“How much do I owe you?”
“Since you’re going to autograph this for me, not one cent.” She handed him a new menu and pen through the opening.
He signed it, then gave everything back along with a twenty-dollar bill.
“‘Dear Marie.’” She read the words aloud. “‘We hope you and your husband enjoy many train rides across the country in the near future. With sincerest regards, Mr. and Mrs. Dominic Giraud.’”
Her head lifted. “Oh, my. This is wonderful. But I can’t take the money.”
“I insist.”
“Well, thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.”
“When you’re through, just blink your lights and I’ll come for the tray.”
As she hurried off, Dominic turned to his lovely companion who’d remained silent during the exchange. He put a straw in her drink and handed her what she’d ordered.
“Alone at last.”
CHAPTER THREE
HANNAH took the food from him, trying her hardest not to let the news that he was a bachelor affect her.
It certainly couldn’t have been for lack of opportunity that he hadn’t married. Maybe he’d buried his heart with someone he’d loved, and since then had thrown himself into his career.
“I’m afraid I missed that program on TV Marie was referring to. What is it exactly that you do for a living, Dominic?” She’d been dying of curiosity.
He stared at her over the rim of his root beer mug. “I travel across the country convincing landowners like you to become part of an exciting transportation idea for the twenty-first century.”
But that didn’t pay his bills for food, gas, hotels, the repairs to his damaged Jeep. The five hundred dollars he’d tried to give her had to come from somewhere!
“Let me ask you a question,” he said softly. “Who owns the property the museum stands on?”
His question came as a surprise. “It’s been in my family for generations.”
Something flickered in the dark recesses of his unforgettable brown eyes fringed with an overabundance of black lashes. Once again she was struck by the male beauty of this fascinating man.
“Whom would I speak to about using your land for a project I’m involved in?”
“You mean the bullet train Marie was referring to a moment ago?”
“That’s right. I’d like permission to run train track across your property.”
“You’re really going to build one?”
His mouth twitched provocatively. “Your incredulity doesn’t surprise me. Everyone I’ve spoken to has had the same initial reaction. I represent a group of people dedicated to building a special train which will stretch from New York to San Francisco.”
“You mean like the kind in Japan?”
“Exactly. It will operate on the principle of magnetic levitation, but this one will run close to five hundred miles per hour. Naturally before such an enterprise can get off the ground, permission must be obtained by everyone who owns land where the proposed track will be forged. Your property lies along the route we’ve already surveyed by air.”
At last she had the reason for his presence on her land the other night.
“Both owners on either side of you have given us the go-ahead.”
The unexpected news threw her. She shook her head in disbelief. “They’re selling their land to you?”
Her question caused the baby to stir in the back seat. Any second now and pandemonium could reign once more.
“No. We’re not asking anyone to sell anything, except as a last resort of course. We prefer offering stock in our company for the use of the land. One day in the future the dividends will be worth a great deal of money.”
Hannah faced him directly. “It’s an incredible concept, and I can’t help but admire the vision of such a project. I’ve heard the French have them, too. But even if you should make that dream a reality here in the States, I’m afraid I can’t give you the permission you’re looking for.
“Though it’s a very exciting idea running a bullet train through here, you have to understand the land is an historical site which my family has kept intact over generations. I could never sell it or allow it to be tampered with. I’m sorry,” she added lamely because she really would have liked to have told him yes.
After another bite of her hamburger she said, “It sounds like an impossible feat, but I don’t suppose that word is in your vocabulary.”
“You’re right.” His slow smile played havoc with her emotions. There was still so much she sensed he hadn’t told her.
“I couldn’t be the only person who has turned you down.”
“No.”
Unable to meet his steady gaze, she looked back at Elizabeth who’d fallen asleep again. “What do you do when that happens?”
“I hope they’ll change their minds. Since I conceived my dream, ninety-nine percent of the landowners I’ve talked to need a few days or weeks before they come around to the idea. It usually takes that long for them to catch the vision. Once they do, the paperwork can begin. In the meantime I look for alternative routes.”
“But that must be so frustrating!”
“At times it is, especially when dealing with state and federal government officials. But no dream worth its salt comes without disappointments and setbacks.”
“I can’t imagine such a gargantuan project. Won’t it take you months just to procure all the rights?”
“It already has, and I’ve only reached the eastern sector of Wyoming. That still leaves the western half, Utah, Nevada and California. But there’s plenty of time and I’m in no hurry.” He finished off the rest of his hamburger.
She flicked at an imaginary piece of lint on her thigh. ‘Hypothetically speaking, tell me why I would want the train to run across my land, aside from the stock options.”
“Perhaps for you personally, I can’t provide a reason. But you heard Marie. Her husband won’t fly. There are millions of people who have that same fear, yet they want to travel the vast expanse of this continent. A car is too slow, too dangerous and too confining.
“The train rides on a cushion of air at tremendous speed without harming the environment. An engineer who happens to be a close personal friend and colleague of mine, has produced a prototype which runs quietly, safely and allows the passenger to see the country at the same time.
“But such a train will never exist unless thousands of people and governmental agencies are willing to share their property for the common good.”
She shook her head. “It isn’t that I’m not willing to share my land, but before my father died, he made me promise that I would hold on to it and never alter it.”
There’s another reason. It’s Lisa’s land, too, and she’s not here to give her permission.
“A promise should be kept. Don’t worry. I’ll solve my problem. I always do.”
He was being very gracious about it, but she’d felt his underlying passion for the project.
“This whole idea is your brainchild, isn’t it?”
Quiet reigned until she heard him clear his throat. “That’s right.”