Hilda’s face lit up. ‘You think the movie might still be on the cards? That would make Harrison so happy.’
Alex turned to Travis, and lifted an eyebrow. When he smiled, Alex looked at Hilda again. ‘You never know. We’ll let the dust settle for a while, and then I’ll give Harrison a call.’
Hilda beamed. ‘That would be wonderful. Thank you so much for not blaming him.’ Then her smile faded, and she sighed heavily. ‘But then, there’s the other thing.’
Alex glanced at Travis, whose head was shaking almost imperceptibly, and then she turned back to Hilda. ‘The other thing?’
Hilda began ringing her hands in her lap as she spoke in a whisper. ‘I’ll never have grandchildren. I’d always hoped Harrison would find a nice girl—someone like you, Alex. When he took you to Denver’s party, I’d hoped it was the start of something.’
Alex stifled a laugh. ‘Me and Harrison? Oh, Hilda, I can’t believe you couldn’t see it. I mean, it took me a little while to be certain, but he’s clearly not interested in women. Please don’t be hard on him. He seems happy, and that’s all that’s important.’
‘You really think so?’
Once again, she turned to flash a quick smile toward Travis before answering. ‘Yes, I do. Besides, even if he’d fallen in love with a girl like me, instead of Kevin, that wouldn’t have guaranteed you grandchildren.’ As she finished speaking, Travis grabbed her hand under the table and gave it an encouraging rub.
Hilda shrugged. ‘I suppose you’re right. No doubt I’ll forgive him in time. He is my only child after all. And as you say, he wasn’t the real villain in all this, was he? But I still don’t understand how he and Kevin got mixed up with this Ben Thompson in the first place.’
‘Harrison told me that he and Kevin spoke to Ben about one of my uncle’s vacant shops when they first came up with the idea for the movie. They thought they might have been able to get the film project up using just a few of the shops.’
Hilda’s eyes opened wider as understanding dawned. ‘So this has been bubbling away for some time, has it?’
Travis cleared his throat before answering her. ‘Yes, and it seems it was Ben’s idea to turn the town into a tourist destination. He convinced them they needed to buy all the properties in Main Street to make it happen, but really that was just so he could get commissions on all the sales. That’s why he wanted to keep the shops vacant—to make the whole thing easier to pull off.’
‘I did wonder why so many shops were vacant for so long.’
‘Yes, that was all Ben’s doing,’ Alex said.
‘He’s hurt everyone with his deceit, hasn’t he?’
Alex shook her head. ‘Yes, and all for his own personal gain. Fancy him having Paul use the notion that the project was good for everyone as a bargaining chip, when he’d been actively hurting everyone for months. With all the deceit, Ben might even lose his licence.’
Hilda’s brow creased. ‘But where were they going to get the money to do all this? Harrison barely has two nickels to rub together.’
‘Kevin’s from a wealthy family—didn’t they tell you? That’s how he got into directing films in the first place. I didn’t get all the names, but it seems his father and grandfather both made lots of money in Hollywood.’
‘And this Ben Thompson fellow, he knew this … that Kevin was wealthy?’
‘Absolutely. That’s why Ben came up with the idea of making the town into a tourist destination. He was set to make huge commissions on all the sales. And that’s why he brought Paul Kelly on board—so he could claim to not be involved, and to ensure Kevin didn’t do any deals directly. Kevin and Harrison were pretty naïve, but that’s the worst they can be blamed for as far as I’m concerned.’
Hilda shook her head. ‘I never would have thought Harrison capable of behaving like that.’
‘Ben’s a smooth talker,’ Alex said, looking at Travis. ‘And so was Paul Kelly.’
Travis nodded agreement. ‘It didn’t smell right from the moment I met Paul Kelly, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.’
Alex ducked her head momentarily before continuing. ‘The secrecy should have triggered suspicion in me as well, but I let my emotions get in the way.’
‘I got caught out, too,’ Travis said, giving her hand a squeeze.
Alex’s heart warmed. ‘Now that it’s over I can see why they didn’t want all of us together in one room. They almost got away with it, but never would have if we’d all been in the same room together.’
