by Sara Orwig
Startled, she straightened to face him. “What?”
“Stop. You don’t need to be doing heavy labor.”
She laughed and pushed tendrils of hair from her face. “I’m all right. I’m not fragile.”
“You’ll be surprised what will hurt in the morning if you keep that up. Leave this stuff to us. You can break out the lunch shortly back at the trucks or we can drive up here.”
“This land is too rough for that.”
“No, it’s not. That’s what our trucks are built to do. Come on, we’ll go get two of the trucks.” He took her arm to steady her over the rugged terrain and she went with him, again aware of his fingers on her arm. This time he seemed oblivious of the contact, which helped a degree.
At the trucks he opened her door. “This time let me lead. You follow me.”
Jake held the door for her and she climbed in and he took the lead pickup. When they reached the place where three men were digging, they parked.
“Go back to your digging,” she said. “I’ll get lunch ready.”
She washed her hands from a jug of water she had brought for that purpose. Opening the back of both pickups, she spread out Jessie Lou’s sandwiches, chips, and opened the coolers filled with ice, pop and water. She set out two homemade apple pies and a container of whipped cream, then rang a small bell to call everyone.
Jake and the men grabbed the camp stools he had brought or sat on nearby logs or rocks. Jake came to sit beside her on a slab of sandstone.
“So far, it’s a bust. The only progress is that we can eliminate this area.”
“You said that you didn’t expect this to be easy,” she stated. “We’re just getting started. Over the generations my family has scoured this part of the ranch for the treasure, although I don’t think they went along the creek a whole lot because creeks move as years pass, which means, in some spots, the treasure could possibly be in the bottom of the creek.”
They ate and went back to work. She cleaned and put away leftovers, finally finishing and pulling on her gloves to move some more small rocks again. She picked up one and a thin snake slithered away, trying to get beneath the adjoining rock. She cried out with fright and yanked it up by the back end, swinging it and throwing it toward the creek as fast and as hard as she could.
She heard laughter and turned to see Jake not far away. “I believe you’ve gotten over your snake fears.”
“No, I haven’t,” she snapped, “and stop laughing. That wasn’t funny.” She shivered. “I couldn’t do anything else to get it away from me. I can’t kill one.”
“If you’d waited a second, I would have killed it,” he said, grinning. “Good toss, by the way. Looked like a copperhead, though. I should tell you they don’t usually travel alone.”
She shivered again. “I’m taking a break,” she said, turning her back on him to walk to the truck and climb inside. She glanced back to see him still grinning, making her even angrier. She hated and feared snakes as much as ever. When she had grabbed it up, she hadn’t stopped to think. She just wanted it away from her. She had to admit she was ready to call this quits and leave her ancestors’ bones where they had been buried in the 1800s. She was too aware of Jake. Being close to him was beginning to awaken feelings she hadn’t had for years, feelings she thought she was over and didn’t want to have again. She was hot and tired already from moving rocks. She thought back to the pre-morning hours. Had the tree blocking the bridge been a warning? She couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing or why. Her brothers didn’t want her doing this, but they wouldn’t stoop to cutting down a tree to achieve what was only a temporary delay.
She wanted to be back at the house painting and enjoying her quiet life. From the moment Jake had appeared in the hardware store, he had done nothing but stir up trouble for her.
* * *
Later in the afternoon Jake dug in the shade of a cottonwood at the edge of the creek. He had shed his shirt and the muscles in his back rippled as he worked. He was muscular, strong, and she could recall the feel of his bare back as she’d run her hands over him, kissing him. He had been a tall, lean, bony teen then. Now he had filled out, become a man.
The temperature had risen and she was hot, but the heat of the day wasn’t her problem. It was the memory of being locked in his arms, naked, her body held tightly against his. She could recall his hands moving over her, caressing her. She didn’t want to remember, but the sight of him shirtless triggered the memories with a clarity that surprised her. “Jake,” she whispered and then clamped her mouth shut.
She didn’t want to get to the point where she longed to have the past repeat itself. If every day of this search would be like this, she would have to quit because this was bringing torment into her peaceful life.
She shifted to watch him dig. He was forming a large, shallow hole. He stopped and glanced around as he wiped his brow, and when he saw her watching him, he leaned on the shovel and simply stood there openly staring at her. She wondered what he was thinking.
He didn’t say anything, and after a few moments he went back to work.
They worked until dusk and then they all climbed into the pickups to drive back to their ranches. At her house, Jake stopped to talk to her. She thanked the men with her and then stepped out of her pickup to wait while Jake parked and climbed out.
“Jake, you still have a long drive to get home. Why don’t you tell the men to bring clothes tomorrow and bunk down here and you can stay up here at the house? We have room.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll take you up on it and I think they will, too. If anyone doesn’t, he can drive his own truck. Are you going again tomorrow?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied even though she had been on the verge of canceling for the past four hours.
