by Serena Vale
“I know.” He whispered into her hair. “You have to go, but I can’t go with you.”
“And why not?” She said, her brows lowered again in a way that had him tightening his arms, just to make sure her hands wouldn’t be able to reach him.
“Because, I’ve found it.” It was impossible for him to keep the excitement out of his voice. “I finally found the treasure I’ve been searching for.”
Chapter 4
Sawyer stalked out into the California wilds, refusing to look behind him. He already knew what he would see. His stubborn, pigheaded, mule of a wife. He had tried to explain why she couldn’t come with, why she had to go. It was too dangerous, too unpredictable. And she was pregnant, for Christ’s sakes. What was she thinking this would be, a walk in the park?
But no, she had absolutely refused to let him leave her sight since he had found her riling up every one in Harry’s shop yesterday afternoon. She had even threatened him, with his own gun no less! She was going to come with, they were going to get the gold, and then they were going home. Those were her words exactly.
Not to mention that the gold with hidden in a cave on the side of the steepest mountain, there were rogues and outlaws and criminals every way you looked, and the one thing that he had purposefully kept silent on. He hadn’t exactly found the gold yet. But he had been following rumor after rumor about a massive gold vein running up through Eagle Mountain, and he was sure he had the right place. But Char didn’t need to know that part, not yet at least.
So, he had resigned himself to his unwilling partner who was now stomping the tall weeds ferociously as they trekked the rest of the way out of the city. They had been walking for over six hours, and a thread of guilt began to worm its way through his steely countenance. Finally, he risked a peek over his shoulder. Despite himself, he drank in the sight of her. His lovely wife, her voluptuous curves, and even bigger spirit.
“What?” She demanded, a slight pout dragging his gaze to land on her lips. Lips that were made for long, slow kisses. Trying to push the thought away he paused, waiting for her to catch up before speaking.
“You know it would be a lot easier if you let me do this alone. You could even wait back in town for me–.”
“Oh, no. Don’t even start that again, Sawyer. I’m your wife, and I’m not letting you go off on your own, and let god knows what happen to you.”
“Char,” he smiled, unable to keep his lips for curling up, “you know, I’ve manage out here for two months just fine. And about twenty-eight years before you crashed into my life.”
“Hah!” she huffed, “you call this fine? You were an outlaw! And not a great one at the, might I add.”
“You may not!” He said, half serious. He really had thought he made quite a dashing figure as a rogue.
“Please, Sawyer. We’ve already made it this far. Let’s just go find that gold of yours so we can return to our home. Preferably before this baby is born.” She rested a tender hand over her belly, and he reached out a hand to lace over hers. He stared down for a moment before dropping his arm with a sign.
“Oh, alright. But you have to do everything I say, got it?”
Charlotte gave a mock solute. “Aye, aye captain!”
Sawyer rolled his eyes before continuing on. His heart sank a little as she asked the question he had been dreading the most.
“So, where exactly is this gold?”
With a sigh, he tried to explain. “I don’t exactly know. I mean, I am pretty sure, but…”
“Pretty sure?”
Sawyer nodded. “Yes, I know it’s at the base of Eagle Mountain, in a cave.”
“Well, that’s alright. Which one is Eagle Mountain?” She squinted into the bright afternoon sun.
With another sigh, Sawyer pointed directly ahead of them, to the giant of a mountain that was jutting angrily into the blue California sky. It was the biggest one in the entire are.
“Oh my word.” She said softly, her gaze going up and up and up and then solemnly back down before turning to him. “Well, we better get looking.”
Chapter 5
They both sat silently, staring into the fire. Everything hurt. Her feet, her back, even her hair hurt. They had hiked for two days up and down the side of that beast of a mountain, and still, no sign of gold.
“How much longer, Sawyer?” She asked, and her words came out slurred from exhaustion, but her voice was strong as she looked across the flickering flames into his downcast green eyes.
