“I don’t know, in a waterfall at the end of some hiking trail. I don’t think I could even find the right turnoff now. I wasn’t paying very close attention.” She grabbed her cell phone and called Jeremy’s number, but it went to voice mail.
“Poker night, remember?” Cami said.
“Right. Right. We should go to Gage’s and show them.” Delphi hefted it. “This has got to be close to half a pound.”
“More, I bet. Rosemary still has her kitchen scale upstairs. Let’s check it out.” Cami snatched it and raced for the door and up the stairs. Delphi followed.
It took a moment, and Jonquil’s help to reset the scale, and then they weighed it.
“That, my dear younger sister is nearly ten-grand in pure gold at current market prices,” Cami said after playing with info on the weight of gold on her smart phone.
“If it is pure gold. The middle could be rock,” Lana suggested.
“Not much of it, or it would be bigger,” Cami said.
“I say we go tell the boys,” Sage said after Cami and Delphi filled everyone in. “And then put it in the safe at work until you can get an estimate from someone who knows gold.”
They all slid into shoes and coats—Cleo had to go up to her room twice before she was properly dressed for the outdoors—and then piled into Cami’s and Joel’s cars for the trip to Gage’s place.
Gage lived in a craftsman-style house at the end of a long drive. The house was all on one level, but had a soaring set of windows facing the driveway, which was already filled with cars.
“Cami, you go first,” Sage said, nudging her forward.
“Why me?’
“You know Gage better than anyone else.”
Cami nodded and knocked before pushing into the house without waiting for an answer.
The guys sat around the table, cards in hand, poker chips in front of them and a stack of potato chips, cookies and cans of beer within easy reach.
“What’s going on? Are you crashing the party?” Gage asked. He looked more wary than upset.
“We think poker night with the guys is sexist and you need to diversify,” Jonquil said, coming up to him. “Have another chair for me?”
“No.”
Jeremy slid back his chair. “I have a spot for Delphi.” He patted his lap.
She considered turning it down, but a streak of mischief ran through her—aided by her light giddiness from their discovery, so she accepted the spot. When she sat down, the look in his eyes said he hadn’t anticipated her taking him up on the offer.
“Hey, sugar. Mind if I steal some of your soda?” she asked as she grabbed a few chips from the bowl next to him. “We’re celebrating.”
“Sure.”
She picked up his Pepsi, took a few swallows and returned it to him.
“And what are you celebrating?” he asked as he returned the can to the table.
“This.” She pulled the rock from her pocket. “Turns out this is not fool’s gold. According to the smartie pants who Googled for information, it looks like we found the real thing.” She set it in his hand.
He hefted it a little, then turned to stare at her. “Seriously? This would have to be... a lot of money.”
“Yep. And I wouldn’t have found it without you, so whatever it’s worth, I’ll split you half.” She thought it was only fair.
He blinked a few times. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope. Apparently Manuel, or someone else, left it behind when they cleaned up shop.”
“Dude, seriously, where did you take her?” Gage asked Jeremy when the girls finally cleared out.
“Just to the waterfall. We’ve been there before and never found anything.” Jeremy’s head was still reeling with surprise. How had Delphi stumbled on a chunk of gold that size, and why hadn’t he looked at it more closely?
“So assuming she was right and you really do have about twelve ounces of gold, what are you going to do with your share of the loot?” Gage asked.
Jeremy had to think about that while he discarded a couple of cards and took two more. “I needed some new equipment for the studio even before most of what I had was damaged or stolen. It would be nice to be able to get what I want instead of only what I can afford.”
Vince looked at Joel, straight-faced. “He’s such a spend-thrift, always blowing his money on unnecessary things just for the heck of it. I have no idea how he’s managed to stay in business.”
“This is a big problem,” Joel agreed. “How can we fix it?”
“You’ll notice that Delphi was talking about buying a new motorcycle with her chunk. No worries about practicality there,” Gage added.
“Shut up. We were going to shop for a bike for her tomorrow even before she realized it was gold. Her bike was a piece of crap and it’s past time she replaced it.” Jeremy slouched in his chair, telling himself they were picking on him because they were jealous. But to be fair, three of them were married to Delphi’s sisters, so money wasn’t an issue for any of them. They could afford to think about trips and new cars instead of equipment for their businesses, even if they did have a few months until the inheritances paid out.
“You worried she’s going to make your bike look like a tricycle in comparison?” Blake focused on his cards as he adjusted them.
“Why should I care?” Jeremy shrugged, though a very small part of him did worry about it. The rest of him yelled that it was stupid to be jealous that she could buy whatever she wanted. She was entitled, wasn’t she? She had her own issues she’d dealt with, and he couldn’t complain about what he had—it was a heck of a lot more than a lot of people. “It doesn’t affect me either way.”
“Because you won’t be going for a ride when she brings back her bike?” Blake asked.
“Because we’re just having fun. It’s not like this is a long-term deal. She’s still talking about going back to New York after the year ends and I’m not going anywhere.” He scowled at the others. “Are we playing poker or are we gossiping like a bunch of old ladies?”
