“I happen to know that Dick cooks nothing but pork and beans morning, noon, and night,” Julia greeted Ted. “So I brought you some of Miss Mittelstadt’s sweet rolls.”
Ted eyed the flask Julia carried strapped over one slender shoulder. “And coffee, I hope. Dick’s is a little... strong.”
She laughed. “That’s because he never cleans the pot!”
Before parting the night before, the two had agreed to meet at the start of the river path the next morning at sunrise. Now they sat down cross-legged on a flat rock by the river’s edge. Julia unwrapped the rolls. “Yum,” she said. “I already ate a few of these back at the house, but I worked up an appetite walking over here. I think I’ll have another.”
Ted bit into a roll, chewing with a blissful expression. “That settles it. I’m checking out of the Last Chance and into Miss Mittelstadt’s.”
Julia uncapped the flask of coffee and handed it to Ted, wondering if he’d take this opening to tell her a little about himself. He knows practically my whole life story. But I don’t know anything about him other than the fact that he’s absolutely the most handsome and intriguing man I’ve ever met, she thought, stealing a glance at his rugged profile.
But Ted didn’t expand on the subject of his life in Chicago, and Julia decided not to question him. She had faith that he would grow less reticent after they’d spent some time together. Besides, there were plenty of other things to talk about, namely the story she was investigating.
As soon as they polished off the rolls, Julia hopped to her feet. “C’mon. I’ll fill you in on the situation while we walk to the reservation. I do my best thinking when I’m on my feet and moving.”
“A good trait for a journalist,” Ted remarked.
They hiked briskly along the rocky path. “The problem started a year ago, when a government-backed company began mining some land that supposedly was part of the Awaswan and Yakima reservation,” Julia began. “The village you saw yesterday is only a small part of the total reservation acreage. The Indians had also been given what appeared to be useless land in the Cascade foothills. But then an exceptionally rich vein of iron ore was discovered in the area. Rumor has it there may even be oil there.”
“But if the land legally belongs to the Indians...”
“That’s just the problem,” said Julia, stepping over a tree that had fallen across the path. “When the Indians went to the local government offices for help, Frank Foster—the official liaison between the tribes and the government—told them the treaty had been lost. So they scraped together enough money to send Ten Horses to Washington to appeal to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. But it turned out there was no copy of the treaty on file in D.C., either.”
“Sounds fishy to me!”
“Mighty fishy,” Julia agreed. “Ten Horses’s journey made national news—that’s how I came to write to Ten Horses and the Yakima chief, Bear Paw, offering to help. All I’ve gotten so far, though, is the Indians’ oral testimony that the land and any mineral rights traditionally belong to them. And unfortunately, the only surviving nineteenth-century papers documenting the actual treaty negotiations reveal that at the time, the government was considering a couple of different land packages for the tribes, one of which didn’t include the area in question. Of course, that’s all the evidence the government thinks it needs now to steal the land back.” Julia’s eyes flashed. “If only I could find out what became of the treaty!”
Ted stopped in his tracks. “I’ve got it.”
Julia stared at him. “Got what?”
“Frank Foster’s the key. He knows what happened to at least one copy of the treaty—he may even have it in his possession, despite his statements to the contrary.”
“But how do we get our hands on it?”
“You’ve tried the honest approach. Now it’s time to play the game Foster’s way.” Grabbing Julia’s hand, Ted pulled her back toward town. “Let’s go!”
“I don’t think I can say it,” Julia told Ted as he parked his coupe in front of the regional office for Indian affairs in Parkersburg, ten miles from Swift River. “He’ll know I’m bluffing.”
As they stood on the sidewalk Ted put his hands on Julia’s shoulders. “Do you trust me to do the talking?”
She looked up into his deep, earnest eyes. “Yes,” she said without an instant’s hesitation.
“Then let’s do it.”
Inside, they breezed past the startled receptionist and marched straight into Frank Foster’s office. Foster looked up in surprise. When he saw Julia his face folded into a peeved frown. “What do you want?”
“The truth,” Ted said promptly. “We’re onto the scheme, Foster.”
