Arizona Homecoming by Pamela Tracy

Author:Pamela Tracy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-07-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

After the trail ride, Emily showered and headed out the door. She’d left Donovan to his own devices. He knew how to unsaddle a horse, how to find his way to breakfast and how to get together with her father for the first baby steps toward building Tinytown. She’d let him distract her way too much.

First on her agenda was walking through the museum. She’d not made it there yesterday.

Everything was in its rightful place. She said a silent prayer of thanks.

Heading for the barn, she went for the room where she’d stored the remnants of the Majestic. The sign took up the most space. She’d acquired it for free. If she could get it plugged in, it would sparkle like a disco ball on steroids. The wagon wheels, too, had been a giveaway. They weren’t really wagon wheels, so they basically were curved wood that probably wasn’t strong enough to support a baby carriage. A Tupperware box held keys with large plastic tags with room numbers stamped large enough so the guest staying two rooms over could see. She also had the key cubbie, as well as three guest registers.

They’d cost money. One had a signature from the guitar player of Elvis’s backup band. One of the registers, the oldest, had at least two hundred signatures—all different—from Mr. and Mrs. Smith. No first names.

She also had artwork, much of it by Apache Creek locals no longer living. Most of their families were still around. One sure way to get people to visit a museum was to make it personal.

Heading inside, she paused by a display stating On Loan from the Family of Naomi Humestewa.

It had been a long time since she’d really talked about her mother to anyone. Her dad always got quiet when she brought Naomi up, eventually making some excuse to walk away. Elise remembered some, but she’d always been the sister out and about, doing things, usually alongside their dad. She’d had the least time to share Naomi memories. Eva, though, remembered quite a bit and willingly shared it. She’d inherited their mother’s nurturing genes as well as her talent at the loom. All Emily could do was create knots, unintentional ones.

This whole section came from Emily’s family. There was pottery, along with altarpieces, ceremonial garb, fetishes, masks and headdresses. They were not trophies, and many of her family members believed they should not be on display. The artifacts didn’t belong here. But Emily wanted to use them to teach the museum’s visitors the Hopi culture and charm.

Before she had time to do much more than dust, her cell sounded and a breathless Elise said, “I just got a call from Two Mules. One of my kids fell from a horse and broke her collarbone. She’s asking for me. It’s Bernice Sinquah, and she’s scared to death that her parents will tell her she can’t compete anymore.”

Emily knew Elise’s flock of kids, as they came once a week, during the school year, and practiced in Cooper’s backyard.

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