Page 11 of Roughing It with the Rancher

“No, I’m thinking something more like Hot Cakes or Big Boy or …”

She belly laughs, swiping at her eyes, and I swear an oath to make her do it again before our time together ends. “Big Boy is a subjective term. Something I would have to judge for myself.”

“Well, wewillbe married.” I raise a flirtatious eyebrow, inviting her into the dark fantasies already twisting me.

Her lusty eyes say one thing, but her silky voice another. “Just as I thought. You Nevadans take marriage so lightly.”

I shrug. “What makes you say that?” I remove my hat, set it on the table, and run my hand through my hair.

“Well, you’ve settled into the proposition much faster than I thought you would.”

“Being playful is all, although you may be onto something. After all, in the Silver State, I can be married one day and divorced the next. Or pretty close to that. So, yeah, maybe I take it a little more nonchalantly.”

“We’re not even married yet, and you’re already talking divorce. What kind of a man are you?” she asks, knitting her brows.

I freeze, starting to wonder if I’ve bitten off far more than I can chew. Thankfully, a giggle follows. “You should’ve seen your face.”

“Well, of course,” I grumble. “It’s one thing if we’re on the same page about marriage as a form of collateral. But if you’re going to get all sentimental about staying that way. Well, that’s another thing entirely.”

“So, you’re considering my offer, then?”

“No way in hell because you’re not offering me anything.”

“What do you mean?” she asks, glaring at me. “I’m offering you time to pay me back free and clear without interest and without breaking your word to me. After all, you don’t seem like the kind of man who takes swearing an oath lightly. Or am I wrong?”

“I don’t know what kind of man I am anymore, Esmeralda, if you want the honest truth. I’ve never gambled a day in my life, except for occasional slots. So, what you saw from me last night was sheer, total desperation … kind of like this conversation.Now, whether or not you’re ready to admit it, you owe me the truth.”

“The truth?” Her eyebrows fly up her forehead.

“Yep,” I say, rubbing my chin. “There’s a lot more to your story than you’re telling me. This conversation goes no further until you fess up.”

“Look, I would really like to level with you, but it would mean signing an NDA along with a prenup.”

“A non-disclosure agreement? Now, you’ve piqued my curiosity. How about we go with an old-fashioned handshake instead? The way people have for more than a hundred years out here.”

Chapter Five

ESMERALDA

“Alright, 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.

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