Page 35 of Roughing It with the Rancher

“I can pop the top for you, if you’d like? It’ll make your job easier, but it still might be too chilly to travel that way.”

“No need. I agree with your assessment about the chill factor. But later today, I can’t wait to go back into convertible mode and get another load of those expansive Great Basin skies.”

“See,” the rancher observes in rich tones. “You stick with me much longer, and you’ll fall in love with this place. And maybe, by extension, me.”

“Do you think what we did last night and early this morning looks like anything other than the L word?” I tease, my face burning. I’ve never said the word in a romantic sense to anybodybefore, but I’m shockingly close to it as I eye my handsome husband.

“I know it is for me. But truth be told, Esmeralda, falling for you happened the second time I laid eyes on you.”

“The second time? What about the first?”

“I was too busy processing your over-the-top leather jacket.”

I laugh, shaking my head. “So, you’re telling me my jacket ruined our chance at love at first sight?” I put my hand on my hip.

“It is a lot to take in, even though I love it now like everything about you. But don’t go tricking me into saying something you’re not ready to hear.” His face is serious as he says it, his eyes dropping to my burning cheeks.

It’s on the tip of my tongue. But those words feel sacred to me, something I’ve never bestowed on anyone. I eye the gold band on my hand as I pack up, and Reese shoves everything in the trunk or back seat. “Has any woman ever worn your ring before, Reese?”

He pauses, eyeing me curiously. “No, Mrs. Gunner. Not a one. Never even looked at an engagement ring before.”

“So, this is a first for you?”

“Absolutely, and I hope it’s a last for me, too,” he intones, his voice warm with emotion.

Chapter Fifteen

REESE

As we drive, Esmeralda holds the map in her lap, scanning it carefully. I glance in her direction expectantly a couple of times before asking, “What do you see, Treasure?”

The Supremes’ “Baby Love” plays in the background.

Quirking her mouth, her face stiff with focus, she says, “After the part about the shoe tree and High Water, it says ‘donatio mortis causa.’”

“More of that funny Latin stuff?” I scowl.

“Yes, and this part of the map has always scared me.”

“Why, Angel?”

“Because it translates as ‘the gift of death.’”

“Uh oh,” I growl under my breath, letting the words sink in. After the brush with the barn, I don’t feel too good about pronouncements like that. “Well, the death part aside, a gift is usually a good thing. Right?”

“Right, but?—”

“Nope, don’t finish that thought. After all, you’re the one who keeps emphasizing the importance of positive thinking. Instead of focusing on what might go wrong, how about more of those positive affirmations or whatever you call them.”

“You’re right,” she replies with a long, anxious exhale that doesn’t match her words. I choose to ignore it. “I’m a lucky girl who the Universe loves. Money comes freely and easily to me. Treasure finds me. So does love.”

My cheeks heat as I point out, “See, what I mean? That’s got to be part of how you found me, right?”

“Right.” She smiles, straightening and throwing her shoulders back with more confidence. “Positive thinking.”

“You know, after we get all this treasure stuff figured out, what would you say about coming off those pills and working on a family together?”

Her eyebrows fly into her hairline at the suggestion, and my stomach knots. I’ve finally taken things too far.

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