"This here is a photo of our great great granny's sister. The one who married a miner and moved on to California."
Finn peered over Joanna's shoulder.
"This," Sissy said, "is our great great granny Lilibeth with our great grandmother Emma. According to the writing on the back, Emma was five years old."
The tan and white photo taken on a typical Victorian sofa in a surprisingly lovely home for dusty turn of the century West Texas revealed an adorable golden haired child looking every bit the porcelain doll.
"So pretty." Joanna carefully picked up a birth certificate. "Emma Elizabeth, born to Lilibeth Anne and Herman Mueller." Setting the paper down, she lifted another in the same stack. "Oh dear."
"What?" Finn set his hands on her shoulders.
"Herman died two years later."
"Yes." Sissy tightened her mouth and shook her head.
"So sad," Sister agreed. "People died young in those days from the most ridiculous things. We get the flu now and we take some sort of aspirin for the fever and drink lots of fluids. A hundred years ago people died."
"Several more letters and articles of clothing, including a picture of Emma Mueller in front of the Tuckers Bluff church on her wedding day, had been shared and studied when Finn realized that he'd kept his hands resting on Joanna's shoulders. Even more surprising was the discovery that along the trip down memory lane he'd begun to gently massage the tight muscles as well. The simple gesture had felt so natural, so comfortable, neither of them had reacted. Now, he considered pulling back, but the tension in her neck was slipping away bit by bit with every stroke.
"So your great great granny lived in Three Corners, and your great granny Emma was the first to move to Tuckers Bluff, but that was before Three Corners became a ghost town."
"I would think so. I remember my granny telling us stories about her granny coming to visit every year at Christmas when she was a little girl."
Joanna nodded and Finn felt her shoulders tighten under his fingers once again. She was probably thinking the same thing he was. All these papers and pictures and she was no closer to figuring out what caused the demise of Three Corners than she had been before.
***
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful." Joanna shifted in the front seat of Finn's truck. "I had just expected fewer loose ends. I know their ancestor came as a mail order bride. Her husband died when their daughter was two years old. The daughter married a man from Tuckers Bluff and the great great grandmother stayed in Three Corners."
"That is more than we knew before you started. And they did give us the other box to go through."
"The box had Lilibeth's name on it. Anything she has would be decades before the town came to its demise." Joanna didn't lean toward pessimism, but in this case she was just being practical. "I am simply going to have to read this journal Ruth Ann gave me before church a little faster if I want to find the reason Three Corners died."
"Is it that important to know the why?" Finn pulled away from the sisters' home and turned the truck away from town. "I mean, how big an article are you expected to write?"
"It doesn't have to be long, but with a photo spread to go with it and main cover promo, I'd like it to be knock your socks off, power packed reading."
"Any news on when the photographer is coming?" Finn asked.
Joanna shook her head. As much as she was enjoying her stay, she didn't want to become like Mark Twain's fish and wear out her welcome.
"Didn't your editor say she was in a hurry?"
"In the book and magazine business a hurry isn't quite the same as what it means to the rest of us. If an author turns in a book, it won't hit the shelves for twelve to eighteen months. Not quite a year, but still, magazines have months of work before to do before an issue appears on newsstands. Denise's right away and my version of right away could be weeks if not months apart."
The words "I see" had hardly left Finn's lips when Joanna's phone dinged. Glancing down, she chuckled. "Her ears must have been ringing." Placing the phone on speaker, Joanna spoke into the phone. "We were just talking about you." In the writing biz there was no such things as weekends off. When Joanna needed something handled, that was a great thing. On the other hand, when she wanted to put her work away for a short while, not so much.
"I've only got a minute, it's my daughter's birthday party today and my mother-in-law already has me searching for the corkscrew."
"Ooh. Sorry."
"Her son's worth it." Joanna could hear the appreciation in her editor's voice. "Anyhow, the photographer should be hitting your town today or tomorrow. I know he's not your favorite but on short notice it was the best I could do."
