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T wenty- S ix

“We the jury find the defendant not guilty.” Fatty, who was cranky about serving on the jury when it was lunchtime at his diner, groused. “But only cuz you told us he’d leave the state.”

The judge slammed his gavel down. “We’ve agreed to that condition as a requirement for not locking you up, Mr. Cabril. Which means you’re bound by this court to leave the state forever. California is done with you, you kidnapping polecat.”

Ben, standing to receive the verdict and sentencing, glared at the judge. “Forever? No. I want to come back after Tilda calms down and realizes I didn’t mean her any harm.”

Tilda wasn’t very experienced with legal matters, but that seemed pure stupid to talk to a judge that way.

On the other hand, he’d been found not guilty, so she hadn’t expected that he’d receive any sentence.

His lawyer had called it a plea deal. He’d only been found not guilty because his lawyer had promised he’d go far, far away.

“I don’t cotton to the idea of you walking away after you hurt Mrs. Hart.

” The judge rapped his gavel again. “If you don’t agree to the deal you made, then I’m going to instruct the jury to find you guilty—which they were inclined to do.

After that I’ll sentence you to a few years in San Quentin.

That’s where we usually send kidnappers, if we don’t hang them. ”

Ben, scowling, sank back into his chair. “If I could convince Tilda to let me come back here, would you allow it?” he asked.

The judge narrowed his eyes. “Get out of this state and stay out. For all I know, you might threaten Mrs. Hart in some way and get her to cooperate with you out of fear. No, you’re out. Go home.”

Ben turned to his father, his shoulders slumped.

Carl was sitting in a chair right behind his son. “We’ll come back east and visit, son. You’ve helped me run the company for years. You’ve got a talent for it. We’ll come and see you in New York.”

Tilda wasn’t sure how she liked this outcome, but she had to admit that urging others to hang her brother didn’t sit right. Having a family was turning out to be confusing.

The whole trial had been annoying. As anticipated, Ben’s lawyer had shown himself to be a smooth talker, with Ben acting contrite before the judge and jury, apologizing for “upsetting” his sister, and so he’d gotten away with the kidnapping.

When it had been her turn to be questioned, Ben’s lawyer made her sound like she’d slept through the whole thing because she was tired, not because she’d been knocked out by Ben and his partner.

Then, in her disoriented condition upon awakening, she’d leapt from the train when all she’d needed to do was ask politely to be taken back, to say she’d changed her mind about leaving the man she’d gotten engaged to only days before.

“The train arrives midmorning most days,” the judge continued. “Until then, Cabril, you’re to be held in jail. When the time comes, the sheriff and his deputy will escort you to the train when it’s ready to pull out. And don’t forget, you’re paying for your own ticket.”

That had been part of the sentence: to pay for a ticket, food, and lodging, and for a deputy to ride all the way to New York and back. One of the deputies seemed eager for the adventure.

It took longer than Tilda liked, especially with those reckless MacKenzie men champing at the bit to get back to their treasure hunt. She took a moment to marvel at how western her thoughts had become.

When the jury filed out of the courtroom, but before Ben could be led away, Tilda said, “Wait, Ben, before you go, I’d like to talk to all of you.”

Sheriff Stockwood turned to her and nodded. Seeing that Josh was right there, the sheriff said, “I’ll step over there.” He gestured to the back of the courtroom. “Give you a few minutes with your family, Mrs. Hart.”

It struck a tender place in her heart to hear “your family.” Until Josh, she’d never had one, never believed one existed. Now here were three people who shared blood ties with her.

Tilda went to Maddie and rested a hand on her arm.

Speaking to all of them, she said, “If you’re staying in Dorada Rio, F-Father”—she forced out the word—“I hope we will get to know each other. My family ... the Harts attend church every Sunday. Maybe you can join us for worship.” She turned to Maddie.

“Finding out the connection to Captain Cabrillo, and realizing I’d heard that name before, makes me believe my memories of you all are still there.

Maddie, I feel a special kinship with you.

I want to come to know you better.” She paused and looked at Ben.

“If you write to me from New York City, I promise to answer your letters.”

“Tilda, I-I...” He shook his head and looked down.

“I thought I knew best. I believed if I could get you back home to New York City, you’d find Father and Maddie waiting for you with open arms and end up being happy.

But I ... um, I took that choice away from you.

Hearing you were getting married made me desperate to get you away while you were still free.

I was a headlong fool. I do want your forgiveness and your trust. I will try and earn that through my letters. ”

Ben reached up, slowly, cautiously. Tilda felt Josh tense beside her, but he didn’t interfere. He touched the scar on her forehead with the tip of one finger. “It really was awful when this happened. I’m glad we found you. No thanks to any of us, you’re a woman who’s made a good life for herself.”

Tilda managed a lopsided smile. “No five-year-old should be left in charge of two babies. I’m glad I found out the story of my scar.”

“I’ll write. Maybe I’ll get a tintype made of myself and send it to you.”

Carl gave his son a hug and said, “Ben, I’ve made you doubt me. I made you believe my love is only as good as your behavior. That’s something I need forgiveness for. I’m going to try and let go of my tyrannical ways.”

“Not tyrannical, Father. Bossy maybe, but you’re no tyrant.

” Ben stepped back, offered a hand to Josh, who shook it.

Ben gave Tilda a nod, but seemed to realize a hug might be a bit too much.

