Page 33 of Riches Beyond Measure (Golden State Treasure #3)
Twenty-Four
Annie overslept. Getting buried alive, falling through the rotted deck of an old ship, being nearly dehydrated, then spending hours in the saddle, all in all had left her feeling exhausted.
When she finally awoke and found herself alone in bed, she got to her feet, freshened up and dressed hurriedly, then walked out to a beehive of activity. She headed straight for the coffeepot before engaging with anyone.
She had poured herself a mug of hot coffee and returned the pot to the stove when strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind. Whispering in her ear, Cord said, “Good morning. Do you feel better after getting some rest?”
Annie turned to look into his bright blue eyes and smiled. “I do feel a bit better, thank you kindly. How are you, Cord Westbrook?”
He kissed her on the cheek. “Plan on spending the rest of your life getting to know me, Annie Westbrook.”
“I will.” It then flickered through her mind that sometimes life could be cut short. Her smile faded.
“What’s the matter? You’re thinking of Todd, aren’t you?”
She saw hurt in his eyes along with his kindness. “I’m going to pray with all my strength that we both live a long life. There are no guarantees, Cord. I’m going to savor every minute of whatever time the Lord gives us.”
“Does that include not falling through any more ship decks?”
She chuckled. “I certainly hope so. In fact, if there is another treasure hunt ahead of us, I might just stay home with my little girl. I think my gold fever has been cured for good.”
“I can barely translate any of this.” Michelle sat at the table with one of the old logbooks open in front of her.
“The language isn’t exactly Spanish like I know it, and the writing is very hard to make out.
But I suppose some of the spellings and expressions have changed from three hundred years ago just as they have with English. ”
Her brow furrowed as she studied the first page, covered with writing.
“A lot of the words are familiar, but enough are not that it’s slow going trying to decipher what’s being said. Like figuring out a puzzle.”
“Too bad we don’t have a professor of archaeology around to help with this,” Tilda said sympathetically. “Someone like that would probably recognize most of the unfamiliar terms.”
Annie noticed Tilda’s father, Carl Cabril, and her sister standing beside Tilda, the two of them whispering to each other.
So identical and yet so different from each other.
Maddie with her silk gowns and elaborately styled hair, her lace and petticoats and reticule.
And Tilda in her red calico dress with white flowers scattered over it, with her hair in a no-nonsense bun.
Maddie looked beautiful, but somehow, Annie, looking down at her own blue calico dress, liked how Tilda looked more.
“Carl just asked, apparently for the twentieth time, if his son could come to California.” Cord had been listening for a while, letting Annie sleep late. “Ben’s been writing to Tilda all winter, and she’s softened. It sounds like the coyote is coming out here.”
“It will be all right,” Annie said.
Cord’s brows lowered. “What makes you say that?”
Annie remembered then that Cord had spent a good deal of the winter riding the range and staying in the bunkhouse. “When Michelle’s family descended on us to see the baby, you met Caleb, right?” He hadn’t been in the bunkhouse all that time.
“Yep, he was the leader of the mission group that brought the Stiles sisters here. He married Michelle’s little sister, Laura.”
“Well, he spent a long time talking through all that had happened to Tilda, and he seems to think things will be better now.”
“But Ben was in New York City. How could Caleb talk to him? I guess they could write letters to each other, but—”
“No, he didn’t talk to Ben; he talked to Carl .
He got Carl to realize that Ben had lived his whole life believing he would be kept around only if he did exactly as his father said.
Carl and Ben have been writing back and forth, and Ben is beginning to trust his father.
Ben’s love and respect for him has grown ever since. ”
Caleb talked with Tilda and helped her write the letters she’d sent, so she could help Ben see what she’d need for Ben to earn her trust. With Tilda’s approval, the judge had agreed he could come back. Yet Tilda had been badly frightened by Ben and was slow in trusting him again.
With Caleb’s wise counsel, Carl had seen that Ben’s misguided quest for his favor was caused by growing up without a father around. Ben and Carl were building a kinder, healthier relationship, and now it sounded like Tilda had agreed to let her brother come back.
“When Ben came out here to get Tilda and she wouldn’t go, he grabbed her and ran, thinking it would please his father.”
Cord frowned. “That doesn’t excuse what he did.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Annie agreed. “Which is why Josh plans to keep a close eye on him. Ben has spent the last year selling all his father’s business interests in New York City with the hope he would be allowed to come and join his family.
I heard someone say he’ll probably settle in San Francisco, invest his father’s money, and oversee things from there. So he won’t be underfoot all the time.”
