Callahan's Gold (Southwest Desert Series Book 3)

by Mary Tate Engels

  They stopped again, this time to inspect a time-ravaged adobe structure used by miners seeking that elusive gold.

  "This cabin was built over a hundred years ago by a German mining engineer named Brunckow. He used this very fireplace to assay his ore before Tombstone was a town. But old Brunckow never got to enjoy his wealth because he and his men were murdered right here on this spot."

  "Murdered here?" Tory looked around as if to find some clue to the crime. There was nothing, just the wind whistling through vacant window frames.

  "It's rumored that as many as seventeen men were killed on this property over the years. That's why Brunckow's cabin is known as the bloodiest cabin massacre in Arizona. But the mine here produced enough gold to sustain and encourage those determined miners who came after him."

  Tory looked at the worn walls of the forlorn building, and a chill ran through her. "Are you trying to scare me off, Dodge?"

  "Not at all, Tory. But I want you to realize that this may be a dangerous mission into the mountains. When word gets around that there's gold to be found, you never know what can happen. It's just a fact, proved by history."

  "I don't scare easily, Dodge."

  "Good. Because only those who were determined enough to rough it out found their treasure."

  "If it's there, I expect we'll find it."

  He caught her eye. "You don't really think it's there, do you?"

  "Not really," Tory admitted as she let her fingers trail over the gritty adobe bricks. "But I'm willing to go along with the game, just in case."

  "Damn!" he muttered. "Craziest thing I've ever heard. This trip up the mountain won't be a picnic, Tory. I'll be hanged if I'd bother with it if I didn't know—for certain—there was gold waiting for me!"

  "And you know for certain there's gold?"

  He looked at her coolly for a moment. "Yes ... I know it."

  She gave him a smooth, easy smile. "Well, your confidence is enough for me, Dodge. Shall we go?"

  He followed her to the Blazer, studying the young woman who was the offspring of Sharkey Carsen. Obviously, Tory Carsen Talbot had a mind of her own and was quite determined and opinionated. Like her father.

  He had to give her credit for having enough spunk to leave her familiar life and travel to this godforsaken place. It seemed strange, though, that on something as important—and possibly dangerous—as trekking up the mountain after gold, she was willing to defer to him. She claimed she didn't believe there was any gold. But, Dodge wondered, maybe that's what she wanted him to believe.

  At any rate, all this only made him want to know more about her.

  Later that afternoon, loaded with enough jeans, shirts, and jackets to keep Tory warm and comfortable for at least a week in the mountains, they piled back into the Blazer.

  "Tomorrow we'll get supplies. I'm in charge of bringing food," Dodge said as he shifted into gear. "But now, I'm starved, Tory. How about you?"

  "After that huge breakfast, I thought I'd never want to eat again, but it sounds like a good idea." She smiled comfortably and slumped back in the seat.

  "I know a place near here that fixes great bison steaks."

  "No more buffalo meat!" she cried, laughing. "Don't you know some place that serves regular food? You know, salads and vegetables?"

  "You aren't a vegetarian, are you?"

  "No, but I also don't think a person needs to eat red meat two or three times a day."

  "Watching your weight?"

  "Well, in my business, it helps to make a good appearance."

  "What is your business, Tory?"

  "I have a boutique in L.A. that caters to tall women, called Tall and Terrific."

  "A place for tall women, huh? Guess I never thought of them as being a market by themselves."

  "Oh, yes, women over five feet seven or so can't just walk into any store and find clothes that fit properly. They have particular needs that aren't met by the average ready-to-wear garments."

  "Do you?" His traitorous eyes scanned her length. "You're quite tall."

  "Of course. My legs are very long, and it's hard to find slacks long enough."

  One of his almond eyes squinted as he assessed her legs. "Very nice. And slim and, uh, have a good shape. Good muscles." He paused and cleared his throat. "Uh, the Lucky Cuss in Tombstone is a pretty good restaurant."

  "The Lucky what?"

  "The Lucky Cuss. It's named after a gold mine. The man who found gold in his diggings was a darned 'lucky cuss.'"

