Lone Star Cinderella

by Debra Clopton

  “A treasure map!” she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him toward his porch to enter the house. “There was a board in the closet and it was loose. Behind it was this journal—it was just in there. And I pulled it out and started reading but then this fell out and it was all there.”

  “Whoa, hold up.” She was babbling ninety miles an hour as she placed the journal on the table and opened it. Inside was a folded piece of paper, which she carefully opened. It wasn’t a map drawn like one thought of a typical map. Instead it was a handwritten list. Seth couldn’t help the rush of adrenaline that he got looking at it. Was this proof that his granddad’s campfire tale was true? He pulled up a chair and Melody did the same as he read it.

  “Begin south corner ravine at the matching rocks. Fifty steps west to tower turn twenty-five degrees left. At the rock follow the crust to the cave.”

  His heart was pounding as he met Melody’s big eyes. “Who wrote this?”

  “Jane.”

  Seth told himself to breathe.

  Melody pointed to the familiar writing inside the journal. It was the same clear, precise writing as the others. “She says here that on May 5, 1877, not long after they’d moved to the stage stop, they were awakened in the middle of the night by a sound. When Oakley went to investigate he found a very sick man. They took him in and tried to help him but the man died two days later. But in his fever, he told your Grandpa Oakley where he’d hidden three saddlebags of gold coins.”

  The campfire tale. “Does it say who he was? Where this money came from?”

  Melody beamed. “Not so far as I’ve read. And there is absolutely no telling. Do you even have any idea how many stage robberies and train robberies took place between 1874 and 1878? Many of them. And that’s what I’ve been telling you. See, it got crazy during that time—and Sam Bass was accused of committing most of the crimes. But to have done everything he is credited for doing he would have had to be ten men. No way could he have done everything he was accused of. So, that’s the deal, there were men roaming around out there who robbed things and never got caught. It was a perfect time to be a robber with all the well-known gangs wreaking havoc on the territories stretching from Nebraska to Texas. This sick man could have been anyone and the money could have come from who knows what holdup! And, of course, I haven’t read this entire journal. I was too excited to come show you first, but so far there’s no name or anything. I’m thinking there won’t be. If that’s so, we may never know who this guy was.”

  Seth stared at her. “Man, you know your stuff.”

  “Oh, there is just so much to know. It is fascinating.”

  He smiled. “But you really like this.”

  That stumped her. “Well, yes. I love it. I mean, I’ve always loved history, and I used to think it would even be fun to search for treasures, but well, there really wasn’t an opportunity. But we can now. Isn’t that exciting?”

  “Wait. You mean actually look for this?”

  “Well, sure.”

  “No.”

  She blinked and reared back as if he’d hit her. “But, it’s right there.” She tapped the map. “Written out. You must look for it.”

  There was a part of him that was excited beyond measure, but he had a practical side and it kicked in. As did his wary side. He was looking at his worst fear…yes this very well could be his great-grandfather’s campfire tale, and that meant if word of this got out he could kiss his peace and quiet goodbye.

  Still, there was a part of him that wanted to grab the map, grab Melody and head for the ravine in search of lost treasure. “Look, Melody. I really don’t want this getting out. I’d rather you said nothing to anyone about this. You said it yourself there might be no way of knowing who this mystery man was. Or where the money came from. I don’t want word getting out that this is here or the loonies will come. Do you see what I’m saying?”

  She was looking at him like he had two heads. “You don’t mean that you really want to pretend I didn’t just find this.”

  “That’s exactly what I want.”

  “No way—you have to say something about this.”

  “No. I don’t,” he said emphatically.

  “Wait. Look at what’s copied here. Do you have any idea what some of these things mean?”

  “The guy’s talking about my ravine. But I have no idea what the other stuff is. Do you have any idea how big that area is?”

  “No. Take me to see it.”

  “Melody. Be rational here. Yes, we have a map. But the ravine is a massive area. There are streams, and its several hills all run together, densely wooded, too. Me and my brothers camped there growing up, and it’s great for hunting and fishing. But I’ve never seen a cave. Not that we didn’t think there might be one. We did, but if there is one, it is so well hidden that we never ran across it nor did anyone else in my family or they’d surely have passed down that they had. If this dead guy found it by accident and buried treasure in it then he was one lucky guy.”

  “It could happen,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

  She wasn’t listening. Her mind was on the treasure. “So you’re saying he just happened to be riding across the land, sick, found this cave accidentally, hid the treasure then came here and died. It’s too convenient. And even if it did happen like that the odds of us coming across it are—”

  “—highly improved because we now have a map! Come on, Seth. At least show me what we’re talking about. Please.”

  He sighed. The mouse had turned into a bulldog—though she was way too pretty to be compared to a short, snub-nosed creature. He figured the best way to dissuade her was to show her. “Come on, get in my truck,” he said. She startled him all the more by rewarding him with a jubilant hug.

  Ever since she’d discovered the map, she hadn’t been able to think properly. Her brain was in overdrive. She wanted to surge full throttle ahead on this adventure. But Seth was forcing the parking brake. When he’d agreed to show her the ravine, hugging him had just happened. She didn’t throw her arms around men in ecstatic hugs—this was not who or what she did. But, then, she realized as they rode through his pastures that she didn’t mind so much not being who she’d always been.

