“The woman I’m becoming,” Hannah repeated now as she placed the dress into her overnight bag. It was a hope. A promise. A vow.
The heeled sandals she packed along with the dress were pure temptation. Angelica had talked her into buying those.
She wore her favorite pair of jeans, hiking boots, and a new shirt when shortly after nine, a knock sounded on her door. She opened it to discover a road-worn Jeep in front of the cottage, and Ranger pulling at his leash at Boone’s feet. “Good morning, Hollywood. You ready?”
“Good morning, Texas. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” She picked up her bag from beside the door where she’d left it.
“Excellent. Here, I’ll trade you the dog for your bag.”
As they walked toward the battered vehicle, she observed, “That’s not your usual ride.”
“Nah. Took the Land Rover into Josh Tarkington’s garage for a tune-up. This is my project car. It’s fun to drive in the mountains.” She waited until they were in the Jeep to ask, “So we’re going up out of the valley?”
“We are. We’re headed for Brick Callahan’s Stardance River Camp.”
Hannah thought of her dress and heels and frowned. Had she misunderstood him? “We’re going camping?”
“Not in the traditional sense, no.” He glanced at her and added, “Nice shirt, by the way. Pink looks good on you.”
“It’s not pink. It’s watermelon.”
“Now you’ve done it. There’s nothing like the sweet taste of watermelon on a hot summer day.” His grin went casually wicked. “Hope it’s on the lunch menu. I’ll be dreaming about taking a big old bite.”
“Corny, McBride.” Nevertheless, a shiver raced over Hannah’s nerves at that.
After they dropped off Ranger at the vet’s, and while driving past the Angel’s Rest resort, Hannah told Boone that she’d met Celeste’s cousin. “I love Angelica,” he said. “She’s a hoot. She’ll say anything, and she’s often a little risqué. Yet she has a heart of gold. Tucker says she’s like Celeste’s evil twin.”
Hannah laughed at the description, but having met the woman, she could agree. For the next half hour as they drove into the mountains above the valley that sheltered Eternity Springs, he entertained her with the tale of how his family had come to inherit the Enchanted Canyon property. He painted a vivid picture of their discoveries inside the old brothel, saloon, and dance hall that they’d remodeled and opened as the Fallen Angel Inn and Last Chance Hall.
“We saved what furnishings we could and used them in both the inn and the restaurant—the Saloon. We found a lot of junk, but some nice pieces too.”
“I’ll bet it was a treasure hunt.”
“It truly was. It just so happens I brought one of them along with me today to show you. It’s in the glove box. Look.”
She did as he asked and discovered a leather-bound book.
“It was inside a box along with a harmonica and a pocket watch,” Boone told her. “Jackson kept the first, Tucker the second. The journal came to me.”
Hannah opened it and flipped through the pages. “The handwriting is beautiful. A little hard to read but gorgeous.”
“It’s difficult reading at first, but once you power through the first few pages, your eyes and brain adjust, and you get the rhythm. Comprehension gets easier. The author is a woman, an ancestor of mine named Ellie McBride. In the introduction to the journal, Ellie wrote that she intended to record the stories that her father told his children about Comanche raids, outlaw deeds, and cattle drives of his youth.”
“I’ll bet it’s interesting.”
“It is, but not in the way I originally thought it would be. It turns out that the tales Ellie recorded in the journal are more often about her mother than cattle thieves and Indian raids. Adelaide Throckmorton lived quite the life. I think you might like to read about it.”
“I’d love to read it. You’ve got me curious now. Though I hope my eyes are up to deciphering her penmanship by the light of a campfire.”
“You’ll have lamplight. We won’t be roughing it at Stardance River Camp.”
“Okay, I’m dying of curiosity. Tell me about this place we are going.”
“Okay, but first, let me take care of something that I can’t seem to put out of my mind.” He pulled his phone from his pocket as he maneuvered the Jeep onto the shoulder of the road. As he thumbed through his contacts and placed a call, his gaze lingered on her breasts. “G’mornin’. This is Boone McBride. I’d like to add fresh watermelon to the lunch menu if that’s doable?”
Hannah shivered. She hadn’t experienced this much sexual tension since her teenage years, and she was glad he’d chosen the romance route, after all. She resisted the impulse to arch her back and squirm in her seat.
“Great. Perfect. Thank you.” He listened a moment, then responded. “No changes to our schedule. We should be arriving in fifteen to twenty minutes, so I think we’re good to go.”
The call ended, Boone pulled the Jeep back onto the road. He picked up the conversation as if he hadn’t just lobbed a heat grenade between them. “Are you familiar with the term glamping?”
“It’s upscale camping, right?”
“Yes. Luxury camping. I think the term evolved from glamorous camping. River Camp is a glamping resort. I’ve been up here a few times, but I’ve never stayed overnight. It’s been on my to-do list. I’m thinking of adding a glamping component to the Enchanted Canyon offerings. Utilize the ghost town as a base.”
“What’s it called again? The ghost town?”
“Ruin. It was an outlaw enclave. The brothel sat halfway along the road from Ruin to Redemption, or, vice versa, depending on your viewpoint.”
Hannah gave him a teasing smile. “So this isn’t a date, but a business trip?”
“Two birds, sweetheart. And just so you know, I definitely mean business.”
She darned sure hoped so.
At a discreet sign that read STARDANCE RIVER CAMP, he turned off the paved road onto a dirt one. She soon saw why he’d brought the Jeep. Four-wheel drive was required to get up and down and around the hills. She began to wonder how much “luxury” they’d find at Stardance River Camp.
When the curve of a switchback revealed an alpine meadow covered in a sea of yellow wildflowers and ringed by snowcapped peaks, she decided luxury didn’t matter. “Oh, wow. That’s breathtaking.”
“Pretty piece of land. It’s a shame Brick got to it before I set eyes on it.” He motioned up ahead of them. “We’re looking for a small sign that reads SHANGRI-LIL. If you spot it, shout out. I think we should be coming up on it soon. When you can read it, tell me which path to take.”
“Shangri-lil?”
“His wife’s name is Lili. We’re staying at their personal retreat.”
Hannah tried to place Lili Callahan. Had she met her at the wedding or the baby shower? She’d met so many people that she had trouble putting faces to names. Spying the sign he’d mentioned, she pointed toward the left. “There it is.”