Page 52 of Inventions of the Heart

ATBREAKFAST A WEEK LATER,Josh said, “I think the vein has almost played out. I hope to finish today. Though I could dig deeper. There might be more gold to find.”

Michelle saw something flash in Josh’s eyes.

“I’d hate to have the vein seem to end, then just a few more inches of digging, find a whole ’nother supply,” he said.

“We have around seventy thousand dollars’ worth of gold under my bed.” Jilly did her mental mathematics.

Michelle could follow the figuring in her head. “That’s enough for this ranch to put a windmill in every pasture and a waterwheel in every river and creek and buy a traction engine and threshing machine. You can buy another zillion acres and that many cattle. Or you can do like my father did. You can invest in a dozen businesses under the banner of Two Harts. You can own shares in railroads, construction companies, factories, and banks.”

“He did?” Zane asked Michelle.

“And a lot more.” Michelle shrugged one shoulder as she drank her coffee.

Jilly went on, sounding disdainful, “He started his lumbercompany with about one fifth of what’s under my bed. You don’t need to hunt gold anymore.”

Michelle had wondered a few times if Jilly and Josh might make a go of a marriage, but they’d been working together all week, and Jilly’s tone didn’t bode well for any romance to develop.

Even without a proclamation of love between Michelle and Zane, she had affection for him, desire, and definitely respect. She heard absolutely no respect in Jilly’s tone.

And Josh had a light flush on his cheeks that might be embarrassment, might be anger, or might be a fever. Gold fever.

All of those were bad signs as far as a budding romance. Especially now that Jilly didn’t really need to get married.

As for Michelle and Zane ... love, well, there were sparks between her and her husband, no denying it.

White hot sparks.

But love? Michelle remembered the bond between her parents. Something so solid, so strong, so real, Michelle always felt that she could have held that bond in her hand, like a solid thing that connected them, that truly made the two become one. Love?

She thought of how smart she always claimed to be, but she just couldn’t figure this one out.

“Zane,” Josh asked, “how are we going to handle selling it?”

Zane opened his mouth, but there was a hard rap on the back door that drew him to his feet. When it was Shad, he normally knocked and came on in. The door remained closed.

Zane went to it, and a tall man in a black suit wearing alawman’s badge stood at the door. “I’m US Marshal Trey Irving. Are you Zane Hart, owner of this ranch?”

“I am.” Zane stepped aside and gestured for Irving to come in.

The marshal looked around the room until his eyes landed on Michelle and Jilly. “I talked with Margaret Stiles Beaumont and her daughter a week ago. I’ve been working on this case at the direction of Governor Booth.”

“You work for Uncle Newt?” Michelle asked.

Trey shook his head a little too hard as if hearing the governor called Uncle Newt wasn’t quite settling in his brain right. Michelle knew she needed to call him Governor Booth. She just kept forgetting.

Even Jilly forgot, and Jilly never forgot anything.

“I fired the judge who let Jarvis go, then I locked him up and had him transported to Sacramento to stand trial. I’ve been investigating him since I talked to ... she must be your ma, she looks just like you, miss.”

“I’m Michelle Stiles Hart, and this is my sister Jillian Stiles.”

The marshal removed his hat and tipped his head. “I found plenty of reasons to arrest him. And I got a confession that implicates Horace and Jarvis Benteen. I’ve got warrants to arrest them both, but Jarvis hasn’t been seen in the area, and Horace has a lot of tough cowhands at his ranch, including some known gunmen. I can’t ride in there alone. And the governor has already appointed a man to fill the judge’s office here. A man we can trust to be beyond the influence of Horace Benteen. The sheriff seemed downright gleeful about locking up the judge.”

Michelle was finding herself downright fond of MarshalIrving. She listened to him with growing hope. He was a tough man, very confident.

Annie warned him about how dangerous Benteen was, and they all sat through a thorough questioning that distracted them from gold hunting.

“YOU OWN THIS HOUSE, TOO?”Caleb looked in wonder at the mansion in a whole neighborhood of mansions.

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