in stony silence.
“When you’re that big, you don’t have to be charming, I suppose,” Sarah said with a small smile.
“Does that logic apply to human males or just to cats?” Gideon asked.
“Just to cats.” Sarah made a production out of checking the back seat of her car. “I guess that’s everything,” she said a little uneasily as she realized she was about to be cooped up with Gideon for several hours.
“Don’t lose your nerve now.” Gideon calmly locked his front door.
“I wasn’t losing my nerve.”
“Having second thoughts?”
“A few.”
“Don’t worry. Something tells me you’re going to like the treasure-hunting business. It’s tailor-made for bright-eyed, gullible types like you.”
Sarah paid him no attention as she patted Ellora one last time. “Goodbye, Ellora. Don’t
let that beast push you around too much.”
Ellora purred more loudly, looking not the least bit concerned about being bullied by Machu Picchu. When Sarah put her down she trotted over to the steps and bounded up to station herself beside the big cat. Machu unbent so far as to touch noses with her in greeting. Then his big tail curved around her neat hindquarters. Ellora looked shamelessly smug.
“Are you sure they’ll be all right?”
“They’ll be fine. Stop looking for an excuse to delay things. We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
Sarah slid into the front seat and adjusted her seat belt. “I have to tell you, Gideon, that your sudden enthusiasm for this venture is making me nervous. What changed your mind? Did you decide the map and the legend are real, after all?”
“I figure it’s worth a shot.” He swung the car out onto the narrow highway. He was silent for a minute or two before he said, “Couple of things you ought to know about treasure hunting, Sarah.”
“And you’re going to tell me what I should know, right?”
“Right.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t like being lectured.”
“You came to me for advice. I intend to earn my share of the loot.”
“If we find it.”
“I thought you were already sure we would.” He gave her a fleeting, mildly derisive glance.
She ignored that. The truth was, she was almost certain they would find the Flowers. The problem now was what might happen when they did. “All right, expert. Tell me the couple of things I ought to know about the treasure-hunting business.”
“The most important thing is that we don’t make a public production out of it. The less attention we attract, the better, especially if we do get lucky.”
“Why?”
“Use your head, Sarah. If we do find the Flowers, we’re talking about a tidy little fortune in gemstones. People have killed for less, believe me.”
That shocked her. “Good grief, I never thought of that.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”
“I can’t believe we’d attract the attention of a killer.”
“That’s the worst possible case. It’s far more likely we’d attract the interest of other treasure hunters, curious tourists and little kids who would want to follow us around and watch while we dig. There might also be legal complications. Do you know who owns the old Fleetwood property now?”
She smiled, vastly pleased with herself. “Yeah. Me.”
“You do?” That obviously startled him.
“I bought it two months ago. It was incredibly cheap because it has no real value. It’s lousy farmland by today’s standards and it’s not a good building site for a modern home. I’ll sell it right after we find the Flowers.”
Gideon whistled softly. “I’m impressed.”
“About time.”
“All right, you’ve taken care of the major complication, the legal ownership of the land. But I still recommend we keep our plans quiet. Nothing pulls attention like a hunt for real treasure and attention usually means trouble for small operations like ours. If this were a major salvage operation to find a sunken ship, that would be one thing. We’d want investment money and plenty of media hype. But the two of us operating alone are highly vulnerable. We go in and we get out without making waves.”
Sarah debated briefly the wisdom of confiding that she’d mentioned the Flowers to one Jim Slaughter of Slaughter Enterprises and then decided not to say anything to Gideon. After all, she’d definitely told Slaughter she wasn’t interested in either hiring him to help her find the earrings or in financing his downed-airplane-full-of-gold project. He was definitely out of the picture and if she mentioned him to her new consultant, Gideon might get nervous. Things were tricky enough at best right now.
“Okay,” Sarah said easily. “Very low profile. I understand. I figure we’ll just check into a couple of rooms at a motel in the little mountain town that’s near the property. We’ll make the motel our home base. Who’s going to notice our coming and going?”
“Probably everyone in town,” Gideon said.
Sarah thought about that. “You really think so?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what do you suggest we do?” she asked, irritated. “Camp out? I warn you, I’m not big on roughing it.”
“We don’t need to go as far as setting up a tent.”
“Thank heavens.” Sarah shuddered.
“My suggestion is that we act like a couple of city folks on vacation in the mountains. You know, tourists who’ve come to take photographs of the spring wildflowers.”
“I didn’t bring my camera.”
“I brought one.”
