Page 35 of Riches Beyond Measure (Golden State Treasure #3)

Twenty-Six

Sure enough, on the second day of digging, they found more to carry away.

Annie wanted to be done with it all. She wondered if, instead of asking anyone to the ranch to study what they’d found, maybe they could do it themselves?

On their way home now, Annie and Cord rode up to Zane, who was leading the way. “Cord and I are thinking of moving back to my land, Zane. If we decide to do that, we’re going to need a new house to replace the one that burned.”

“We’d be happy to build you a new house, Annie. I’d miss having you and Caroline there. Cord, you’ve become a dependable cowhand. It won’t be long and you’ll be one of the best ranchers around.”

“I own Horace Benteen’s house now, too.” Annie wondered if she’d enjoy taking what that polecat of a man used to own or if it would bother her. Right now she thought she’d rather enjoy it.

As they reached a wide stretch in the trail, Josh trotted up and joined their conversation. Ellie was riding in the buggy with Mayhew and Carl. The Hart family dropped back to include her in their talk.

Cord gave Annie an encouraging nod and pulled back so that the Hart family could speak with a bit of privacy. He found himself riding with Tilda, Michelle, and Brody.

“Word is you’re thinking of moving off the Two Harts,” Brody said.

“We still have some things to decide,” Cord replied, “but Annie and I are talking about it. She’s mentioned her ranch as well as the Benteen house, which is closer to the Two Harts than her ranch property.”

Michelle said, “Only Horace’s money and connections kept him and his son from the hangman’s noose. I was glad Annie sued Benteen for her husband’s death and the damage done to Annie and her home.”

“Isn’t that unusual? To sue over a death that he’d been convicted of?”

Michelle shrugged one shoulder. “It is, but then most wealthy men aren’t murderers, or if they are, they rarely get caught. Benteen got caught. I’ve never seen the house, but it’s said to be beautiful.”

Annie must have overhead them because she looked back and said, “I’ve never seen Benteen’s place either.

And I haven’t been back to our ranch since Todd died.

He’d inherited it from his parents. I had no interest in living there with only my daughter when we had family at the Two Harts.

And the orphanage gave me satisfying work. ”

“Annie, we don’t have to move if you’re happy where you are,” Cord said.

Josh added, “You’ve got a one-quarter stake in the Two Harts, and you’ll always have a home there. We’ve been run ning your ranch for a while now, and we’d be glad to continue if you want that.”

Annie gave Cord a peaceful smile. “I think I’m ready to have my own home again. And, Josh, I hope you understand ... Cord and I would like to run our own place. I might feel different if we were to move far away, but we’ll be close enough to see you often.”

Thayne rode up behind them. “I’m going to head to college soon to attend medical school. Looks as though the family is spreading out.”

“I guess I’m too young yet to go off on my own,” Lock said, sounding a bit disappointed.

They rode along, with Grandpa Westbrook’s carriage coming next, Ellie riding beside him. Carl was in the back, along with Maddie, Caroline, and Leah. Next came the chuck wagon and the two wagons carrying their treasure, not counting the coins and buttons in Lock’s pockets.

They went home through Dorada Rio, where they were told there’d been no word on any arrest of Hardy and Rombauer.

Cord wondered what would become of those two thieves.

The truly frustrating part was that justice was out of their hands.

The two men had left with a load of cargo and gotten off the train in Sacramento. Then they’d vanished.

If they boarded the train again, no one recognized them.

And their cargo, which was substantial and noticed in Dorada Rio, wasn’t seen by anyone in Sacramento.

If the two men had disguised themselves, and their crates of artifacts stowed along with other parcels, they could easily have gone on with no one the wiser.

Either the two men traveled west to San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean, or they boarded a train heading east all the way to New York and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Port of San Francisco, which sent ships all over the world, had been notified.

But if Hardy and Rombauer had managed to slip past the lawmen watching for them, they could already be far away at sea by now.

Or they might have stayed right here in California.

They could have made plans to stay somewhere in Sacramento, with a place to hide waiting for them.

Regardless of the whereabouts of the two thieves, Cord and the others had locked the rest of the artifacts up in the newly secured laboratory.

Of course, everything was in a jumble and needed to be sorted, identified if possible, and then sent to the museum for further study.

The museum’s name was still being debated.

Carl Cabril wanted Captain Cabrillo’s Voyage Museum.

Tilda thought it should be The MacKenzie Museum.

Lock was pushing for The Museum of MacKenzie Treasure, though he admitted a name like that was practically begging for robbers to flock to the place.

Treasure was the kind of word that could bring out the worst in people.

For all the work ahead and the concern over security, it seemed like the worst was over.

If only Cord could believe it.

He humbled himself before God when he prayed again for their two assailants to be caught and imprisoned. He, Annie, and Caroline could never settle into their new life as long as the dregs of this one hovered around them like a dank fog.

“It’s time to move home, Cord.” Annie rested her head on his chest as they settled in for the night.

“I want to start a new life with you, and I don’t think we can do that here at the Two Harts where everyone is so stirred up about thieves and artifacts and future plans for them.

Honestly, I’d like to put all of this excitement behind us. ”

“I’d love to do that, too.”