“I don’t know, Char. As long as it takes. The same answer I’ve given you for two days.” He sighed before staring back into the fire.
Charlotte tucked her tired legs up closer to her body. It was warm during the day, but as the sun went down, the chill came out, and she could feel it now as she shivered. They had argued all day, when all she’d wanted to do was kiss him until neither of them could see straight. There was a distance between them that cut at her far worse than any sore muscle ever could. She missed her husband. The happy, smiling, laughing man who had stolen her heart with a wink and a grin. A sudden thought struck her.
“It’s Christmas eve.”
“So it is.” He replied shortly, not looking up from the flames.
Grimly, she pulled the tattered piece of paper she had been carrying around with her out of a small pouch at her side, scribbling with a small lead pencil.
“What is that?” he finally asked, and she was surprised to find him sitting beside her, leaning curiously over her shoulder. He never could resist a puzzle or a secret.
“It’s a map.” He raised a brow at her and then glanced at the paper again.
“May I?” He held out a hand in question and she readily passed him her hand drawn map. It was full of tiny squares, with a compass pointing north at the top and little cross marks for each area they had already covered. There was a woeful amount still left blank, but they had made a descent start.
“This is…Charlotte, this is genius!” He stared up at her, that grin of his lighting up his face and before she could stop herself she leaned forward and placed her lips on his. He sat stiff with shock for the barest of moments before his arms were wrapped warmly around her, his mouth making pure magic against her own. She sighed, leaning into him because there was nothing else that she could do but go along for the ride as his tongue tangled with hers. And she never wanted it to end.
Suddenly, a very cold, very wet splat had her jumping back. First one, and then a scattering, and then in the blink of an eye a torrential downpour let loose on top of them. It was if every single cloud in the sky had opened up at once, dumping an ocean’s worth of freezing cold water on their heads.
Charlotte shrieked as the icy water penetrated the material of her dress, soon leaving her shivering and her teeth chattering. Sawyer grabbed her hand, shouting over the noise of the sudden storm.
“Charlotte, this way!” He pulled her off in a direction away from there makeshift campsite and towards the mountain they had just spent days scouring. “Come on, run!”
And with those final words, they took off in a mad dash towards a dark spot easily seen as a darker shadow on the side of the lighter colored mountain. A cave, shelter from the downpour.
They ducked inside, breathless and soaked to the bone as Sawyer went about searching as much as he could inside the dark cave.
“Well, no bears.” He joked, and there was a lightness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen since before he had left over two months ago.
“Oh, that’s very funny, Sawyer. Any other good news, my heart?” Charlotte asked softly, not really expecting an answer.
“Actually, yes!”
The excitement in his voice drew her deeper in the shadows of the cave. There was a noise, like stone against stone, and then a spark shot out from the darkness. Another few sparks and a crackling sound later, a small but warming fire was burning cheerfully in a pre-made pit.
“Someone has been here before us. Left a bunch of supplies.”
; “That’s good luck for us.”
“Very good luck.” His eyes held a fire of their own as he drew his fingers down her arm until they reached her hand, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte.”
“Sorry for what? You can do many things, Sawyer, but rain isn’t one of them.”
He grinned at that, like she’d hoped, but then it faded again as he turned serious once more. “No, I’m so sorry for all of this. Coming here, you having to chase me down. This daft goose chase.” He shook his head, touching his free hand to her stomach, right over were there baby was growing inside her. “For not being there for you, like a husband should.”
“Oh, no. Don’t say that, Sawyer. You are the best husband anyone could ever wish for. It’s just time for you to come home, that’s all.” Charlotte gazed up at him, love shining from the depths of her bright grey eyes. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too.” He leaned down, placing his lips so softly against her own she almost missed it. That sweet kiss had her chest tightening as a wave of tenderness swept through her.
“You’re shivering. You must be freezing, and here I am, just kissing you.”
