He held out a beautiful sunflower. “I thought you might like this. It’s the first one.”
She took the gift and smiled. “Thank you. But how did you get them to grow so fast?” Peering past him to his garden, which sat on the bluff above the gulley on the opposite side, she noticed many colors breaking through the greenery. “Your whole garden is flourishing. I’m amazed.”
“I didn’t plant everything from seed or bulb. I ordered an entire wagonload from hothouses in Green River, Rock Springs, and some came from Cheyenne.” His smile stretched across his face. The big man was like an eager child, seeking approval.
“Well, it’s magnificent what you’ve done. It must have cost a great deal to ship all of that here.”
He shrugged. “Money doesn’t matter as much as the beauty of the garden.”
“You’ve definitely brought a smile to my face with this. Thank you, Julian.”
“You’re quite welcome.” He tucked his hands into his pockets. “Looks like you have a great deal of work to accomplish this summer.”
She allowed her shoulders to droop as she released a long sigh. “We’ll see how much we can get done before the snow flies and the weather prevents us from working, but it’s a slow, tedious process.”
“I can see that.” He tipped his hat. “Don’t worry about the time. You can take as long as you need.” He shrugged again. “It doesn’t bother me any.”
“Thank you.”
“Miss Lakeman!”
She glanced at Zach, who had called to her. “I better go see what they need.”
“Goodbye, Anna.”
“It was good to see you, Julian. And thank you again for the flower.” For a moment, she watched him walk back across the wide washout, then glanced back up to the garden before heading toward Zach and the others. How she’d love to grow things like that. But she couldn’t seem to keep anything alive. A fact that Dad teased her about on a regular basis.
Dad, on the other hand, often talked about growing all kinds of things when he was young. He knew most plants and flowers by name. When she was younger, he’d often talk about the plethora of flowers at the Walkers’ garden, and how he was always amazed at what they’d been able to grow in the dry heat of Wyoming.
Granted, this area was close enough to the river to have much more vegetation and greenery than a few miles east. That’s probably why Walker built his ranch here to begin with.
Hmm ... what if she could do something to surprise her father? Rolling the notion around, she strode over to the guys. “Hey, Zach, what did you need?”
“I wanted you to double-check something. I think I might have found another piece of the skeleton when I chiseled through this layer.” He squatted and pointed.
Crouching down next to him, she craned her neck to getas close as she could. Peering through the opening in the first layer of rock, she could see the dark lines that they always hoped to see.
More fossils.
“Incredible. I think you’re right. We might be looking at another layer. At this point, I don’t know if it’s the same dinosaur or a different one. But why don’t you see how much you can chisel out today? I’ll sketch it real quick and take it to my dad to look at.”
He nodded and went back to work.
Anna walked back to grab her satchel. She could do a quick sketch and would then have the perfect excuse to head home early. Once Joshua arrived for his evening chat, she could make herself scarce and maybe implement her idea.
Thirty minutes later, she rode Misty home and prayed that Louise had made sure all the windows were open to let the breeze come through. This heat was fierce. A cool bath would help, but she wanted to talk to Dad first.
“Dad?” She rounded the corner to his room and stopped.
He was sitting up. Staring out the window. He didn’t even acknowledge her.
“Dad? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” But his voice held a hint of defeat.
She stepped into the room and pulled the chair up beside the bed. “Doc Walsh wanted Louise to start working with you on your exercises for your legs today. You didn’t give her any trouble, did you?”
He turned his head toward her. “No. But I ... couldn’t do much.”
