loving smile. But most telling of all to Reno was their physical ease with one another.
Shannon and Whip had become lovers. Reno had no doubt of it. If the radiance of Shannon’s eyes hadn’t told Reno, the shadows in Whip’s would have.
Reno touched the rim of his hat to Shannon in silent greeting.
«Shannon,» Whip said, «this is my brother Matt Moran, but we all call him Reno. Reno, this is Shannon Conner Smith.»
My woman.
Though the words weren’t said aloud, Reno sensed them very clearly.
So did Shannon. Red tinged her cheekbones for a few moments. She held out her hand and searched Reno’s vivid green eyes anxiously, wondering if he would condemn her.
Reno’s hard fingers lifted Shannon’s hand to his lips. He bowed as elegantly as though he were in a Paris ballroom rather than in a wild mountain meadow.
Shannon startled both men by sinking into a deep, graceful curtsy, as though she were wearing yards of silk and crinolines rather than ragged men’s clothing. Then she peeked up at Whip’s dark, startlingly handsome brother with laughter and relief in her beautiful eyes.
«A pleasure, Mr. Moran,» she murmured, rising.
«Reno, Mrs. Smith,» he corrected gently, holding Shannon’s hand between both of his. «I left Mr. Moran behind a long, long time ago.»
«Then you must call me Shannon. I never was truly Mrs. Smith. Silent John was my great-uncle.»
For an instant Reno’s dense black eyelashes shuttered his reaction.
No wonder Whip is having such a wrestling match with his conscience, Reno told himself silently. Shannon is a virgin.
Or was.
«In any case, Silent John is dead,» Shannon said clearly.
«A lot of men will be relieved to hear that,» Reno said beneath his breath as he released Shannon’s hand.
«I beg your pardon?» she said.
«Silent John was, um, well-known around Colorado Territory,» Reno said.
«His reputation — and Prettyface — went a long way toward keeping me safe while he was gone,» Shannon said.
«Prettyface,» Reno said, glancing toward the huge brindle hound. «Hell of a name for something that, um …»
Tactfully, Reno didn’t finish the sentence.
«Maybe you’d like to be the one to call him ugly,» Whip offered, smiling as he remembered Shannon’s saying something similar to him.
Shannon snickered.
«No, thank you,» Reno said promptly. «My mama didn’t raise any dumb ones.»
Whip laughed out loud.
«Come on inside,» Whip said. «We were just sitting down to lunch.»
«Only if you’ll let me put something on the table. Eve packed enough food for two.»
«Why?»
«She wanted to come along, but when we got to Cal’s place, Ethan was feeling puny and so was Willow.»
«Are they all right?» Whip and Shannon asked simultaneously.
«They’re fine. Just a summer cold. I told Eve I could look the claims over by myself. If nothing looks good, I’ll go and bring her back up here. If there’s gold here, the two of us will find it.»
What Reno didn’t say was that he doubted there was any gold worth mentioning up Avalanche Creek, which was why he had brought Eve along in the first place. He had prospected Avalanche Creek’s high, dangerous reaches years ago and found mostly chilblains and bruises for his efforts.
«Did you bring the Spanish needles?» Whip asked.
«In my saddlebags,» Reno said. «They don’t work worth a tinker’s damn without Eve, though.»
«What are Spanish needles?» Shannon asked.
«Dowsing rods made of metal,» Reno said. «They respond to gold or silver rather than to water. The Jesuit priests brought them to the New World hundreds of years ago.»
«Do they really work?» Shannon asked him.
«Count on it.»
«But only for Reno and Eve,» Whip put in. «Damnedest thing you ever saw. If any other people hold the needles together, they’re just so much junk.»
«Truly?» she asked.
«As ever was. Makes the hair on your arms stand straight up to watch Reno and Eve using those needles.»
«Then you found gold?» she asked Reno.
«Yes. Way up in the Abajos, in a crumbling old mine that had been dug by Indian slaves for Jesuit priests. There were ingots of pure gold so heavy Eve could hardly lift more than one at a time.»
«Oh, my,» Shannon said. «Those needles must be something!»
«They were a doorway to hell,» Whip said curtly.
Shannon looked at Whip, shocked.
«The mine came down around my ears,» Reno explained. «Eve and Whip damn near died digging me out.»
Shannon went pale. She touched Whip’s sun-bright hair with fingers that trembled.
«I don’t want gold that much,» she said starkly.
«It’s all right, honey girl,» Whip said, brushing his lips over her hand.
«A cave-in won’t be a problem up Avalanche Creek,» Reno said. «It’s hard rock all the way. The old Spanish mine wasn’t.»
«How do you know about Avalanche Creek?» Shannon asked.
«Silent John wasn’t the first man to see a gleam of gold dust in the creek and follow it back up the peak.»
«Did you find gold?» she asked eagerly.
Reno made a neutral sound. «Some.»
«How much is ‘some’?» Shannon persisted.
«Not much,» Whip said succinctly. «Otherwise Reno wouldn’t have risked his butt in the Spanish mine.»
«Oh,» Shannon said, disappointed.
«But I wasn’t looking all that hard,» Reno said kindly.
«This time will be different,» Whip said.
Reno raised his eyebrows at the certainty in Whip’s voice. A look at his brother’s pale silver eyes told Reno that questions wouldn’t be appreciated.
GOLD was the subject during the quick lunch the three of them ate, and gold was discussed at every opportunity along the trail to Rifle Sight claim. Sweat gleamed on the horses and mules, for Whip was holding to a very hard pace.
Sunlight followed them every step of the way, its blazing warmth as golden as the metal they pursued. Grizzly Meadow was hot. It brimmed with wildflowers and the songs of hidden birds. Both men examined the area carefully, but found no fresh evidence that a grizzly had been there. Relieved, they quickly set up camp.
«Plenty of deer sign around,» Reno said. «If there’s any light left after you show me the claim, why don’t you hunt? Winters are long up here.»
Whip heard what Reno didn’t say — Shannon would need every bit of meat she could get in order to survive the season of storm and ice.
While Shannon began preparing supper, the two men went quickly to the claim. The sky was already turning color, hinting at the glorious sunset to come.
It didn’t take Reno long to look over the mine. There was little to look at.
