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“This stretch of land used to be a parcel that encompassed roughly thirty miles of acreage,” he said, drawing a wide circle with his finger over the old map laid out on his desk. “It was split into quarters, with three private owners taking over roughly seven miles each, or five-thousand acres per parcel, and the state taking the last section.”
“Mr. Hallston’s ranch is seven-thousand acres in total, but a lot of it is unused,” I pointed to where his property fell on the map.
He asked about the area the EPA was concerned about, and I showed him, but there was no sign of whether a pond or swamp had been there.
“Hmm…” He turned from the desk and began rifling through the bookshelves lining the back wall. “Here, this is what I was looking for.” He pulled the book from the shelf and set it on the desk, thumbing through the pages until he landed on a page with crude pictures of what looked like a lake.
“This area is too small for a lake that size to have been on the property,” I commented with a laugh.
“I think,” he said, tapping the page, “that this lake, Emerald Lake, fed into the pond you’re talking about. Gold Cord Creek used to run through this area roughly a hundred years ago, but it’s been long dry. Emerald Lake was dammed some time ago.”
“Wait, you’re saying—”
“I think Gold Cord Creek ran through his property, and it either ran dry on its own accord, or someone rerouted what was left of the creek after the dam was built to their own property.” He pointed to the map on the desk. “His property sits just above the other parcel. Water doesn’t run upwards if you know what I mean.”
I looked down at the map and book, mulling over the possibilities in my head.
“Can you scan this page in the book?” I asked.
He nodded, looking pleased.
A few minutes later, I had copies of both the map and the pages pertaining to Gold Cord Creek.
“You’ve helped me out a lot today,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“Well, you work for Mr. Hallston. He owns the biggest privately owned ranch in Montana. That’s every cowboy’s dream.” He smiled. “I might be a little jealous, but it seems like he’s doing whatever he can to keep that land private.”
“The EPA wants to confiscate that section of the property and turn it over to the state,” I admitted with heat, tucking the paperwork into my purse. “That’s why I’m there.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you while the investigation is ongoing. I could even make the trip up north. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that part of the state.”
“You’re welcome anytime.” I smiled, speaking as if I owned the ranch and wasn’t just a contractor.
I left his office and walked around campus for a bit, grabbing an iced coffee on my way back to the bed and breakfast.
I wanted to call Grant, but I promised I wouldn’t constantly check in. Still, my finger prickled as I neared the house, and I knew I’d be tempted to call and bother them if I spent the rest of the day in my room.
So, I turned on my heel and started walking. I’d already looked up where the spa was located and found it without issue. I spent the next three hours getting not only a massage, but a facial as well. It was heaven, and when I finally reached my room after what had been a long day of driving, research, and pampering, I sat down on the bed and pulled out my phone.
“Hey,” Grant said, his voice level. I could hear a TV in the background.
“Hey, I just wanted to call and tell Day goodnight.”
“Of course, I’ll go get him.”
I heard Day’s sleepy voice in the background as Grant walked into what must have been the living room. The TV was much louder now, so Day must’ve been watching a movie before bed. I glanced at the clock on the wall across the room, seeing that it was nearing eight. I smiled to myself knowing that Grant had listened to me when I told him Day’s schedule.
“Hey, Mama,” Day said, yawning into the phone. “Grant built me a fort in the living room and I’m going to sleep in it tonight.”
“That’s great, honey.” I smiled, tears prickling along my lashes. This was the longest I’d ever been away from him, and the greatest distance by far. “I miss you. What did you do today?”
“I rode a horse.” He yawned. “I watched George fall off of a horse.”
“Oh, really?”
“Three times, Mama. King doesn’t like George. He likes Grant a lot better.”
“That’s great—”