“I’ll see you in the morning, then,” he said, standing with his hands on his hips, staring at her. She wondered what was going through his thoughts because he looked on the verge of saying more to her. Instead, he got in his truck and drove off.
She wanted to shower and to change clothes before she ate the dinner Jessie Lou had ready for her to reheat. As Madison emerged from the shower, her phone rang and she answered to hear her father’s voice.
At first they talked briefly about nothing in particular and then he said, “I hear you allowed Jake Calhoun to dig on our property today.”
Startled that he knew, she realized one of the ranch hands must have informed him. All of them knew about Jake because she had asked for two volunteers to go with her. “Yes, I did. I told all my brothers. Jake has a map that seems authentic.”
“Aren’t you running some risks by letting a Calhoun traipse all over our ranch?”
“It’s a calculated risk, I guess. But if we find the treasure I get it.”
“So what does he get?”
“His ancestors’ remains.” She heard her father’s derisive grumble and she continued, “Plus there may be a deed giving them McCracken land from a poker game.”
There was a moment of silence. “Be careful, Madison. You can’t trust him one inch. I think you’re foolish to allow this, and if I were you, I’d call the deal off tomorrow. The treasure won’t be worth whatever he’s up to. You can believe that he is up to something more than wanting his ancestors’ remains and an old deed that might not ever stand up in court.”
“I’ll be careful,” she said patiently, wishing he hadn’t found out and hoping he didn’t hear about the felled tree on the bridge. “I have Darren and Stoney with me. We’ll be careful and they’ve been warned to watch him and his three men.”
“You think about what I’ve said—you should just run him off.”
“He’s shared his map with me because I said he could do this. It will be brief, probably three or four days.”
“Be very careful. You should know you ca
n’t trust him in any way.”
“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”
“That goes with being a dad,” he said. “Think about what I’ve said and tell him you’ve changed your mind. No good can come of this.”
“All right.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“I will. Thanks, Dad,” she said far more cheerfully than she felt. As they said goodbye, she stared into space, seeing Jake’s dark eyes and remembering moments during the day. Was there a reason to be suspicious? Was he truthful or deceitful? Had she been taken in again? And which person had reported to her father? Someone left behind, or Darren or Stoney?
In all of this, just who could she trust?
* * *
As Jake returned from dropping the men off at the bunkhouse, he saw a familiar pickup heading toward his back door. He got out of the truck and waited while his younger sister pulled up beside him and got out.
“Hi. Did I come at a bad time?” she asked.
“Never,” he said, smiling at her. Six years older than Lindsay, he felt like a second dad to her. He watched her walk through the gate—the only blonde Calhoun as well as the only blue-eyed Calhoun, but she had the Calhoun bone structure, their height and their deep love of ranching.
Her sandy-blond hair was in a thick braid that hung over her shoulder.
“I had an errand anyway, so I swung by. I thought you’d be back and I wanted to see how the search went today.”
“Come in and we’ll have a beer while I give you the details. But I can tell you right now, we didn’t find any treasure, bones or deed.”
“You’re just getting started.”
“Thank you for being kind enough to keep from telling me I’m on a hunt that is hopeless.”
She grinned. “I’m glad you’re doing it. It would be fabulous if you found the deed. That would be sweet revenge and serve the Milans right for all the things they’ve done.”
“Let it go, Lindsay.”
“I can’t let it go with Tony Milan. If I ever catch him on my ranch I’ve got buckshot and I intend to let him have it.”
“Lindsay, listen to me. Don’t do it. I don’t want to bail you out of jail over something stupid like that. Take him to court—follow legal channels against trespassing. Don’t go off half-cocked and do something you’ll regret.”
“Then he needs to stay off my ranch.”
Jake caught her shoulders and turned her to face him. “I mean it. Don’t get yourself in trouble over a Milan.”
“Sometimes, Jake, you are such a wet blanket,” she said, wriggling out of his grasp.
“Yeah, well, dealing with me is still a whole lot better than standing up in front of Judge Milan.”
“Judge Milan is in Dallas and he would have to recuse himself. Don’t get your coattails in a twist. I won’t go after Tony with buckshot, but he can be really annoying, and at the last horse auction, he was there and outbid me for a horse I wanted and— Don’t you smile. When he trespasses, I can’t call the sheriff because the sheriff is his brother. Sheriff Milan is not going to do one thing to harm his brother.”
“No, he probably won’t. Why is Tony trespassing?”
She sighed. “He has when one of his animals gets into my pasture. We had a fence go down and his stock overgrazed that section before I found out—”
“He has to get his livestock back, Lindsay. You don’t have a case. Cut him some slack. I just want you to be protected. Don’t give the sheriff an excuse to cause you trouble.”
“I hope you find that deed and it gives you acres and acres of Milan land.”
“You’re too bitter, Lindsay. You’re the youngest Calhoun, but you sound like Granddad.”
“Tony Milan is like a pesky fly you can’t swat. Enough about them. Tell me about today.” Her long legs kept pace with him as they went to Jake’s back door and entered the house.