Foster narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“The treaty,” Ted answered. “What would you say if we told you a third copy had been made and we have it?”
Foster blanched visibly. “There was no third copy.”
Ted patted his backpack. “Bear Paw, the Yakima chief, has had one all this time. It was passed down to him by his father, and his father before him. It’s the real thing, Foster. Signed and sealed in 1877 by President Grant himself. If you don’t believe me, why don’t we compare it to your copy? There’s no point lying anymore—we know you have it.”
Foster opened a drawer in his desk and removed a plain, unlabeled folder. “Show me what you’ve got first,” he ordered, resting his hands on top of the folder.
Ted stepped to Foster’s side, pretending to unbuckle his backpack. While Foster’s eyes were on Ted, Julia darted forward and grabbed the folder. Then the two turned and ran for the door. Foster yelled in outrage, but they didn’t stop until they reached the car, which Ted had left idling. Jumping in, Ted stepped on the gas, pushing the pedal to the floor. Julia gripped the edge of the seat as they roared off.
In moments, they’d left the center of Parkersburg behind. Julia’s hands were still shaking from the excitement, but she managed to open the folder. And there, resting right on top of a few other papers, was a yellowed piece of parchment. The treaty!
“We got it!” she yelled.
Ted flashed her a triumphant grin. “Talk about teamwork.”
“Oh, Ted, I couldn’t have done it without you.” Julia threw her arms around his neck.
The car nearly swerved off the road. “Whoa, watch it!” cautioned Ted, but Julia noticed he didn’t seem to mind her nearness. “Yes, you could have done it, and you would have,” he went on. “I’m just glad I was there to help you deal with a scoundrel like Foster.” Ted turned off the paved road onto a dirt road running along a steep cliff above the Swift River. “Now that we have the treaty, what’s the next step?”
“I think we should take it right away to—” Julia stopped. Did she hear the sound of another engine? She twisted in her seat to look back through the rear window. Out of nowhere, a black car had appeared, and it was coming up behind them fast. “That driver should be more careful on such a dangerous road,” she commented. “If he doesn’t watch out—”
Crash. There was a sound of crumpling metal. The other driver had rear-ended Ted’s car! The black car fell back slightly, then accelerated. Again, it crashed into the back of the coupe!
“My God, what’s he trying to do?” Julia cried fearfully.
“Force us off the road.” Ted’s voice was grim and his knuckles white as he fought to keep the damaged coupe on course. “It looks like Foster isn’t going to give up that treaty without a fight.”
Trembling, Julia looked behind her again. There were two men in the car, but both wore hats pulled low over their eyes. She couldn’t tell if either of them was Foster. “Maybe we should pull over.”
Instead of braking, Ted gunned the engine. “No one’s taking your story away from you!”
A wild chase ensued. Their sudden acceleration took the other driver by surprise, and for a moment, Julia thought she and Ted would get away. But the other car was more powerful. Soon it was on their tail again. And the road was growing narrower, rougher, and steeper all the time.
Suddenly, there was a screeching, scraping sound. The black car was pushing its way alongside the coupe—pushing Ted and Julia closer to the edge of the cliff. “We’re going over!” Julia screamed, squeezing her eyes shut.
Ted braked and yanked on the steering wheel with all his might. Julia was hurled against the car door. She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself staring down the cliff to the raging river below. Instead, she saw that their car had jackknifed, but was still on the road. It was the other automobile that was plunging headlong down the cliff!
With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, Julia watched the black car somersault. It landed at the river’s edge, upright but incredibly crumpled. Could anyone survive such a crash?
Setting the emergency brake, Ted jumped from the car. Julia climbed out after him. “Ted, where are you going?” she called as he began skidding down the steep grade to theriverbed.
“Whoever’s in there needs help!” he shouted back.
Julia scrambled after Ted, clutching rocks and plants to keep her footing. She was still only halfway down the cliff when Ted reached the wreck. She saw him wrench open the car door and pull out the limp bodies of two men. Quickly, Ted dragged the men one by one to the shelter of a large boulder a short distance away. His action was not a moment too soon. Julia flung up her arms to protect her face as the car exploded.
