Page 16 of Riches Beyond Measure (Golden State Treasure #3)

Cord shook his head. “Tomorrow’s out of the question.” He stood from the table. “We need to wait a day or two. We’re all exhausted, and we’re behind on the ranch work. Give us time to rest up a bit and prepare.”

“No!” Professor Hardy shot back. “I insist—”

The back door closing behind Cord shut Hardy right up. He quickly shifted his attention to Annie. She and the boys were the only ones left at the table.

“I’m ready to hunt for treasure again,” said Lock. “Tomorrow suits me fine.”

Thayne said, “Lock, we’d better talk to Brody first. We haven’t even told him we’re back yet. Good night, Aunt Annie. Professor.” With that, he and Lock got up and dis appeared out the back, the door shutting solidly behind them.

Annie sat at her usual spot at the table, Professor Hardy sitting to her right.

The professor gave a sigh and said, “Are you going to walk out on me too, Mrs. Lane?”

She stared at him, one teacher to another.

The arrogant man most likely didn’t consider a woman teaching youngsters an equal in any way.

Still, she had a talent for taking charge of a situation.

“I assume you’re staying here in the ranch house.

” It occurred to her then that the next thing they needed to add to the ranch was a guesthouse—one room with a dozen bunk beds.

She wasn’t interested in making unwelcome guests too comfortable.

“Yes, I’ve been shown to a room upstairs, along with my assistant, Otto Rombauer.”

Rombauer , that was it. Yet she was so tired, she figured by morning she’d forget the man’s name all over again. She didn’t like having two strange men sleeping upstairs near her and Caroline, despite the presence of Zane and Michelle up there, and Josh and Tilda downstairs.

They definitely needed a guesthouse, and soon.

“I’ve been gone for days, sir. I haven’t seen my daughter in all that time, and now she’s tucked up in bed before I could even speak with her. I am not leaving the ranch tomorrow.”

“But I—”

“Enough,” Annie said, one hand raised to silence him.

He stopped talking so completely she was impressed with herself.

She lowered her hand. “Spend the next few days studying the artifacts we just handed you while we rest up and prepare for the next trip. It was a hard journey through rugged terrain, and we had a large area to cover. But on the way home, Josh found us a better trail that’ll save us time.

We can get out there in a single day’s ride now. ”

Professor Hardy gave her a look that bordered on approval and might even have held a little bit of respect.

“Go on up to bed, Professor. I’ll tidy the kitchen, and then I need to get some sleep.”

He gave her a firm nod, stood, and left the room.

After cleaning up, Annie headed upstairs.

This floor of the large ranch house had a lot of space.

Michelle and Zane stayed in the room he’d slept in all his life.

They kept their little one, Leah, right there with them.

Professor Hardy and Mr. Rombauer each had their own rooms. Annie slept in the fourth room with Caroline.

She moved to open her door and felt the dull thud of it hitting something, then heard the low moan of someone stirring.

It was Zane, who slowly got to his feet and swung the door open fully.

While remaining dressed, he’d been sleeping on the floor in front of the door.

Annie peeked into the room and saw Caroline, asleep in the small cot they’d squeezed into the room next to Annie’s bed.

Zane whispered, “I didn’t like her being here alone with strangers in the house. Michelle stayed with Caroline until she fell asleep, and I took over while Michelle tucked Leah in. I decided to stay up here until you came.”

“We need to build a guesthouse.”

Zane nodded his agreement. “We’re already rebuilding Harriet and Bo’s house. We can put up another while we’re at it.”

Annie leaned close. “Don’t bother making it overly comfortable.”

Grinning, he said, “I get your meaning.”

“Good night, Zane.”

“One more thing. Because we’ve had so many guests lately, I’ve put locks on all the bedroom doors. But I didn’t want to lock Caroline in alone.” He pulled a key from his pants pocket, handed it to Annie, then said good night and left the room.

She saw Zane unlock his own bedroom door before she closed and locked hers. Their two guests had been no trouble, so Annie didn’t think there was anything to fear. Even so, they were strangers. She wasn’t completely comfortable with their spending the night in the house and being so near.

She hadn’t felt this way when Cord’s grandfather stayed with them. To her own shame, she hadn’t felt this way when Tilda’s brother stayed either, someone who’d ended up being untrustworthy. She’d certainly never felt this way when Cord stayed in the house for a while before moving to the bunkhouse.

Annie felt her cheeks flush as she thought of Cord. She’d agreed to go to dinner with him. He was the first man who’d been in her thoughts in any personal way since Todd.

But with the arrogant Professor Hardy and the rather hulking Mr. Rombauer, she wasn’t comfortable.

Zane clearly wasn’t comfortable with the situation either.

Nor was Michelle since no one needed to get Caroline ready for bed or sit with her until she fell asleep.

Caroline was a very capable child who went to sleep quickly with no bedtime dramatics.

Guesthouse for a fact.

She checked the door lock one more time before moving to the bed.

“Grandpa, I’m glad to see you! I didn’t know you were coming.” Cord strode toward his grandfather, who was being driven into the ranch yard by the hotel owner in Dorada Rio. The proprietor also ran a wagon-for-hire business in town.

His grandfather smiled. Cord noticed an ease in the man’s demeanor. He hoped that meant Grandpa wasn’t working as much these days. Cord had nagged him to quit or cut back for years. He had cut back some, but he’d never stepped away completely.

