“Chill out,” Sorrow said. “We just finalized it today. You were hiding in the attic, remember? Hey, if you looked up from that cell phone every once in a while, I could’ve told you sooner. ”
She shut her eyes for a second, regrouping. “All right. You’re right. ”
“I am?” Sorrow grinned.
“Don’t let it go to your head. Now tell me how you finally convinced the old man. He’s been all talk, promising help for ages. ”
“I did it with a little help from this guy. ” She leaned back into Billy, and he cradled his arms around her waist.
Helen snapped, “Shouldn’t you two be on a honeymoon somewhere?”
“We’re having a long engagement. ”
Laura had to agree with Helen on that point—those two were a bit much to watch sometimes. “You can honeymoon all you want if you’re telling me someone else is showing up to help around here. ”
“Believe it,” Sorrow said.
As Helen began to rail in detail about all the various skills their new employee would require, Laura considered the Caller ID on the tavern phone. It was a 212 area code. Manhattan? “Hey, Helen. You never said who called. ”
The woman looked annoyed to be interrupted. “He said he was from the History Network. ”
“He said what?” Laura exploded into action, seeing in a flash a whole new world of possibilities.
Eleven
By the time Laura took the turnoff to Timber Road, her mind was going a million miles a minute, and unfortunately the car was going a little faster than it should’ve been, too. Gravel spat under her tires as she brought the Beemer to an abrupt stop in the ranch’s parking lot.
A couple of the construction workers hooted at her daredevil entrance. She really should sell the thing and buy something much more practical for mountain living—a nice SUV, or a Jeep maybe—but she was having a hard time parting with the thing. She’d left San Francisco with her tail between her legs, but she’d bought that sedan fair and square, working her butt off for every last payment. It was a symbol of her meager successes, and she wasn’t ready to part with it yet. Other successes had been just too hard to come by.
But then she caught sight of Eddie’s ridiculously giant pickup—it was a godawful vehicle. Maybe the BMW was just the thing.
Eddie. She shaded her eyes, looking for him among the other workers.
She bit her cheek not to grin—she felt like she’d already won the battle. It had been the History Network who’d called. The execs had raved about Sierra Falls, the lodge, and the discovery of letters from her three-times-great-grandmother that’d uncovered much about the famous California figure Buck Larsen.
They were interested in her family’s lodge. Not Eddie’s Slumber Ranch.
She squinted, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Workmen roved the rooftop of the ranch house. It’d been only a few days since her last argument with Eddie—surely she wasn’t too late. Had they begun building another story already?
She peered harder, shading her eyes from the sun. The home really was a beautiful old girl—like something from one of those aged sepia photos of the Wild West. It had a low, flat roof, with no-nonsense posts and pillars hammered together at right angles. A porch wrapped around the front, adorned with old wagon wheels in various states of decay. Part of the façade had been torn away, and though she was sure it’d been necessary to repair the extensive damage years of snow and ice would’ve done, still, the sight sickened her. She was protective of her town, and nothing more symbolized the heart of Sierra Falls than a turn-of-the-century building like this.
“What can I do you for?” a friendly voice shouted from above.
“Hey, Jack. ” She knew she could take her issues up with Eddie’s brother—after all, it was Jessup Brothers, plural—but she found she mostly wanted to continue the conversation with Eddie. “Where’s—”
“My little brother? He’s off in the woods, no thanks to you. ”
“To me?”
“You’re making the man nuts. He’s somewhere out there now, with his surveying equipment. ” Jack gestured into the distance. “Got it in his head to check all the property lines. Again. Said we have you to thank for it. ”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she muttered.
“What’s that?” He began to make his way toward the ladder. “You need me to come down?”
“No, no need. Thanks, Jack. I’ll go find him. ”
“You do that. He’s been making stupid mistakes, distracted. Doesn’t help with that phone of his buzzing every two minutes, and don’t think I don’t know it’s you hounding him. He said you’re in a lather about something. ” Jack gestured into the distance. “I told him to stay out there and take a long lunch. ”