“Foster and his cohort tried to kill us, but you saved their lives,” Julia said, her eyes glowing with admiration. “You’re really something, Ted Wakefield.”
It was evening, and Julia and Ted were eating a home-cooked supper in the candlelit parlor of Miss Mittelstadt’s boardinghouse.
Ted sipped his cider. “I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, Julia. Anyone would have acted the same way.”
“That’s not true and you know it. Most people would have panicked. Because of your courage, those men are alive—and in jail. You did a very noble thing.”
“Noble?” Ted smiled crookedly. “Not a word I would use to describe myself.” He looked into Julia’s eyes. He seemed to be on the verge of some kind of confession. She held her breath. “Julia, I’m not a knight in shining armor. I think you should know what kind of man I really am.”
“I know what kind of man you are. I saw you in action today.”
“But actions aren’t all that matters. A man is made up of more than that—things like background, and family.”
Ted seemed to be watching closely for her reaction. “Maybe some people think that way, but not me,” Julia said. “I’m not a better person just because my family is wealthy and we have a name in New York. I couldn’t respect someone who prejudged me on that basis. And that’s not how I judge people.”
Julia put a hand on Ted’s arm as she spoke. “It doesn’t matter to me whether you’re a prince or a pauper, Ted,” she whispered. “I admire you, plain and simple.”
And I’m falling in love with you, plain and simple! she added silently.
“I’ve finished what I came for,” Ted told Julia a few days later as they cast their fishing lines into the river. “I learned a lot of Awaswan lore from my distant cousins that I can pass on to my children one day.” Julia bit her lip. “So it’s time to go?”
Ted nodded. “I guess I’ve stayed away from home long enough. It’s time.”
Say it, Julia silently commanded herself. This is your chance. Don’t blow it! “I’m finished, too. My parents are expecting me in D.C. in a week—they’re visiting friends there. I’ll present my evidence to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, then head back to New York to get the story in print. Are you... are you reenrolling at Rosse?”
“No. I don’t know what I’m going to do next,” Ted admitted.
Julia took the plunge. “Then come with me,” she urged. “Come to Washington! You’ll love it. It’s a wonderful city. And the Vaughns, my parents’ friends, have a fabulous estate with tennis courts and stables, and we could go to the museums and monuments, and see a play, and I bet there are plenty of jazz clubs—”
Ted held up a hand, laughing. “Whoa! That’s enough. It sounds great. But I’m not sure I could handle all that culture and civilization after a whole spring and summer of living out of my automobile!”
“Well, if it’ll make you feel any better, you can camp out in the backyard, and I’ll serve you pork and beans in your tent,” Julia teased.
Ted smiled. Narrowing his eyes, he studied her face. “You really want me to come with you?”
Julia nodded, wondering if her eagerness was overwhelmingly apparent. Could Ted tell that she’d fallen head over heels in love with his warm brown eyes, his mysterious intensity, his rare but rich laughter? Was it so obvious that she’d never met a man who interested her more?
“Well...” Ted considered her offer. “It’s a nice invitation. I’d like to travel some more, see more of the country. And I’d enjoy your company. I accept.”
“I’m so glad!” Julia couldn’t tell whether Ted had agreed to her proposal because he had nothing better to do or because he was as interested in her as she was in him. It didn’t really matter, she decided. After cracking her first big story, she felt confident that her future would be marked by success. She planned to put all her energy into this next assignment: winning Ted Wakefield’s heart.
Twenty
“This sure is an easier way to travel than the way I got out here,” Ted declared.
He and Julia had met in the narrow corridor outside their adjoining sleeping berths and were now seated in the elegant dining car of the transcontinental train. The view from the window was dramatic. The tracks carved through jagged peaks: On one side, a white-capped mountain towered, and on the other, a river boiled down a deep gorge.
“The mountain roads must have been brutal on your auto,” Julia remarked, stirring a sugar cube into her coffee.
