Blair had been silent through the meal, and Houston was glad she was meeting Kane at last and could see what a generous man he was. Kane even offered to allow Mr. Gates to buy some land with him, at what Houston suspected was a bargain price.
As they were leaving, Kane said, “Your sister ain’t like you at all.”
Houston asked him what he meant but he wouldn’t explain.
At the park, she introduced Kane to other engaged couples. For once, Kane relaxed rather than worrying about the amount of work he was missing. When a woman referred to Kane’s previous mishap of dumping the food in Houston’s lap, Kane stiffened, but then, when she sighed at his romantic gesture of carrying Houston, Kane ostentatiously denied that he’d done anything extraordinary.
An ice-cream parlor across from the park was open for a few hours on Sunday and Kane treated everyone to sodas and Hire’s root beer.
At the end of the day, Houston returned home with stars in her eyes. She’d had no idea he could be so charming.
“I never had time to do this kind of thing before. I always thought it was a waste of time, but it’s nice. You think I did all right with your friends? I didn’t act too much like a stableboy?”
“Not in the least.”
“Can you ride a horse?”
“Yes,” she said, hope in her voice.
“I’ll pick you up in the mornin’ and we’ll ride. Like that?”
“Very much.”
Without another word, Kane put his hands in his pockets and went down the walk of the Chandler house whistling.
Chapter 11
Kane showed up on Monday morning at five o’clock, before anyone was out of bed. As soon as Houston heard the movement downstairs, she knew it could be only one person. No one ever dressed faster in a riding habit in her life.
“You took long enough,” Kane said, as he led the way to two horses loaded with heavy saddlebags.
“Food,” was all Kane said before mounting.
It was a good thing she’d been telling the truth when she said she could ride, she thought, hours later, as she followed Kane’s horse up the side of a mountain.
They rode west, past the Taggert estate, toward the tail of the Rocky Mountains that ran along one side of Chandler. They travelled across flat land covered with fierce little chamisa plants and on until they reached the hills.
Kane led the way up the piñon-dotted hills, up higher until they reached pines and rock formations. He weaved his horse through the spruce and fir to halt before a breathtaking view of Chandler far below them.
“How did you find this place?” she whispered.
“When you play, you ride bicycles and drink tea with other people. I come up here.” As he dismounted, he nodded his head toward a steep rise above them. “I gotta cabin up there, but it’s pretty rough goin’, not for ladies.”
He began unloading food from his saddlebags as Houston dismounted by herself.
As they ate, they sat on the ground and talked.
“How did you make your money?” she asked.
“When Fenton kicked me out, I went to California. Pam had given me $500 and I used it to buy a played-out gold mine. I was able to hack out a couple thousand dollars’ worth of the gold, and I used the money to buy land in San Francisco. Two days after I bought the land I sold it for half again what I paid for it. I bought more land, sold it, bought a nail factory, sold it, bought a little railroad line . . . You get the idea.”
“Did you know that Pamela Fenton is a widow now?” Houston asked as if she weren’t interested in his answer.
“Since when?”
“I believe her husband died a few months ago.”
Kane stared at Houston for several long minutes, as if seeing her for the first time. “It’s funny how things work out, ain’t it?”