He kissed Maddie on the cheek. “I think there’ll be time to visit me before the train leaves in the morning.

I’ll see you again, baby sister.” He turned away. “I’m ready, Sheriff Stockwood.”

The sheriff came and escorted Ben out of the courtroom.

Tilda managed a quick hug with her father, then a longer one with Maddie, before she and Josh headed for home.

They talked about leaving tomorrow to wrap up their treasure hunt only to be met by Zane, who said, “No treasure hunt for a while. We’ve had an outbreak of fever at the orphanage, and Thayne’s among the sick.

Several of the cowhands have whatever it is, too.

Brody says it could be measles. He and Ellie aren’t going anywhere for a while.

We all have to wait. We contacted those arckil .

.. uh, archolage ... the men who hunt old relics Michelle sent for and warned them back until the fever clears up. ”

Josh took Tilda into the house, where they found themselves unwelcome because Michelle didn’t want the fever to affect the baby. Everyone got kicked out.

Brody agreed to let them have his room because he and Ellie were staying at the orphanage until the sickness had passed.

Tilda scowled. “We’re never going to find that treasure.”

“If it’s measles, most of us have had it. It went through the ranch last year. About five of our hands were affected, and most of the children got it then. When I was a youngster, our whole family had it. If Brody’s right, it’ll be contained mostly in the orphanage.”

“A lot of them will have had it, too. It swept through the orphanage in New York when I was there, so I’ve had it as well. That’ll be true of the street children—they tend to get sick whenever there’s an outbreak.”

“Brody will have a lot of miserable little ones, but hopefully the sickness will run its course soon enough without any serious trouble.”

“Two weeks, as I remember.” Tilda looked toward the mountain and gasped. “Is that snow?”

Josh turned to look at the colorful trees to the east and, beyond them, the snowcapped peaks. “Snow comes down in feet up there, not inches. And we’re into the fall season. Whatever snow falls now is going to stay around till spring.”

Tilda felt like kicking something, maybe Ben. “We ran out of summer days.”

“It depends on where that map leads. The higher elevations get plenty of snow. Ellie said Graham MacKenzie’s Spanish note mentioned the ‘river of death.’ She isn’t the best at Spanish, so she was going to ask Michelle about it. But baby Leah was fussy last night, and she didn’t come down.”

“I wanted to see her.” Tilda heard the self-pity in her voice, but she’d really wanted to see little Leah. Michelle and Zane had named her Leah because it reminded Michelle of her father, Liam Stiles.

Josh took her hand and walked with her to the doctor’s office.

“Since I’m not leaving you alone for a moment until that deputy gets back to say he left your brother in New York City, you’ll either ride the range with me when I need to go to work, or we’ll hide in the doctor’s office and call it a honeymoon. ”

Tilda smirked, then laughed out loud. “We get a honeymoon because there’s measles at the orphanage? That sounds like the kind of honeymoon I’d get.”

Josh got her inside, then leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. “If I have a say in it, it’ll be very romantic.”

She kissed him again, and all she felt was too much to hold inside. She rested one hand on his cheek and whispered, “Have I told you I love you, Josh?”

A smile crept over his face. “I don’t believe I’d heard that from you, no.”

“Well, I do. It seems like it all happened too fast. But I love you with all my heart.”

He drew her close, his eyes shining, his smile fading to something else.

Something deeper and warmer. “I love you too, Tilda. I think I fell in love with you while you were sitting on my lap on our ride home from Dorada Rio the day I met you. I spent every minute after that trying to figure out how to get you to marry me.”

“You did a good job of it, Husband. I went right along with all your figuring without even thinking of saying no.”

When he’d stopped kissing her, she said, “You’re right. I’m thinking we might just manage the most romantic honeymoon two people ever had.”

“And after this outbreak of whatever’s ailing our students passes, we’ll get to that treasure.

If snow comes to the lowlands, or the map leads up a mountain, then we’ll go in the spring.

I mean, if there’s no more gold, digging up artifacts that have been buried for three hundred years can wait a bit longer. ”

“Maybe if we have to wait out the winter, Brody could go back east and then visit next spring. Then we go on one last treasure hunt together.”

Josh kissed her again. “We can spend the winter getting to know your father and sister. We can help tend Michelle’s baby, and if the men she contacted about the artifacts turn up, we can spend time studying with them.”

Holding Tilda’s hand, Josh led her through Brody’s doctor’s office to a back window. “Just look at that snow come down.”

“How can that be happening? It’s a warm day here.” Tilda and Josh stood at the window with their arms around each other, gazing at the mountains in the distance. “It’s not just the peaks either—the snow is covering everything.”

He held her closer as if she’d just complained of the cold. She hadn’t, but she didn’t protest his nearness. Instead, she said, “We can’t just settle in here and hide from the work of caring for the sick children.”

“Nope, we can’t. And we still have cattle to round up for the drive to San Francisco.”

The sun sank lower as they stood watching the weather, casting the Two Harts in a wash of bright orange.

“I’m wondering if maybe this is the first time we’ve had a quiet moment since we got married.”

Josh gave her a sound kiss. “I’ve got a keen memory of a few moments we had alone.”

“Yes, I remember them, too.” She drew back and looked deep into his eyes. “I don’t think we have time for quiet moments right now.”

He chuckled. “Maybe not, but we can hide away for a day or two, I think. We have time for everything, Tilda.”

Right now, though, all they had time for was love.