  She was going to hunt for this treasure. She was. All she had to do was convince Seth to help her. It would be so much fun.

  They drove about five miles cross-country through the flat pastures then up into the hills and the trees. When he brought the truck to a stop at last, they were sitting at the top of a ravine. Before her was a vast, deep, densely wooded swath of steep hills and gullies. She was amazed at how quickly the terrain could change here in the hill country.

  “Now do you see what I’ve been trying to explain? If this guy accidentally found a cave, the odds that he got the map right are against him. You can get turned around in there even when you know the lay of the land as well as I do.”

  She could believe that. Looking at the scope of the ravine made the task appear almost impossible. Almost. She would not be denied as she looked at Seth and smiled. “But we have a map.”

  Chapter Six

  “So does anything around here look like twins to you? I mean you said you’ve been all around out here. It’s probably something easy.”

  Seth climbed over a large fallen tree trunk and held his hand out to Melody. Treasure on his land was the last thing he wanted, but he didn’t mind hiking through the woods with Melody. She was not an outdoorsy kind of woman but she was trying, probably because she was so excited. He hated to tell her that her excitement wasn’t going to make him decide to go any farther than this short trip. He was indulging her for a minute just to dissuade her, but he had no intention of opening this potential hornet’s nest. He was just trying to show her how futile it would be to search out here.

  Still, he was feeling guilty about it when she smiled like a schoolgirl and took his outstretched hand. A jolt of electricity shot through him, and she immediately stumbled over the tree trunk as her eyes locked with
his, making him think she felt it, too. He swallowed hard and tried to concentrate.

  There was no denying the fact that if he didn’t focus on the big picture he could very well lose his head and do something stupid. “So do you see anything?” he asked again.

  “You mean matching rocks?” she asked.

  “Right. That’s what I mean,” he said, more harshly than he should have. “You ever been walking around in the woods?”

  Her expression turned wistful. “No. Katy’s a bit more city than this, being so tied in with the Houston area. But I’ll get used to it. I’m a bookworm, remember?” She glanced back at him.

  He had to react quickly, thrusting a tree limb out of her way before she ran into it. “Believe me, I’ve noticed.”

  “But, I’ve thought about it. I’ve even thought it would be fun to hike down into the Grand Canyon.”

  That made him laugh. “Sorry. But that’s a bit ambitious for a gal who doesn’t even get out into the woods every once in awhile.”

  She deflated. “Well, it’s just something I’ve thought about.” She looked around, then beamed. “And I’m out here now. That’s a start.”

  Man, the woman was just too cute. “Yes, it is. I’m the one who’s out here under duress.”

  She didn’t smile, but he could see her eyes crinkle up at the edges. It was a nice day, and even if he had no expectations for where this was going, he definitely could go along with her for awhile. She was having a good time. And the woman most surely needed to get out more.

  She shielded her eyes as she scanned the ravine. “So, what do you think he meant by the matching rocks? It has to be something prominent. I mean, he was just riding through, so to him it had to be an easy landmark.”

  He scratched his neck and gave it some real thought. “I have two different thoughts.” He checked his watch. It was three o’clock and wouldn’t start getting dark for a few hours, so they could at least hike to the rock outcropping.

  “Then lead on,” she said, slapping at a buffalo gnat. Seth grabbed her elbow when she subsequently stepped in a hole.

  “Steady there.”

  “Thanks. So, tell me about your grandfather,” she said as he held a branch out of the way so she could move forward.

  “Which one?”

  “Oakley. The one who won this land in a poker game—he’s the one who hid this map. He sounded like a card.”

  “Oh, he was that. Not the most upstanding citizen from what we know.” He glanced back at her and lifted a brow. “We think he may have considered riding with one of those gangs in his day. That’s the kind of guy he was.”

  “He wouldn’t have been alone. Do you know that in that decade of the 1870s a lot of cowboys considered it?”

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t make it right.”

  She laughed. “Well, no, I didn’t say it was right. I’m just saying that was a fact of the times. It’s part of the reason for so much folklore and admiration that was felt for some of those outlaws.”

  “Didn’t Sam Bass help poor folks out by giving them cash?”

  She shrugged. “Who knows? There are so many accounts. Some say he never took money from the people on the stagecoaches, but that’s not true. He had no problem hurting the train porters. He beat one unconscious with the butt of his pistol when the guy couldn’t tell him the safe combination.”

  “Not a good thing.”

  She studied the ravine again. “Just imagine, a treasure could be hidden right out there. Practically in your backyard.”

  “Big whoop.”

  “Why are you such a sourpuss when it comes to this buried treasure? Crazies are not going to come here. Relax. Besides, with a scowl like that, if they did come, they’d take one look at you and run.”

  “That’d be the smart move for them to make.”

  Melody balled her fists on her hips and looked at him like she didn’t know what to think about him. Well, that was two of them.