“I like your kisses.” She said softly, staring up at him through a fringe of dark lashes, and she she saw the unmistakable flash of desire spark through his green eyed gaze.
“Let’s get you out of those wet clothes, and then maybe…” He leaned close, his eyes crinkling in that way that said he had some secret he was about to share, “I’ll let you kiss me again.”
“Let me kiss you!” Charlotte said in mock pique, “I’ll show you let me kiss you.” She barely got the words out before she was pressed wetly against him, standing up on the tips of her toes as she planted her mouth right on top of his. Their kiss was aggressive, possessive, and burning with the heat of their desire. It was exactly what she needed.
Piece by piece they lost their dripping clothes. First her dress, and then his shirt. She would have had his trousers off next but she was distracted by the line of his shoulders, the broad chest and chiseled ab muscles that rippled delightfully when she ran her fingers across them.
“Charlotte,” he moaned, and back on task she finished stripping him, letting the fabric drop with a wet splash on the cave floor. He was just as eager to have her naked, impatience and urgency in every taught muscle. But when he had her finally unclothed, he stopped. Standing there, just staring at her for so long that she started to fidget under the intensity of his gaze.
“Sawyer, what…why did you stop?” She asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“Hush, stop that,” he said, pulling away her hands when she tried to cover herself. Finally, his eyes collided with hers and she felt that look all the way to her soul.
“Charlotte McCain, you are without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. More beautiful than a sunset over the mountains, more beautiful than the ocean on a spring morning with mist hanging hazy in the air. More beautiful than…”
He stopped as she put a finger rover his lips. “Now, you stop, Sawyer McCain. Or you’re going to make your wife cry.”
“Well, we can’t have that now.” His words were lost as their mouths met again, and this time their kiss was heart wrenching in its sweetness. Slow and drawn out like honey on a warm day. She poured all the love she felt for this man into that kiss as he slowly lowered them to the ground.
In a sudden move, she pressed against his chest until he was lying on his back and straddled him in one smooth move. The time for waiting, for teasing, was over. She needed him, now.
Sawyer groaned, low and rough as if the sound had been pulled out of him as she sank, inch by torturous inch onto his hard length. Her wet heat was more than enough to ease the way, but she savored the way his breath hissed out of his lungs, spurring on her own desire. She loved that she please him, and as he grasped her hips, thrusting deep inside her, she relished the pleasure that he gave her.
She rode him, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, running on pure instinct as they both raced toward the edge of the cliff, tumbling over together in a crash of sensations that had Charlotte crying out his name over and over into the shadows of the cave. He followed after her, holding her tight until the last shudder passed through his body, and she collapse in a boneless heap on top of his chest.
Sleep tugged at her, but she forced open drowsy eyelids as she slid to his side, cushioned by the pillow of his arm as he wrapped it around her, holding her close to the warmth of his body. But she had completely forgotten about the cold, or the damp, perfectly comfortable in his embrace.
“I love you, Sawyer.” She mumbled drowsily as she pressed her body even closer. Sawyer looked down at his wife. His wonderful, beautiful, stubborn, kind, generous spit fire of a wife.
“I love you.” He whispered into her still damp hair. But she didn’t hear it. She was already fast asleep.
Chapter 6
Charlotte noticed the noise first. A skittering sort of noise that had her shifting restlessly on the hard bed. Why was the bed so hard? And why was it so cold? It all came back in a rush and her eyes popped open as she was suddenly and forcibly awake. The long journey to San Francisco to find her husband, and then the actual finding of him. The discovery that he was a highway robber, although she had firsthand knowledge that banditry was not his forte, and then the fruitless treasure hunt.
Then there was the fight they’d had, the storm that had forced them to flee, and finally, the very cave that they had taken shelter in the night before. And then another memory had her sitting upright. She looked down at her still sleeping husband as he snored softly next to her and as silently as she could, crept to where they had discarded their clothes the night before.
