Make-Believe Husband

Luckily Gabe appeared to have the gift of gab, a fact proved several times during the moments following their being seated at a table for two located in a glassed-in balcony that overlooked the city. The waiter brought champagne, complimentary for newlyweds, and a menu. Although her jittery stomach murmured mild protest at the idea of food, Jessi perused the list of the culinary delights from which she could choose.

“I’m a little out of my league here,” Gabe said after a cursory glance at the elaborate menu. “Why don’t you order for both of us?”

Jessi did.

Once alone with Gabe again, she raised her stemmed glass. “To our, um, lucrative partnership.”

“I’ll certainly drink to that.” They sipped, set down their glasses and stared at one another. “Feeling better now?”

“Oh, I never felt bad, exactly. More nervous. I’ve been divorced for longer than three years now and once swore I’d never marry again unless I found the perfect man. That’s the only kind that might be worth another promise of forever to my way of thinking.”

Gabe winced. “I have to tell you that I’m far from perfect.”

“Since forever is not in question here—wedding vows or not—that really doesn’t matter,” Jessi told him, adding, “I wouldn’t mind hearing your faults, though. Just so I’m prepared.”

Gabe nodded at the sense of that. “For starters, I can be very intense. Though tonight I may sound flippant about our expedition, the moment we join August Taylor on Monday, I’ll be a different man.”

“Are you saying that you actually believe there’s a chance we’ll find buried treasure?”

“No. I’m saying I’m being paid a hell of a lot of money to keep an open mind. Besides, I’ve been a tracker and guide for too many years to think I’ve seen it all. You just never know what’s waiting around the next bend or over the next hill.”

Jessi sipped her champagne while she digested his words. “So you’re dedicated to duty, huh? Well, I’ve just enough experience with men who aren’t—my ex-husband, to name one—to consider that a plus instead of a minus. What are your other so-called character flaws?”

“I’m a grump before my morning coffee. I’m a slob around the house. I talk too much and listen too little... or so my ex always told me.”

“You’re divorced? Somehow I missed that little detail.”

“That’s because it wasn’t on my fact sheet. I didn’t think it would make any difference to anyone. I’ve been single ten years now.”

“Any children?”

“No, thank goodness.”

Jessi frowned. “You don’t like them?” August Taylor had graciously agreed to let Anna Kate go along on the expedition, probably because it would be little more than an extended camping trip for the women. If Gabe didn’t like children, their “home life” might be less than ideal and a source of stress for Jessi’s daughter.

“I love kids, and I think they’re the innocent victims of any divorce. I’m personally glad I didn’t father any because my ex-wife would almost certainly have gotten custody, thanks to my gypsy lifestyle at the time and in the ten years since. All that’s going to change now, of course.”

“In what way?”

“Elaina didn’t share my motives for agreeing to this expedition?”

“Actually, I never asked. I assumed you must have creditors breathing down your neck, just as I do.”

“No past expenditures, just future ones. First, the purchase of some acres on the Snake River in Washington. They now belong to a friend named Jerry Clark who has a canoe rental, café and sporting goods store on them. When he told me he was ready to retire, I scraped together enough earnest money for him to hold the land. What I get from August plus a loan from the bank will cinch the deal and put me in business. As for the second expenditure, well, it’s of a whole different nature so I can’t really predict how much money I’ll need. God only knows what it costs to adopt and raise a kid these days.”

“You’re going to adopt a child?”

“I’m going to try. He’s my nephew. Son of my adopted sister, who was shot during a convenience store robbery three months ago in L.A.”

“Oh, Gabe, I’m so sorry,” Jessi murmured, noting how a flush stained his cheeks and how his eyes brimmed. Clearly this was a wound that had not healed. “How old is the boy?”

“Ten.”

“And where is he now?”

“In foster care. Kids his age aren’t in high demand adoption-wise. Most folks want babies.”

“And his father?”

“Long gone just like my real one.” Gabe gave Jessi a wry smile. “All I know about my mother is that she gave me up when I was born because my father wouldn’t marry her. I was one of two kids adopted by a military man and his wife. He died when I was ten and Geena, er, my adopted sister, was four. My new mom, who apparently hadn’t wanted to adopt children in the first place, remarried six months later and pretty much ignored Geena and me. I hated the guy and wanted to leave then, but I couldn’t afford it, of course, until I turned eighteen, when I got a job as dispatcher for a rescue team in the Cascades. One of the guys proved to be a strong father figure. He really put me on the right track.”

