“I like it with you here too.” He took a step closer, sexual energy coming off of him in waves. “And you already got a job, a place to live?”
Her clit throbbed between her legs. They'd never made it through a conversation without her wanting to drag him to the nearest horizontal location; hell, vertical would work too. “This is my audition, I guess you could say, so I better get back to it.”
“I'll be waiting.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the tattoo on the inside of her wrist.
A shiver skipped down her spine and made everything south of the border tingle. “What if I don't want to talk with you? It has been a month.”
“It's true I have a lot to make up for, but I think you'll give me an A-plus.” His thumb caressed the spot where his lips had been.
God, she didn't realize just how much she'd missed his touch. Since the day they met, they hadn't been able to keep their hands to themselves. It was as if their bodies had known this was something special long before their own stubborn wills were willing to admit it. Her stomach flipped and flopped. This was the beginning and she couldn't wait to get started.
“Give me fifteen minutes.”
Josie dropped off a few more orders, handed over her application to Claire and hunted down Sam in the dining room. She found him sitting at the bar in a side room, drinking a black cup of coffee.
Grinning like a fool in love, she sat down on the stool next to him. “Hey there, hot stuff.”
He didn't answer, but instead slid a wooden rectangle across the mahogany bar to her. The length of a business envelope, the intricately carved box had an inlaid oak R in the middle of the lid. She caressed the letter and recognition hit her like a splash of water.
Rebecca's Bounty. The cave. With everything that had happened, she’d completely forgotten about it.
“How'd you get this?”
“Hank's deputies recovered it as evidence. With Snips' death, he closed the case and released everything. I told him I'd bring this to you.”
“But it's not mine. This is your family's legacy.” She glanced out at his parents, laughing about something as they ate their lunches. “Your mom, she'll want it.”
“No. You found it. Whatever is in here, it's yours.”
“You haven't opened it?”
“It's not mine to open.”
Her hands shook as she fiddled with the latch. She pushed a lever and it clicked. The golden clasp popped open. Inside were several gold coins with the profile of a woman with flowing hair imprinted on them. She picked one up and held it in the palm of her hand. The word “liberty” and several stars were engraved on it, along with the year eighteen sixty-five.
Sam picked one of the coins up out of the box. “It's a Liberty Head gold coin. Rebecca must have brought them West with her from St. Louis.”
A large bleached canvas pouch lay to one side. Its heft surprised her when she lifted it from its spot. She carefully untied the string at the top and reached inside, only to touch dozens of cool stones with sharp edges. When she pulled one out, the large bright-green emerald with small diamonds surrounding it shone in the light.
“Her earrings.” She didn't even bother to try to keep the awe out of her voice.
“You should try them on.” Sam pushed a curl behind her ear, exposing her lobe to his perusal. Lust and something that looked a lot like love brought out the gold in his tawny eyes and his thumb stroked her bare ear and trailed down her neck.
Although they'd seen much more of each other, the intimacy of the moment shook her.
“No way. I don't have the best record as of late. I can't imagine what would happen to these babies if wore them.” She dropped the earring back in the pouch and handed it to Sam.
Only the velvet lining and a rolled-up piece of paper remained in Rebecca's treasure box. Slowly, she opened the scroll, revealing a charcoal sketch of McPherson's Bluff. With a few strokes Rebecca had managed to showcase the true depth and foreboding hope the bluff represented.
A chill sent goose bumps running up Josie's arms. “If it would be alright, I'd like to keep this.”
“It's all yours. Everyone in the family agrees that the treasure belongs to you. People have spent decades looking for Rebecca's Bounty and you're the one who found it.”
“But it's got to be worth—”
“A lot, yeah.” He shrugged his broad shoulders.
Her mind raced. The gold and jewelry had to be worth millions. There had to be enough value in Rebecca's Bounty to finance several decades of painting, if not a lifetime. She'd be able to help with her mother's medical bills.