  “What year did your grandfather win all of this in the poker game? And, by the way, that is really curious to me.”

  “What’s not curious to you?”

  “Hey, you should try being curious some time—like now. Don’t you find it odd that someone would risk all of this in a poker game? Goodness, how bad do you have to be to want to risk losing this much?”

  “Um, gamblers have a problem with limiting themselves,” he said, arching a brow. “That’s why they’re called gamblers.”

  She rolled her violet eyes.

  “No. He didn’t win all of this in a poker game,” he conceded. “He won seventy acres, is all, and brought his family here to take over running the stage stop. His son married the only child of the man who owned the rest of the land.”

  “Do you realize that you and your brothers know more about your ancestors seven generations back than most people know about one generation back? I mean goodness, Seth—you’re talking about your great-grandfather’s great-great-grandfather!”

  “We tend to take it for granted,” he started walking again but she lagged behind. He glanced back at her. “You coming or you going to stand there in the bushes?”

  “Sorry, I just think it’s fascinating. How do you know so much?”

  “The campfire stories. See, the thing is that some of what we know we’re sure is true. But the problem is much of what we know is also likely pure fabrication. We come from a long line of…to put it politely, storytellers.”

  “So, are you and your brothers storytellers?” she asked. He turned to answer her just as the dirt shifted under her feet and suddenly she was in his arms.

  He steadied her but didn’t release her—he’d be telling a story right then if he denied that he really wanted to kiss Melody Chandler. She was sweet and amazingly beautiful—he was still baffled at how he’d missed that. It wasn’t in the classic sense of the word but it was deeper, in the look in her eyes and the texture of her skin. The warmth of her smile and that touch of humor and shyness that battled against the fire he couldn’t get out of his head…he dropped his hand and stepped back.

  He willed his head to clear. “Wyatt’s more of the storyteller. Cole is a little bit.”

  She smoothed her hair and said softly, “But not you. You’re the serious one.”

  “You could say that. Look, we’re almost there. Come on.”

  What was he doing? He wasn’t going to actually hunt for this treasure, was he? When she had realized that—well, it was safe to say he wasn’t going to be one of her favorite people. Coming out here in the first place had been a mistake.

  They walked in silence for a minute. He marched ahead of her, lost in battle with himself over what to do.

  “Do you and your brothers get along?”

  “Usually,” he drawled, cocking a brow over his shoulder at her.

  She grimaced. “Meaning me. My being here is a problem between you?” She stopped walking. “I really wouldn’t want to cause hard feelings between you.”

  True, he didn’t like Wyatt’s little stunt or the fact that he’d pulled a disappearing act and wasn’t answering his phone. But their brotherly bond was strong and he didn’t feel right making Melody think her presence was straining their relationship. “You’re not so bad,” he said, then hopped up on a large rock and held his hand out to her.

  “It’s really not a problem?” she asked. Taking his hand, she scrambled up beside him with his help.

  They were standing close, and their proximity suddenly seemed more intimate than it should. Seth let go of her hand. “No problem. But,” he warned, “if you go telling that you found a treasure map I’m not going to be so fond of you.”

  “But—”

  “Nope. Not a word. Or the deal is off. Now, turn around and tell me what you think. This might be the outcropping we’re looking for.”

  She didn’t look at first, instead turned a distracting shade of pink, the color of a dawn…his favorite time of day. His gaze dropped to her lips—he immediately reminded himself that she
was not a sunrise and this was not the direction he’d planned to go when he’d brought her out here.

  Melody’s head was about to explode from everything that she had going on inside of it. She was looking for a buried treasure—with a gorgeous man! And she’d just gotten the distinct impression that that gorgeous man had just been thinking about kissing her…no, surely not. This was Seth Turner and she was a mouse—he’d said so himself.

  It was a ridiculous thought on her part. Feeling foolish, she carefully turned away from Seth, making sure she didn’t topple off the large rock they were standing on. What she saw filled her with such excitement she almost lost her balance and only Seth’s hand on her waist stopped her fall. “Look,” she gasped. Two rocks could be seen about fifty feet down the side of the hill. They were about as tall as her, and though they didn’t look exactly the same, they did look like a pair.

  “This could be it!” she exclaimed, glancing over her shoulder at him. He smiled and his hand on her waist tightened.

  “Steady there,” he said.

  She looked back toward the rocks, telling herself the interest she saw in his eyes was her imagination and she needed to be very careful. Seth Turner wouldn’t find a plain woman like her attractive. He was the type of man who would not only date gorgeous women but also dynamic, self-confident women. A mousy history teacher like her was not in his league and she knew it. To let him realize she was thinking about him in that way would be embarrassing. She was a practical girl after all…on a treasure hunt! At least that made her feel better.

  “Can we go down there?” she asked, filled with anticipation. That was what had her head crazy—it was the excitement of the map. Otherwise she would never have been entertaining such thoughts about Seth.

  “Not today. We won’t make it back to the truck before nightfall.”

  “But it’s right there.”

  “Melody, we’d have to climb down that steep rocky incline, and then we still wouldn’t have time to get any farther with the map instructions. I’m telling you, it’s too late.”