Alvarado Gold (21 page)

“Addie. Don’t take the whole world on your shoulders.” He reached out and I let him draw me into the fold of his arms. He held me close. The smell of Brut and fabric softener filled my consciousness. I let my troubles fall away. I could have stayed there forever.
A time to keep silent.

“You need to get inside.” He held out his hand for my key. “Let me check the lock. I don’t think Donnie’s coming back.”

“Join us tomorrow.” I hesitated to ask him but his company was exactly what I wanted. “We have to find some property around Alvarado. I don’t think we can find it without your help.” I looked up into his eyes and truly knew I wanted to work things out. “Please…meet me in the lobby at eight tomorrow morning.”

Gary walked to the edge of the sidewalk and picked up a walnut sized stone. “Here, Addie. We’ll move that mountain one rock at a time.” He placed it into the palm of my hand and closed my fingers around it. He briefly brushed my lips with his and slipped the key into the lock. I stepped closer to him and he swept me into his arms and kissed me long and slow. I could feel his heart thumping against mine, as they seemed to beat together. I pulled away and looked into his eyes. He stood outside quietly while I slowly closed the door. I heard him walk away once the deadbolt shifted into place. My world shifted, too.

I told my anxious heart to be still as I examined the black rock swirled with white streaks. I set it down on the dresser. I’d always wanted a knight in shining armor. I’d almost let this one get away with my sheer stubbornness. This adventure had not only brought me closer to my family but it had taught me a few lessons along the way. I was definitely not as brave as I thought and too mulish for my own good. Gary had proven that. I hoped I could convince him I was truly sorry. But, yet, he was a man of God. Before I could love Gary the way I wanted to, I’d have to make my peace with God. I wasn’t sure if I could. I didn’t know where to start.

After my shower, I assessed the damage Donnie had done to my shoulder. It wasn’t much more than a scrape. I opened up the empty box and could see the slightest hint of white as it peeked out from where the side portion met the bottom panel. I speculated. The prospect of another clue had to be too much to hope for. I tried to use my fingernail to remove it but had no luck. I found a pair of tweezers in my cosmetic bag and slowly pulled the small, folded paper from its hiding place.

32.24.58N, -97.12.19W Another set of coordinates different from the first. Donnie had missed the next clue. So much had happened besides Susan’s injury, Donnie’s anger, Gary’s rescue. Now we had one more piece of the puzzle. If this clue had been overlooked for over one hundred years, it might explain why none of my ancestors had been able to find the gold.

I put the paper carefully into the rusty container, picked up my rock and flicked on the television. I fell asleep draped across the end of my bed, the rock still in my hand.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Morning came too quickly. I’d set the alarm on the clock radio for six.
Achy Breaky Heart
streamed from the speaker as I tried to get my own throbbing body into action. Donnie had done the most harm to my ego but my arms and back protested, too.

I pulled a clean pair of jeans from my suitcase and found a bright pink polo shirt. I used the curling iron to make a few quick curls in my hair and applied a slight hint of rose-colored blush and lipstick. I realized it wasn’t a subconscious effort as I thought about Gary meeting us in the lobby at eight. I had chosen eight because it would give me enough time to brief the family on last night’s escapade and tell them Gary would join us. I didn’t want Clay to deck him the moment he saw him. As I retrieved the paper from the metal box, I spotted the rock on the dresser. For good luck, I tucked it into the front pocket of my jeans.

I met Mel and Clay in the lobby of the motel where the frozen doughnuts and stale bagels were set out in a somewhat appetizing array. Fresh fruit and coffee appealed more to me.

“Addie, what happened?” Mel noticed a bruise I hadn’t seen on my upper forearm.

“Donnie made an appearance last night.” I told them of the intrigue that had played itself out and Gary’s rescue.

Mel touched my arm. “Weren’t you terrified?”