“Jerry Clark?”

Gabe nodded and smiled. “You’re very quick. I’d better remember that.” He turned the glass around and around in his fingers. “I just wish there’d been a role model around for Geena. Unfortunately, there wasn’t, so when she turned sixteen, she ran off with some guy who promised her the moon, but gave her nothing more than a hard time and a son. She finally found the guts to leave him, but her life went downhill from there.

“I sent her money when I could,” he continued. “She wouldn’t let me help any other way.” His voice sounded oddly bereft of emotion at this point, almost as if he were numb on the subject. “But no one is going to stop me from making a home for her son Ryder as soon as possible. Meanwhile I have to be content with a weekly phone call and one visit per month since he’s still in L.A., which is too far away from my place in Washington for anything more.”

“You think a judge will give you custody?”

Gabe’s eyes flashed, revealing the stubborn side she had heretofore only suspected. “I’m all the family that kid has, I’m willing, and soon I’ll be settled down with a viable business. Why the hell wouldn’t I get custody?”

Jessi could think of several reasons right away, not the least of which would be their own annulment. She said nothing, however.

Gabe smirked just a little when she didn’t speak, obviously assuming he’d made his point. “Now that we’ve settled that, I believe it’s your turn to confess, Jessi Dillard.”

Startled by his use of her new name—a cold reminder that this wasn’t just dinner with an interesting stranger—Jessi could only stammer, “I—I don’t have anything to confess.”

At that moment, the waiter walked up with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Grateful for the diversion, Jessi selected for both of them again and then thanked the man, who left them alone again too soon.

“These, um, look scrumptious,” she murmured. “Try one.”

Gabe glanced from Jessi to the appetizer she offered, then back to Jessi again. He arched an eyebrow at her. “As my wife, you stand to inherit if I die of food poisoning, don’t you?”

Jessi actually laughed and marveled that she could respond so easily to his teasing in her present state of nervousness. Clearly what she still didn’t know about this man’s character might fill the pages of a book, yet the one trait she was sure of, his sense of humor, almost put her at ease.

Almost.

“Shall I be the royal taster?” With a hand that still wasn’t steady, Jessi picked up one of the artful delicacies and took a bite, savoring the pungent spices.

“Good?” Gabe asked.

“Divine.”

“I’m a meat and potatoes man myself.”

“Are you telling me that’s all I’m going to be able to cook on this trip?”

“August Taylor is your boss, not me. I expect he and his missus are used to fancy fare.”

“It’s actually remarkably easy to get used to.” Jessi reached over to pick up one of Gabe’s hors d’oeuvres. She raised it to his mouth, which he dutifully opened. Slowly, looking as if he might be sampling baked rattlesnake, Gabe chewed.

Almost instantly, his powder-blue eyes lit up. “This is excellent.”

“You thought I’d lie to you?”

“That could be one of the character flaws you don’t need to confess.”

“It could be, but it isn’t,” Jessi retorted, the next moment belatedly registering the enormity of tonight’s transgression. At once the doubts stuffed in the back of her mind the past week exploded to the forefront with a vengeance, leaving her anxious and confused. “Or maybe I should say it wasn’t.” She frowned and pushed her plate away, having suddenly lost all desire to eat. “God, I hate lying. And I can’t believe that I let greed get the best of my scruples. Normally, I’m honest to a fault.”

“You’re only human, and greed is a very human emotion. Why, I’ll bet the problems of ninety-nine percent of the men and women who populate the prisons of this nation are rooted in that. Unfortunately, they got caught in the process of satisfying it.”

“And what happens if we get caught?”

Gabe sat in silence, his dark brows knitted in a frown. “August Taylor tosses us into a rattlesnake pit and rolls a stone across the entrance?”

“This isn’t funny, it’s wrong...very wrong. We’re part of a scam. We’re deceiving this man for his money.”