“Fine, moving right along,” Vince threw in some poker chips. “I’m starting with twenty-five.”
“I fold.” Joel set down his cards. “Jeremy, you hear anything back from the deputy about your issues?”
Gage threw in some chips and Jeremy, with a trio of tens, matched it. “No. I called and left a message, but he said he’d contact me when he knew something, so I guess not contacting me means they don’t know anything.” It was frustrating and worrisome. Why would anyone trash his place and try to run him off the road?
“Wasn’t that gold in the newspaper?” Blake asked as he threw in his chips.
“Yeah. So?” Jeremy didn’t get it.
“What if someone realized what it was and wanted you out of the way before you could figure it out. Stealing your equipment might have been a way to hide the fact that they were looking for something.”
“The Italian mob could have it in for you, Jeremy. Better run for cover,” Gage said.
“You’re very funny.”
“The gold was just out in the open?” Blake asked.
“No, it was partially hidden under the sand in the waterfall pool. It could have been there for years.”
“I know there was gold out here, but I didn’t expect to be able to run across it,” Joel said.
“Most of it’s buried in the mountains, but the local mines were pretty nearly tapped out, I think,” Vince said.
“Hey, maybe that one’s from Manuel’s mine,” Harrison joked.
“Why not? Is the waterfall near there?” Joel asked.
“It’s in the area, I guess. No one knows for sure where the mine is, though. It could be ten miles in the other direction.” Gage folded and Jeremy matched the ten-cent raise.
“It’s impossible to know,” Vince agreed. “We don’t even know that Manuel is real—he could just be a piece of lore passed down.”
“And back to the point,” Joel said. “If whoever trashed your pl
ace is looking for the gold, why didn’t they hit the girls’ house instead? Delphi has it. Not you.”
Jeremy considered that for a moment. “They wouldn’t know that. She wasn’t in the picture in the paper, nor was she mentioned in the cutline.”
“So they assumed you have it and came after you?” Gage stared at Jeremy. “They didn’t find it at your place. What if they keep looking?”
Jeremy got a very bad feeling about that.
Delphi and Jeremy went to three shops before she found one that stocked the bikes she really wanted to look at. She supposed she should have called in advance to find out what their stock was, but she hadn’t been able to help herself—she loved motorcycle shops and enjoyed browsing through the accessories as much as looking at the bikes themselves.
“Is this the way you always shop?” Jeremy asked as he opened the door for her.
“What way?” she asked, though she knew full well what he meant.
“This haphazard thing where you just browse and pick up bits and pieces at various places. Doesn’t it drive you crazy? I want to go in, get what I want, and get out again.”
She lifted her brows in amusement. “Even when you’re shopping for bike stuff or camera equipment?”
“I do my research in advance. I don’t have to browse for hours.” His forehead furrowed, though it wasn’t a full scowl.
She slipped her hand in his. “Be patient. Unless they’ve jacked up the price on their bikes, this is the place, I promise, and when we finish here, we’ll have a good dinner and find a dark theater to make out in. If you can be good.”
“Promises, promises.”
A man in his fifties, balding and tattooed walked over. “What can I do for you today?”
“I need a new bike,” Delphi said. “I’ve been looking at the BMW S 1000 RR.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Well, that’s an awful lot of motorcycle for a little lady like you.”
She managed not to grit her teeth at his interruption. “I don’t actually race, so I wondered if I could also look at the 1200 R and decide from there.”
He didn’t seem any more certain about her second choice, though one would think he would be excited about the commission on a bike sale in that class. She hadn’t exactly dressed in her fanciest clothes—maybe he thought she couldn’t afford it. On the other hand, if she had dressed in her work outfits, he would have been even more certain that she didn’t fit on one of his bikes, so she figured she couldn’t win either way.
He took them over to the display, stopping along the way to point out other bikes that he thought were more suitable for “a lady like you.” She ignored him and pushed ahead to the display of BMWs, running her hand over the body of the 1200 R, checking out the switches and display. She threw one leg over the back and sat to get the feel of it, even if it wasn’t exactly a test drive. She was already familiar with the other model, since it was just a newer copy of Jeremy’s bike.
“Hey, there’s room for one more back here,” Jeremy said as he slid on behind her and rested his hands on her waist.
“Good, then if you ever get bored with that toy you drive, you can ride with me.” She sent him a cheeky grin.
“This is a great choice for a discerning rider,” the sales clerk said to Jeremy. “You might find it’s exactly what you’re looking for.”
“Oh, I don’t know anything about motorcycles, except that they have two wheels,” Jeremy protested earnestly. “But she’s an old hand with them. I just came along with her for moral support.” His eyes were wide and convincing.
Delphi ‘accidentally’ elbowed him in the gut when she turned to face the clerk. Jeremy made a noise of air rushing from his lungs, but didn’t comment otherwise. She didn’t bother apologizing—what was the point when they both knew it was intentional? “I understand the balance on this machine is supposed to be excellent. What can you tell me about that?” She’d spent several hours over the previous few days researching bikes, watching YouTube videos and reading reviews. She doubted the clerk could tell her anything she didn’t already know, but he wanted to show off, so she decided to let him.