"What do you mean—"
A dog barked, a crash rang out and what sounded like a house alarm blared in the background. "Shit. I have to go. Can't wait to—" Another crash sounded. "Damn it. Bye!"
"What was that all about?" Finn stepped in closer.
Joanna was still looking at her phone, debating if she should call someone or wait. "I hope her house isn't burning down. Or worse." She slipped the phone into her pocket. "I'll give her a bit to settle things. If she doesn't check in with me soon, I'll call her back."
"Good plan."
By the time they'd made it to the ranch the place was bustling. Pots and pans were moving about, dishes were carried from room to room and everyone seemed to know exactly where to go and what to do like cogs in an insane mechanical wheel.
"I'll set this box in your room," Finn whispered in her ear and Joanna nodded.
"Just in time." Aunt Eileen looked up at Finn walking to her room with the remaining items given to them by the sisters, then turned to Joanna. "Go on and take a seat in the dining room. Finn, don't dawdle." She smacked Adam's hand as an extended finger made its way toward a large bowl of mashed potatoes. "As a matter of fact. Everyone not carrying a plate. Out."
It had been a long time since Joanna had sat down to family meal like this. Even at her parents' on Thanksgiving when aunts and uncles came over, they still didn't take up as much space as the Farradays. Joanna had met most of the family over the last few days and sat with them again this morning at church, but somehow having everyone confined around the table in one room at the same time seemed more like a class reunion than Sunday supper. From what she could gather, the only one missing was Ethan's girlfriend, the one he'd called after church. Though the talk at the table made it pretty clear that he was on a strict timeline to get a ring on her finger and make it official. Most of the hoopla was about the upcoming wedding for Becky and DJ.
"You have to have a ring bearer," Aunt Eileen insisted. "It doesn't have to be a member of the family."
"Aunt Eileen." DJ reached over and squeezed his fiancée's hand beside him. "Stacey as flower girl is all we need."
"And she will be beautiful, but she needs a little young man beside her."
"Don't you think Stacey's a little young for matchmaking?" Sean Farraday asked his sister-in-law.
"Don't be silly." Aunt Eileen shook her head. "Of course she is."
Catherine, Stacey's mom, wiped her forehead dramatically. "Whew. I'm not ready to be a grandmother yet."
The table erupted laughing and Aunt Eileen, shaking her head, joined in on the good-natured ribbing. "You can laugh all you want, but once upon a time arranged marriages worked out pretty good. Didn't they, Joanna?"
This time all heads turned to her. A few sets of eyes glanced to Finn and then back.
"Don't look at me," Finn said with his hand on his chest. Then raised it at his side. "I'm just the coc—excuse me, leech repellant."
Aunt Eileen's brows folded into a near scowl. "You were what?"
"Nothing," Finn looked to Joanna and she felt the warmth of his gaze clear to her toes.
"I think there's a story here." Adam tossed his napkin on the table. "Spill."
Meg gently jabbed her husband in the side and shook her head at him.
A couple of the brothers cracked up laughin
g and the dirty look Adam shot back at his siblings almost had Joanna laughing out loud too.
"There's nothing to tell," Finn said.
Joanna felt his gaze on her again and decided she'd better change the subject or pretty soon she was going to be turning bright red. "I think your aunt is referring to Ruth Ann's great grandmother's diary."
"Well, as a matter of fact, I was." Though the aunt had backed her up, the hint of a frown still resting between her brows told Joanna that the older woman might have a few questions of her own.
"Since Ruth Ann only gave me the diary this morning before church, I've only been able to skim a few pages. Mostly her ancestor’s anticipation of a new life. From some of the dreams, I don't think the brides were even slightly prepared for how much harder life would be here in the West compared to the cities back East."
"I can't imagine." Catherine shook her head. "I had enough trouble getting used to the horses and the cows and I have a nice big house with indoor plumbing and a microwave and central heat and air."