“Lighten up. All we’ve done is pretend we were lovers before we married. That’s an insignificant deceit when you consider that he’s going to have the best damn guide in the country, not to mention a gourmet cook, at his beck and call for however long it takes.”

Jessi shrugged away the rationalization. “A lie is a lie is a lie.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I’ve felt awful about this whole marriage thing all day, and at this moment I don’t think I can go through with it.”

Gabe’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“As war.” Jessi hesitated only a second longer before doing what she knew in her heart of hearts had to be done: tugging off the ring and handing it to him.

“Just a damn minute!” Gabe caught her wrist with his free hand and stared at her in total disbelief, clearly as astonished as Jessi that she could change her mind at this late date. “Have you forgotten how much money is at stake here?”

“How could I? That’s what got me into this mess in the first place.” Jessi shook her head, honestly regretful to be throwing a monkey wrench into his big plans, but knowing she had no choice. “I’m so sorry. I thought I could do this... I mean I really did. But how can I possibly face that man day in and day out, knowing that I’ve lied about something that matters so much to him—”

“For God’s sake, would you just listen—”

She held up her free hand to halt his words. “No, Gabe. It’s no use arguing. I can’t go through with it, and that’s that.”

“That is not that, Jessi. My future with Ryder hangs in the balance here. You can’t possibly back out now.”

“You’re wrong. Now is exactly the time to do this—before things go one step further.” She sagged under the weight of his stare. “Look...I’m really sorry about Ryder, but I believe you’ll find a way to get him and maybe even that land you want. As for Elaina...I’ll talk to her myself. I’ll take full responsibility for everything.”

Gabe abruptly released her wrist and sat back in his chair, his expression now cool. “Fine, then. Do what you must. But you might want to get yourself a good lawyer before you make any calls to Elaina.”

“Why would I need a lawyer? Technically, our marriage license isn’t legal until it’s filed.”

“The license may not be, but Elaina’s agency contract sure as hell is.”

“That was just a formality,” Jessi replied, waving away his foolish concerns. “All it said was that she’d get a percentage of whatever salary I earned, which would only be fair.”

“Did you read the small print?”

Jessi bristled. “I read the whole thing.”

“Then you recall that you promised to pay that percentage whether or not you held up your end of the employment bargain.”

“No....”

“Oh yes. I believe that particular clause was in the middle of the thing, surrounded by several whereas-es and wherefores.”

Slowly Jessi raised her gaze to Gabe, who grimaced an apology, though the fault was clearly her own. “I don’t have that kind of money.”

“Neither do I, so why don’t we just go on as planned? In time you’ll get used to the lie.”

“Never.”

He digested that, his face solemn and thoughtful. “Maybe if we found an alternative solution to your moral dilemma...”

“There is one?”

“Yes. Admittedly it is a bit radical given the length of our acquaintance, but no more than this marriage of ours. And, thanks to that marriage, it would be both morally and legally acceptable.”

Jessi frowned, a little leery of his double talk. “Just what does this solution entail?”

“Consummation.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sex. You and me. Tonight. So what if we have our sequence of events a little reversed? At least we’ll be experienced lovers when we look ol’ August in the eye Monday. That beats the heck out of inexperienced liars, don’t you think?”

“Get real.” The nerve of the man to think she’d sleep with the likes of him! Never mind her earlier admiration for his good looks. He did not light her fire. And the only reason she now grabbed her wine glass and gulped down the chilled liquid was to keep from punching him out.

“I take it that’s a no.”

Jessi glared at him over the rim of her glass. “That’s a ‘don’t even think about it.’”

He accepted rejection with an easy shrug. “I’d be less than normal if I never thought about it. You are one classy lady—the kind that gets a man’s attention and keeps it,”

“I can’t believe you’re saying this to me. Why, it’s sexual harassment, that’s what it is.”

“We’re married, for crying out loud!”

“In name only, remember? As far as I’m concerned, this is a business partnership, nothing more. I don’t want to hear about your fantasies.”

“Hmm, well, I’d love to hear about yours...but I won’t press for details beyond asking what it is about me that makes my solution to your dilemma unacceptable.”

Jessi’s jaw dropped. “I don’t love you.”

Gabe considered that. “So you’re an old-fashioned girl, huh?”

