Page 31 of Fool's Gold

Rose smiled and patted Sarah's hand. "Still and all, dear, I'm sure you can patch it up. Talk to the man. He's your husband, after all. You should be able to tell him anything."

Sarah shook off the idea and looked directly at Rose. "My personal feelings aren't important right now. I have to prove Rafe didn't do it."

Rose gaped at her. "And just how are you going to come by such proof?"

Sarah leaned toward her and said conspiratorially, "Well, now. If a trained observer went to the spot and, say, got some evidence to the contrary, that would change things considerably, wouldn't it?"

Rose nodded and smiled brightly. "That it would." Then she rolled her eyes. "But the boss is in such an ornery mood, he'd never allow it."

Sarah shrugged and said nonchalantly, "He wouldn't have to know."

Rose smiled. "I like your style, young lady. You've got spunk, I'll say that for you." She glanced sharply to her left.

Sarah turned around and looked in that direction, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "What's the matter?"

Rose put her hand up to her chest. "I thought I saw somebody standing in the shadows. I was mistaken. It must be all this commotion shaking up my nerves."

Sarah patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I've got everything under control. Now let's get the rest of the food on the table before the mob descends on us."

Rafe leaned back and sipped his coffee. "So, wife, I see you decided to join us this morning. What's on your agenda for today?"

Sarah stopped with her fork in mid-bite. She ought to be used to his surly visage by now, but it still managed to startle her. He couldn't know about her plans, could he? Unless he was the person Rose thought she saw in the shadows.

She tensed, knowing she had to choose her words carefully. "I thought I'd take some photographs."

He took another sip of coffee, then set down his mug. "Try to stay out of my men's way today. Okay?"

"Fine." She looked at her plate and went back to her meal.

Rafe was spoiling for a fight, but he wasn't going to get one from her. She had important business to take care of. And his wounded ego was the least of her concerns.

His chair scraped the floor as he stood, but she didn't glance his way. Moments later, his angry bootsteps headed to the door, then the bang of the screen door followed.

She finally glanced up to see inquisitive glances thrown her way by several of the men still at the table. Travis was goggle-eyed, Tab had an amused smile on his face, and Zeke looked downright surly.

Sarah shrugged and rose. "What can I say? He's not in a very good mood this morning."

The men looked back down at their food.

Sarah picked up her dishes and carried them into the kitchen. She walked to Rose, who was putting a stack of plates into the sink.

"Well, I'm off to investigate."

Rose wiped her hands on a dishtowel. "But how do you know where to go? The ranch is pretty big."

She was right, but what other choice did Sarah have? If luck was with her, she'd stumble across the right location.

"I recognized the topography from the slides last night. I figure if I head for that area, I'll run into what I'm looking for eventually."

Rose frowned and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "But that'll take you forever, dear. There has to be a better way to go about this."

Sarah shrugged and leaned back against the counter. "None I can think of. I really have no other choice than to go on my own.You know if Rafe finds out about it, he'll try to stop me. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Rose smiled and put the dishtowel down. "I've got an idea. You wait right here, and I'll be back in a moment."

Sarah was surprised by the animation, but she didn't have time to stand around. "Rose, I need to get going."

Rose put her hands on her hips. "Have patience, child. A few minutes this way or that isn't going to make much difference, is it?"

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