The Adventurer

door.
    "Hi." She offered nothing further. He looked larger than ever standing there in the cold, gray light of a new day.
    "Good morning." Gideon braced himself with one hand against the doorjamb. "Make up your mind, yet?"
    "I had no idea you were waiting on pins and needles."
    He gave her his faint, twisted smile. "I know I'm early. I was afraid if I left it too long, you'd sneak off to go after the Flowers without me."
    "I was only going to sneak as far as the coffee shop." She turned to pick up her windbreaker, aware that he was scanning her room from the doorway. She was suddenly very conscious of her nightgown lying in a heap on the bed, the open suitcase with a sock trailing out of it and the collection of toilet articles littering the dresser. She closed the door very quickly.
    "I'll join you for breakfast," Gideon said. "I didn't get a chance to eat before I left the house this morning."
    "Your own fault." She locked the door behind her and started across the street to the small coffee shop. The lights were just coming on inside. To the right, the narrow, two-lane road vanished around a bend into the fog-shrouded trees.
    "You hold a mean grudge, don't you?" Gideon paced beside her. His hands were thrust into the pockets of a sheepskin jacket.
    Sarah said nothing more until they were seated in a booth in the corner of the coffee shop. She studied Gideon for a long moment, remembering all the fleeting thoughts, hopes and dreams that had come to her in the night. She fought back the sense of longing that threatened to overwhelm her and tried to make herself speak coolly and logically. There would be no more impulsiveness on her part, she vowed silently.
    "Let me get this straight," she said. "You think I'm an opportunist who uses sex to get what she wants, but you're willing to help me search for the earrings if you get to keep one pair for yourself, right?"
    His big hands folded around the mug in front of him and his eyes met hers in a level gaze. "I'll help you search for the earrings. Let's leave it at that."
    "All right. I guess that makes us both opportunists, doesn't it? At last we have something in common."
    He stared at her unblinkingly, the way Machu Picchu would stare at a mouse. "We're in this together? We've got a deal?"
    "Sure. Why not? I came to you in the first place because I don't know anything about treasure hunting. You do. That makes you very useful to me and I'm willing to bargain with you for your talents. Since you claim it's unlikely we'll ever find the earrings, I'm getting a heck of a deal, aren't I? If there aren't any profits in this, I won't have to split anything with you."
    "I see you've decided on the role of tough little cookie this morning. Just for the record, it doesn't suit you." Gideon took a swallow of his coffee.
    "You like me better as a scheming little seductress?"
    He grinned reluctantly. "I really ruffled your feathers, didn't I?"
    She glared at him. "I made a serious mistake in dealing with you the way I did yesterday. I can see that now. I should have been restrained and businesslike right from the start. Unfortunately that's not my normal nature."
    "I gathered that much."
    "That does not mean, however, that I can't behave in a restrained and businesslike manner when I put my mind to it."
    He looked frankly disbelieving. "Think so?"
    "Of course. And a restrained, adult, businesslike manner is precisely what I will project from now on. No nonsense. I shall just think of you as a business partner and deal with you as I would with one." She put her hand across the table. "Very well, Mr. Trace, we have a deal."
    He stared down at her extended palm and then slowly reached out to solemnly shake her hand. She allowed him to crush her fingers for about two seconds and then she quickly withdrew her hand to safety. "What about your cats?"
    He shrugged. "They'll be fine for a week or so. I've left them on their own before. My neighbor will check their food and water."
    "How long will you need to pack?"
    "I packed last night."
    "You're suddenly very eager for the hunt."
    "When do you want to leave?"
    She took a breath. "I'll be ready as soon as I settle the motel bill."
    "Fine. We'll take my car. You can leave yours at my place."
    Sarah looked at him and wondered if she was really intuitive or just plain crazy.
    Half an hour later she signed the credit card slip in the motel office while Gideon waited out in the parking lot, leaning against the fender of his car.
    "You a close