“I didn’t have time to be scared. I was more concerned with getting away from him and not telling him more than he needed to know. Gary came along at just the right time.” I glanced at Mel. By my facial expression, I tried to give her a hint of what had happened between Gary and me. She returned my look with her questioning eyebrows. “I asked Gary to join us this morning. I found these coordinates in that metal box, another clue. If we’re going to find this, we need his help.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about him, too?” Clay finished his dissection of the newspaper and settled in next to us at the table.

“No. I was wrong about Gary. I should have listened to him and not been so quick to judge.”

“He just showed up. Out of nowhere.” Clay began to look suspicious.

“Gary’s parents live in Alvarado. He’d planned to stay with them while we were here. When he and I had our argument, he didn’t change his plans, just his flight. He decided last night he’d try to find me so we could talk. He just happened to have good timing.”

“You rushing back into things, Addie?” Mel stirred her coffee with a red plastic stick and bit her lip like she’d intended to say more but thought better of it.

“I told him I wanted to take it slow this time.” I resolved to change the subject. “Where’s Susan? Did she decide to stay in today?”

“No. She’s coming. She just wanted to practice with her crutches before she ventured out.” Mel nodded toward the doorway, “Here she is now.” As she tried to balance her weight on four legs instead of two, Susan used a crab-like walk. She had more movement sideways than forward. She did fairly well but her gait gave a new meaning to uncoordinated.

Clay glanced over both the top of the sports section and his glasses. “Did we get that fax yet?”

“I’ll go see.” I made my way to the desk and asked, again, for the fax from Alvarado.

“I’m terribly sorry, Ms. Brown” The young, twentyish clerk enlightened me. “It came in Friday afternoon but no one noticed that the machine was jammed until late last night. We don’t use it that much. I hope it wasn’t an important message.”

“That’s fine.” I tried not to sound angry. It wasn’t her fault but it may have hampered our search. “Let me have a look at it.”

She handed me the papers. I saw the name Hansen on the top of the first page of the stack but it would take some time to find the description of the land. “Thank you. Put the charges for this on my bill.”

“We won’t charge you. It’s our fault you didn’t get it sooner.”

“We have the deeds!” I called out across the room. I’d just spread them out over the table when Gary caught my eye. The backlight from the morning sun illuminated him as he walked into the entryway. His celebrated Hawaiian shirt had a luminescence appearance. I wondered where he’d tied up his white horse.

Mel jolted me out of my mouth-gapping gaze with her manicured hand as she waved it in front of me. “You in there, Addie?” She looked at me, half annoyed.

“He’s here.”

As he walked up to our table, Mel turned in her seat. “Gary.” She tried to make the best of an awkward situation and extended her hand.

“It is good to see all of you.” He looked hesitant as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. “I hope you don’t mind me joining in.”

“Do you care to tell me why you’re here?” Clay swung into his big brother roll.

“I needed to make Addie understand I wasn’t who, or what, she thought I was. It’s important to me.” Gary looked at me and at that moment I truly knew I wanted to work things through–no matter what.

“If it is all right with Addie, then it is okay with the rest of us.” Clay reached over the table to shake his hand.

Whew, that went better than I’d expected. I motioned to Susan who sat with her foot up on the arm of one of the couches. She and Gary greeted each other. He went to the coffee bar while Mel, Clay and I sat down at the small console. We began to go over the information. When Gary returned, he drew out a compass and maps from his brief case. He sat next to me as he looked over the records. I didn’t hear a word he said until Mel interrupted my thoughts.

“Addie. Have Gary look at the numbers from the metal box, the coordinates.”

Oh, yeah. I’d rather look at the way his hair curved over the top of his ears.
The gold, Addie, you’re here to find the gold.
I was finding it increasingly difficult to stay focused. I needed to clear my head. But I had come here to connect with my family and fulfill my grandfather’s final wish for us. I hadn’t planned on losing my heart along the way.

Engrossed in the map, Gary kept the cup within the curve of his hand and took long, slow sips of his coffee. He occasionally furrowed his brows as he concentrated on his findings. I memorized every movement.

