Page 41 of Tempting Fate
She let out a sigh and pulled eggs, milk, and cheese from the refrigerator. “There goes getting an early start. There’s bread in the cupboard.”
He retrieved the loaf and put a few slices in the toaster, then stuck his head in the fridge. Juggling the butter dish, an orange juice container, and a plate of leftover banana bread, he made his way to Annie’s old farm table.
“Did everyone get off okay?” he asked while setting them places at the table.
“Yep. I already ate. Hours ago.”
“Then you can eat again and keep me company.” He flashed her a mischevious grin.
She made him an omelet because it was one of the few dishes in her cooking repertoire. Butch used to complain that the only thing she was good for was spending his money. Since a good portion of it had been her money, she’d offered to hire him a cook. She’d gotten the back of his hand for her “smart mouth.”
“You don’t have to do that; I’ll make it.” Gabe took over the pan.
“I figured it was the least I could do.” She returned her own mischevious smile.
“Nah, when we strike it rich you’ll be giving me lots of gold.” He laughed and she rolled her eyes.
“You’re gonna be sorry for mocking me.”
“I doubt it.” He sprinkled a good heap of cheese on the eggs she’d already started. “Weezer should be here by Wednesday. We’ll have to figure something out in the meantime.”
If she could find someone to board Gunner it would take the last of her savings. Between feed, care, and barn fees, stables didn’t come cheap. Plus, she owed Gabe, or this Weezer guy, for transportation costs. They’d better find gold.
“How much trouble would it be to build something here?” It still didn’t solve who would take care of her horse until she could buy her own place. At the rate she was going, she wondered if that would ever happen.
“It’s not a lot of trouble, it’s finding the time. I’ve got other stuff on my plate. Maybe you could hire Colin Burke to do it. Do you know him?”
“No. He’s married to Harlee Roberts, right?” She barely knew Harlee but assumed she was in the Raylene Rosser Hater Club. Hell, she’d be in it, too, if she were them.
“Yep. He’s a good guy, builds furniture and does a lot of construction around here.”
“All I need is pipe corralling and someone to put it together.” It would be a lot cheaper than boarding, but she’d still have the issue of Gunner’s care. God, she hated Butch. He’d agreed to keep the gelding in exchange for using the horse on his cattle ranch in Crawford. But Butch never met a promise he didn’t go back on—their marriage vows of fidelity being the perfect example.
“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, we have to find temporary housing.” He flipped his omelet, and it flopped against the side of the pan and fell apart.
She pointed at some of the melted cheese that had dripped on the floor. “You might want to keep your day job.”
“It’ll still taste good,” he said, in that cocky way she was learning to expect from him.
After plating the omelet, he took it to the table and waited for her to sit before digging in. “Mm, good. You sure you don’t want some?” He got up, reached over the counter, and got his toast.
She nodded and poured them both coffees. “What took you so long?”
He looked over the rim of his cup and lifted his brows. “Were you having Gabe withdrawals?”
She snorted. “I can see why you’re still single…a little too high on yourself, don’t you think?”
Gabe threw his head back and laughed. “Ray, I’m single because I choose to be single.”
She didn’t doubt it but had no intention of feeding his overinflated ego. The only thing bigger appeared to be his appetite. After devouring the omelet, he ate the toast, slathered with butter, and two slices of banana bread.
She cleared away his dishes, hoping to move them along. Daylight was burning and she needed to find that gold before she called Dana. “You ready?”
“It would help if we had something to go on, like a map.” He stared at her pointedly. “All the stories I read said there’s supposed to be one. We’ve only got the metal detector for a day, and two hundred acres is a lot of land to comb.”
She thought about it. It would be nice to have someone more experienced in map reading take a look. As a Navy SEAL he probably knew his longitude from latitude, which is more than she could say for herself. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t know the legend. If he wanted to screw her out of the gold, not having the map wasn’t going to stop him. But what finally made her give in was the fact that Gabe was Logan’s best friend, and she trusted Logan implicitly.
“Fine,” she said, and went to the hallway to find her purse. When she came back Gabe was polishing off the rest of the banana bread. “But it stays in my custody at all times.”
