Callahan's Gold (Southwest Desert Series Book 3) (3 page)

CHAPTER THREE

Rex broke the uneasy silence with a laugh. "I'll drink to that! I think old Sharkey would agree with her. We all know he was a regular hellion. And looks like his offspring is, too."

There was a murmur from the group before they all turned up their glasses.

"I hope you'll change your mind about Sharkey before this is over, Tory," Dodge said quietly.

"The chances of that happening are pretty slim," Tory replied with finality. "It'll be over soon. I'd like to sell my share in this hapless company right now before I leave town tonight. I don't have any more time to waste here."

"That'd be sound logic if anyone around here had the money to buy you out. I, for one, couldn't even consider it." Dodge looked inquisitively at Rex, who shook his head.

"Every penny I intend to invest in this miserable fantasy of getting rich is already in it."

Tory turned hopelessly to Ramona, knowing even before the woman shook her head that she couldn't buy a nickel share in an ice cream store.

"Anyway," Dodge posed, "don't you think you should go along to scatter the ashes? After all, he was your father."

"That biological fact hasn't enhanced my life up to this point," she retorted. "Why should I care about his ashes now? I have to get back to my business in L.A."

"Speaking of leaving," Cliff said, folding his papers together. "I'll be getting along. Now, I suggest you folks sit here in my, ahem, office awhile and discuss the, eh, sprinkling of Sharkey's ashes. And seeking this sun he kept talking about." Smiling officially, Cliff shook hands all around. "Rex, you may find this search worthwhile. I've heard for years that there's gold in those old worn-down mountains. It's up to you to find it. If not, this'll make a helluva story someday. Ramona, my condolences. Dodge, what about the map?"

He shrugged. "Give it to his daughter, like he said."

Cliff hesitated. "Do you think it's safe with her?"

"I'll make sure of it. Besides, there's probably nothing to Sharkey's claim."

Cliff turned to Tory and gave her a folded piece of yellow paper. "Well, good luck. It was a genuine pleasure to meet Sharkey's little girl."

She gritted her teeth to keep from screaming: I'm not Sharkey's little girl! "Thank you, Mr. Snyder, for everything."

"Remember, if any of you need any legal work, like transferring the shares of the Sun Seekers Mining Company or anything like that, let me know. Sharkey . . ." Cliff tipped his hat to the brightly painted jar on the table, then ambled across the wooden floor of the saloon.

Rex watched him go, then heaved himself back down in the seat. "Wonder why he didn't tell Sharkey what absurd demands he was making in his will?"

Tory folded her arms, pressing the blue silk tightly across her breasts. "I can't believe I came all the way out to this remote place, only to be expected to go even further for a possible inheritance. And it's a remote possibility, at that."

Dodge braced his large hands on the table. "I think Sharkey wanted to share his wealth, or his possible wealth, with those he cared about. This was the only way he could do it."

Rex tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. "Obviously, he hadn't struck the mother lode yet."

Dodge nodded in agreement. "It's up to us to find it. It's probably in the vicinity of this map."

"Find it? Do you mean gold digging? Not me! Climbing around in those mountains is not my idea of acquiring an inheritance, thank you," Tory pronounced with disgust.

"I agree with Tory," Rex put in nodding. "This is crazy. It's a damned big risk, plus it might well be a waste of time and effort. You said yourself it was speculative."

"Regardless of the possibility of gold, that's where he wanted his ashes scattered," Dodge reminded them.

"I have no interest in going up there to do a crazy man's bidding," Rex vowed. "He was plain loco!"

"Nor I," Tory agreed.

"Then I'll do it," Ramona said softly. "I'll scatter Sharkey's ashes where he requested."

"You can't go alone, Ramona," Dodge countered. "It's too dangerous. I'll go with you." Then a slow grin spread across the angular planes of his face. "But if Ramona and I find Sharkey's gold in the process of this scattering, it's all ours. Legally, according to the will, the only ones who'll share the treasure are those who go along this bizarre trail to the sun."