“You’re damn right, mister...only I prefer to call it traditional. Sex is not something I take lightly. And I’d never sleep with some man just because I found him attractive.”

“Are you saying you find me attractive?”

Well hell. “N-no.”

“Then you’re saying you don’t find me attractive.”

“No.”

He huffed his impatience. “Do you or do you not find me the least bit attractive?”

“What an ego!” Jessi exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the table. “What difference does it make when I already told you I have no intentions of consummating this fictional marriage?”

“I just like to know where I stand, that’s all. Is that too much to ask?”

“Frankly, yes.”

“Oh, come on, Jessi. You said you’re always honest. Be honest with me now. Is there anything that you like about me...anything at all?”

Jessi, who could easily think of thousands of things, fumbled for an answer that wouldn’t further encourage this pointless, embarrassing conversation. “You have a nice smile.”

“That’s all?”

“And pretty blue eyes.”

“Nothing else?”

“You love your nephew.”

He sighed. “Well, that’s a start, I guess.”

A start? “No, that’s the finish. Now I don’t want to hear another word about this, okay? Work relations will be strained, if not impossible, if you’re constantly coming on to me.”

“Work relations? Does that mean you’ve changed your mind about wanting to back out?”

“No. I still want to back out. As I now see it, however, I really have no choice but to go through with this thing. If I don’t, I’ll not only have to find a way to pay my creditors, I’ll have to find a way to pay Elaina, too.” She sighed. “The fact is, I need August Taylor’s money, and I need it bad.”

“So do I, and speaking of which...you do realize you’re going to have to waste some of your hard-earned cash on an annulment...?”

Jessi frowned. “Actually, I figured we’d split the costs of that.”

“And so we will, if there are any.”

“What do you mean ‘if there are any’? No legal proceeding is cheap, Gabe.” She gave him a hopeful smile. “Unless you have a lawyer friend...?”

“No lawyer friend, just an idea.”

“Oh no,” Jessi groaned. “Another one?”

Gabe glared at her, clearly affronted.

“Sorry,” she murmured, instantly contrite. “What’s your idea?”

“We forget about filing the license on Monday. If there’s no legal marriage, then there’s no need for an annulment.”

Jessi caught her breath at the simplicity, the sheer perfection of his idea. “And if there’s not another split on your record, then your chances of getting Ryder are that much better....” She spoke to herself more than to Gabe, so the impact of her words caught her by surprise.

“My God....” Her new husband paled and stared at her, his eyes huge with shock. “Would you believe this is the first time I’d even thought about how our break up might affect the adoption proceedings?”

“But if we never file, there will be no annulment because in the eyes of the law, there has been no marriage.” They exchanged a long, speculative look during which neither said a word. Then Gabe held out his left hand, palm upward. In it lay the ring.

Jessi stared at it for a moment without moving. To accept the ring meant she accepted the terms of their partnership, and the deceit that went with it, once and for all. What do I do...what do I do...?

“Please? For Ryder’s sake?” The words were whisper-soft and shimmied down her spine.

Jessi sucked in a fortifying breath and reached for the ring, only to find her wrist captured in his right hand again. With a smile that could only be called tender, he slipped the bejeweled band back on her finger.

The amethyst caught the light and flashed a rainbow on the wine glass. The colors were as brilliant and bold as ever, blinding her to consequences once again.

Chapter Three

Gabe Dillard couldn’t remember when he’d seen a more colorful autumn. The brilliantly golden aspen trees lining the dirt path down which he now drove contrasted sharply to a gray California sky. God, how he wished Ryder were along to share the joy.

Gabe shifted his gaze from the asphalt to Jessi’s petite daughter, Anna Kate, who sat between the two of them on the seat of his four-wheel drive truck. He took note of the child’s attire—faded denim overalls, bright purple T-shirt, polka-dotted sneakers—and smiled to himself. With her mother’s violet eyes and a riotous mass of long, copper-colored hair, Anna Kate appeared custom made for eyelet and patent leather. Oddly enough, she’d proved to be a tomboy to the nth degree, a fact discovered Sunday, when they spent the day together to get to know one another.