As she dug through the folds of fabric, stiff now that they had dried covered in the dirt and grime of two day’s hike, Charlotte prayed that it hadn’t been too badly damaged by the storm. With a soft exclamation as her fingers touched metal, slowly she pulled the object out of the small pouch attached to the skirt of her dress. Charlotte crept closer to the mouth of the cave, examining it in the light of the morning sun.
She turned the gold plated packet watch over and over, opening it up to see it steadily ticking away the seconds and sighed in relieve. Charlotte had given him a fob watch the previous Christmas but he had rendered it little more than a pretty decoration when he’d taken it apart to see how the cogs worked. She’d had their initials engraved on the back.
Charlotte turned the shiny gold watch over, looking at the new inscription. Her initials, Sawyer’s, and another set, just below theirs. JM. Their child’s. Jeremiah if it was a boy, Joselin if it was a girl. Names she’d picked out years and years ago. A bout of nerves shot through her. She desperately hoped he liked it.
She crawled back to his side, reaching out until she grasped his shoulder, giving it a few firm shakes. Finally, he blinked his bright green eyes at her drowsily.
“What is it, Char?”
“What is it? What is it?” She said, her voice full of mischief and love as she kneeled next to him. “Why, it’s Christmas, of course.”
He smiled up at her sleepily before sitting up, letting out a massive yawn and then grabbing her close, pulling her back down on top of him. Charlotte let out a peal of laughter as he rolled over until he was on top of her, staring deeply into her eyes. Sawyer leaned down, kissing her soft and sweet.
“Merry Christmas, Charlotte.”
“Merry Christmas, darling.” She smiled up at him, “I have something for you.” He raised an eyebrow at that, giving her a seductive look.
“I like the sound of that.” He said with a grin that had her slapping him lightly on the chest.
“Really, now. Let me up, you lecher.”
Reluctantly, he did. And as she sat, she made sure the watch was still hidden in her hands.
“Now, close your eyes.”
He cast her another look before complying.
“Alright, now hold out your
hand.”
Slowly, he raised on arm, palm upright towards the ceiling. Gently, Charlotte placed the metal watch in his hand, her heart beating fast as he peaked one eye open and then the other. A wide grin broke out on his handsome face as he looked at the gift, and then back up at her.
“Where did you…How did you get this?” He said, his excited tone easing her nerves.
“I got it months and months ago, when you broke the last one I gave you,” Sawyer just shrugged sheepishly and she continued. “But I just had it engraved a few weeks ago.”
Curious, he turned the watch over, running a finger over the initials, stopping on the last set and looking at her in confusion.
“Our child’s.” She said, answering the question in his eyes before he could give it voice.
He looked back down at the watch now cradled in his hands as if it were made of glass. He swallowed hard before raising his gaze again and it was swirling with emotion.
“Charlotte, I…thank you. This is, this is the best gift,” he paused, running his fingers over and over the engraving. Suddenly, he looked up. “I don’t have anything for you.”
“You are all the present I need.” She said, leaning forward to give him a kiss before moving to gather the rest of their clothes. He still sat, staring at the watch as if transfixed. He opened it, turning it slightly in his hand. Something caught her eye and had her peering toward the back wall of the cave.
The light caught again, reflected at just the right angle from the pocket watch to reveal something bright and metallic in the wall. Her breath caught in her chest as she walked closer, running her hand wonderingly across its surface. Gold. It caught the light again, throwing it back in all its amber beauty.
She opened her mouth to call Sawyer, but it took her several tries to get the words out. Finally, they tumbled out in an excited squeak.
“Sawyer! Sawyer, look over here.”
“What is it?” he said, his innate curiosity bringing him closer. He stood next to her, peering at where she was pointing towards the wall, and froze. He was staring smack dab in the middle of a vein of gold as thick as his own body. He had never heard of any find like this. He was staring at a fortune he had never imagined in his wildest dreams, and they had stumbled across it almost by accident.
