by Judy Duarte
“I already heard about the book project,” Tildy told her. “Ben told me. I’m real proud of you for thinking of it. Catherine and Lily would be real proud, too.”
“Thank you, Tildy. I’m grateful to you for helping me learn more about my ancestor.”
Tildy glanced at the glass of wine a nearby guest held. “I could sure use a cup of tea. I don’t suppose there’s any to be had.”
“I’ll ask. You sit tight.”
Lisa approached one of the corner bars. Two people waiting in line moved aside so she could go first. “I’ll wait my turn,” she told them.
“Oh, no, you’re the guest of honor. The guest of honor goes first.”
“I just wanted to ask if there was any tea. Miss Matheson would like a cup.”
“My wife carries a little tin with tea bags in her purse,” the taller gentleman said. “I’ll go ask her for one.”
“They have a microwave in the back room,” the other man said. “I’ll go get a cup of hot water.”
A few minutes later Lisa thanked them profusely and carried a mug of tea to Tildy.
“You’re a dear girl,” the old woman said. She blew on her tea and sipped it. “There’s that nice Mark Anderson, the reporter who bought the Nugget.”
Lisa glanced over at the dark-eyed man with graying hair at his temples. Bless Tildy for using the words nice and reporter in the same breath.
“He married that pretty Hispanic waitress from the Hitching Post, you know. He adopted her baby.”
Lisa learned more local gossip at every event she attended. She could only imagine the speculation about her—and the talk regarding the times she’d been seen and photographed in Riley’s company.
Justin and Katie Caldwell paused to greet the two women, and Lisa couldn’t help glancing around for the rest of the Douglases. The room had grown full, and it was becoming more difficult to find people.
A ringing sound, like that of a glass being struck repeatedly with a utensil, resounded in the room and the crowd hushed.
Mayor Brookhurst stood on a podium, which had been set along one wall to elevate the speakers. “Attention, ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please?”
Feedback from the microphone screeched and bystanders covered their ears.
Once the technical difficulties had been solved, the mayor proceeded. “Welcome one and all to our first Gold Fever Gala! Isn’t this exciting? There hasn’t been this much enthusiasm in Thunder Canyon for a good many years. I’m fortunate that the events of this year have taken place during my term. With everyone so happy and the town doing so well, maybe I’ll get elected again just so I can bring good luck.”
Soft laughter swept the crowd and a good-natured heckler told him democracy had nothing to do with luck.
“We’re here tonight to celebrate our good fortune. The Queen of Hearts gold mine is in full production.”
Applause rose in a resounding thunder.
“Our motels and restaurants, the gift shops, all the businesses have had more trade these past few months than in our history.”
Residents clapped again.
“This evening there are several people we want to recognize for the parts they played in making this happen. We wanted to recognize Erik Stevenson’s contribution, but his parents thought positive reinforcement for running away and hiding in the mine was a bad idea.”
The crowd Awwwed collectively.
“But a donation to Erik’s college fund is being made on behalf of the Businessmen’s Guild, and you’re all sworn to secrecy until he’s eighteen.”
Lisa observed the smiles on Cam and Faith’s faces. They hugged each other and went forward to accept the gift.
“This next award will be shared among several people who were each important in the events leading to our current boom. As you all know, Emily and Brad Vaughn were the ones who discovered the original deed to the mine. So, Emily and Brad, come up here beside me, please.”
The couple made their way forward.
“Now, Brad and Emily wouldn’t have come to Thunder Canyon at all if the Douglases hadn’t paid for their investigation, so, Caleb and Riley, we want you in this group, too. Come on.”
Murmurs went through the throng of guests. Caleb’s silver hair came into view above the crowd, and then the rest of him as he stepped up onto the podium wearing his usual western-cut jacket. “Come on, Riley,” he said.
Riley hung back and waved a dismissive hand. “I only wrote the checks. You found the team.”
At his refusal to join them, Mayor Brookhurst went on. “Our next person of honor is the woman who kept the deed among her possessions for all these years until it could be claimed. Where’s Matilda Matheson?”
A hubbub of chatter spread after her name was spoken, and after several minutes Tildy came forward, aided by Mark Anderson and Ben Saunders. They assisted her up to the platform. She was beaming with pleasure at the attention.
Riley lifted her chair into place, and she took a seat while the others stood beside her.
“Each of these fine people are hereby rewarded with a key to the city,” the mayor said, and his assistant hung a large gold-foil key by a wide red ribbon around each of their necks.
Caleb looked at the mock key hanging on his shirt front and then aside as though he was sorry he’d come up for such pathetic praise.
“Now, that key doesn’t really unlock anything,” the mayor told them. “But whenever any of you want to be mayor for a day, you just bring your key to the Hall and the job is yours.”
Laughter rippled through the crowd, and everyone clapped for those being honored. After pictures were taken, they dispersed back into the cluster of guests.
“Let me be mayor for a day and he’d never get hired again,” Caleb said as an aside, and he received a few sidelong glances.
