Chapter 36
Lana
We make our way to the living room, where everyone has gathered.
The space is crowded with everyone who has had a hand in the discovery, since day one.
Jake stands at the center, Ella beside him, both looking uncharacteristically solemn.
There’s a paper in Jake’s hand that he keeps folding and unfolding nervously.
“Is everyone here?” he asks, scanning the room until his eyes land on Caleb and me. “Good. There’s something important I need to share with all of you.”
The room falls silent as Jake clears his throat. I feel Caleb’s hand find mine, our fingers intertwining as we wait.
“As you all know, we found Thomas Wolf’s hidden gold today,” Jake begins, his voice steady despite his obvious nervousness. “According to Richard’s research, Thomas always intended for that gold to benefit the community, not just enrich one family.”
Richard nods in confirmation, his eyes bright with emotion after the day’s events.
“I’ve made a decision,” Jake continues, unfolding the paper in his hand. “I’m donating a significant portion of the gold to the town of Pinecrest, just as Thomas would have wanted. It will fund community projects, scholarships, and infrastructure improvements.”
Murmurs of approval ripple through the room, but Jake raises his hand, indicating he’s not finished.
“The remaining portion,” he continues, “I’m keeping—not for myself, but because I need the resources for what comes next.” He glances at Ella, who gives him an encouraging nod. “Ella and I are moving.”
“Moving?” Julia blurts out, voicing the surprise I’m feeling. “Where?”
“Not far,” he smiles. “Just into Ella’s house temporarily. We’re going to build our own place on Wolf Creek Ranch. Once finished, Caleb, if you choose to stay, Ella’s house will become yours.”
I exchange a confused look with Caleb. This isn’t what any of us expected.
Jake holds up the paper for everyone to see. “This is confirmation that my application has been approved. The ranch and the surrounding area, including the waterfall, have been donated to the province for a Provincial Park.”
Sergeant Miller steps forward, clearly intrigued. “That’s quite a development. What does this mean exactly?”
“It means,” Jake says, his voice growing stronger, “that we’re establishing the Thomas Wolf Historical Museum. The site will be preserved for educational purposes, allowing visitors to learn about Thomas’s life, his principles, and his legacy.”
The implications hit me all at once. “And as a provincial park—”
“The land cannot be developed or expropriated by anyone,” Jake confirms, meeting my eyes with a knowing look. “Those mineral deposits that NTM has been so desperate to get their hands on? They’ll stay right where they are, protected by provincial law.”
The room erupts in exclamations of surprise and approval. I feel a surge of admiration for Jake’s clever solution—he’s found a way to honor Thomas Wolf’s wishes while simultaneously ensuring that the Hawthorne family, NTM, or anyone else, for that matter, can never exploit the land.
“It’s perfect,” I say, loud enough for Jake to hear over the commotion. “Thomas would be proud.”
Jake’s face creases in a smile. “I think so too. It’s what he would have wanted—protecting the land while sharing its story.”
Ella steps forward, taking Jake’s hand. “We’ve been planning this for weeks, ever since Richard showed us the full extent of Thomas’s journals. The application was expedited thanks to some friends in the historical preservation department.”
“So even if we hadn’t found the gold today,” Caleb observes, “NTM’s plans would have been blocked.”
“That’s right,” Jake nods. “Though finding the gold and documents certainly helps validate the historical significance. And speaking of those documents—” he turns to Sergeant Miller, “—we want them to be part of the museum’s permanent collection, once your investigation is complete.”
The sergeant nods thoughtfully. “I think that can be arranged. They’re evidence of historical crimes, but also important cultural artifacts.”
“One other thing. About the museum. I’m going to need a curator to run it.” He looks around the crowd until his eyes fall on one man. “Richard, you’re the only person who never gave up on Thomas’s legacy. Would you do it?”
I look over and see tears rimming Richard’s eyes. Unable to speak, he nods at Jake.
As the conversation continues around me, I lean into Caleb’s side, overwhelmed by the day’s events. From terror to joy to this unexpected resolution—it feels like we’ve lived a lifetime in just a few hours.
“Are you okay?” Caleb murmurs, his arm tightening around my waist.
“Better than okay,” I whisper back. “Just processing everything.”
Julia appears suddenly at my side, her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she looks between Caleb and me. “You two look different,” she says bluntly. “What happened while I was helping the RCMP catalog evidence?”
I feel a blush warming my cheeks, but before I can respond, Caleb speaks up.
“I asked Lana to marry me,” he said. “She said yes.”
Julia’s squeal of delight cuts through the room like a siren, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. “They’re engaged!” she announces to the entire gathering, throwing her arms around both of us.
And just like that, the serious discussion about historical preservation transforms into an impromptu engagement celebration. Kori is crying and hugging me, Jake is slapping Caleb on the back, and even the RCMP officers are offering congratulations.
In the midst of the commotion, I catch Richard watching us with a wistful smile. I disentangle myself from Kori’s embrace and make my way over to him.
