The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

fired."

    "Oh, yes, you are. You and Jake Savage had both better stay out of my life from now on. If I catch either one of you anywhere near my property, I'll have you both arrested for trespassing."

    "Sarah, you're not being rational about this. How are you going to catch Savage or anyone else hanging around your property when you're in Seattle?"

    "I'm heading back up here just as soon as I can," Sarah vowed. "This time I'll bring my own shovel and a shotgun."

    "Have you got a shotgun?" Gideon asked.

    "No, but I expect I can get one. Guns are readily available these days."

    "You don't need a shotgun or anything else to protect your damned Flowers," Gideon said wearily. "I've told you a hundred times, Savage won't find them."

    "Is that right? Well, what about you?"

    "If you want to make certain I don't dig them up on my own, all you have to do is stick around and keep an eye on me."

    "I'm a busy woman, Trace. I've got more important things to do than try to keep tabs on you. No, the fastest solution to this problem is for me to dig up my earrings before either you or your old buddy gets to them."

    "I don't think that would be a good idea."

    "I don't care what you think any more," Sarah said. "I've told you, you're fired as a treasure-hunting consultant and as my partner."

    There was a long silence from the driver's side of the car. Gideon concentrated on the narrow, twisting road that was taking them down out of the rugged terrain to where the main freeway sliced through the mountain pass.

    "Does it occur to you that you might be overreacting a bit?" Gideon said eventually.

    Sarah gritted her teeth. "Overreacting to what, pray tell? Do you think it's possible I've gone a bit overboard in my response to your insults? Perhaps I should have just laughed off the accusation that I slept with you in order to get you to help me find my treasure. Maybe I overreacted to being accused of trying to use sex to stiff you out of your cut of the action."

    "Sarah…"

    "Or perhaps I'm being just a tad irrational now that I've come to my senses and realized I've been deluding myself about you right from the start. The famous Fleetwood intuition screws up again. I can't say I wasn't warned. Hell, you warned me, yourself."

    "Sarah…"

    "Then again, maybe I'm being a bit petty and overly defensive now that I've discovered I've got to protect the Fleetwood Flowers from not one, but two professional opportunists. Yes, I can see where I might be overreacting. I'll have to watch that, won't I?"

    "Do you get worked up like this a lot?"

    "What do you care? I won't be around you long enough for it to be of any great concern to you." Sarah continued to scowl out the window for a minute. "I wonder if I should just turn around and drive straight back up here this afternoon instead of going back to Seattle for the night. I know you don't think Savage can find the jewels on his own, but my intuition tells me he can and will. And now there's you to worry about, too, of course. Yes, I think I'd better get right back up here today."

    "Forget it, Sarah. You're not coming back into these mountains to dig up the Flowers on your own."

    "Who's going to stop me?"

    "Me."

    "I knew it, you
are
kidnapping me. Well, you won't get away with it. If you think you can just lock me away in your cellar or something and have no one notice I'm missing, you're crazy. My best friends in the whole world know I went to find you and if I turn up missing, Margaret and Kate won't rest until they've found out what you did to me. And Kate's husband will probably help them look."

    "I'm beginning to see why you're successful at writing novels of romantic suspense. You have a very unique imagination, don't you?"

    "And that's another thing. Better not forget what I do for a living. I've got an outstanding contract to complete. If I don't finish the last book on it, my publisher and my agent will come looking for you, too."

    His mouth flickered suspiciously, but all Gideon said was, "I'll keep that in mind before I do anything rash."

    Satisfied she'd made all the threats she could for the moment, Sarah lapsed back into a brooding silence. She needed her anger. At the moment it was all that was keeping her from tears.

    "Sarah, I know you're in no mood to listen to explanations."

    "You're right."

    "But I'd like to point out that it's not entirely fair to blame me for wondering about your motives. You landed on my doorstep like a small tornado and I feel as