  "Do you think we will, Dodge?"

  He looked at her and nodded. "I sure do. Wouldn't bother with going if I didn't."

  Tory glanced at the straight-lined profile of Dodge Callahan while he drove and realized that she trusted him even though she barely knew him. Maybe her father wasn't such a bad judge of character, after all.

  Dinner at the Lucky Cuss was another step back in time. The place looked like a restaurant that could easily have served Wyatt Earp and his contemporaries a hundred years ago. And probably did!

  "I feel as though I'm dressed inappropriately for this occasion," Tory said as they finished eating. "I should be wearing a hoop skirt with a bustle and carrying a parasol."

  "Some of the ladies around here do. They even have an organization called The Vigilettes who do style shows and perform in various historical activities throughout the year. And there's a dancing group, too." Dodge motioned to the waiter for coffee refills. "But that kind of outfit wouldn't be right for you."

  "No? Why not?"

  "All that material would hide your long legs. And they're too gorgeous to hide."

  "That, Mr. Callahan, sounds like a sexist statement."

  "I meant it as an honest statement, from an honest man admiring a beautiful woman."

  She let the comment pass and sipped the strong coffee, then steered the conversation toward Dodge. He aroused more than a little of her curiosity. "What are you doing here, Dodge?" Tory looked at him thoughtfully. "Are you like the others? Do you enjoy this historical atmosphere, the feeling this time warp gives you?"

  He scratched his chin. "I came here for one reason. To strike it rich."

  She cocked her head. "You're admitting to being a gold digger?"

  "Pure and simple." He shrugged with a devil-may-care attitude. "I'm a sun seeker of the first order."

  "Somehow you just don't seem like the type to—"

  "To want to make a fortune without working?"

  "Well . . . yes."

  "Why not? I tried the other route, and it backfired in my face."

  "You mean you had a regular job? How did it backfire?"

  "Oh, it was fine for a few years. I was a mineral geologist working for copper mines. Excuse me, I'm still a geologist, only now an unemployed, unemployable one. When the recession hit Arizona, the mines couldn't produce copper cheaply enough to compete with foreign markets. Many of them began closing and whole towns folded."

  "Sounds awful." Tory's blue eyes grew soft and curious.

  "For someone like me, with such a limited area of expertise, finding another job was practically impossible, unless I wanted to move to a foreign country. So I went back to college to upgrade my degree and get a teaching certificate."

  "That's where you met my father, Sharkey?"

  Dodge nodded. "We hit it off right away. We both decided we knew enough about the minerals in the area to believe that gold, more than has already been found, is still in the earth. So we set out to find it."

  "My God, it sounds like a fairy tale." She shook her head in disbelief at Dodge's story.

  Dodge raised his hand and pledged comically, "Honest-to-God truth. Now I'll admit that Sharkey was more diligent about the whole thing than me. Occasionally, I took time out to earn a little money by teaching a semester or two at the local junior college."

  "Obviously, not having any money didn't bother him a bit."

  "Yeah. Or maybe he sensed he was running out of time and wanted to push for it."

  Tory puzzle
d over Dodge's assessment. "Do you really think he sensed his death?"

  "Not in the way you think," Dodge amended quickly. "I just meant that he was getting on in years and wanted to try and reach some unattained goals."

  "He was over seventy." She sipped her coffee in silence and thought about a lonely man seeking goals.

  "Well, enough about the past." Dodge shoved his cup aside. "Ready to go, Tory?"

  "Huh? Oh, yes, certainly." Something made her want to delay ending the evening, which was silly. They'd spent the entire day together, and it was time to go. "It's getting late and . . . Here, let me pay my share."

  Dodge resolutely refused. "In old Tombstone, a lady is a lady and a gentleman pays."

  With a gentle laugh, Tory decided to acquiesce this time. She took his offered arm, noting its muscled strength, and strolled across the wooden plank floor. "Do you mean that freedom for women hasn't come to Tombstone, Dodge?"

  He threw his head back and laughed. "The women in this town have always been independent and self-sufficient."

