Page 41 of Inventions of the Heart

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

THE DAYS WERE LONG IN CALIFORNIA IN JULY.The sun was still high in the sky when they left the lawyer’s office, which was also the office of his parsonage, with the proxy papers in hand.

Michelle handed them to Laura. Jilly came up to stand with them and said, “We now have controlling interest in Stiles Lumber.”

Laura nodded and took the papers. “Jilly, I think it’s important that you stay hidden somewhere until this is all settled.”

“Or you could marry ... someone,” Michelle added.

Jilly turned to walk toward Fatty’s. They were lucky he stayed open fairly late because, full daylight or not, the supper hour was long past.

The three sisters walked side by side. Laura closest to the storefronts, Jilly in the middle, Michelle nearest the street.

The men walked behind talking quietly, no doubt planning how to solve all their problems. It bothered Michelle abit because she’d been raised to believe she could solve her own problems, but right now, her problems seemed to need a man with iron fists and a gun on his hip.

She considered getting a gun, but until she did, she’d always have Tolstoy.

Mama came up beside them on Michelle’s right, in time to hear her tell Jilly to get married.

“I don’t want another hasty wedding. Please.” Mama reached across Michelle to hold Jilly’s hand for just a moment. “We have enough power now to run the company. Jilly, I want you to choose a husband in an orderly fashion. Your sisters have found good men, but that seems to be more good luck than a thoughtful choice.”

“I knew Zane well enough to be sure he was an honorable man, Mama.”

“And I certainly believed Caleb was trustworthy.” Laura glanced back and smiled.

No doubt at Caleb.

“Or I might not choose one at all.” Jilly shrugged.

Jilly dreaded marriage. The reason was never spoken of, and Michelle’s concern for her sister was only second to honoring Jilly’s refusal to talk about it. Michelle’s gaze met Laura’s, and she saw the same concern in Laura’s eyes.

“When you know what’s going on, send a wire to Zane’s ranch, Mama. We’ll tell them at the telegraph office we’d pay well for someone to ride out to his place to deliver it.” Jilly sounded like her usual fiery self. But there was something there. Something had happened to her middle sister.

“When you believe you’ve got things in order to stop Edgar from having access to the family homes and accounts, and when you’ve found a way to rescind the rights a stepfatherhas over his unmarried daughters, I’ll come home and get to work building a railroad.”

Laura’s expression remained solemn. “And I can start blowing holes in mountains.”

“You’ll need to come and do the surveying, Michelle.” Jilly frowned at her. “Can you do that? Can you get to our forest in time to get that done before winter?”

“And have you done any more work on the braking system for the log cars?” Laura looked around Dorada Rio. “But where would you get the parts you need?”

“I’ll come, but I’m not sure how soon. Zane has said we can make long visits during slow times at the ranch. And I’ll have to set up a room for my experiments at the Two Harts. I’ve already done some surveying for the rail line, but I want to make sure we do it right.”

Jilly elbowed her. “It would be a shame to blast a hole in a mountain and not come out the other end where you hoped to appear.”

“Not a problem. I can easily handle that. I’ve done a lot of studying on it for the passes we’re going to build.”

“I know how to survey. I can double-check your figures.”

“You could. I’d prefer to do it, but I know you can handle it. Usually, you do the blasting from both ends of the mountain and work toward the center. With two crews going it’s much faster. And it’s a simple surveying analysis that will ensure the tunnels meet in the middle.”

“It’s simple because you are brilliant, Michelle,” Mama said. “It’s far beyond the ability of most people.”

Michelle gave Mama a one-armed hug as they walked toward the diner. Mama really was her favorite person in the world.

And then she thought of her husband. He probably ought to occupy that space.

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