“You’re going to have another shiner, I bet,” Warren said.
His lover had moved them both a little away from what was left of the fire. Baker had pretty much smothered it out when he’d fallen into it.
Since they were close to them, he moved over to ensure their horses were uninjured. Fortunately, Baker hadn’t repeated Amanda’s action of setting the animals free. They quivered, obviously disturbed by the fight and gunshots, but they were unhurt and calmed once Adam came near them.
“He’s likely up on that ridge, there.” Warren pointed to the same ridge they’d first seen the cave from, its hulky shape just visible in now.
“Likely.” He turned to Amanda. “Stay here, sweetheart. Warren and I will check it out.”
He smiled when mutiny crossed her face, then vanished. Warren had stepped over to where they’d stored their gear, just on the other side of the animals and pulled on his pants. Adam reached for their rifles.
“Here,” he said, handing Amanda her rifle. “Shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said as she levered a round into the chamber and Adam knew she’d be fine. He glanced at Warren, who’d grabbed his own rifle. When he nodded, they set off, on foot, keeping to the shadows but making their way steadily toward the nearby ridge.
They moved quietly, and Adam’s every sense searched the lessening dark of pre-dawn. As they drew closer to the ridge, he heard the sound of two horses snuffing.
With Warren behind him, he moved forward, upward, until they’d gained the top of the rock, until they stood once more on level ground.
Streaks of pinky blue painted the eastern sky, and Adam realized that while he and Warren had been climbing, the sun had neared daybreak just enough to allow them to see the ground around them.
The horses had been tethered, still saddled, and stood silently under a tree. They nibbled grass, unconcerned about the approach of men.
They saw him at the same time, Warren’s touch alerting him to that fact. Adam approached, his gun drawn, ready.
The figure on the ground lay unnaturally still. Adam sank to one knee beside him, searched for a pulse.
“Dead,” Adam said.
“I figured,” Warren replied.
Adam got to his feet, looked at the animals. “Might as well ride back to camp,” Adam said. “As soon as we pile some rocks over Bodine here.”
Half an hour later, under the dawn’s burgeoning sun, Adam and Warren rode back down the ridge, the horses’ gaits steady as they approached the camp.
Amanda sat on the ground with her back resting against the rock. She hadn’t tried to get the fire going, and he couldn’t blame her for that.
Colin Baker’s body lay exposed and mutilated right beside their fire pit.
Despite that, as he drew close to Amanda, he felt himself returning his woman’s very wide smile. “Well, what’s put you in such a cheery mood?” he asked.
“Don’t you think the fact that we’re all alive and unhurt, and the bad guys are dead is reason enough to smile?”
“You’re right. Those are pretty good reasons to smile,” Adam said.
“Adam?” Amanda’s voice sounded tired to him.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Could we maybe move the fire ring over this way a bit?”
“Warren and I will get right on that. Just let us clean up the mess we made, first.
* * * *
It took the men a couple of hours to clean up that mess. Amanda figured some folks might think her a coward, but she didn’t care. She was all for doing her share, but she didn’t figure her share included burying a man with half of his head shot off.
When they returned, they both looked grim.
“We found another couple caves,” Warren said as he set about making a new fire.
“A couple more caves?”
“Yeah,” Adam said. “Three more, to be precise, and they all appear similar to this one.”
“But I thought that map drawing Chief Smith gave us showed that ridge over there and this cave.”
“So did I,” Adam said. “But if you take this cave we’re at as being the ridge, then it could be any one of the caves on the other side of this rock.”
“Well, hell.”
Warren sat back on his haunches as the fire began to burn. “We’ll have coffee first, let the sun finish coming all the way up and take the chill off, and then we’ll go exploring.”
“I’m going to go freshen up by the stream and get dressed properly,” Amanda got to her feet and stretched.
“You want company?”
Adam’s smile promised delights, but Amanda shook her head. “No, thanks, Adam. I just need a few minutes.”
She caught the way he’d sent a glance to Warren, but couldn’t get herself overly worked up about it. Three more caves. Maybe the gold just isn’t there anymore. It was hard not to feel discouraged. She supposed she’d had it in her head that they would just go to the right cave, find the gold, and that would be that.
Why would I think it was going to be easy when absolutely nothing in my life has been so far? She really should have known better.
As she waded into the river and scooped water over herself, her gaze rested on the two men she’d fallen in love with. Once this adventure of theirs was over, of course, she’d have to say good-bye to them. There really was no place for her here in this wild and untamed country.
The thought of leaving them hurt her heart, but she couldn’t see any way around it.
Adam reached out and ran his hand down Warren’s back. That simple gesture of caring and love made her smile. At least when she was back in Richmond, they’d still have each other. That was some consolation, at least.
Less than an hour later Amanda felt her spirits drop as they set out to explore the other caves. As soon as they rounded the edge of the hill the first cave had been in, she saw two caves, laid out as if in a row, with a fall of rock between them.
“The other is just around to the other side. We tried to get a good look earlier, but decided we’d all explore together,” Adam said.