  "Dodge Callahan, I think you're a holdover from the Wild West days."

  "And you, Tory? What are you if not a product of one of those holdovers?"

  "You think so?" She laughed inwardly. There was no way she was anything like he claimed. Tory Talbot was independent, her own person, completely in charge of her life. And she liked it that way.

  They drove out to the old trailer where her rental car was parked. She made a motion to open the car door. Reluctant to leave, she paused and gazed gratefully at him. "Thank you for helping me shop today, Dodge. And for everything—dinner tonight, even the beefalo whatever this morning. Today has been . . . nice. Very nice."

  He looked at her and smiled softly. For a moment, she fell under his masculine spell. His brown eyes were like chocolate, shining with pleasure, his lips slightly parted and appealing. The mustache shrouded his lips darkly.

  Oh, God, what was wrong with her? She found this man extremely attractive. No, he was more than that. He was alluring and downright irresistible.

  She wanted to feel his lips on hers, to know the sweet caress of his breath on her cheek, to respond to the warmth of his masculinity. She wanted him close. She craved his kiss and leaned forward and waited as his energy enfolded her and he edged closer . . .

  The strength Tory had expected claimed her lips as his mouth melted over hers. There was no resistance to her invitation, for Dodge Callahan was a man to take advantage of every opportunity. And she had certainly offered that opportunity.

  However, the warmth that radiated between them and engulfed her was more than she had anticipated. More than she had experienced in a long time. Suddenly, she felt like soft clay, ready and willing to be shaped and formed into whatever Dodge's hands chose to do with her.

  Dodge was the first to pull back, although his eyes were hooded with desire and his lips smiling with the sweet taste of her. "Oh, yes, Tory, nice . . . very nice. But I – "

  "Me, too."

  "I know. You have to go. And you should."

  "I—uh—don't intend for this to happen again." She looked down at her tightly clinched hands, suddenly angry about her response to him.

  "No? Now, that's a shame. Looks to me like we two matched up perfectly."

  "No, we didn't. It was a spontaneous moment. I, uh, had better get my packages and go."

  Silently, he helped her load her newly acquired clothes into her rented car. "I'll pick you up Friday, Tory, and we'll head up the mountain. Plan on staying about two weeks."

  "Yes," she said, nodding weakly. "Friday."

  He waved as she pulled away. When she disappeared from sight, Dodge felt strangely empty and alone. Damned curious woman, he thought. Maybe I was a fool to fall for her sex appeal. But she gave me that look, that damned feminine invitation that said "It's okay this time." And, oh, God, I wanted to consume her with everything I have.

  He ambled toward the trailer and felt an eerie glow, almost as if someone were there. He glanced around shakily, half expecting a form to appear around the corner of the old tin building. But who? "Sharkey? No, that's ridiculous," he scoffed aloud in a low mumble.

  He sat on the doorstep and gazed skyward. The immense black sky overhead was sprinkled with a million distant stars, glittering as they had for millions of years. Even in the midst of such enormous grandeur, Dodge couldn't shake thoughts of Tory. She made him feel as he hadn't felt for many years. He was definitely attracted to her.

  Today, in spite of her tough facade, she had seemed vulnerable, in need of help. Or a friend. Or both.

  Dodge saw himself as her protector, her defender. Responsibility for this attractive young woman now rested on his shoulders—had been given to him by Sharkey. And he wanted to assume this responsibility with all his energy.

  And undeniably, the man in him wanted to possess her completely with his body.

  Tory was still thinking of Dodge's kiss when she arrived at her motel. With arms full of packages, she struggled to unlock the door to her lonely little room. Kicking the door open, she staggered inside and dumped her things on the floor.

  But when she switched the light on, she drew back in horror.

  Everything in the room had been turned upside down and inside out. Pillows, dresser drawers, bed covers, suitcases, and clothes lay in complete disarray. A cool breeze, deceptively peaceful, ruffled the curtain at the open window beside the bed.