Oblivious to the comment, the mayor resumed his task. “Last but certainly not least, we have a special guest of honor we want to recognize right now. The people of Thunder Canyon want this young lady to know we’re proud of her. Come on up here, please, Lisa Jane Martin!”
Lisa felt the warmth of nervousness climb her neck and face. This public recognition was so out of her element that if it had happened a month ago, she would have fainted dead away. She’d gained self-confidence in that month, however, and she was no longer ashamed of her connection to her great-great-grandmother. She held her head high and walked through the crowd.
Phil Wagner happened to be standing nearest, so he reached for her hand to help her. She held her skirt and stepped up on the riser.
Cameras snapped and whirred.
“Lisa, as owner of the Queen of Hearts, you’ve already shown that you’re going to give back to our community. As docent of the museum, Ben Saunders is going to talk about the book project for the historical society.”
Ben did indeed get up and share the details of the book he was authoring and that Lisa was publishing. “What we hope to do with this project is dispel the myths that have surrounded Lily all these years and present the facts. I’m honored that Lisa has asked me to do this.”
After he stepped down and the applause quieted, the mayor looked at Lisa with a big smile. “We have another surprise to share. One of Lisa’s first business ventures will be the Claim Jumper restaurant. Fine dining right here in Thunder Canyon.”
The excitement over the announcements abated momentarily.
“In recognition, Lisa, we present you with this.” He turned to where his assistant held out a box with the lid removed. From inside, Mayor Brookhurst took a gold tiara set with heart-shaped stones.
A few bystanders chuckled, but everyone clapped enthusiastically.
“You are now—officially—the queen of our hearts.”
Smiling, Lisa stood still so he could place the tiara on her head, securing the combs in her hair.
Among the sea of faces, she spotted Bernadine smiling and clapping. Her date was a handsome fellow with a mustache and slightly graying hair.
<
br /> Lisa’s gaze locked with Riley’s then, and the noise of the room faded away. Queen of their hearts was lovely. But she’d like to have a place in one special person’s heart.
Congratulations were effusive, and she lost sight of Riley. She posed for pictures with the mayor and the other honorees.
An awkward hush caught Lisa’s attention. It became clear that someone was saying something that had made people stop and listen.
Standing only five feet away with his hands in his pockets, Caleb Douglas rocked back on his heels. His next words were clear. “Why, she’s probably the only trailer-trash royalty in the state of Montana.”
No one laughed. His derogatory remark dampened the frivolous mood and garnered more than a few stares. A dozen sidelong glances were cast at Lisa to see if she’d overheard.
Her ears burned with anger. She wasn’t ashamed of who she was or where she’d come from. It was the fact that he’d belittled her heritage and her family that got her feathers in a snit.
She turned a glare on him that would have scorched a lesser man. “I may not have been raised in a fancy house and waited on hand and foot,” she told him. “But my grandmother and my aunt loved me and they taught me honesty and integrity. I wouldn’t use another person’s feelings to get what I want, and I would never encourage a child of mine to do the same.”
Caleb seemed surprised by her show of grit and the way people had listened to what she had to say.
“I think that crown’s gone to your head, missy,” he said. “Just like the money did.”
This wasn’t the time or the place to vent her hurt and anger over the Douglases’ manipulations, so she took a breath and counted to ten. Ten wasn’t enough. She opened her mouth to speak, but before anything came out, Riley’s voice interrupted her.
“Lisa’s the last person who would let money go to her head,” he said, speaking directly to his father. “She’s the most genuine, unaffected and trustworthy person I know. That you could have anything ugly to say about her tells me you don’t know her. If you did, you’d know someone with a lot of love to give and very little concern about what money will get her.”
Riley turned, and Lisa met his vivid green gaze. His attention refocused on her.
“If you knew her,” he continued, “you’d have to love her.”
Lisa’s heart staggered and she took several deliberate breaths to make sure she didn’t pass out. This was worse than sneezing on someone’s tie, but she didn’t really care. She wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I got to know her,” Riley said. “And now I can’t think about anything else but loving her.”
Tears welled up and clung to Lisa’s lower lashes until she saw him through a watery blur.
Riley turned to the people beside him, as though explaining to a jury. “I deceived her when we met. I pretended to be interested in her when I was really only concerned about regaining ownership of the gold mine. My values were nothing you’d want to teach your children.”
“What about now?” Heads turned to discover the voice that had spoken that question belonged to Adele Douglas, looking cool and sophisticated as always in a stunning silver dress. The crowd parted for her to move closer to her son. “What are you concerned with now, Riley?”
He glanced from his mother back to Lisa. “I’m concerned with convincing her I can change.” His gaze was warm and beseeching. “With showing her I deserve a second chance.”
“And?” Adele asked softly.
“And with proving that my love for her is real.”
Lisa’s blood pounded through her veins.
“I love you, Lisa,” he said. “Please forgive me. Please marry me. Please…give me another chance.”
In the silence that followed, you could have heard an itch. No one seemed to breathe as anticipation and hope electrified the room.
Lisa couldn’t take her focus from Riley’s face. His cheeks were high with color, but his eyes were pleading and sincere. She knew people were watching and waiting on all sides and she could imagine the look on Caleb’s face, but none of that mattered at this moment.