Mel and I had each taken a stack of the land records. The information, similar to what we’d found in the description of Barnesville. Mel worked fervently on her stack while I just as earnestly watched Gary.

He broke the silence when he began his explanation of latitude and longitude. “This is one of the oldest coordinate systems known. The grid is made up of a series of imaginary lines that circle the earth. Latitude runs parallel to the equator and measures the distance north and south. Longitude measures the distance east and west from a line measuring from Greenwich, England, and through both poles.” I knew I learned these facts in junior high geography but Gary made it sound so much more interesting.

I picked up a small plastic rectangle from the table. It was about two inches square with thin, black markings like a ruler. “What’s this?”

“My ultimate trail mapper. Here, let me see those numbers. If I place the square here and line it up with the minutes on the side of the map, these coordinates should be about on the corner of…”

“We have a match.” Mel dropped the deed beside the map. “The plat of a parcel of land containing 15 acres certified to Robert William Hansen, Sr., June 22, 1865. 32.24.58N -97.12.19W.” She recited from the land deed.

“Where, Gary? Where is it?” I stood from my chair and leaned closer to him.

“Right here, the corner of Rusk and South Fourth Street.” He tilted his head back toward me. For a moment our eyes embraced. I would never be able to get through this weekend if I couldn’t stop this from happening every time we were together. To be honest, at least with myself, I didn’t want it to stop.

“Addie. Let’s go.” Mel helped Susan up from the couch. “We’re going to Alvarado. “Didn’t you hear anything we’ve just said?”

“Yeah. I heard you.”
Not.
I didn’t act this stupid when, at thirteen, Billy Johnson kissed me behind the backstop. What on earth was wrong with me?

Clay, Mel and Susan piled into the van while Gary and I followed in an old 1935 Ford pickup. “Where did you get this relic?” I inquired.

He double clutched as the engine groaned into second gear. “It’s mine, sort of. It belongs to my dad but I drive it when I come to visit. It needs some work but it still runs. If I have a chance, someday I’ll fix it all up and get a new engine. Then, I can take it back to Houston or wherever I wind up.”

The old thing looked like it belonged in a car museum. Better yet, a junkyard, but I lovingly patted my approval on the stuffing that erupted from the cracked seat cushion. “That should be quite a project.” Somehow I felt Gary wanted to talk about us and I didn’t want that. Not now. We only had a few miles to go on our short ride and there wasn’t enough time to discuss the universe that lay before us.

“Do you know why Cleburne and Alvarado are twelve miles apart? The two towns and Barnesville are in a triangular spread of some sort.” I glanced at him sideways watching his face for any sign of emotion, knowing I’d quelled any conversation concerning the two of us until later.

“The Waxahachie to Cleburne stagecoach road cut through here. It was probably a stop or a mail run and isn’t far from the Chisom Trail.” He glanced up into the rearview mirror. “Are you really interested in all this?” While he kept his eyes on the road behind us, growing concern spread across his face.

“What’s wrong?” I turned around in time to see a red pickup shoot past the corner rear of the truck. Gary took the shoulder. We spun around and slid several feet; black dirt swirled around us before we came to rest in a small ditch.

He reached over and took my hand, “You okay?”

As I choked on the fine mist of dust, I managed to sputter out, “I’m fine.” We jumped out of the truck to survey the damage. “Looks like your truck is a little worse for wear.” He squatted down and slid his hand around the back tire where the rim sliced into the rubber. The front tire on the passenger side was in the same shape. “That was Donnie’s pickup. I saw him pass the van, too. He’s on to us and trying to beat us to Alvarado. Let me call Mel on the cell phone and they can turn back.”

“There’s a turnout up the road about two miles. Clay will realize we’re not behind him. You sure you’re okay?” Before I could answer, he lifted me up onto the fender and covered my waiting lips with his. I felt a dam break inside me flooding me within. I returned his kiss. Our eyes met and the cool violet of his eyes turned to molten embers.