“They certainly put it to the test,” Ted agreed. “I was almost sorry to sell the beast back in San Francisco. We covered a lot of ground together.”
“The beast?” Julia laughed. “Is that how you’ll refer to me someday? ‘I was almost sorry to part with the beast in D.C. We covered a lot of ground together.”
Ted grinned. “No, this time around I’m the beast. You’re the beauty.”
She shook her head, still smiling. “I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with that.”
A waiter in a crisp white coat delivered their breakfast. Julia dug into her omelet with relish. Ted lifted his fork, but didn’t begin eating. A memory came to him, from far back in the past. So far back, in fact, that it wasn’t even his own memory—it was his mother’s. “You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve ridden a train east from San Francisco.”
“It’s not?” Julia looked up from buttering a roll. “I thought you had always lived in the Midwest.”
“My parents were from California. My mother didn’t move to Chicago until after I was born.” Ted studied Julia’s sweet, expectant face. Suddenly, Ted wanted to tell her everything there was to know about himself. He’d always kept so much hidden from his friends—even from Harry, even from Amanda. How would it feel to know that one other person really knew him?
“I thought I was pretty gutsy, cutting loose from school and driving out west by myself. But when she was even younger than I am now, my mother took the train from San Francisco to go to a city she’d never even seen with a newborn baby and no husband. She wasn’t even a respectable widow. She was an unmarried girl who’d been kicked out of the house by her father.” Julia’s blue eyes grew round. Ted could see that she was trying to imagine being in such a predicament. “That is gutsy.”
Ted was filled with a sudden rush of affection for Julia. She was always beautiful, but to Ted she’d never appeared more beautiful than she did at that moment.
“In deference to society, she raised me as her orphaned nephew.” Ted smiled wryly. “So there you have it, Julia. The life story you’ve been waiting for. What do you think?”
Under the table, Julia touched his foot with her own. “I think that if that’s the only reason you’ve been holding back from—” She stopped, her cheeks suddenly flooding with color. Then she laughed at her own embarrassment. “I’m the one who should be worried about what you think about my being so forward! Well, Ted, I guess the secret’s out, if it ever was a secret. I like you—I like you very much. And I’d like to get to know you better.”
Ted smiled. He liked her forwardness. Honesty was another word for it. He knew she hadn’t invited him to travel to D.C. with her just because she didn’t want to eat alone in the dining car. I’d better be straight with her—completely straight, Ted decided. It wasn’t fair to lead her on. “Let me tell you another story.”
In a clipped voice, Ted told Julia about the affair with Amanda, his love for her and her betrayal. After he finished, Julia was silent for a moment. “Do you—do you still have feelings for her?” she asked at last.
“Not the kind of feelings you mean,” he said. “But other feelings, as a result.” Bitterness, disillusionment... he thought silently. “Julia, I—I value your friendship. I’m glad we’re getting to spend more time together. But I’m just not looking for...” He didn’t complete the sentence. He didn’t have to; his meaning was clear.
If she was disappointed, she covered it well. “Don’t say another word about it,” she said brightly. “I understand completely. We’ll be wonderful sightseeing companions, you and I. We’ll have a ball in D.C.”
Ted hoped so. But he couldn’t help wondering if it would really be possible for him and Julia to be just friends.
“I don’t know when I’ve ever danced so much!”
“I feel like I’m still whirling,” Julia breathed. Bending, she slipped off her high heels and ran in stocking feet across the midnight-dark lawn of the Vaughns’ estate.
Ted ran after her. “Your hair is falling down,” he told her.
“Oh, let it fall.” Lifting one bare arm, Julia released the jeweled clip that was coming loose. She shook her head, and her long, wheat-blonde hair fell shimmering about her shoulders.
She heard Ted catch his breath. There was a look in his eyes she’d never seen before. “Your hair—it’s like moonlight,” he said.
Julia gazed at him, her own eyes glowing. Touch it—touch me, she thought.
The night air was warm, but Ted’s hands were warmer still. He touched Julia’s shoulders, lightly at first. Then, grasping them, he pulled her to him. She closed her eyes and lifted her face to his, her lips burning for his kiss. She’d waited so long for this.