"Oh, hell, Dodge," Rex fumed. "Don't kid me. Legally, you'd have to split with your partners."

"Not if you don't know about it. This is different, not under the jurisdiction of regulation mining operations. Sharkey's directing us to the spot. We have a specific map, remember? Frankly," Dodge paused for emphasis. "I think ole' Sharkey was onto something."

"That isn't what you just told Cliff," Tory muttered.

Dodge just shrugged and gave her a devilish grin. His ragged mustache quivered, and she found it a little disconcerting.

"I know he uncovered a little gold," Ramona disclosed in a quiet, strained tone. "When Yazzie and I found him, he had gold dust under his nails."

"That's nothing new," Rex scoffed. "He came in with a few hundred dollars worth of gold every now and then."

"Who's Yazzie?" Tory questioned.

Dodge explained. "Yazzie lives in the mountains. Has a shack and a small corral of pack animals. We always rented his mules to go up to whatever mine we were working. When Sharkey went missing, Ramona became alarmed and went to Yazzie. They searched the mountains, finally found Sharkey's body and brought it back to town."

"When we found him, he was holding these." Ramona fumbled nervously in her purse and rolled three gold nuggets on the table as if she were casting dice. They scattered into a triangle beside the Indian jar. "There were a couple of others, and I told Yazzie to keep them, for helping me with Sharkey."

"Pretty good pay, I'd say," Rex scowled, grabbing one of the nuggets and examining it closely.

Tory looked curiously at the dull, tarnished stones resting on the dark table. Only a trained eye would consider them valuable. If in fact, they were. They certainly didn't look like she'd imagined gold nuggets to look.

"Have you had them assayed?" Dodge asked, also picking one up for scrutiny.

"Yes, they're twenty-grade."

Dodge rotated a nugget casually in his fingers. "It looks like Sharkey was onto something, all right."

"This is ridiculous," Tory protested. "I think it's a setup. How do we know she found these on his body? Or where they came from?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Ramona's dark eyes narrowed threateningly.

Tory gave her an apologetic smile, thinking those sturdy hands of Ramona's might be tearing at her sleek hair if she wasn't careful. After all, she was in a wild and wicked territory, where men were men and women were . . . well, strong.

"No, of course not, Ramona. It's just that I've never seen crude gold before. If you say this is gold, and you found it with Sharkey, I believe you."

Ramona squared her shoulders and stared levelly at Tory. "I don't care so much about the gold. I only want to go up there to scatter Sharkey's ashes."

"Me, too," Dodge agreed with a devilish gleam in his dark brown eyes. "Ramona and I have a job to do, and that's to fulfill Sharkey's request. If you folks want to go along and maybe help us find the gold, you're welcome to share the wealth. If not . . ." He shrugged and smiled at Ramona. "It's all ours."

"Then let's run up there tomorrow, scatter the ashes, and see what Sharkey was talking about," Tory offered briskly. "I'll have to cancel my flight, but. . ." She ended with a frustrated sigh.

"Run up there?" Dodge hooted with laughter. "You don't understand, Tory. It takes two hours in a four-by-four just to get to Yazzie's cabin."

"What?"

"Then we have to load the mules and get ready for the trek into the Dragoons. They're pretty rugged mountains, even though they seem small in the distance."

"You're talking overnight?" She stared at him as if he'd just said to reach for the stars and pluck out a pot of gold.

"I'm talking about staying for at least a week. Maybe more."

"Oh, my God, I couldn't possibly do that. I have a business in L.A. I can't be gone that long."

"Then why don't you head back tonight, city lady?" Dodge countered sarcastically. "But don't expect someone to come looking you up again when we strike it rich on your daddy's gold."

"I don't expect anything of any of you!" Tory said. "Until a little over a week ago, Sharkey Carsen was just a memory— and a bad one, at that. Why I bothered to come all the way out here, I don't know. I guess the little girl in me dreamed that this rambler who was my father had an ounce of love for a child he abandoned years ago. I told myself he wanted to rectify all those painful years by leaving me something of value in his will. Some inheritance this is! A hot, miserable trek up a mountain, looking for an old man's dream! Well, count me out!" Tory fumbled with the map and stuffed it into her purse. Then, dramatically, she stormed out of the Crystal Palace Saloon.

