Gift of Gold

“You’d think after all the history I had her read, she’d have more respect for the subject, wouldn’t you?”
    “So you owe a man a few bucks?” Jonas prompted calmly.
    “I do and he’s getting a tad anxious, I’m afraid. I told him he’d have to wait awhile, and he told me if he was forced to wait too long, he’d send a few people out to rearrange my face. I deemed it prudent to depart from Mexico and then from Rio. My research was finished down there, anyway.”
    “What research?” Verity asked tightly.
    Emerson’s eyes brightened. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m starting a new series of books, Red. Futuristic Westerns.”
    “Futuristic westerns?” she asked blankly.
    “Sure. It’s a natural. Just think what I can do with the combination of traditional western story components and an exotic, extraterrestrial background.”
    Verity didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She told herself she should be accustomed to her father’s ways by now. “You were in Mexico researching futuristic westerns?”
    “Great locale and atmosphere. I was just about done, so I called you up to see if you could take a few days off and come down for a visit. You always did like Mexico. But right after I called you, I got the message that this gentleman to whom I owe a certain sizable sum was impatient. I couldn’t reach you to call off the trip, but I figured you’d understand when you arrived and found me gone. In the meantime I thought I’d give Rio a whirl. Hadn’t been there in a while. As it happens, all my problems were solved in Rio. Or almost solved, I should say. There are a couple of small details to work out, which is why I’m here to visit you for a while.”
    “What details?” Verity asked with deep suspicion.
    “I have to complete a certain transaction,” her father explained. “When it’s finished, I’ll have the cash I need to pay off this rather persistent gentleman who has been hounding me for the past three months.”
    Verity went cold. “What kind of transaction?” she whispered.
    Emerson gave her a compassionate look and then shook his head at Jonas. “Look at her. Now she’s convinced I’m running drugs.”
    “For a spinster, she’s got an active fantasy life,” Jonas observed gently.
    “Shut up, both of you,” Verity snapped. “Tell me about this transaction, Dad.”
    “I have come into possession of a very unusual item, Red. It’s in my bag, which is still outside in the car. I’m told this item is extremely valuable. Normally such things are sold through auction houses, but I haven’t got time to set up a deal like that. I also lack the kind of paperwork and guarantees of authenticity an auction house likes to see. I need to unload this item quickly for obvious reasons.”
    “You need a private collector,” Jonas said quietly. “One who is passionately devoted to his hobby and who won’t ask a lot of unnecessary questions.”
    Emerson looked at him with respect. “Exactly. A discreet collector. Preferably one for whom cost is no object. I thought it would be easiest to find one here in the States. But first I need to get the item appraised. I want to know exactly what I’m dealing. So far I’ve only got the former owner’s word that the item is valuable.”
    Jonas leaned forward, his glass cradled between his lean hands. “What is this item you’re trying to sell, Emerson?”
    Emerson grinned. “I’ll show you.” He got to his feet and walked to the front door. En route he patted his daughter on the head. “Be right back. Try not to tear each other’s throats out while I’m gone.”
    The door closed behind him and silence reigned. Verity studied her half-empty glass. Jonas didn’t move.
    “So,” he said at last, “you came over here tonight to apologize?”
    “I don’t know what got into me,” she mumbled, feeling put upon and therefore sarcastic. “I must have been crazy.”
    Jonas got soundlessly to his feet and crossed the room to stand in front of her. He took her glass from her hand and set it down beside his on the small table near her chair. Then his hands closed around her shoulders and he lifted her to her feet.
    “So gracious. But I’ll take what I can get. Apology accepted, little tyrant,” he said softly and brushed the lightest of kisses across the tip of her nose. With his mouth very close to hers he asked, “What have you got on under this coat?” He ran a finger down the row of large buttons to the sash. “It looks like a