Free A Dream to Call My Own by Tracie Peterson Page B

asked.
    “Here.” Hank pinpointed the spot south of the planned railroad.
    The three men considered the distance between locations. Hank knew they’d be thinking the same thing he was. It would be cheaper to sell out and rebuild than to try to move any of their buildings to the new site.
    “It would mean starting from bare ground,” Hank said. He left the map out and took his seat. “I’ve been asking about the land prices. The railroad has a certain easement, as well as land given by the government that they can use as incentives to get people to build towns. I think we can benefit by this quite nicely.”
    “But what of our land here?” Nick asked. “I would need to sell it, and I won’t get a very good price for a piece of land alone, since the fire burned all the buildings.”
    “We could arrange to build a cabin. With our friends in the area, we could surely put up a small log structure. That would help a little bit.”
    Nick nodded. “I suppose it would, at that. Of course, Rafe still wants to buy it.”
    Dave frowned. “I can’t find any way to prove his involvement in your fire, but I feel sure he was at the start of it. Someone threw a lit lantern into the hay. It didn’t get there by itself.”
    “But why do you think Rafe’s behind it?” Hank asked.
    “He’s the one clamoring to buy the land. Nobody else has stepped forward asking for it. Have they?”
    “No,” Nick admitted. “Still, he hasn’t been pestering me at all. Seems like he’d be pressing to see the matter resolved if it was important enough to set fire to my barn. I just don’t want to falsely judge him on this.”
    “Yes, but on the other hand,” Hank said thoughtfully, “as Dave said, he’s the only one who really stood to gain from it.”
    “He couldn’t be sure I’d sell.” Nick shook his head. “Rafe is a selfish man, I’ll give you that, but I can’t believe he’d want to destroy me like that—even risk killing me and my family.”
    “Hey, where is everybody?”
    Hank recognized Cubby’s voice. “We’re in the office, Cubby. Come on back.”
    Cubby bounded into the room, his face clearly showing the excitement his voice betrayed. “Gold!” He was rather breathless. “They found gold on the Gallatin.”
    “What? Who found it?” Nick asked.
    “Some men . . . my pa. . . .” He panted to regain his breath. “They’re over at the saloon.”
    “No one has ever found gold in this area before,” Dave said. “Are you sure it’s not fool’s gold?”
    “My pa’s friend Mr. Mulholland knows about such things, and he says it’s gold for sure.”
    “This could change everything,” Nick said, looking at Hank. “It might very well mean new life for this town. If there’s a gold rush, the railroad may be willing to build a side line down from the main road. I could rebuild the livery.”
    “And the stage would definitely make stops here for the miners,” Hank said, grinning. “You’re right. This changes everything.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    “We can’t possibly keep up with this crowd,” Gwen said, wiping her brow with the edge of her apron. “How many men have we fed lunch to today?”
    “At my last count, it was fifty-two,” Beth replied.
    “Feels like one hundred and two,” Lacy interjected. “I’ve never seen men eat so much. We’re out of nearly everything.”
    Beth brought an empty pot to the counter. “At least they like beans and corn bread.”
    “But we’re even out of beans now,” Lacy said, shaking her head.
    Gwen put on a fresh pot of coffee. “Hank put in a triple order for most of our regular supplies. He said it should be delivered today, if the weather holds.”
    Lacy went to the kitchen window and gazed out at the brilliant March skies. “Doesn’t look like rain or snow is threatening. There isn’t a cloud anywhere.” She turned and surveyed the stack of dishes to be washed. “Guess I’d better get to work.”
    “I can’t bake too much until we get more flour,”