"Tell me about it," Meg agreed. "Scary thought, crossing the country to marry a stranger."
"I'm sure it didn't wind up very well for a lot of women, but I skimmed ahead to the brides first meeting of the men and the way Ruth Ann's ancestor's gaze immediately drifted to the blacksmith. So it looks like it was love at first sight."
"Know how that goes," one of the brothers mumbled and another few nodded.
"Who's ready for dessert?" Aunt Eileen stood. " Apfelstrudel."
"I love that strudel." Meg grabbed a plate and stood. "Even if my hips don't."
Plate in hand, Catherine followed after Meg to the kitchen. "My hips and I haven't been on speaking terms since puberty."
More chairs scraped against the hardwood floors, voices rang out cheerfully praising a favorite dessert and teasing how no one was quite sure how a handwritten German strudel recipe had been passed down through the generations as they worked their way into the kitchen.
"Now what?" Joanna pushed to her feet.
Hand at her lower back, Finn ushered her out of the huge dining room toward the living room where Ethan stood to one side on the phone. "You wait here. Guests don't cut their own strudel."
Dropping his phone into his shirt pocket, Ethan looked up at the two quietly entering the room.
"Looks like Aunt Eileen is dishing out dessert."
Finn nodded. "Finally get a hold of Allison?"
"Yeah. She had her phone turned off while she was in meetings all day. Let me tell you, these mucky mucks in medicine are worse than generals in the Marines. They don't believe in a day off either."
"Anything on Francine?" Finn moved closer to his brother.
"Not really." Ethan shook his head. "Allison says her sister had a beautiful voice but never mentioned anything about singing professionally. As a teen she'd always talked of acting and Allison assumed that's how Francine wound up in LA."
"Not much of a leap from acting to singing. Lots of people do both."
"Yeah." Ethan looked to the next room where his daughter Brittany was being happily passed from smiling relative to relative. "I guess." He looked back to Finn and offered a tired smile. "I'd better go retrieve my daughter and get some strudel before it's all gone. You two enjoy the quiet while it lasts." Then his grin grew wide and sincere. "Well, not too much."
Chapter Seventeen
Memories came flooding back of Finn's older brothers teasing the crap out of him when he hit puberty and took his first serious interest in girls. Subtlety was not a Farraday trait. "Make yourself comfortable." He waved Joanna over to the sofa. "Dessert coming up."
"No need." Becky came in with two plates and holding one out to each of them. "Saved you a trip."
Joanna shook her head. "Thank you, but you didn't have to do that. I'm sure I can—"
Carrying two more plates, DJ sauntered in behind his fiancée. "Like she said, no need. Guests are guests."
Joanna's face tipped into a smile as she accepted the proffered dish and turned to sit in the nearby easy chair just as Becky slid into the spot. Before Joanna could shift to the other chair, DJ sat. In only a few seconds the family had descended into the room dragging extra chairs around to accommodate the crowd and still somehow, two spots on the sofa remained empty.
Finn recognized a set up when he saw it, but the look on his aunt's face when she walked into the room and noticed the arrangements told him this time she wasn't at the helm. To make life easier on everyone, he kicked over an ottoman and dropped down, eager to dig into the strudel.
His aunt took the spot on the sofa and Joanna sat beside her. For a few minutes the room was silent except for the sound of scraping forks against the plates.
"I can't believe what a hard time you're having finding more history on Three Corners." Adam set his empty plate on the coffee table. "I'd have thought in this day and age every resident’s records would be up to date including their blood type."
"Nope." Joanna blew out a frustrated sigh. "Not even any census reports."
"I seem to remember something about a fort out that way." Finn's dad squinted up at the sky. "I was a teenager. We'd had a good old-fashioned Irish wake for my grandfather. The ranch was a madhouse the whole weekend. I didn't realize how much liquor an Irishman could hold until that day."
"And your point?" Aunt Eileen gave him one of those straighten-up glares.