“I have to shower, Lindsay,” he said as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. “I’m filthy and hot.”
“Sure. Go shower. I’ll get the beers.”
He left, hurrying to shower quickly and dress. He didn’t want to keep her waiting and he was ready to sit and relax.
He found her on the patio. With the setting of the sun the weather had cooled. He had enough lights to illuminate his patio and enough of the kinds of plants and lights to repel bugs.
He sat half facing her. “I’m ready for that beer.”
“You talked Madison into letting you search for Calhoun ancestors’ bones. How was it today when you had to go with her?”
“It was fine. We can both keep the old anger and ill feelings in check. We’ve had a lot of years to get accustomed to the idea and to practice.”
“You haven’t been around her during that time. You haven’t even spoken to her since that night her dad threatened you.”
“No, I haven’t, not until this past week. We didn’t find anything today, but we’re just getting started and I’m hopeful there’s a thread of truth to the old legend.”
“It could be true in every way and a big treasure could be buried on their ranch, but finding it may be impossible after all these years. Especially if it is buried around Rocky Creek the way you think it might be. Creeks change course over the years, unfortunately.”
“I’m hopeful, and with her men and mine, we’ve got a large enough crew to cover a good-size area.”
“Well, I’ll keep hoping.” She sipped her beer and gazed at his pool.
“How’s the ranch?” he asked, always slightly amazed by his baby sister buying a sizable ranch and then running it herself. She had a fine foreman, but Lindsay did a man’s work daily on the ranch. All of them had a strong love of ranching, particularly Mike and Lindsay, who lived all the time on their ranches.
“Everything is fine.”
“Good deal. I’ll put steaks on the grill if you’ll stay.”
“Sure. Let me help,” she said, getting up to walk to the kitchen with him.
They talked about ranching all through dinner and as soon as she put the last dish in the dishwasher she turned to him.
“I’d better go now. I know you’ve probably got emails and texts and things to answer since you’ve been away from the office so long. You’ll be up and going early tomorrow, I guess.”
He nodded. “Be glad to have you stay.”
“Thanks but I’ve got to go.”
He walked beside her to her car.
“Good luck with this, Jake. I sure hope you find that deed.”
“I do, too. I’d like to face Pete Milan with it. I’ll have to settle for handing it over to his daughter, but the judge will hear about it. If we find it,” he added.
She slid behind the wheel and he closed her door.
“Thanks for coming by. It’s always good to see you, Lindsay.”
“Send me a text if you find anything.”
“I will. All of you will get one. I dug as much and as fast as I could today and I will again every day. This is our chance to hunt for that deed.”
“Night, Jake. Thanks for the steak.”
He stepped back from the pickup and watched her drive out of sight, the red taillights disappearing around a curve, before he turned to go into the house.
He wanted to look once more at the maps and aerial photos. He hoped they weren’t missing the right location. He longed to get the deed and get some Milan land. It would be payback, but also, it might be a dandy place to drill.
He thought about Madison. Part of him hadn’t ever gotten over her. He still couldn’t view her the way he did other women he had dated and then told goodbye.
This opportunity had come when he didn’t have a woman in his life. Maybe that heightened the impact of seeing her. In spite of all his hurt and anger over the
years, she still made his heart pound and he had to battle desire.
She still felt something, too. It was obvious. She wasn’t happy that she did. That was also obvious. Anger simmered in her constantly, little flares of it showing, although he thought they both were doing a commendable job of being civil to each other.
He wanted her, wanted to kiss her, to seduce her. In spite of his fury, his body still responded to her.
Could he seduce her and then walk away? Perhaps the anger would enable him to do that. Time would tell.
* * *
Her room was still cloaked in predawn darkness when her cell phone rang. Madison reached for the phone and groaned. She ached all over.
“Good morning.” Jake’s voice was cheerful, filled with eagerness and energy, and she wanted to hang up on him. “Are you going today?”
“Yes,” she mumbled and heard him chuckle.
“A little sore?”
“Yes, I am.” She made an effort to try to stay awake.
“I hate to say, ‘I told you so.’ I can give you a rubdown if you want me to come early this morning.”
“No,” she said, coming more awake. “How can you be so cheerful?”
He laughed softly. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
She switched off her phone and sat up, groaning and rubbing her shoulder. “Ugh.” She could imagine Jake arriving looking fresh and energetic and eager to go. With a whimper she stepped out of bed. The smell of coffee was faint and she guessed Jessie Lou already had breakfast ready. Moving carefully, Madison headed to her closet to get her clothes for the day.
When she entered the kitchen, more tempting smells filled the house. “Good morning,” she told Jessie Lou, who turned and pushed glasses up her nose with her wrist.
“Morning. This is an early start.”
“Everything smells good.”
“Help yourself. I’ll cut and toast some of my bread and get you an egg right away. There’s orange juice.”
“I told Jake he and his men could stay here tonight. He accepted the offer and he’ll be here for dinner.”