  Someone had broken into her room and searched every item there! She backed out the door. Could the intruder still be hiding in the bathroom?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Tory was panic-stricken. One person should know about this; only one person in Tombstone could help her! She had to get away and drove erratically.

  She pounded frantically on the rickety trailer door. "Dodge! Dodge? Are you in there? Please, help me!"

  "Tory, what's wrong?" He threw open the door, filling the framed space with his half-clad body. His masculine muscular form was outlined in huge relief by a backlight from a small lamp somewhere behind him. "Are you all right? What happened?"

  "Oh, God, Dodge, I'm scared. I wasn't scared, even with all the things you showed me today. The gold mines that left deep holes in the ground and how the Indians knocked everybody off . . . Nothing bothered me . . . until. . . until now—" She halted in her hysterical rambling and breathed heavily.

  "Come on in and slow down. Calm down, Tory. Tell me what happened." He pulled her inside and closed the door. His large hands gripped her arms, and he looked at her intently. She was pale and her lips were thin and slightly purple from panting.

  Those beautiful blue eyes were wide with outright fear. She needed help, needed him. His eyes implored her. "Tory? Tell me! Get with it, here!"

  She nodded silently and drew in a sobbing breath. "You're right. I'm out of control."

  When her frightened eyes reached his, he could resist her no longer and pulled her firmly against his chest. Wrapping his long arms around her shivering slender form, he murmured soothing words and held her close for a little while.

  She buried her face against his bare chest, grateful for the warm strength she found in him. He was solid and strong, a fortress she could trust, a man who knew what to do in the face of a crisis. A man whose masculine body fragrance accosted her senses, whose soothing words rumbled through her. Oh, God, she was clinging to Dodge's bare torso, and she had to be the one to break this embrace.

  When she shifted in his arms, Dodge realized she was calmer. Calm enough to stand alone without his arms wrapped securely around her. Reluctantly, he loosened his hold, releasing her at her own pace, which was wonderfully slow. Just being that close to her was sheer torture for him. But he could do nothing about that now. She needed his security, not his passion.

  "Now, tell me what happened."

  "My room ... at the motel . . . has been wrecked. My things are everywhere, and the window—the window is open. Someone broke into my room! They're obviously looking for somet
hing, and they left the place in a terrible mess! I'm not even sure if they're gone!"

  "You think they're still there?"

  "I . . . don't know. Probably not. By now."

  "Was anything taken?"

  "I don't know."

  "Did you call the police? Or the motel management?"

  She shook her head. "Didn't take time. I was too afraid. Wanted to get out of there. I wanted you to know first."

  "Good." He turned away and raked a huge hand through his already disheveled hair. "I need to think this through. Let's decide what to do here. Whether to call the police or not. Whether to do anything. Decide what this relates to."

  "The gold, of course."

  He looked at her quickly. Then a slow smile spread across his angular face. "Yep. I think you're exactly right. We probably should go back and see if they took anything—"

  "I don't think so," she answered levelly. "There was nothing to take. Oh, they made a mess of my clothes, but I had no jewelry, no money. Everything's with me."

  His dark eyes narrowed. "The map?"

  She nodded and patted her purse. "Right here. But if this is what they're after, I don't want the damned thing. Please take it." She opened her purse and lifted the folded piece of paper.

  "You sure you want me to be responsible for this?"

  "Positive."

  "I'll be glad to take the responsibility away from you, especially if you'll feel better about it."

  "I will. Definitely."

  He grinned with renewed appreciation and took the map. "You're beginning to get the hang of this, city lady. I think you've got a smart head on your shoulders."

  "Well, it stands to reason. Everybody at the table—and probably everybody in town by now— knew a map was given to me and that I walked off with it in my purse."

  "You aren't assuming that the guilty party is someone around that table yesterday at the reading of the will?"

  She shrugged. "Well, who else?"

  Again he raked his hand through his hair. "Hell, I don't know, but I can't see any of them doing such a thing. Why, they're Sharkey's closest friends."

  "You said yourself gold does funny things to people, Dodge. Maybe the prospects of finding it changed one of them. Maybe he—or she—wants it all."