Page 16 of Inventions of the Heart

Frowning, Michelle said, “We’ll make sure not to overload our saddlebags.”

“Saddlebags full of gold. Who’d’ve ever imagined it? It’s gonna play havoc with my ranch and my life. But it’s hard to resist the call of gold.” Zane shook his head in wonder. “You’re right. We need to find out what we’re dealing with.”

They rode at a good pace through the pastures and mountains of Zane’s land. It was about two hours in the saddle when they came upon the cabin construction.

The cabins were nearly complete. The Hogan sisters would be gone by the weekend. They could probably start sleeping in the cabins right now. The chimneys were up. The roof on each was enclosed. Doors hung. The windows still gaped open, so they needed shutters. Zane wondered how furniture building was progressing.

Jilly had told him last night she was splitting logs for a wooden floor. Many log cabins didn’t have floors, so that was a luxury.

The cabins weren’t far from each other, fifty paces or so. Far enough for privacy, close enough for safety. They were close to the trees for shade and a windbreak. It was a beautiful setting with the wooded mountain rising up behind the buildings. A small stream trickled behind the cabins. With Michelle’s help, they’d piped water into the cabins and arranged a drain so they had running water at hand. Homes with modern conveniences.

Jilly didn’t have to see it all through to the very end. And she had two cabins to build closer to Zane’s house, though they were going up fast, too. She’d soon be done and looking for something to do. Like mining gold. A two-person crew. Three if Zane insisted on coming every day.

“Is there a way to circle around this meadow so they won’t see us coming?” Michelle asked. “We can act like it’s someroutine thing for one day, but if we come over and over, that’ll make them wonder.”

“I’ve got a ranch to run, Michelle. I can’t just ride off every day and expect my men not to notice. Bo and Jesse are two of my best hands. Shad will take charge, but I’m going to have to have someone ramrodding the outfit if Bo is over here. And I don’tactlike anything.” He glared hard at her. “Two Harts is my spread. I go where I want, when I want, and offer no excuse nor explanation unless I choose to.”

She smiled. “Does that mean no? There is no way to slip past without being seen?”

“There’s a way.”

She didn’t ask for more.

“Getting past these cabins isn’t the only problem. Both of us will be missed. My men aren’t stupid. Neither are the women at the Two Harts. They’re all going to wonder.”

The valley had a nice herd of Zane’s Hereford cattle. With their red coats and white faces, Zane thought they were about the prettiest critters in the world.

“You know, your brand is almost an infinity symbol,” Michelle said.

“A what?” His eyes went to the brand he was so proud of. “It’s shaped like two hearts lying on their sides with the tips touching. It’s registered as the Two Harts Ranch. Pa chose the brand with himself and Ma in mind.” But folks thought it looked like a sideways eight. Zane had heard it called the Lazy Eight. He didn’t like it, but he kept his mouth shut.

“The tops of the hearts have that little dip in them, of course, but to just look at it, an infinity symbol is the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Since I’ve never heard of such a thing, it doesn’t come to my mind. What is it?”

“Picture an eight lying on its side. If you put your finger on the line at any point, you could trace it around and around. No beginning, no end. It strikes me as a very Christian symbol, like how God has no beginning and no end.”

“Then a number eight is an infinity symbol, too.”

“It is, but the mathematical symbol for infinity is always on its side. It’s a sign for a number too large to ever count. The number of stars in the sky is infinite. God talks of the children of Abraham being as many as the sands that are upon the seashore. That’s infinity. There are uses for it in mathematical calculations, but to me it’s a beautiful concept. And here you are with infinity as your cattle brand.”

“My cattle marked with infinity.” Shaking his head, Zane smiled. “I like it.”

He waved at Harriet when she stepped out of her cabin. The trail to Purgatory, or what was left of it, didn’t wind close to the cabins, so it was easy to keep well away to not encourage any delays. Or to have to answer any questions.

They took the narrow trail into the heavy, rock-strewn forest and wound up a steep mountain slope.

When they arrived, Zane took in the ashy remains of what had been a wretched little community where people came when they were as far down on their luck as they could be.

Caleb had hoped to reach people here for the Lord. Instead, his dream was in ashes. He hadn’t let it concern him long. With Purgatory gone, he and Laura had ridden back to the logging camp. Zane figured they would need a parson there just as much as a mining town did.

CALEB AND NICKTALKEDlong and hard about what was going on at Stiles Lumber.

Caleb didn’t know much about lumber, but Nick did. And he could tell things were going badly. Very badly.

Too many men had quit or been fired. Those still here mostly stayed out of loyalty to Mrs. Stiles, whom they seemed to revere, despite being mistreated. Underpaid, overworked. They weren’t even being fed well because the men who had cooked for them quit, and the new cooks were incompetent but loyal to the man who had given them their jobs: Edgar Beaumont.

“The men live in bunkhouses, not exactly like the ones at the Two Harts,” Nick said. “There are three lines of cabins, and each is built for two men to live in. There’s also a dining hall where they gather to eat. But the roof leaks on about half of the cabins, and Beaumont won’t have them repaired. I also talked with Old Tom, the man who amounts to the foreman out here. He can’t fire the new cooks. He tried. They tattled to Beaumont, who overruled Old Tom.”

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