Page 97 of Tempting Fate
There was another collective gasp and Raylene opened her eyes.
Gabe emptied the purse onto the bar top and Harlee started snapping pictures in rapid succession. Raylene reached out to touch one of the nuggets to determine if it was real.
“I can’t believe it,” someone—maybe Gia—murmured. “It really exists.”
“There’s more, right?” Raylene stared down at the small mound of nuggets.
Gabe turned the pouch inside out, producing nothing more than dust. He reached into the safe to check for more, but his hand came back empty. “That’s it.”
What was on the counter didn’t look like much, maybe enough to make a few wedding bands and a small medallion, but it had to be worth a fortune. Right? Raylene wasn’t too sure. She turned to Gia, the money expert. “How much do you think it’s worth?”
“It depends on the day.” Gia grabbed her phone, and Raylene could see her googling something. “Right now, a little more than forty-two dollars a gram.”
Raylene’s stomach tanked. There couldn’t be more than twelve grams in the pile.
“But natural nuggets like these are worth more,” Gia said, and Raylene’s hopes lifted. “Maybe as much as twenty or thirty dollars more a gram, depending on purity and color.”
Raylene did a few quick calculations in her head. Best case scenario, they were sitting on roughly eight hundred and sixty-four dollars’ worth of gold. Not exactly a windfall. Hell, it wasn’t even enough to cover her Nordstrom bill, let alone her new niece or nephew’s college tuition.
Gabe took her hand and pulled her into his side. She suspected he intuitively knew she needed someone to lean on. Didn’t he always?
“You solved the legend, Ray. You were right all along.”
Yeah, yay her. “I don’t know about my mom or Logan, but I’ll donate my share to the Railroad Museum.” She was trying not to act petulant, but it was hard not to be disappointed, especially while her face still throbbed from Stringy’s beating. At least kids might get a kick out of the legend, and getting to see real nuggets from the Gold Rush.
“Let’s not be rash,” Gabe whispered in her ear. “You need the cash.”
Flynn gathered up the gold and stuffed it back in the pouch. “This time it’s going to the bank, where I’ll make sure it’s divided three ways.”
“Come on.” Gabe slung his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you home.”
On the drive to the farmhouse Gabe squeezed her knee. “I apologize for doubting you, dissing Levi, and mocking the legend. You were right all along.”
She snorted. “Give me a break. There wasn’t even enough gold to pay for the metal detector.”
“Nah, I’d say we’re at least fifty bucks ahead of the game.” He laughed. “Ah, Ray, where’s that 49er spirit that’s in your blood? It was fun.”
“This,” she motioned to her face, “was not fun.”
He went from playful to dark in under a second. “I should’ve beat that son of a bitch within an inch of his life while I had the chance. I’m sorry, baby. I wish there would’ve been more gold, a million dollars’ worth. But you’ve still got the money from your property.”
Except she had yet to sign the papers. Dana had done a good job of keeping Moto Entertainment at bay while Raylene had been stymied by indecision. Why couldn’t Lucky drop his foolish pride and buy the damned property from her? Two hundred thousand dollars wouldn’t leave her any money to live on, but she’d manage. She didn’t know how, but she would, even if she had to move into Lucy’s House herself. Her horse farm would have to wait. And Gunner…it was too much to contemplate with a migraine that felt like a stampede through her head.
Gabe parked in front of the garage and pulled Raylene in for a hug. “What are you thinking?”
“That I need to make a phone call.”
Gabe gazed out the window at Logan’s truck. They were home. “Better do it quick, or else you’ll miss my funeral.”
Chapter 24
Gabe had had one damned job—take care of Raylene—and he’d failed the mission. Miserably. And if that didn’t piss off Logan, the fact that Gabe was pretty sure he was in love with his best friend’s sister was going to set Jenk off real good.
“Hey.” Logan met them on the front porch. “Where’ve you been? We got in an hour ago. I’m never flying commercial again.”
They’d been waylaid by weather, and then overbookings, finally managing to get a flight out that morning.
“Whoa, shit.” Logan bit down on his knuckles. The swelling on Raylene’s face had gone down since Sunday, but it was currently every color of the rainbow. “Aw, come here.” He gathered his sister in a hug.
