Even in the midst of her own troubles she had a calming presence he had always appreciated.

"I had a telegram from Rennie and Jarret today. A messenger brought it over from the office."

"Business or family?"

"Business this time," Jay Mac acknowledged.

"I'm sure she has her hands full with the twins, but you'd never know it from her work for Northeast Rail. She says Jarret's midway through the negotiations for a tract of land in Arizona."

"Arizona?

That's interesting. Northeast Rail in the Southwest." she mused.

"You might want to think of changing the name of the railroad, Jay Mac.

It hardly fits anymore."

"I'm aware of that," he said.

"But I'll keep the name just to remind myself what a small thinker I can be at times." Mary laughed. Northeast Rail was all over the country now, but in the beginning she knew her father hadn't had a plan so grand as all that. Northeast's expansion had been prompted in part by the war. The Union industrialists laid track at a rate they had never dreamed possible. After the war, some predicted there would be a lull, even a decline. If it had happened to Northeast, Mary wasn't aware of it. Jay Mac's railroad continued to supply low-cost transportation for goods and people as the country's Western move enjoyed a resurgence. Northeast had made a specialty of providing for small mining communities cheap methods of moving their ore. Rennie had been responsible for several sidelines in Colorado, and had linked Denver with silver mines in Madison, Queen's Point, and most recently, Cannon Mills.

Jay Mac had worked hard to keep Rennie out of the business, but in the past few years he had grown quite fond of the taste of crow.

Her expertise at knowing where and how to lay a track, coupled with her husband's ability to supervise the labor gangs and negotiate the deals, had pushed Northeast's profit margins beyond even Jay Mac's expectations.

"Are she and Jarret in Arizona now?" asked Mary.

"I just sent her a letter yesterday, to Denver."

"Michael will send it on, but yes, that's where the telegram originated. I didn't know she was thinking about it. There's been so much trouble on and off with the Indians."

"Are the twins with her?"

Mary asked immediately.

"Are she and Jarret safe?"

"Yes and yes." He chuckled.

"The Office of Land Management is conducting a survey for them now.

Somewhere southeast of Phoenix. Fort Union, I think she called it. She and Jarret are waiting for news in Phoenix and planning another trip to the Holland Mines." He saw that Mary was still frowning. A small vertical crease ran between her feathered brows.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking?"

"I.

don't know," she said.

"Nothing really." But she was vaguely unsettled, and she felt her father looking straight through her.

"There must be other places Rennie can go. What sort of ore is mined there anyway?"

"Gold." He refreshed his tea and added a little to Mary's cup.

"Drink," he insisted.

"It's good for whatever ails you." She smiled because she was meant to, not because of any easing of her disquiet.

"Is it an old mine?" she asked. Perhaps there was a chance it would play itself out before the negotiations were complete. Jay Mac shook his head.

"Your sister wouldn't be interested in it if that were the case, not without an extensive geo survey. Rennie's telegram indicates this one's about six months old. She must believe it will produce long enough to turn a profit for the railroad." Mary's hands tightened slightly on her teacup before she set it aside. She forced a lightness into her voice that she didn't feel in her heart.

"You know, Jay Mac, this is all very interesting.

"How so?"

"Well, I was thinking of leaving New York myself soon."

"Mary!" She ignored him.

"And I've considered Arizona." Jay Mac had to use more than a little selfcontrol to stay in the rocker. What he wanted to do was leap out of the chair, tower over his daughter, and shake a finger in her face.

"What the hell do you think you're going to do in Arizona?" he demanded, red-faced. Mary blinked once in reaction to Jay Mac's blustering then drew calmness around her like a cloak.

"I thought I might teach."

"Teach?" he said dismissively.

"You're not a teacher." She went on as if he hadn't objected.

"There are missions in the southern part of the territory that are always looking for help."

"You have no credentials."

"No one at the mission will care about that."

"But-"

"Jay Mac," she said firmly, meeting her father's probing eyes with a steady, level stare of her own.

"I think I know enough to teach children how to read and write." She knows that and a lot more, Jay Mac thought. Each of his daughters was uniquely accomplished, but it was tacitly accepted by the family that Mary's star shone brightest. This was one of the reasons Jay Mac had been so adamantly opposed to her taking vows as a nun. To his way of thinking she was burying her special gifts.

"I don't like it," he said.

"If you want to teach, then I'll send you to school as I did your sisters. You can get a position in one of the local colleges when you're through. You would be a good professor." Mary didn't say anything for a moment. Her features never lost their trademark serenity, but inside she was seething. The effort not to scream showed in her hands, twisted tightly together in her lap.

"I did not allow you to run my life when I was seventeen," she said evenly.

"Why in the world would you think I'd give you permission now?" Jay Mac put his cup and saucer aside.