He just grinned and took his place behind one of three podiums.
She found hers, as well, but wasn’t quite as ready as he was to get started. Sure, she’d learned a lot about her dad, she didn’t feel she knew him. Though he remained a larger-than-life figure, at least she’d come to love the man she’d barely known. And it meant everything to her to honor him tonight by getting all the answers correct.
Declan mouthed, Kick some ass.
I will, she mouthed back. Her heart was so full. Maybe she was crazy, but she couldn’t help thinking of Declan as her dad’s greatest gift to her.
With microphone in hand, Harrison turned around to them. “Are we ready?”
“Yes, sir,” Declan said.
“I am.” Phinny discreetly wiped her palms on her dress.
The lawyer gave them a nod and turned to face the good number of people who had turned out. “Thank you for coming to the Kurt Grevers Trivia Contest. I know it might seem odd that he arranged this event, but if you knew him at all, you know he had a reason for everything he did. He was a thoughtful man. He was kind and caring, and I believe his intentions were good. Okay, let’s get started.” He picked up a stack of index cards and tapped them on the desktop. “We have a total of ten questions. You’ll both write your answers on your electronic pad, and they’ll appear on the screen behind us. There’s no timer, so feel free to take as long as you need.”
Picking up their styluses, they both nodded,
“Question number one.” The lawyer read the top card. “What year did the Grevers brothers sign the deeds to their land?”
Whew. Easy one. She wrote 1864 and knew Declan had done the same.
“Correct.” The lawyer cleared his throat. “Number two. Draw a family tree from the brothers to the present. Whoever gets the greatest number of family members correct wins.”
Oh. That one flipped the switch on her anxiety. She’d memorized a lot of names and dates but piecing together the entire lineage would be tricky. Calm down. It’ll come to you. In her mind, she flipped through the pages of the photo albums.
Tuning out the audience, the attorney, and Declan, she brainstormed as many names as she could. Then, she ordered them along a timeline to the best of her ability.
It only struck her when she’d finished that the entire room had watched her writing and erasing dozens of times. She looked over to see Declan waiting patiently for her. She glanced at the board. He’d created a neat and concise tree.
Her heart sank. She’d been so preoccupied with getting it right, she hadn’t considered the format. She hadn’t made a tree.
Shit. Dammit.
That was stupid.
After the lawyer examined both of their answers, he looked right at her. “You are both correct.”
Oh, thank God. Relief barreling through her, she let out a gust of breath.
She remembered what Declan had said to her at the skating rink the other day. It’s all about confidence. You’re so sure you’re going to fall on your ass, you’ll make it happen.
He was absolutely right. She had to remember that.
“Question number three. What stopped the fire of 1894 from destroying the Grevers’ land?”
Immediately, an image came to mind. In the museum yesterday, she’d seen a photograph of scorched earth. She’d meant to ask Waverly about it on their way out but had gotten distracted.
Dammit. She wished she hadn’t forgotten.
Would Declan know this one? She glanced over to find him writing furiously.
Of course, he did.
Okay, well, think. She wanted to say the community got together, but if the fire threatened the entire ranch, no number of buckets could douse it. And they didn’t have emergency vehicles back then. In her mind’s eye, she went back to the photograph, to the museum label, to try and identify a date. Had it been winter? Summer? But she hadn’t paid enough attention to it.
Time ticked by, and she got hot around her ears. A rustling sound in the audience drew her attention. Screen it out. She closed her eyes, took herself back to the cool of the museum, and let her mind wander across the image hanging on the wall. Blackened tree stumps, grey sky, the earth nearly black…
Because it was wet. Saturated.
Flooded.
Finally, she wrote down her answer. It rained.
But wait a minute. What year did he say the fire took place? 1894? Excitement blasted through her. Mitch had burst into the house last week, angry about some fence a neighbor had built on Grevers’ land. Yes.
She deleted and wrote The great storm of 1894.
Nailed it. Apparently, it was the greatest amount of rainfall in recorded history in the area, and it changed the course of the Moose River. Since the deeds stated they owned land to the river, the Grevers had gained a thousand acres. It had also created a feud between her family and the Wilsons that endured to this day.
She hoped it had also doused the fire.
Phinny waited, anxious to see if she’d gotten it right.
A moment later, the attorney spoke into the microphone. “You’re both correct.”
Happiness rocketed through her. If her dad was watching, she’d like to think she’d made him proud.
Thank you for making me stay here, Dad. Thank you for making me learn my roots, my history.
I only wish I could’ve learned it from you.
Tears blurred her vision. I love you, Daddy.
Lowering her head, she closed her eyes and could’ve sworn she felt a hand on her back, the ghost of fingers scratching the way she’d always liked. Her skin broke out into chill bumps.
He’s here.
He heard me.
And somehow, it set it all to rest. All the years of hurt, rejection…the frustration of not having answers…settled, giving her peace.
“Question number four. How many people on the family tree you just made couldn’t make a go of it in Calamity and left to find their fortune elsewhere and never came back?”
I have no idea. That was the one answer she’d never gotten. What do I do?
You calm down. You think.
You can’t let your dad down.
She’d read everything, poured over photo albums, scoured the museum, but there’d been no mention of someone who’d left to start a dry-cleaning business or become a horse trainer in Kentucky. She’d hadn’t seen anything about people who’d left.
But, of course, Declan was already writing down his answer.
Out of nowhere, she was struck with the realization that it was Declan’s confidence that meant she was safe with him. She didn’t need to worry about him breaking her heart because he knew his own mind. And when he wanted something, he went after it.
And he wants me.
Love surged through her, but she had to force her mind back on the contest. She would just have to make her best guess based on the conversations she’d had with the Cooters, Declan, Tina, Leddy, Glori, and Mitch. She wrote 15.
“You are both incorrect. The correct answer is zero. No one left the ranch to find a better life. Every Grevers stayed and worked on the land.”
“But where is everyone then? Why am I the last one?” Mortification pinched the back of her neck, flooding her with a stinging sensation. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her.
“Not everyone married.” The lawyer didn’t hesitate to answer. “And not every married couple had children. But no one left.” Harrison watched her for a moment, waiting for her to give him the okay to proceed.