“That was very clever of you,” she said with genuine admiration.
His brows rose. “Thanks. Wait until you hear the rest of the cover story.”
“Cover story.” Sarah tasted the words, her excitement reawakening rapidly. “I’ve always wanted to have a cover story. What’s ours?”
“As I said, a couple of people on vacation.” He shot her a cool, assessing glance. “But it’s going to look strange if we don’t act like a real couple. A man and a woman traveling together are either lovers or business associates. Since we don’t want anyone to know we’re business associates, we have to look like lovers.”
Sarah turned her head to stare at him in amazement. “What on earth are you trying to say, Gideon?”
His expression hardened. “We can’t risk taking separate motel rooms the way you planned. Someone might notice and start asking why we always take off together during the day but don’t sleep together at night.”
“Oh.” She tried to absorb that slowly.
“The legend of the Flowers is not unknown in the region where we’re going. Someone with enough curiosity might put two and two together and decide to follow us. If they did, they’d see us head for the old Fleetwood property to dig every day and then we’d have problems.”
“You’re suggesting we pass ourselves off as a couple of lovers? You think I’m going to share a room with you? After the way you’ve been treating me? Forget it, Gideon.”
“Don’t get upset. This is business, remember? I’m not saying you have to sleep with me.”
“How very accommodating of you.” Sarah crossed her arms under her breasts. “I don’t like this cover story. Come up with another one.”
“It’s the best one I can come up with at the moment.” He glanced at her again. “Oh, hell, Sarah, don’t act like I’ve just threatened your virtue. All I’m saying is that the best cover we can have is to look like two people involved in a relationship who are on vacation in the mountains. Nobody will pay any attention to us.”
“You do this a lot?”
“Hell, no. What makes you say that?”
“Old Jess, the motel clerk, said you have a habit of disappearing on vacation at least once a year.”
“A man’s got a right to get away for a while.”
Sarah eyed him thoughtfully. Gideon looked annoyed but otherwise innocent of any lecherous intentions. “You’re sure that traveling as a couple is the only good way to handle this?”
“I think it’s the best way under the circumstances.” Gideon concentrated on watching a car in the side mirror. “Also the simplest. Simple explanations always work best.”
“You sound very knowledgeable on the subject.”
He shrugged. “Just using a little logic. Don’t forget this is my field of expertise.”
She chewed on that for a moment. “You guarantee separate beds?”
“For a woman who was convinced yesterday that I was the romantic hero of the century, you’ve sure changed your tune.”
“Gideon, I’m warning you—”
“Sure. Separate beds. I’ve already taken care of it.”
She sucked in her breath. “You have?”
“A friend of mine has a cabin up here that’s not too far from your property. I called him last night. He said we co
uld use it for a week.”
Sarah felt dazed. She had the distinct feeling that she was somehow losing control of the situation. She tried to imagine what it would be like sleeping under the same roof with Gideon Trace and her mind reeled. If he’d been falling in love with her during the past four months the way she had with him, that would be one thing. But this business of a one-sided attraction was very dangerous.
On the other hand, the situation was fraught with tantalizing possibilities if she could just keep her head. She would have a chance to work on Gideon, a chance to let him get to know her.
“All right. I’ll go along with your idea for the sake of our cover story,” Sarah said with sudden decision.
He glanced at her and then shook his head in silent wonder. “You really are something, aren’t you?”
“Why do you say that? Because I trust you enough to share a cabin with you?”
“Uh-huh.”
“This is now a business relationship, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, I’ve known you long enough to be quite certain you’ll be an honest, dependable, reliable business partner.”
“Amazing. As I said, you shouldn’t be allowed out without a leash.”
“Stop complaining. This is all your idea and you are the expert, aren’t you?”
“I keep telling myself that.”
4
GIDEON RISKED A FEW GLANCES at Sarah’s face as he set the luggage on the bare floor of the rustic cabin. He closed the door carefully, unable to tell what she was thinking. He wondered if she was wrinkling her nose in that interesting fashion because she didn’t like the looks of the old, run-down place or because she was starting to have a few additional reservations about sharing it with him.
Personally, he was still stunned by his own daring and astounded by the success of his small coup. He couldn’t quite believe he’d pulled it off. She was here with him under the same roof. In fact, she’d hardly put up any argument at all.
He still didn’t know whether to be insulted or delighted or irritated by her ready trust, though. It was possible she’d gone along with the idea of posing as a couple on vacation simply because she had written him off completely as a potential lover.