Or maybe his arthritis was feeling better since Brody had been doctoring him. Or maybe he was just glad to see his only grandson. Cord thought all those reasons were good ones.

Grandpa stepped down from the wagon with surprising agility. Cord hurried to the back of the wagon and pulled out the trunk Grandpa always traveled with. He mentally ran through the occupants of the house. There was one available bedroom upstairs; Grandpa would be happy there.

“Cordell, good to see you.” Grandpa was the only one who called him that. “Your wanting to be a cowhand is nonsensical, but I have to admit—you look good. It appears you’re making a fine job of it.”

Cord almost dropped the trunk. When he thought of how fiercely his grandpa had fought with him over even a visit to his other grandparents, together with his grandpa’s disregard for life in the country, he was amazed by the change of heart.

Cord had to wonder if the old man was up to something.

Or maybe he was feeling better, which had left him with an improved attitude.

“Zane and Michelle have bought a piano. It should be arriving soon. I can play for you in the evening,” Cord offered.

“Excellent. I doubt it’ll be as magnificent an instrument as my Steinway, but I’m sure you’ll get wonderful music out of it anyway.”

That was just the simple truth. There was no better sounding piano in the world than Grandpa’s Steinway.

Professor Hardy picked this moment to emerge from the house. He grunted what might well have been a “good morning” to Cord and his grandfather, then headed for the laboratory where the artifacts were stored, not counting Lock’s dagger.

Grandpa hadn’t met the cranky professor before today. When Grandpa had heard they were coming, along with others interested in the artifacts, he’d returned home for the winter out of consideration for the Harts’ crowded home. “Who’s that?” he asked.

The back door opened again, and this time Mr. Rombauer stepped out and followed the archeologist to the laboratory.

It was his designated place—never beside the professor but always following from behind.

Cord wondered what the man got paid to be treated with such disrespect.

Or maybe it just seemed disrespectful to Cord.

He didn’t know how the two men got along.

He and Grandpa reached the house, and the door swung open yet again. Annie appeared, a smile spreading across her face. “Mayhew, you’re back. It’s nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you too, Annie. Is it an imposition for me to stay in the house? I didn’t realize your archeologists were still here.”

“We’ve got one empty room remaining.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, urging him inside.

“Hi, Grandpa.” Caroline was right behind her mama. She peeked out from behind her mother’s skirts.

Caroline had heard Cord call him Grandpa enough that she’d fallen into the habit of doing the same. She had no grandparents in her life, and she and Grandpa Mayhew had learned to enjoy each other’s company.

Grandpa reached into his pocket and drew out a small wooden horse about three inches long, beautifully carved.

Caroline gasped as he extended the toy to her.

Caroline came out from behind Annie’s skirts. “For me?”

“That’s right. And I brought a few other animals for you to share with Gretel’s children—a cow, a pig, and a chicken. There’s a little barn in my trunk, too. You can have your own ranch.”

Caroline’s eyes grew wide. “My own ranch, really?”

Annie invited Grandpa inside while he talked with Caroline. Cord couldn’t remember his grandpa spending much time with him when he was little. He hadn’t been a bad grandfather, just busy and a bit full of his own importance. Cord liked seeing this kinder side of him.

It wasn’t all for Caroline either. He was going to church now, too. At least he had when here on the ranch last fall. The whole family and many of the cowhands had ridden into town to attend the weekly church service, where Cord played hymns on the piano for the congregation.

They all had coffee and did some catching up, Annie and Caroline with them, while Gretel and her youngsters worked on the noon meal. Grandpa produced a pocketful of wooden animals, promising to give them the barn later when he unpacked.

As the children sat together on the kitchen floor to play with the animal figurines, Cord turned to his grandpa and said, “We reached the end of our map.”

Grandpa’s eyes snapped up to meet Cord’s. “You did? You really found it?”

“We’re certain we’ve found the right spot. We brought home four ... uh, that is, three artifacts. But we think there’s more to find.”

Grandpa’s eyes narrowed. He might be old, but he was still sharp.

Cord leaned close and touched a finger to his lips.

He didn’t want Gretel or the children to overhear him; they might accidentally slip up and say something in front of the professor or his assistant.

He whispered, “We kept one a secret from Professor Hardy. Lock was afraid he might abscond with the artifact. We had a suit of armor stolen. We got it all back except the dagger. We found a second dagger recently, and Lock is hanging on tight to it.”

Grandpa nodded and asked about the theft and finding the armor, as well as about their trek out to Graham’s claim.

“What we found out there is half yours.” Annie patted Grandpa on the arm. “Just like Graham MacKenzie promised when you loaned him money all those years ago.”

“How did Sacramento fare from the earthquake?” Cord asked. “Any damage to your house or the bank? I wrote to Ma, but I haven’t heard if she or Grandma and Grandpa Rivers had any trouble.”

“They’re fine. I took the train here like usual, and they’re not on the route. But I sent a man on horseback to check on them and see if they were in need. He reported back that everything seemed to be all right. Of course, your stiff-necked grandpa wouldn’t accept any help, though I offered.”

Cord grinned. “Lots of stiff-necked grandparents in my life, and I love every one of you.”

Grandpa laughed. “Now, when are we going after that treasure?”

Cord looked at Annie. She blinked, and they both looked at Grandpa. At the same exact time they said, “We?”

He grinned and rubbed his hands together with glee.

Apparently, Grandpa Mayhew was feeling better enough that he wanted in on the treasure hunt.