He talked about the balance, then moved over to a smaller, cheaper, not nearly as nice model and talked about the balance on it.
She asked about the S 1000 RR and he answered, then returned to the Suzuki model again, extolling its virtues. He talked to Jeremy, as if he would be the one to convince Delphi about which bike to purchase even though Jeremy had stated that he didn’t know anything about bikes. She almost walked out of the store. Surely someone else in Denver had to sell these models? She didn’t have to buy from a moron who thought her brain was as bleached as her hair—not that she needed bleach, it was totally natural.
Finally the phone rang. The clerk smiled at them. “I’ll let you talk about it for a few minutes while I take this call.”
“Good riddance,” Delphi said when he had walked out of earshot. She sat back on the 1200R and kicked away the stand to see how it balanced.
“Not going for the sport edition?” Jeremy asked.
“I’m tempted. Very tempted, but I’m not going to race, so it’s not really practical, and eventually I’ll get you to let me drive yours, so that’s probably good enough. This is a nice one, has good reviews and it feels comfortable.” She gripped the handles and turned the knob. “I think this is the one.”
He stuck his hands in his back pockets. “It’s going to be fun seeing you convince him about that. He seems pretty determined to sell you the Suzuki.”
“Yeah, watch and learn buddy.” She put the kickstand back down and rose from her seat as the clerk returned.
“What will it be folks?”
Delphi put her hand on the seat of the R 1200 R and began gesturing with the other one like the flighty blond he seemed to think she was. “I really want this bike because it’s black and gray so it will match anything I’m wearing. I wouldn’t want to clash. The Suzuki is red and that just won’t work with any of my outfits.” She touched her chest as if the very thought made her feel a little sick.
The clerk nodded. “Well, we’ll hook you up then, ma’am. Let’s go fill out the paperwork.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened in surprise and he followed them over to the counter where she dickered over the price and filled out forms. When the man went into the back to get licensing information Jeremy turned to her. “I can’t believe he changed his mind so fast.”
She selected a keychain she’d been looking at to add to her collection of mementos and grinned at him. “A man who would believe that he should down-sale me to a Suzuki despite the fact that I was asking intelligent questions about the more expensive bike is always going to believe that fashion is more important to me than performance.”
He laughed and pulled her in for a kiss.
Delphi rode the bike behind Jeremy’s truck—or rather Vince’s truck, which Jeremy had borrowed to haul the bike back up the mountain that night to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and then to the Megaplex for a movie. The movie had plenty of fast cars, gunshots, explosions and death-defying stunts to please any testosterone-hungry person. Afterward they loaded the bike into the truck bed using Jeremy’s motorcycle ramp and headed up the mountain again.
“You didn’t make out with me in the theater,” Jeremy pointed out when they were in the cab together.
“That’s because you lingered so long over your pie that we got to the theater as the movie was starting. After that there were no slow scenes to spend kissing you.”
“So kissing me is less interesting than watching things explode?”
She grinned. “No, but the explosions would distract me, and I’d rather be able to give you my full attention. Besides, I thought the deal was you had to be good to get a make-out session, and you were very bad in the bike shop, pretending like you were some rube with no idea what we were talking about instead of backing me up.”
“You didn’t need my help. I don’t think you brought me for moral su
pport at all. I think you just wanted some time away from everyone else and dragged me along to pay for dinner.”
She sighed dramatically. “You know all of my deep, dark secrets. Now I’m going to have to kill you.”
“Can it wait until we get back to town? I wouldn’t want to risk wrecking Vince’s truck. He needs it for work, you know. And it would be a shame to ruin your bike before you’ve had it a full day.”
She slid her arms through his and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I’ll probably get a few unhappy words about tomorrow’s client because I wasn’t at work today, but it was nice to have a few hours of uninterrupted time with you.”
“Claire can handle it. You really can’t work seven days a week without exploding.”
She smiled wearily in acknowledgement. “That’s the downside to the wedding business.”
“Plus, you look really hot on that bike,” Jeremy said. “Seriously, I’m going to need to get you back in that top with the little straps and get some pictures of you and the bike. I’ll make a mint on iStockphoto.”
She pushed against his shoulder. “You are not putting pictures of me up for sale somewhere. I’m not a model.”
“Fine, can I still take some for my own reference?”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and tucked her hand around his elbow, perfectly content for the moment. “I guess if you can convince me to pose for the shots, we can talk about where you’re allowed to hang them.”
“We’ll finish up the wedding around nine or ten tomorrow night. Want to come over to my place afterward. Unwind?”
She thought about it for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons. She knew he wasn’t suggesting a friendly hour of chat, after which she would tiptoe home again. This was about spending the night, taking the next step in their no-strings relationship.
“Or not.” Apparently she took too long to respond to him.
“Look, it’s not that I’m not interested,” she tried to explain, but wasn’t sure if she could find the right words. “It’s just that we agreed this was supposed to be no strings and I’ve never been into sleeping around. No strings for me is definitely no sex.”
Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides) Page 15