Page 2 of Riches Beyond Measure (Golden State Treasure #3)

They hadn’t gone far when Bo, one of their cowhands, came trotting back while leading three horses.

“I’ll bring more if I can find them. We saw a couple ahead of us, still running and heading for the barn.

Shad and I left our riders behind so that I could get back to you fast and he had a chance of catching more horses. ”

“Annie,” Josh said, saddling the closest horse as Bo rode off, “those of us who can ride should go on ahead. There’ll be work to do back there.”

Annie nodded. There would be work for her too, but if buildings had collapsed, a lot of it would be heavy work, and the men needed to get on with it.

Josh jabbed a finger at five of the men. “You’re with me. We’ll all ride double. Cord, that leaves you out here with Annie and Caroline. More horses will be coming soon.”

Josh galloped away with all the men except Cord.

They walked briskly along, Cord toting his saddle and bridle. “Do you think he picked me to stay behind because he knows I’m still the most useless of his cowhands?”

Annie surprised herself by laughing. Not much made her laugh since Todd had died.

“And he left me behind for the same reason.”

Cord turned to her and smiled.

“I’d say you are doing a decent job,” she said. “Between Josh and Zane, neither of your bosses is real worried about anyone’s tender feelings. If you were bad at your job, you’d know it by the way they tore the hide off you.”

“You know, you’re right. Because they’ve done it a few times, including with kids from the orphanage who want to do ranch work.

Your brothers are good teachers, but they aren’t exactly tactful.

As for myself, I like straight talk. I’m going to have my own place one of these days.

Nothing, I suspect, as beautiful as the Two Harts, but I spent four of my growing-up years on my grandpa’s farm, and this life suits me. ”

“Mayhew Westbrook owns a farm?” Annie knew Cord’s grandfather had gone back to his mansion in Sacramento for the winter.

He’d cleared out when Michelle’s family, five of them, had turned up to see her new baby and filled the ranch house.

Not long after, Brody and Ellie MacKenzie had taken Brody’s younger brothers with them to Boston, where he had a doctoring job.

Thayne and Lochlan—who’d run away from New York in search of treasure, then lied their way onto the Two Harts, leaving mayhem wherever they went—had only gone on the condition that when Brody felt like he’d fulfilled his promise to Dr. Tibbles, they’d come right back.

They had already found some of the treasure they’d hoped to find, and it seemed to Annie there was more out there still waiting to be discovered.

It chafed more than a little that practically everyone had gotten to go treasure-hunting except her. Being a teacher and a mother and the one who generally took care of everything and everyone slowed her down some. But a treasure hunt sounded like fun, and Annie wouldn’t mind being a part of it.

“Grandpa Westbrook, farming?” Cord laughed and shook his head.

“Hard to picture that. Nope. My pa’s father has been a city dweller since birth.

He owns a big bank in Sacramento, although he’s mostly turned over the reins these days.

My ma grew up on a farm, though, and when my pa died, and Mayhew was so grouchy with her that she couldn’t take it anymore, Ma went to live with her folks and took me along.

“Grandpa Rivers’s place was a small homestead, so when I grew up, there wasn’t room for me.

It was only then that I went back to Sacramento and worked with Grandpa Westbrook to earn enough to buy my own place.

I’ve saved every penny I could scrape together, hoping to buy land someday. And I’m still waiting for my chance.”

The ground rumbled, and they stopped walking to keep their balance until the tremors ceased.

“The other thing I would have loved to do is study music, but Grandpa Westbrook considered that useless.”

Annie shook her head. “It sounds like your grandpa has a thing or two he still needs to learn. You play such beautiful music at church on Sunday. You could have made a career of it. I’ve been talking with Zane and Josh about buying a piano. It would be a good addition to our home.”

“Maybe I could teach the orphans to play the piano. Music is a rich addition to a child’s life.” Cord looked down at Caroline, and Annie noticed his kindly smile.

“But music as a career didn’t suit my grandpa’s wishes for me, so I worked at his bank.

My hope has been to buy land close to Grandma and Grandpa Rivers’s place.

Then Grandpa Westbrook sent me on this treasure hunt—not for the first time, mind you, since Grandpa knew from Graham MacKenzie that if it was found, half of it would be his.

But it mostly ended up being a chase after Frasier MacKenzie, Graham’s son and Brody’s father, and he never looked in the right place.

Grandpa was hoping I’d come back to Sacramento and continue working at the bank, but I saw a chance to learn cowhand skills from a first-class operation. So I hired on, and here I am.”

“Are we going to have to walk all the way back home, Mama?” They were setting a good pace, and Caroline sounded tired.

It was the time of day when Annie could tell a nap would still be a good idea.

Caroline didn’t nap much anymore now that her days were spent at school.

But after the scare of the earthquake and the long walk, she was probably worn clean out.