The most unexpected image came to her unbidden. At that moment she saw Lily Divine’s face as it appeared in her photographs and in the painting. Her great-great-grandmother’s smile of contentment made Lisa yearn to share Lily’s peace with her life choices. Made her desire the same assurance that she was being all she could be and leaving no breathing room for regrets.
Lisa’s nerves had calmed and she was thinking with perfect rationality. She had no guarantee that Riley wasn’t pulling the ultimate scam right at this moment. That he hadn’t staged this for her benefit or even that his father hadn’t been a part of it. But she didn’t think so.
At last Lisa’s gaze faltered and shot to Caleb where he stood. His face was red with anger and his green eyes shot lethal daggers at her. If he was in on a scheme, he would be much more pulled together and look less as if he would burst a blood vessel in his forehead at any moment.
Riley’s expression didn’t seem quite as confident as it would if he thought he’d pulled a fast one. In fact, she thought he’d begun to look decidedly anxious.
“I’ll sign a prenuptial agreement,” he told her, uncannily zeroing in on her last uncertainty.
“I can have one drawn up in five minutes.” Bernadine’s voice had come from several feet away. Her suggestion released the crowd’s tension, and laughter rippled.
Lisa took several steps forward until she stood within an arm’s length of Riley. “There aren’t any guarantees,” she said. “A hundred years ago someone bought a claim to the land where the mine sits, with nothing more than hope as a guide. Then somewhere along the line another somebody gave up. The gold was in there all along.”
“I know this is a long-winded metaphor for something, Lisa, but could you speed it up and tell me how it turns out?” Riley asked.
She grinned. “It turns out that some things happen by chance. Like Erik stumbling into the mine. Like me being related to Lily.”
“Maybe it’s chance,” Riley said. “But maybe it’s not. Maybe there’s a time and a reason for everything.”
“Isn’t that a Simon and Garfunkel song?”
“Not exactly.”
She took a step forward and placed her hand on his arm. “In any case, I’d rather take my chances with love—and trust. I don’t want any regrets.”
Riley slipped his arm around her shoulders. “I’ll see that you don’t have any.”
“You’d better make your second chance good.”
“This time I love you.”
She raised on her toes to meet his kiss. Riley wrapped his arms around her, and she clung to him greedily. She was never going to let go of this man again.
Around them the crowd cheered and whistled.
Lisa was so filled with joy, she could barely breathe. When the kiss ended, she glanced around at the smiles and tears on the faces of the people of Thunder Canyon. She had misjudged a lot of these people. And some of them had misjudged her, as well. She was big on second chances.
A movement caught her eye. Caleb had turned toward the door, and his wife watched as Justin and Katie broke away from the others to follow him.
“Your father hates me.”
“Like I said, he doesn’t even know you.”
“I don’t want to come between you.”
“Right now there are a few value issues between us. If he wants to salvage his family, he’ll come around. I’m not changing. And I’m not giving you up. Not for anything.” His gaze rose to her hair. “You’re the queen of my heart, too.”
She remembered the tiara on her head. “What do you suppose the headlines will say tomorrow?” She glanced around. “Is Chad Falkner here?”
Riley gestured with a thumb over his shoulder. “Saw him back there. Why?”
“I’m wondering if People magazine will put my picture beside Queen Latifah’s this time.”
“Who?”
�
�Never mind. You’re really going to have to widen your interests and take in a few movies.”
“I’ll take you all the time.”
“We could open a theater! Or an old-fashioned drive-in. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“So, you’ll marry me?”
“Yes!”
He squeezed her hand and smiled.
“I’m having my house moved, you know.”
“I’ll live there with you.”
“Will you not bring your furniture?”
“How about my bed?”
“Okay, your bed. We’ll need room for the boys.”
Riley groaned.
Lisa laughed and he crushed her in a hug.
“Montana Woman Has Big Plans. My house at eleven.”
“Local Heiress Gives Thunder Canyon Scion A Second Chance,” he said against her ear. “Montana man has never been happier, and it has nothing to do with gold.”
Epilogue
Lisa glanced around their new backyard—well, acreage, actually. Riley had convinced her to have her grandmother’s house moved to this incredible forested site near a stream on a northeast section of Douglas land with a breathtaking view of the mountains.
No longer did she need dog runs to cage her beloved boys while she was away. This entire section of land had been fenced in so they could run for half an acre and back.
Today the area directly outside the back door was set up with enormous canopies and long tables in preparation for their housewarming party. The celebration had been Katie’s idea, and she waddled between the kitchen, the two caterers’ vans and the tables, making sure everything was arranged perfectly.
She and Lisa had announced their pregnancies at nearly the same time. Katie’s baby was due in eleven weeks and Lisa’s in ten. Lisa was delighted that her child would grow up with a cousin so close in age, an aunt and an uncle and even grandparents. This was the family she’d always wanted, even if some of the relationships still needed a little work.
The side gate opened and Justin and Riley carried flat boxes toward the tables.