“I suppose if you climbed atop the small mountain that first cave is in, this might resemble the drawing Chief Smith gave us,” Amanda said.
“Sometimes the memory fades a bit as we age.” Warren stopped for a moment and adjusted his hat. “Likely the chief drew us the best map he could.”
“Not only that, it’s been more than a few years since he was here. There can be small earth tremors which can cause some of the rock formations to shift,” Adam said.
“I guess we won’t know until we look,” Amanda said.
The first cave had a yawning entrance, wide but not very tall, with no shrub or other rocks blocking the way. Adam and Warren had both drawn their revolvers. She didn’t have to wonder why when she heard a rattle coming from inside the cave.
“Stay close,” Adam said. “There’s no telling how many snakes might be in here.”
Amanda shivered. She hated snakes and, as it turned out, there were several inside the cave. Though the interior seemed a good size, there were no ells or small tunnels leading to larger caverns. Neither was there an overhang, or sign there had ever been one.
The second cave’s entrance had brush and a small tree partially blocking the entrance, which appeared taller than the last, but not as wide. This cave seemed promising, because there was one tunnel inside it. They waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim light, and set off to see how far the tunnel went.
“If it’s too far, we’ll backtrack and make ourselves some torches,” Adam said.
Amanda thought that was a good idea. But the tunnel ended before they’d gone barely twenty feet. As far as they could tell, there’d been no cave-in to block the way. The tunnel just ended.
Backtracking, they soon decided this cave was not the one.
“Let’s try the third, then.”
Amanda counted it luck they didn’t see any other large caves as th
ey neared this last one. It didn’t take them long to decide this one wasn’t a good candidate to hide a treasure in gold. At first, Amanda thought this one might be the one, because standing before the entrance on a piece of level ground, she thought her surroundings looked a lot like the first cave—the one that in her mind she thought of as their cave. But it didn’t take long to know this wasn’t the one. The opening was tall, and wide, but the interior of the cave wasn’t very deep.
“Does it even qualify as a cave?” Amanda asked. Standing at the mouth of the formation, she could nearly reach out and touch the back wall.
“Technically. It doesn’t look like a cave-in has made it smaller, either,” Adam said.
“So we go back to our cave and start digging,” Warren said.
“Looks like we do,” Adam agreed.
“I hardly know where to start,” Amanda said a little while later as she eyed the large pile of rubble before her.
“There’re quite a few smaller pieces. We’ll just pick a place and start with them. Let’s form a line. I’ll grab a rock, pass it to you, you pass it to Warren, and we’ll see what we can find.” Adam said.
Amanda didn’t mind getting her hands dirty, and she didn’t mind hard work. She stood between Adam and Warren, and they soon developed a rhythm.
“You’ve never said a word about what you’ll do with your half of the gold, sweetheart,” Warren said.
Amanda spared him a quick glance. “I really haven’t given it much thought, to tell you the truth,” Amanda said. “I tend not to count my chickens before they’re hatched.”
“That’s probably wise,” Adam said. “But you must have some idea what you want to do with it. Half that treasure is going to make you a very wealthy woman.”
Amanda did have a few ideas, because it was hard not to dream a little when she thought about the possibility of that much money. “There are still a couple of old plantation homes outside of Richmond that are vacant. I thought I’d buy one for Momma and me. Then she could live the life of a real demimonde, the way some women who are courtesans do in England and France. I think she’d like having a big house away from the city proper. What about you?”
She looked up because Adam hadn’t passed her another rock.
“You’re going back to Richmond?” Adam looked surprised.
“Why wouldn’t I? Richmond is my home.”
“Why wouldn’t you?” Warren asked. “How about because we’re here, and we love you?”
Amanda had hoped to put off this conversation until they’d returned to her cousin’s house.
She looked from Adam, to Warren, hoping they would see her sincerity. “I love you both too. I told you I had no idea where this was going or what to do about it. But I do know we don’t have a future, really. You can see that, can’t you?”
“Hell, no.” Adam hurled the rock he’d been holding back into the pile. When he put his hands on her shoulders, when he gave her a small shake, she didn’t even blink. She felt his frustration but didn’t feel afraid of him. “We can have a future. If you want one.”
“There’s no place for me here. What would I do?” Amanda couldn’t stay calm. How could they not know she’d give anything to be able to think of a way to make their relationship work? “I’m the daughter of a courtesan. At least in Richmond I have a business with a clientele that counts on my being who I am, and my discretion. What do I have here?”
“You have us,” Warren said.
“We’re not finished discussing this,” Adam said.
“Adam, look.” Warren’s tone sounded strange.
“You think we should just let her walk away from this? From us?”
Amanda felt the heat of both men, they stood so close to her. She felt the power of their love and the passion of their conviction. She turned her gaze to Warren, but he wasn’t looking at either of them.
He was looking at the pile of rocks they’d been picking from. Drawn by the expression on his face, she looked there, too.
“Son of a bitch,” Adam said.