Travis looked at Alex, and then at Hilda. ‘Yeah, lying to each of us about the others already signing was a bit too clever.’
Hilda drew in her breath. ‘Is that what they were doing? Trying to make you all doubt each other?’
Alex nodded, and then turned to look at Travis. ‘It seems that way. But your uncle Mark did sign, right?’
Travis shook his head. ‘It turns out he never did. His lawyer wasn’t happy with the contract being subject to development approval for such a long period. They could have been locked in for a long time without any certainty the sale would go ahead.’
Silence settled over them for a moment before Hilda let out a loud sigh. ‘I really appreciate how well you’ve both taken all this, and that you aren’t holding it against Harrison.’
‘Please, don’t let it trouble you any further,’ Alex said, giving her a warm smile.
‘Look, I’ve taken up enough of your time. I won’t stay to have coffee; I think I’ll pop over to that fresh produce shop. It looks quite nice, doesn’t it?’ Hilda said as she stood to go, then winked at Alex, and flashed a relieved smile.
‘It is nice, even if I do say so myself. Don’t forget to grab some of those strawberries before they’re all gone.’ Alex stood, and walked around to Hilda to give her a big hug. ‘Thank you, for welcoming me the way you have.’
When Alex released her, Hilda stepped back. ‘We’re lucky to have you, Alex. And you’re a lucky man, Travis Gold. You’ll be sure to take good care of her, now won’t you?’
Alex’s eyes flew open. Did Hilda read something between the lines? They hadn’t told anyone of their engagement.
Travis came over and threw his arm around Alex’s shoulders. ‘You don’t have to tell me twice.’ He kissed Alex’s cheek before moving over to give Hilda a quick hug.
As she watched the two embrace, a shiver ran down Alex’s spine and she got the sense that there was someone behind her. She turned, but the rest of the room was empty.
Or at least it seemed to be.
But then a vision of a distinguished man came to mind—a man not dissimilar to her father, but taller and more rugged looking. Another chill ran down her spine as it dawned on her that some things can never be explained. That no-one would ever be able to say with one hundred per cent certainty that her ancestor and the town’s founder, Thomas Mason, wasn’t in the room with them.
She looked back over at Travis, cherishing the depth of her love for him, and smiled.
And it occurred to her that if Thomas Mason was with them, watching over them, right now, perhaps he would be pleased to find her discovering gold, right here in his town, almost as he’d done himself so many years ago.
THANK YOU
Thank you for taking the time to read this first book in the Romancing the California Cowboys series. If you’ve enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads as this helps other readers to find the book.
I’m working on the next in the series, which is Casey’s story, but in the mean time you may also like to look at my other series, the Copperhead Creek Australian Romance series, which is set in the sleepy rural town of Willows, Australia, where Alex went for her step-sister’s wedding!
The fictitious town of Willows is located in Victoria’s Golden Triangle, the home of Australia’s 1850s Gold Rush, and is inspired by small towns sc
attered throughout Victoria and South Australia. Each book can be read as a stand-alone featuring a new couple who find their own happy ending, but if you read the books in order you’ll find characters from earlier books making reappearances as the lives of the small town residents overlap and tangle.
The books in the series are:
Taking a Chance (a FREE series prequel)
A Chance to Come True
A Chance to Get it Right
A Chance to Let Go
A Chance to Belong
A Chance for Snow
Murder at the Creek – A Copperhead Creek Mystery
About the Author
S M Spencer grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she rode horses along the beaches and across the tops of the rolling coastal hills of California. In the 1980s she was offered a job in Australia, which was the beginning of an adventure of which she has never tired. Still living in Australia, she writes from the semi-rural home she shares with her husband, horses, cats and dogs, as well as the kangaroos that pass through the paddocks from time to time.
You can find all of S M Spencer’s books by visiting S M Spencer’s Author Page at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/S-M-Spencer/e/B00PGE0G9U/
And never miss a new book, or a promotion, by following S M Spencer’s blog: http://smspencer.online/blog/
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