Anna Kate had accepted him easily, thank God, and called him “Daddy G”—a name of her creation. But in spite of their smooth sailing so far, he half wished the red-haired charmer hadn’t come along on the trip. Children were so very honest. She could easily jeopardize their charade.

But Jessi had sworn that Anna Kate was special, a natural actress who adored pretending. It helped that the child had apparently begged for a new daddy for ages. And though Jessi had made it plain to her daughter that Gabe was nothing more than a daddy-on-loan who would one day be gone again, he couldn’t help but wonder about the impact their parting a few weeks from now would have on her.

Other things bothered him, too, not the least of which was involving an innocent child in their deception. But what else could he do except come clean with August, a risk he wasn’t prepared or willing to take? As he’d told Jessi, their lie was a harmless one necessitated by August’s apparent midlife crisis and, perhaps, his autocratic ways. The flamboyant archeologist and author had been in the limelight for twenty-five years, so he was used to people hopping when he snapped “Frog!” Only in the past twelve months had his popularity begun to slide, the reason, Gabe believed, for this desperate, top-secret, possibly ridiculous expedition.

A splash of bright blue paint on the side of a tree in a valley below alerted Gabe that he’d almost reached the turnoff leading to the location of their three o’clock rendezvous with Taylor. He caught a glimpse of the two camper trailers he’d rented, along with the boxes filled full of everything else that could possibly be needed for an expedition of this type.

August had been camped at the site since the day before. He and Gabe had been in constant contact via the man’s cellular phone, just one of the modern-day miracles that made it possible to conduct business from anywhere. There were other conveniences, too, including bathrooms, all-terrain vehicles that would save them miles of walking, a stove so they could cook indoors in the wildest of woods and even a battery-powered television. They also had a propane-fueled refrigerator.

So much for roughing it, Gabe thought, glancing beyond the valley to the colorful cliffs of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Was there treasure in them thar hills? In his heart of hearts, he didn’t think so. But if, by some strange chance, there were, he’d find it. He was a damn good explorer who’d made a name for himself in this state years ago, the reason Elaina was told about him when she contacted the California Game and Fish Agency for a top-notch guide to lead this treasure hunt. Gabe didn’t know how she’d found Jessi, but her choice of chief cook and bottle washer suited him.

Yeah...suited him just fine.

The ground dipped sharply and so did the truck, nearly jerking the steering wheel out of Gabe’s hand. Then the vehicle lurched to the right, badly jarring its occupants.

“You okay?” Gabe asked Anna Kate.

She nodded, looking for all the world as if bumpy truck rides and treasure hunts were everyday occurrences for her. Bemused, Gabe stole a glance at Anna Kate’s mother, who peered out her window and into the woods.

Jessi didn’t look nearly so at ease, a sure sign she still had doubts about her well-paid position of cook and glorified baby-sitter for August Taylor’s pampered wife. On top of that, Gabe guessed this whole great outdoors thing must be somewhat stressful for her. She was, by vocation, a woman used to the more genteel things in life—catered luncheons, afternoon teas, formal banquets. She appeared uncomfortable in the sweater, jeans and tennis shoes she wore. But even dressed in such, there was no doubt of her good breeding.

He hadn’t lied Saturday night when predicting he’d probably wish again for a consummation of their wedding vows. The woman had fascinated him from the moment they met. Just the thought of kissing her, touching her set him on fire, the reason he’d opted for a handshake at the wedding. A kiss at that point or any other would be disaster—a shock to his libido—that would surely have resulted in a shift of his attention from one kind of treasure to another, namely Jessi.

Thank God, she’d rejected that foolish, impromptu Plan A. Gabe knew without a doubt that if Jessi had welcomed him into her bed Saturday night, they’d still be there today. She was that kind of woman. And a man with as many plans as Gabe just didn’t have time for the distraction.

“Who’s that?” Anna Kate asked, a question that brought Gabe back to the here and now.

Slowing the truck, waving to the man in question, Gabe nodded. “That’s Mr. Taylor, our boss. Looks like a big ol’ bear, doesn’t he?”

Anna Kate giggled. Jessi groaned, no doubt wanting to throttle Gabe for encouraging his stepdaughter’s imagination. But to Gabe’s way of thinking, August did have some physical characteristics a child might connect with a forest-dwelling creature.