Stepping closer to the pile he bent down and picked up what had snagged Warren’s attention, rubbing it with his thumb, and holding it in the daylight streaming through the mouth of the cave so they both could see it.
The ten dollar gold coin glimmered softly in the sun.
Chapter 24
“Are you sure this is going to work?” Amanda asked.
Adam saw the look of anxiety on her face. He followed her gaze to the stick of dynamite with its restored and very short wick.
“Of course it will work,” he assured her. “I’m a Ranger. I know these things.”
“You use dynamite in the course of your duties as a Texas Ranger?” Amanda asked.
“Adam, I don’t think she believes you,” Warren said.
Adam turned to look at his other lover. He narrowed his eyes at him because Warren had voiced his opinion around a chuckle.
He supposed he should know better than to try and fool Amanda. The woman had a very vital, very intelligent mind—except, of course, when she was spouting bullshit about there being no place for her with them.
“Look, we can’t just light a fire under the dynamite by itself. You need the wick in order to ignite it. We’ve shoved it back in, and the only way to light such a short wick safely is this way.”
They’d decided not to dig any more. There weren’t that many small rocks left. The rest were boulders that would tax them sorely to move them. Even using their ropes and the horses, it would be a challenge to move enough of them without taking days to do it.
They had this stick of dynamite, so why not use it?
He’d shoved it in a crevasse between two large boulders. Then they’d built a pile of kindling, made up of twigs and dry grass, in a mound atop another rock and under the explosive.
Since their campfire still burned, they had a source of fire.
Adam looked over to where they’d moved the horses and the rest of their gear. He held a stick around which he’d wrapped a strip torn from Amanda’s chemise.
“Warren, take Amanda over by the horses. I’ll light this bastard, and then we’ll see what’s what.”
“You be careful, Adam Kendall,” Amanda said. She grabbed his head, and pulled him down into a hard, but delectable kiss.
“What she said,” Warren said, then leaned in and kissed him too.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got an argument to win.” He let his gaze meet Amanda’s. When she turned and walked away with Warren, he had the satisfaction of knowing, from the look on her face, that she knew he meant it.
He waited until his lovers were safely away. Then he stuck his improvised torch into the fire.
It caught quickly, and he moved with purpose into the cave, to where the dynamite was lodged.
Inhaling deeply, he stretched his arm out, and touched the torch to the pile of kindling.
He didn’t expect the whoosh of the dry brush catching so quickly. His eyes widened as he realized the entire pile had caught almost instantly into a fierce and tall blaze.
He turned and ran like hell.
He was just out of the cave when the dynamite exploded, the noise terrific, the force from the blast pushing him forward and then to the ground.
“Adam!”
Amanda’s scream warmed his heart even as he hoped like hell Warren had a hold of her.
“I’m all right!” He called to them, despite that he felt a few more areas of his body smarting. It would likely take him a couple of months for all the insults and injuries he’d suffered on this adventure to heal.
The cloud of dust that came out of the cave began to dissipate. His lovers joined him and they waited together for the last of the dust to settle.
Together they walked to the entrance of the cave and took a few cautious steps inside. A hole had been blown where the dynamite had been wedged, a good sized hole they’d have no trouble fitting through. Beyond the newly gaping maw, the view appeared shadowy and dark. Warren turned an
d retrieved the makeshift torch Adam had used to light the fuse. There wasn’t much of Amanda’s chemise left on it, but the thing had gone out when it had hit the ground. Warren re-lit it and brought it forward, inserting it through the hole to light the interior.
In one corner, along the wall, laid out in a row, were the remains of the soldiers who’d accompanied Amanda’s father on his final duty as a Confederate officer. And there, just on the other side of the makeshift grave, stacked against a wall in neat piles, bars of gold bullion reflected back the light of the small torch.
“Well now, Miss Dupree,” Adam said. “I do believe we’ve found your legacy.”
“Our legacy,” Amanda said. “We agreed to split it, half for the two of you, half for me.” She frowned and looked up at Adam. “But how in the heck are we going to get it back to Texas?”
Adam smiled. “Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
* * * *
Amanda ached in places she’d never ached before.
“I had no idea gold would be so heavy,” she said. Sprawled by the fire, dinner a memory, Amanda watched the flames as she sipped the coffee Warren had made.
Adam was shaking out their bedrolls, just in case some of the stone dust from the explosion earlier had gotten caught in the fibers. He put them together upwind of the fire.
Warren had taken the coffee pot off the fire and replaced it with the cooking pot.
“I’m heating some water,” he said when she met his gaze.
“Why?”
“So we can take care of you,” Adam said. He came over to her and slipped his arms around her, lifting her to her feet.
Warren relieved her of the coffee cup, and Adam bent down and laid his lips on hers. She tasted only passion in his kiss. Whatever anger he’d felt earlier seemed to have evaporated.
Amanda didn’t kid herself into thinking he’d let the matter of their futures drop. His kiss seduced her and she gave in to it, and to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned into him and used her tongue to taste him, drink him into her so that he’d become a part of her.
Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Lawmen [The Lost Collection] (Siren Menage Everlasting) Page 20