Cord’s eyes met Annie’s, and the skepticism he saw there was very clearly shared.
Annie added, “I don’t suppose there’s much reason he’d pose any further threat to Tilda. Not if the whole idea behind kidnapping her was to take her to her father, and now her father is right here.” It was a dubious defense of a scoundrel.
“It’s all settled then,” Michelle said.
Everyone turned to look at her. Their expressions said that they had no idea what had been settled.
Annie had been late to this discussion, so maybe something had been settled before she got here. Then she noticed the MacKenzie boys’ excitement, as well as Josh’s skepticism. She began to worry about what might come next.
Cord moved to stand at her side, almost like he needed to support her, which raised her concerns even higher.
“We’re all going on one last treasure hunt. The lot of us. And we’ll bring Caroline along.” The little girl beamed at Annie as if she’d just been granted her fondest wish.
“Tilda’s father and sister will go. Mayhew will go, too.
We’ll gather up everything out there that can be hauled back, documenting it all as perfectly as possible, then take what we found to the museum in Dorada Rio.
If any of the professors there want to get involved, they’ll have to come to us, do things our way.
None of the treasure goes anywhere else, not without our permission and careful supervision. ”
“The Crocker family pays well,” Carl said. “Enough to keep the museum going.”
“And everything we find is owned by the MacKenzies and the Westbrooks in equal measure.”
“That’s probably not necessary,” Mayhew said, “but it’s something we can settle at a later time.”
Annie had noticed that ever since Mayhew had learned that Graham MacKenzie had never repaid his loan before he died, leaving a note saying Mayhew was a partner in his treasure, Mayhew had lost the grudge he’d carried for years.
He didn’t seem to need the money, and his objection against Graham had been about feeling cheated. Now he’d let that all go.
Annie had misgivings about this massive caravan to collect their treasure. For one thing, she was still recovering from almost being killed. She also wasn’t ready to leave Caroline again so soon, nor did she want to put her daughter in any danger by taking her into the wilderness.
But then Annie figured, with a whole crowd going on the treasure hunt, she and Caroline should be plenty safe. She decided to roll along with whatever Michelle decided, for she was usually right.
“Can we wait a few days before we go?” Annie asked. “I think those of us buried alive need some time to recuperate.”
“I’m fine,” Lock put in, obviously wanting to saddle up and leave today.
“It’s Wednesday,” Michelle said. “Let’s leave Monday.
That’ll give us time to go through those chests, too.
Carl especially wants a look, and I’d like a little more time for my translating.
” Michelle arched her brows at Annie. “Since she’s not walking yet and can’t get into any toddler mischief, I’m taking Leah along, if that makes you feel any better. ”
Cord’s hand closed over hers. Annie realized then that Thayne had come to stand on her other side.
He took her hand in his. She looked at him, then Cord.
Lock seemed engrossed in the upcoming treasure hunt, yet the three of them knew how close they’d come to dying in that cellar.
It was a dangerous business trying to unearth old artifacts in a country prone to earthquakes, especially objects that might be the focus of others’ greed.
And they knew Hardy and Rombauer were still at large, though likely miles away by now.
“She’s right,” Thayne said. “There’s safety in a group this big.”
Annie squeezed the boy’s hand, then let it go. Looking at Cord, she said, “I’ll be spending today with Cord and Caroline. We’re going back to our rooms for now and maybe take a picnic lunch to eat outside somewhere.”
Cord gave a firm jerk of his chin. He released Annie’s hand and plucked Caroline out of the middle of the crowd. “How about we go read a book or play together for a while?”
“I’d like that, Pa.” She looked up at Annie. “Do you want to play with us, Ma?”
Such trust. The child never needed to know just how close she’d come to losing her ma and pa.
Annie felt tears burn just to think of it.
“Yes, Caroline,” she answered past the lump in her throat.
“I’d love to play with you.” Her eyes slid to Cord’s grandpa.
“Grandpa Westbrook, you can come with us and play with Caroline, too.” She’d noticed the sad expression on Mayhew’s face when she’d said she was planning a quiet day with Cord and Caroline.
He nodded, saying, “I’ll be along after a bit. The three of you should spend a bit of time together first. Maybe we should have the picnic lunch back in your rooms. That would be safest.”
Annie went to Mayhew and kissed his wrinkled cheek. “That’s a perfect idea to eat inside. Come on in after a while.” Then she and Cord and Caroline said goodbye and went to their rooms.