It was nearly dark, and the air was surprisingly cool. She shivered in her thin silk dress. How could a place that was so hot in the daytime be so chilly at night? As her heels clunked on the wooden sidewalk, she thought of the real, honest-to-God cowboys who'd actually walked these streets, both heroes and outlaws, and the women who'd followed them.

Drifters. Entrepreneurs. Gamblers. Miners. Men like Sharkey Carsen. Her father was one of them in spirit, born a hundred years too late. She mulled over the unusual people she'd met today and of the obligation of scattering Sharkey's ashes encased in that Indian jar.

She couldn't stop thinking about the handsome but enigmatic Dodge Callahan. Would he find the gold? Her gold!

Tory gritted her teeth and tried to convince herself there was no gold. But in the deep recesses of her mind was a doubt. And it would always be there unless she proved it wrong. Damn Sharkey Carsen, anyway! He probably knew this would happen. Gold fever!

"Some speech," Dodge observed dryly as Tory left. "Looks like Sharkey's little girl is just a little spoiled. I guess she wanted her inheritance handed to her in the form of a large check."

"Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, that's not the way we do things around here," Rex replied dourly. "Nothing's that easy."

"She'll be back," Ramona said quietly.

"You think so? She's pretty hot tempered. Sounded final to me." Dodge shook his head.

"I think she's like the rest of us and needs the money. I can tell by her eyes. Now here's a chance to get it legally. A payback she thinks she deserves. And maybe so. All she has to do is follow his map up a mountain. It's the ultimate dream. Sharkey was a sun seeker and not ashamed to admit it. We're all sun seekers in our own way, pursuing a dream of getting rich."

"And you, Ramona?" Dodge leaned forward and caught her dark eyes with his. "Is that why you're here?"

She smiled sadly. "Sure. I won't deny I'd like to find the gold. But I can tell you this. I cared more for Sharkey than that whole mountain full of gold."

"Looks like Tory's the only one who doesn't want the gold," Dodge drawled.

Ramona gave him a confident look. "She'll come around."

"Hope so, since she's got the damned map," Rex grumbled, then motioned to the Indian pot. "What are we going to do about this? Who keeps it until . . . you know?"

"I'll take care of it," Dodge said.

"Thank you, Dodge," Ramona said with a soft glow in her jet eyes. "I don't think I could."

"Let's give Tory some time to change her mind." Dodge raked his large hand over his face, planning as he spoke. "That'll allow us time to pack for the mountain. How about going this weekend? You in, Rex?"

The dark-eyed man sighed and glanced from Ramona to Dodge. "Looks like I have no choice if I'm going to share any of the treasure."

"You learn fast, Rex. We'll meet Friday afternoon at Yazzie's cabin. Around three or four?"

"Do you need a ride, Rex?" Ramona offered sardonically. "We can go together in that hunk of tin Sharkey left for me. Fortunately, it has four-wheel drive, and it'll make it just fine up the mountain."

"I don't know if I can trust you two not to scratch each other's eyes out," Dodge teased.

Rex heaved a sigh. "Just ignore what was said today, Ramona. We were all a little uptight."

"If that's an apology, I accept," she replied with a tight smiling.

"Okay. Each of you pack just enough clothes to fit into the saddlebags on your mules," Dodge instructed them. "I'll be responsible for bringing the food and equipment we'll need. We'll meet at Yazzie's in plenty of time to get organized before dark. Then we'll get an early start on Saturday."

Ramona and Rex nodded in agreement to Dodge's directions.

"I'll pick you up around noon," Ramona told Rex.

"Now, look," Dodge posed, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, "I'm for inviting Yazzie to go along with us. He could be a great help on the trail."

"If he goes, that means he shares the loot, according to the terms of the will," Rex grumbled. "That is, if we find it. I don't know about him."