"Miss Orr?" Chuckling, Jonah raised an eyebrow. "I think the poor girl would swoon at the sight of blood, much the less have things splattered on her frilly frock!" He chuckled again at the thought, then shook his head. "Well, at least there is time, so we can perhaps advertise in some of the bigger cities, see if we can't lure in a pair of girls looking for 'adventure'!"
Her excitement was infectious, and his grin widened as he raised his glass again. "To the end of one fight and the beginning of another!"
She smiled, then actually giggled. "Same fight, different day." It would be. "The fight will not be over until that last nail is driven, the doors are opened and we have a staff in place, and then, it could be a maybe.' She reached over and took his hand, "I cannot guarantee what will happen, other than we will get this built and opened. After that, it's just pure speculation, Jonah."
There was always the threat of her father, and now, Case was back, but to what end? What was his goal in all of this. She would fight them both if need be.
"We're here to celebrate, not speculate. The world might end tomorrow Jonah, so why worry about anything but what's right in front of us. Everything else will take care of itself. So we should pour some Champaign and celebrate, Tomorrow is going to be glorious!"
"No, I doubt the world will end tomorrow." Jonah chuckled, then took a drink of Champagne. "I don't think the Good Lord would let us off that easily. No, He'd let us make our plans, let us think all was well, and then He'd send His trumpet call to bring us all home!"
He laughed, although there was a small part of him that believed that it was some sort of poetic irony that kept you safe and protected until you became complacent, then BANG! plans destroyed!
"There's something else...if the Good Lord wants this, there won't be any stopping Him!" He laughed again. "You must be one of his Disciples!"
Leah smiled at the reference but shook her head. "I'm afraid I've much to atone for before I could be considered a Disciple, but that's sweet of you to say. I have not been the model of anything good, as witnessed by how people look upon me. Most would think that is because of my father, or my brothers, but that's far from the whole story. No, my problems are of my own making, Jonah." She confessed, without going into detail.
"My father and brothers are far from guiltless, but had I been a better person, I'm sure things would have worked out differently with this project." She added. Then she brightened up, "Tomorrow will put everything right, or as right as can be. I can hardly wait!"
"Goodness has little to do how others see you," Jonah pointed out, hating the way she put herself down. And lord knew, folks' assessments could be very wrong. He suspected that most of Leah's perception was because of her name, even if she didn't see that as the main problem.
"I do agree, though, that after the papers are signed, it will be hard for the nay-sayers (ha! got to use that twice!) to have an argument. It will show that you are genuine in this project, so it should take the wind out of their sails."
It was actually annoying to think that, had her opponents left her alone, the building could be well underway.
"I believe that with Matthews invaluable help, all of this will be far behind us in no time, and what people think, will matter not at all. Proof will be standing right in front of them." Then she looked off for a moment. "Kalispell Hospital, showing Montana what can be done, in spite of set backs. And, we have certainly had them to this point."
And then, Leah Steelgrave laughed out loud.
"I just hate it when I get melancholy. I will be glad when this is past us, won't you?"
"Indeed!" Jonah chuckled with her, enjoying the sound of her laughter, and hoping this wouldn't be the last time. She was so earnest in her wish to bring the hospital and orphanage here, and she deserved all the success she could get.
"Not past," he commented, "it will never be past, it will just be...here, and flourishing." He grinned. "Oh, yes, the groundwork will be past, but I have the suspicion that there will always be something laying ahead, but you're right...once you get this behind you, I suspect things will move smoothly, if for nothing else than you have shown them what you can do!"
No sense trying to challenge her anymore, Leah was proving that she was a force to be reckoned with, and wasn't one to back down.
Leah smiled at his kind words of encouragement. "I suppose you're right, Jonah. There will always be something just ahead that needs doing, or building, or making better than it is. Though I'm not altogether sure that I will be the driving force behind any of it."
"You know, Jonah, there will still be challenges ahead of us with the hospital, and the orphanage. I mean, there will still be challenges to face getting it built with this late start, and I am not convinced my father has not had a hand in all of these delays, and road blocks to getting started. But of course we will see, won't we?"
She was well aware of both Latham and Ashworth, and, she had her suspicions about the late Richard Orr, which may, or may not be true, it was still there.
"Well, of course," Jonah commented with a grin, "but you are your father's daughter, so you have the advantage of knowing how his mind works...maybe play his games before he does." She wasn't nearly as diabolical as her father, but if she could at least think that way, she may be able to anticipate what he was planning next, and confound him.
Some people liked those kind of games, but Jonah wasn't one of them...he preferred that things stay uncomplicated and simple, but he was all-in with Leah on this, because it was Leah.
"You are certainly meant to be more than a housewife, I have no doubt on that." She'd be miserable relegated to that sort of role, but it seemed that that wasn't going to be a path for her anyway. She was a remarkable woman, and hers would not be an ordinary life.
"I was supposed to marry well, according to my parents. What a joke that has turned out to be." She began, "I mean really? A spoiled brat was supposed to attract some well to do man and drag him into the family? I never could understand how that was supposed to be good for me, but it was his plan, not mine." She smiled, but there was no joy in it, just a facial reaction.
"What a disaster my family has become. My mother run off, my brothers scattered about the state, if they are even still in Montana, and he is busy trying to increase his empire. The only one I am sure about is Case, and he is still around. What his relationship with Elias is, I have no idea They may not even be speaking, then again, they could be forging some alliance, an uneasy one if they are. The bad thing about being his daughter, I know how he thinks, yes. What he is capable of, and what he might do, but there is no second guessing Elias Steelgrave."