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly. “With everything that’s happened with Margret...”
He sighs, looking older. “It will take time. But seeing Thomas’s vision finally come to fruition after all these years—that helps, and I tend to believe that is what she truly wanted. Time will tell.”
“You made it happen,” I tell him earnestly. “And now, as curator for the museum, you can share his legacy with the world. Without your dedication to preserving his story, none of this would have been possible.”
“Perhaps,” he acknowledges with a small smile. “Though I think Thomas would say it was always meant to be this way—that the right people would find each other at the right time.”
I glance back at Caleb, who’s watching me from across the room with such open affection that it makes my heart skip. “I think I’m starting to believe that too.”
As the evening progresses, plans are made to secure the gold and documents, process Hawthorne and his accomplices, and establish the museum.
But beneath all the practical discussions, there’s an undercurrent of something I haven’t felt since arriving at Wolf Creek—hope, not just for myself and my future with Caleb, but for this place and these people who have become so important to me in such a short time.
Later, as Caleb and I stand on Jake’s porch watching the stars emerge, I can’t help but marvel at how differently things turned out than I expected when I first arrived to investigate a mine collapse.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Caleb asks, his arms encircling me from behind as Scout sits at his feet..
“I was just thinking about Thomas Wolf,” I admit. “How he hid that gold and those documents, hoping someone would find them someday and set things right.”
“And we did,” Caleb says, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“We did,” I agree, leaning back against him. “Though I have to wonder if he ever imagined how it would all unfold—the mine collapse that nearly killed us, Margret’s brother’s death, Hawthorne’s desperate attempts to keep his family’s secrets buried.”
“Or the good things,” Caleb adds. “Jake’s museum, the town getting the resources it needs, two people finding each other in the midst of all that chaos.”
I turn in his arms to face him, reaching up to trace the line of his jaw. “I still can’t believe you proposed after everything that happened today.”
He catches my hand, pressing a kiss to my palm. “Near-death experiences have a way of clarifying what matters. And you, Lana Mills, matter more to me than anything.”
As his lips find mine under the starlit sky, I know with absolute certainty that whatever comes next—planning a wedding, building a life together, maybe someday starting a family—we’ll face it the way we’ve faced everything else: together, stronger for having found each other in the most unlikely of circumstances.
And somewhere, I like to think Thomas Wolf is watching, satisfied that his legacy has finally found its rightful place—not buried in a hidden chamber, but alive in the people and the land he loved so dearly.
A cough draws us towards it, and we see Julia standing there with her cellphone in hand, with an astonished look on her face.
Concerned, I step out of Caleb’s arms and ask, “Julia, what is it?”
Julia's face lights up as she looks at her phone, then at us, then back at her phone again.
“Oh my god!” she squeals, jumping up and down. Scout joins in her enthusiasm by howling into the night sky. “Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!”
“Julia, breathe,” I say, reaching for her arm to steady her. “What happened?”
She's practically vibrating with excitement, words tumbling out so fast I can barely keep up. “I just got an email—they want me—I can't believe—I applied months ago—they said my experience with large animals—and then the references—my old boss must have—and they need someone who can—”
“Julia!” Caleb interrupts firmly but kindly. “Slow down. What email?”
She takes a deep breath, her face flushed.
“I got offered a job! A real, actual, grown-up job as a veterinary technician at the Rosewood Animal Hospital in Southwestern Ontario!” She thrusts her phone at us, the email still open on the screen.
“Full benefits, decent salary, and they specialize in both domestic and wild animal rehabilitation!”
“That's amazing!” I pull her into a hug, genuinely thrilled for her. “When do they want you to start?”
“Two weeks!” She's still talking at lightning speed. “I have to find an apartment and pack everything and say goodbye to everyone and—oh my god, can I visit you guys? Will you come visit me? It's only a five or six-hour flight away and—”
Caleb laughs, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Of course we'll visit. And you're always welcome here.”
Julia finally pauses, looking between us with sudden seriousness. “I'm really going to miss you guys and all our escapades.”
“You earned this,” I tell her, meaning every word. “Your skills with animals are incredible. They're lucky to have you.”
Her eyes fill with tears, but her smile doesn't dim. “We're going to need a group chat. And video calls. And I'm definitely coming back for your wedding.”
As she launches into plans for weekend visits and holiday gatherings, I lean back against Caleb, watching her animated face in the soft porch light.
In just a few weeks, my life has completely transformed—from a scorned woman who tried to make myself as small as possible to someone who found not just the truth, but also a family, a purpose, and a future I never imagined.
Whatever comes next, I know this place—Wolf Creek—will always be where our story began, where secrets buried for a century finally found the light, and where I found my home.
If you’re ready for the next installment, Dangled Hearts featuring Mikhail Petrova and Jen McRae, you can find it right here.
This coming August, we are going back to the '80s... back to when the MacGallans started. Here is a peek into