Coralee had just unwound her mare’s reins when Clarice Spanner burst out of First National Bank next door and rushed up to her. “You’re just the person I wanted to see, Coralee. I was inside tending to my deposit and couldn’t help overhearing a conversation between Velma Duke and Bernard Palmer.”
Although what the president of the Confederate Widows and Orphans Fund and the bank president had been discussing was none of Clarice’s business, such things didn’t stop her. Coralee didn’t want to encourage the gossip, but Clarice prattled on. “I thought you might be interested in hearing what they said since a familiar name came up. It turns out the mysterious benefactor who’s been the CWAOF’s primary source of income all these years is none other than your former beau, Houston Hart. Can you believe it?”
It took every ounce of restraint Coralee possessed not to show her surprise. She knew Houston was generous, but—
“That’s not all.” Clarice looked up and down the street, as though she was concerned someone might hear her, when, in all likelihood, she would be bending the ears of anyone who would listen as soon as she finished regaling Coralee with the news. “It turns out he sent money to the war department before that, supporting our troops until our brave boys came home. What do you think of that?”
“It’s … interesting.” She’d had no idea Houston had done so much to support Texas from afar. She’d even accused him of being a fortune seeker. How wrong she’d been. He might have gone away for a time, but it seemed he really had left his heart in Texas.
If that was the case, then why had he chosen to return to California? If he wanted to run a hardware store, he could have done that right here in Hartville.
She knew the answer, painful though it was. Whatever she and Houston had shared was over for good. He didn’t want her in his life, and she must accept that. She would accept that. But first she had to get away before she broke down right in front of the most notorious spreader of tales in town.
“I can’t believe Houston’s gone.” Coralee sat on the edge of her brother’s bed the following afternoon and handed him a cool glass of water. By keeping herself busy, she’d managed to get through the first day after Houston’s departure without shedding a tear. There had been times when she’d had to blink them away before they fell, but not a single one had coursed down her cheek. Of course, if she kept thinking about him…
Calvin took a sip. “You could have stopped him. Why didn’t you?”
Because nothing had changed. She loved him, but he hadn’t loved her enough to find out why she’d been forced to turn him down. Oh, she’d thought he had, but she’d been wrong. Not that she would admit that to her brother. “Two weeks ago you were warning me to stay away from him. Now you want to know why I didn’t stop him. That’s quite a change.”
“I was wrong about him. He did me a huge favor. If it weren’t for Houston, I”—he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing—“I could have lost the ranch.”
She inhaled sharply. “No! That can’t be. What happened?”
Calvin took a sudden interest in his glass, swirling the water around. “I didn’t want to tell you before, but the foreman I hired was a crook. He lined his pockets with my money the whole time he worked for me. I’d suspected him for a while, but it wasn’t until last year that I found a couple of discrepancies. That’s why I let him go. I had no solid proof, though. Houston’s the one who figured everything out.”
That explained the hours Houston had spent poring over Calvin’s books and their talks every evening behind the closed door. “I knew something was going on, but I had no idea it was so serious. You said you could have lost the ranch. Does that mean things are all right now?”
He drained the glass and handed it back to her. “Houston has found out where the swindler is, and there are plans in the works to have him arrested. If all goes well, I’m going to get a good deal of the money back.”
“Oh, Calvin, that’s wonderful.”
“Things aren’t certain. The details are still coming together. In fact”—he stroked his chin—“I was supposed to have heard from Chisholm Hart by now. Would you mind riding over to see if he has news for me?”
“Really? You’re asking me to show up at another Hart celebration, when I could just get the message tomorrow?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to, but it’s a timely matter. We can’t keep the other lawmen waiting.”
“Fine.” She huffed out a breath. “I’ll do it. But I hope Travis lets you get up and about soon because I’m tired of being sent over there.”
She made short work of changing into her favorite blue dress with the frilly white blouse. She checked on Daddy, mounted her horse, and headed for the 7 Heart. She’d find Chisholm, get the note, and get back home as quickly as possible.