Page 23 of Tempting Fate
She noticed he hadn’t exactly answered the question. “Well, now that you know about the gold, are you at least going to help me find it?”
He put his thermos and cup down on the hood of her truck and examined the pickax. “We have a rehearsal dinner to go to.”
“Not for hours.” She searched for his SUV but didn’t see it. “You hike in?”
“Why here?” He toed the hole she’d been digging. “Why this spot?”
“Just a hunch.” Raylene shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t want to show him the map or let on that she even had one. Just because he was Logan’s best friend didn’t mean she could fully trust him.
“There’s a lot of land here, Ray. You need more than a hunch, unless you’re planning to excavate the entire parcel with heavy machinery.”
She didn’t have the money to do that, and, furthermore, it would look weird to her buyer, like she was trying to destroy something, or cover it up. “Ray said it was here.”
He held her gaze, his brown eyes assessing. “Hmm, was he around in eighteen forty-nine?”
Gabe wasn’t going to make this easy for her, which was all the more reason to dig in her heels. The prospect of money made people greedy. Look at Butch. He and his lawyer had robbed her blind.
“The story’s been passed down from generation to generation. Ray told me about the gold when I was old enough to walk. I would think he’d know, Gabe.”
“Then why didn’t he dig for the treasure himself?”
“It was his own personal savings account. An account he didn’t have to declare to the government.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Not buying it.”
“Fine! Then run along.” She shooed him away.
He didn’t budge. She picked up the shovel and started digging again. At least before her hands were numb—now they were ice cold. That’s what she got for stopping to chitchat with G.I. Joe. He thumbed through his phone while she worked, which made her grind her teeth in annoyance.
“There’s a hardware store in Graeagle where we can rent a metal detector.”
She gazed up at him over the handle of her shovel. “When we find the gold, I’ll give you a percentage. But don’t get any ideas that we’re equal partners in this.”
“I’m not worried about it.” He tugged off his sunglasses and hooked the earpiece on his breast pocket. “You know why? Because we’re not going to find any gold.”
“Just as long as you know up front: my property, my claim.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
Fine, let him mock her. What did she care, as long as she was getting a strong back and muscles out of the deal? Her own muscles were on fire.
“Why don’t you get the metal detector while I continue to dig?” No way was she leaving him alone with her gold.
“Not today.” He shook his head. “Today is rehearsal day, tomorrow’s the wedding. We’ll do it on Sunday.”
She didn’t want to wait that long. Dana needed an answer on Moto Entertainment. Raylene feared that putting them off too long could risk losing the sale.
She slipped her cell out of her jacket and looked at the time. “By my calculation, we have more than six hours. What’s the matter, Moretti, you have an appointment for a perm and highlights?”
He came toward her and yanked the shovel out of her hands. For a second she could feel herself cower, waiting for the blow that never came. Instead, he started digging, making three times the progress she had with his long, hard strokes. She watched for a while, because she needed a breather and because…he was something. Strong and efficient. For a second, she wondered what it would be like to have his big hands work her like he was working the ground. Just as quickly, she shut down the image and grabbed the pickax.
She tried to heft the thing high enough to get a good swing, but it was heavy. And awkward. Eventually, he pulled it out of her hand.
“There’s nothing here, Ray. You’re either digging in the wrong place or there’s no gold. I vote for the latter.”
“How can you know that? You’ve barely started.” But her gut told her he was right. She’d been at it for a few hours and wasn’t feeling any cosmic connection with the gold. It didn’t mean she was willing to quit, though. She wanted to study the map again, but not with Gabe peeking over her shoulder.
“I’ve got to pee,” she said.