"Yes. Well, after they were good and happy, Dad and Uncle George got to talking about how things had changed from Granddad's time. I remember getting the impression that things were busier when Granddad was a boy because of a nearby military base that had once been a fort and by the time my father was born had been shut down." Sean shrugged. "Maybe it's not important but if it is nearby perhaps some of the records from the base might be of help in your history search."
"That's a great idea." Joanna lit up. "I'll get on it later tonight."
"Why wait?" Empty plate in hand, Finn stood up. "Might as well start now. I'll show you to the office."
She squinted her eyes at him and did that little shift of her mouth instead of shaking her head no. "It can wait until later. We're all still eating."
"Oh, we don't stand on ceremony here. Go on," Aunt Eileen encouraged. "It's obvious you love what you do. Go do it."
Joanna glanced over at him and he could see in her eyes she was anxious to try looking up a new lead, but hesitant to leave the family gathering.
"Come on." Finn stuck his hand out at her and ignored the way all the eyes in the room casually shifted to watch her take hold of his.
"If you're sure." Joanna looked to Aunt Eileen and his dad. Both nodded. "Okay, hubby, lead the way."
At least nine heads turned to Finn as utter and complete silence rained down on the living room.
"It's a joke." Finn rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. Remember, leech repellent?"
"Actually," Aunt Eileen's back stiffened, "you never really did explain that."
Finn blew out a sigh. "I'll explain later."
"Hmm," Aunt Eileen mumbled quietly. Adam raised a single brow. Brooks shook his head. Connor kissed his wife's cheek. Declan chuckled and turned away and then everyone slowly returned to business as usual. Though Finn had the uneasy feeling that this wasn't the end of the long running joke as far as his family was concerned.
***
"Sorry," Joanna whispered as they stepped into the office.
Finn shrugged. "No big deal. It's not like I'd run off and get married without telling them. They know that."
How stupid had she been to joke with Finn in front of his family. Not that she thought for a minute any of them would seriously believe Finn would marry anyone without a family entourage, but still it was a dumb move on her part.
"Seriously, JoJo." Finn flicked his knuckle under her chin. "It was a joke, they'll get it."
"I guess you're right." Settled at the computer, Joanna's fingers flew across the keys with one word then another in search of the bases. Thi
s was no longer about the boost to her career, but honest curiosity about the past. "Apparently there was a big Indian problem in the late eighteen hundreds. Texas had dozens of forts plus hundreds of temporary camps."
"We only need to track down the physical forts. Can you tell if one was near Three Corners?"
Joanna shook her head. "Still checking. The problem is finding a map from the turn of the last century."
"Be thankful back then there was no Air Force or Navy giving you more records to plow through." Standing behind her, Finn scanned the screen over her shoulder. "At least you were able to limit your search to nineteenth century West Texas forts."
"Most seemed to have been abandoned in the late eighteen eighties." Joanna continued to peruse the pages. Squinting, she tried her best to ignore the heat of Finn standing behind her. "Looks like only a dozen or so lasted into the twentieth century. Most of those were gone by the 1920s but…well, look at this."
"I'll be." Leaning in closer, Finn's chest brushed against Joanna's back and his breath tickled her neck. "Print that. Let's find a current map. Match up the size."
For a split second her mind went blank and her senses took over. These intense reactions to his nearness made no sense. She'd stood in close quarters with Finn before, hell, they'd shared a house for two years. Resisting the urge to lean back against him, Joanna refocused on the screen and did as instructed.
Finn reached for the first sheet of paper and circled the modern day road map where the remains of Three Corners could be found, then on the next page with the old map drew a similar circle at the single crossroad. The first road traveled south to the old Fort Dickson that had lasted as the only military connection between Dallas and Fort Bliss until 1944.
Excited to see the perfect fit, Joanna spun about and almost knocked heads with Finn. Had his eyes always been such a deep shade of blue? Shaking off the distraction, she pushed her chair back. "I bet this is it. And this other road leads to Fort Worth."
Finn Page 10