Annie’s hopes rose, and along with those hopes, her heart began beating faster. They would start over, a new family, on their very own place, away from the Two Harts. As much as she’d miss the home she’d known for so long, she was ready to make a new home with her husband and Caroline.

“But is it safe?” Cord asked.

Her heart slowed, and her hopes dampened.

“We still don’t know the whereabouts of Hardy and Rombauer; we don’t know if they escaped somewhere far away or whether they’re still in California. There’s been no word of their arrest.”

Annie considered Cord’s words. “We were attacked for those artifacts, and they aren’t going to come looking for us if they think they have everything.

If we move to the Benteen house, that’s not the property I lived on with Todd.

Hardy won’t know we’re there. And we’ll have cowhands around us.

We’ll put together a strong crew there.”

Cord patted her hand where she’d laid it over his heart. The touch seemed absent, and she knew he was busy thinking. Cord was dead serious about safety and protecting his family, and their being buried alive recently had only heightened his sense of vigilance.

She continued, “We can ask your grandpa if he’d like to stay with us at the Benteen place and see if your ma would come and visit, maybe bring her parents.

If they don’t want to move into our house with us, well, we’ll figure something out.

They could maybe sell their holdings and purchase land nearby, or we could build them something more private on our property. ”

Cord nodded slowly, not saying anything.

“There’s really no reason for anyone to attack us there,” Annie added. “If we move, we won’t have any artifacts close to hand.”

At last, he spoke up. “We’re the only witnesses to their assault and their attempt to kill us. That makes us a threat to them. That puts our family in danger.”

“Are we witnesses? Truly?” Annie said quietly. “I mean, what did we actually see, Cord, before getting knocked out?” Suddenly she felt less certain about the future.

No matter what they’d witnessed with their own eyes, it seemed their experience in the cellar was a dark tale that connected those two outlaws to their crimes, and it was something Annie and Cord couldn’t just shrug off.

Perhaps it was best to put their plans for the future aside. But for how long?

Cord continued patting her hand on his chest. Annie, not ready yet to give up on the idea of setting up a home of their own, tried to control the impulse to pressure him.

Then Cord gave a long sigh and said, “Let’s take a ride to the Benteen place.

See what we’d need to set up house. If we have to haul wagonloads of supplies to live there, we should probably wait.

But if we can pack a few satchels and supplies and ride down there with Grandpa and Caroline, along with a few cowhands for escorts, we’ll make the move.

Besides, the treasure isn’t mine. I’ve no stake in it except for whatever stake my grandpa has.

And I don’t see him fighting hard to claim much of it, though he might take one or two gold coins to repay Graham’s debt. ”

Annie’s heart sped up again.

“How about we go there after church on Sunday? A few of us will ride to the Benteen place and—”

“It’s the Westbrook place now,” Annie said, cutting him off. “I don’t want to associate Benteen’s name with it anymore. It’s our ranch as of today.”

Smiling, Cord said, “The Westbrook Ranch it is then. I’d always planned to be a farmer, but I’ve found I like working with cattle and horses more. Matter of fact, I have been dreaming of a ranch all winter, ever since I learned to be a cowhand. We could get us some nice Texas longhorns.”

“Have I told you that we already have a herd of Herefords on the land?”

“Sure, but Texas longhorns sound good to me.”

Annie grinned. “To me too. The ranch is a little east and south of here. We can make it there at a gallop in half an hour.” Her smile faded.

Cord pulled her into a hug. “What’s wrong?”

“I just remembered the last time I rode into the Two Harts at a gallop. Todd, Caroline, and I were running for our lives. And Todd didn’t make it...”

“I’m so sorry, Annie. That must’ve been a very dark day for you.”

Resting her cheek on his strong chest helped to ease the painful memory.

She realized then that she loved him. She’d known since the day she first saw him that she was drawn to him.

She’d come to care for him. But this deep, romantic love was like nothing she’d ever felt before, not even with Todd, whom she’d loved dearly and had considered her best friend.

What swept through her now was the sweetest, warmest thing she’d ever felt.

She held on to him, determined that she’d guard him with her very life, as she’d failed to do with Todd.

She opened her mouth to tell him that she loved him.

What she felt was too big, too generous, and she couldn’t keep it inside any longer.

“So we’ll ride to the Westbrook Ranch after church, then.

” Cord’s words diverted her for a moment.

And then he made her love him even more.

“Annie, I promise you, if living in that house makes you the least bit unhappy, we’ll build our own.

I don’t want you to live with something that isn’t right for you. ”

“Thank you, Cord. Going through town is a good idea. If we weren’t riding there anyway, there’s a shorter route from the Two Harts, but from Dorada Rio we’ll ride south and get there fast.”

“We’ll check around the new place, decide what we need, and see if the house suits us. If it’ll work to live there, we’ll come back to the Two Harts for a few days to gather our things.”

Whatever the history of the house, she’d fill it with love and laughter. God willing, she and Cord would add to their family with more children, conceived in love and raised in faith. And all traces of Benteen’s evil menace connected with the place would be forgotten.

Annie pictured herself standing with her handsome husband in their new home and confessing her love to him.

She couldn’t wait.