“Uncle Josh will send horses for us. If they have to ride all the way back to find a horse, they will.”

Cord walked alongside them, with Caroline in the middle. He looked down at her and said, “Would you like a piggy-back ride?”

Caroline turned to him and beamed. “Can I?” She looked up at Annie. “Is that all right, Mama?”

Annie ran one hand over her daughter’s dark hair, which was so like hers. “That would be very nice of ... Cord.”

She stumbled over the name. She should probably have said Mr. Westbrook , but Caroline didn’t talk a lot with adults who weren’t her aunts and uncles. She wasn’t around the cowhands much, and everyone else called each other by first names.

Cord set his saddle on the ground. “I’ll come back for that.” He picked Caroline up to face him, then with a big boost upward and a playful growl, he swung her over his shoulder. She squealed, then clung to Cord’s back like a monkey, her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist.

Annie hoped her little girl didn’t choke the man.

“Even if we can’t get a piano at the house, maybe you could use the piano at church for lessons. It’s awe-inspiring the music you can get out of that old piano.”

The Harts had twenty-seven orphans at their school, kids taken off the streets or out of the orphanages in San Francisco.

They were sheltering, feeding, and educating them, and they took them to church every Sunday when the weather was decent.

Cord always went along, as did Josh and Tilda, Zane and Michelle, and also any cowhands who were interested.

It wasn’t long after his arrival that Cord, who’d moved to the bunkhouse after hiring on at the Two Harts, had taken over playing the piano for church. He had a talent that left Annie feeling humbled and inspired.

“That old piano, as you call it, is a wonderful instrument. I love playing it. I even got offered a job to play at the hotel.” Cord smiled. “It didn’t pay worth a lick, though, and it would have cut into my ranching time. And that’s what I’m here to learn.”

Striding along at a brisk pace to cover ground, Annie said, “I wonder what the others found when they got home. If it’s bad enough, if people are hurt, we might have to walk the whole way back.”

“If we have to, then we’ll do it.”

Annie saw Caroline’s arm slide off Cord’s neck. “Someone’s falling asleep.” Annie reached for her daughter, but Cord drew her around and cradled her in his arms. She snuggled her face against his chest before sighing and falling asleep in earnest.

Annie’s heart was gladdened to see her little girl held by such a kind man. Her brothers were good men too, yet it was nice to have a spare.

Moving along, Annie tried to think of more to talk about.

She’d found Cord attractive from the first moment she’d seen him, a disturbing sensation she’d felt for no one since her husband had died.

But they didn’t talk much, and now she found herself tongue-tied, with images of her husband invading every thought she had about this man.

Being interested in Cord felt like a betrayal of Todd, even though he was such a good man he’d likely want her to let go of her grief.

The ground trembled again, then shook with greater force. Cord stopped, holding Caroline against him. Protecting her as the shaking grew worse.

Another big quake. A sudden heave of the earth threw Annie off her feet. Cord dropped down beside her as if to steady himself and keep from falling when he carried precious cargo.

“Be ready to move if the ground starts to give way.” Cord didn’t need to say that, because this time Annie was ready. But she liked knowing he was always thinking of what to do next.

At last the earth stilled. The two of them sat side by side on the ground, and Annie turned to check on her little girl.

“I can’t believe she slept through that.

When awake, she’s always moving and talking, running and climbing whatever she can find to climb.

But when she sleeps, she’s out, and nothing much can bother that girl. ”

Cord ran a hand over the straggles of hair that had escaped Caroline’s braid. “She’s sure a pretty little thing. She looks like you.” He raised his eyes and locked them on her.

For a long moment, Annie enjoyed what he hadn’t exactly said. A pretty little thing that looked like her meant that he thought she was pretty. Her brown eyes met his blue ones, and the gaze held, then held some more.

“It’s been a long time since...” She stopped. The words he’d implied had touched a place in her heart ... a place she’d thought had died with her husband. She clenched her jaw to keep from saying something stupid. And right now, she could only think of stupid things.

Then, with Caroline still in his arms, Cord leaned forward, slowly but steadily.

Almost as if he were going to...

The drum of hoofbeats jerked them apart.

And they’d been much too close. Annie scrambled to her feet.

Cord stood only a bit more slowly than she, careful not to jostle Caroline, then wheeled to face the oncoming horse, which wasn’t yet in sight, thank heavens.

Quickly, he started walking again, faster than ever.

Josh rounded a jumble of rocks. He was leading two horses, one saddled.

“I left my saddle back a ways so I could carry Caroline.”

“I’ll get it.” Josh rode on and was back fast.

Annie swung up onto her horse. Josh took Caroline so that Cord could mount up, and they all rode for home.

“Josh, w-what...” Annie started to speak and found her voice was a little hoarse, so she cleared her throat, almost—but not quite—clearing her head, too. “What did you find back home?”