Finally, Ted’s mouth was on hers. Her body melted against his as he kissed her hungrily. “Haven’t you wanted this all week?” she murmured. Ted’s lips were traveling down the curve of her throat. “I have. All the time we were playing tennis or horseback riding, going for walks—haven’t you wanted this?”
“Yes.” He wrapped his arms even more tightly around her. “Yes.”
Joy flooded Julia’s heart. Ted was drawn to her as much as she was to him. Maybe he hadn’t been looking for love, but he’d found it—it had found them. He couldn’t deny it now. “I love you, Ted. Do you love me?”
Ted had placed his hands on either side of her face, preparing to kiss her again. Now he dropped his hands and stepped back from her. “Yes... no. I mean... oh, Julia.”
Suddenly she felt cold. She crossed her arms over the front of her sleeveless beaded dress. He just got carried away, carried away by the dancing, the moonlight, she realized, crushed. He’s still not really interested in me.
“You’re shivering.” Ted removed his jacket and draped it around her bare shoulders. “Come on. Let’s go in.”
“A remarkable monument to a remarkable man,” said Ted as he and Julia gazed up at the seated marble figure in the Lincoln Memorial.
“It brings tears to my eyes every time,” Julia added. From the Lincoln Memorial, they strolled alongside the reflecting pool toward the Washington Monument. Ted looked at Julia out of the corner of her eye. The tailored green linen suit she was wearing made the most of her slender, curvy figure; a tiny matching hat was perched on top of her pile of blonde hair, a few silky strands of which had been teased free by the warm summer breeze.
“Let’s rest our feet,” Julia suggested.
They sat down on a shady bench. Julia hooked her arm through his and leaned lightly against him. The way a good friend would, Ted thought. He felt a pang of guilt. Their passionate encounter the previous night had ended on an awkward note. But he knew Julia still had hopes; he could see it in her eyes.
I should never have let it happen, Ted thought. But remembering Julia’s kisses, his heart pumped a little faster. She’d been right. He had wanted it. But when she’d told him she loved him... Ted hadn’t wanted that. He hadn’t been ready for that. He did have feelings for her, but they weren’t as strong as hers were for him. It wouldn’t be fair for him not to love her wholly, as she seemed to love him.
“Julia, I’m leaving town tomorrow,” he announced abruptly.
Her eyes widened. “So soon?”
“The Vaughns have been wonderful, but I don’t want to take advantage of their hospitality.”
“Where will you go?”
“Home to Chicago.” Disappointment shadowed Julia’s face. “But then I’d like to try New York for a while,” he added. “I want to start writing again and I could use a new scene.”
“Well, there are plenty of newspapers and jazz clubs in New York,” Julia said, turning her head away from him.
He took her hand. “Julia. Look at me.”
She did, revealing tear-filled eyes. “I can’t say I’m happy you’ll be leaving.” She hesitated. “I’ve told you how I feel about you, Ted. But I don’t know what you feel for me. I’m not sure you know yourself,” she challenged.
Ted shook his head. “No,” he said simply. “I do know. I— I love you, too, Julia. And I wish I could be feeling it all for the first time, the way you are, feeling it with my whole heart and soul.”
“But you’re not. So what?”
Ted frowned. “So what?”
Julia folded her arms across her chest. “So what?” she repeated. “You had a bad time because of Amanda. What are you going to do about it? Just give up on love altogether? You might as well give up on life!”
“Well, I—”
“Now you look at me, Ted. I’m pretty, I’m smart, I like hard work and adventure. Most of all, I love you. With my whole heart and soul. Are you going to hold that against me?”
Ted touched her face. “No. No, of course not.”
“I’d make you the perfect wife and you know it.”
“You left out how forward you are,” Ted whispered, almost laughing now.
He hugged her, and she pressed her cheek against his. “I’m not Amanda,” she whispered. “It could be different for us, Ted.”
As he held Julia close Ted realized that he wasn’t afraid anymore. He could love Julia in spite of what had happened with Amanda. “I know,” he whispered back.
