Love Inspired Historical November 2014 (81 page)

Annabelle should have been comforting him, and they should have worked through all of this together.

“I'm sorry it took so long for us to talk,” she said, knowing that being sorry didn't make it any better. “I hope someday you'll be able to forgive me.”

The look he gave her was enough to slay her. “Already have.”

If his words were intended to make her feel better, he had failed completely. Because now, she felt so much worse for having had the conversation.

Before she could think of anything to say to give him some comfort and heal the rift between them, he changed the subject.

“Your father says those men were after Bad Billy's silver. Was the little girl able to tell you anything about it?”

Annabelle shook her head. As Slade pushed on a particularly painful spot on her foot, tears sprang to her eyes.

Slade stopped his ministrations to her ankle. “I don't think it's broken, but you've definitely injured yourself. I'll see if Gertie has anything we can wrap it with.”

He stood, then looked down at her. “When I get back, we'll talk more about the men who were after you. Now that you don't hate me, maybe we can fix this together.”

Though she should have been gratified to know that there were rifts in her life she could fix, the nagging pain in her heart hadn't diminished. She wondered if it ever would.

Chapter Fourteen

E
xhaustion had set in before the mining camp was in view. Joseph glanced at Frank, who looked even more weary. The older man hadn't been able to stop worrying about Annabelle.

Even Joseph wasn't sure about the best course of action for her. Especially the more he mulled over Frank's words to him about his behavior toward the beautiful girl. Closer to the camp, he realized that it wasn't so much that he was looking forward to being reunited with his sister and finding the silver, but that he'd get to see the smile that continued to haunt his mind.

Before they were within eyesight of Gertie's cabin, a ball of energy hurled herself at him.

“Joseph! You're back!”

Despite the fatigue, he dismounted, then picked Nugget up and whirled her in a big hug. “I think you've grown since this morning.”

Nugget giggled. “Papa used to say that, too.”

Her words didn't sting the way the comparisons to his pa used to. Time, and Nugget's love, had begun to heal that wound. Not that he was willing to fully forgive him, but at least he could accept his sister's love for the man.

He set Nugget down, then held her hand as he led his horse to the cabin. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yes, but Annabelle got hurt so now Caitlin and I have to stay close.” Her lip jutted out in a tiny pout.

Frank stepped forward. “What's this about Annabelle getting hurt?”

“She hurt her foot, and Mr. Slade put a bandage on it.” Nugget skipped along without realizing the import of her words.

But both Joseph and Frank picked up their speed. With the way Annabelle had shot daggers at Slade earlier, chances were any interaction between them had resulted in bloodshed.

But Annabelle sat by the fire, Slade next to her, chatting almost amiably.

“Annabelle?” Frank handed the reins to Joseph and dashed toward his daughter. “What happened? Are you all right?”

A wan smile he didn't recognize crossed her face. “I hurt my ankle. Slade says I'll be fine.” She glanced at Slade and gave him a look Joseph didn't understand.

Joseph could hardly believe the way their interaction had completely changed in less than twelve hours.

Polly huffed past them. “I'm sure she's fine. She was when she left me at the creek with all the work to finish.”

Annabelle stiffened at the words, and any hint of the ease he'd seen in her earlier had disappeared. Slade scooted closer to her. Even though that should have made him feel better, it brought a new sense of unease to him. What was the relationship between Annabelle and Slade?

None of his business.

He had no right to wonder what may or may not be going on between them. Annabelle wasn't his to claim even if he wanted to.

Her father, though, wasn't going to let it go so easily. “It's nice to see you two together again.”

Together again...well, that probably said it all. His chest tightened, and even though he'd like to blame it on the altitude...

How had he developed such feelings for Annabelle so quickly? Especially when he had no right to do so.

“I have a lot of amends to make,” Annabelle said quietly. “It was time I listened to Slade instead of judging him.”

Even though everyone wanted to see Annabelle in a harsh light, the reality was that she was struggling through a difficult time and doing the best she could to keep it all together. Her admission was a measure of the remarkable strength she had.

If only his circumstances were different.

Slade stood. “Frank, I'd like you and Joseph to take a walk with me. We need to talk about Annabelle's injury.”

He looked at Nugget pointedly, and Joseph's stomach sank. They'd left the women and children unprotected. And sure, he knew Annabelle was far better at taking care of herself than he was, but there was something about not being there that made Annabelle's injury feel like a grievous sin.

Once they were out of earshot of the tent, Slade stopped.

“Annabelle was accosted by two thugs. She said she recognized them as men who frequented Frank's mission. One of the men in camp referred to him as Bart.”

Frank shook his head. “Not Bart Wallace?”

“Annabelle's description seemed to match. And from what she said about the other guy, I think it's Pokey Simpkins with him.” Slade looked around, then continued.

“I went to talk to them, but they're gone. I imagine they've met up with whoever they're working with. They're not bright enough to be working alone. Plus, Annabelle says they don't look like the guy who tried to take Nugget.”

Though Slade's words gave Joseph reason to be concerned, there was also more to give him hope. “So they believe there's silver?”

Slade nodded, but put a finger to his lips. “From what I was able to find out about the claims in the area, including where I found some equipment, it all belonged to your father. I saw signs of a lot of digging and burying.”

“So he or someone else was hunting for silver.” Joseph had to believe that this meant he could resolve things with his pa's estate sooner rather than later and then he could get home to his family.

Frank also looked around before speaking. “But if all they were doing is prospecting, they wouldn't have bothered covering it up. Usually folks just leave the holes.”

“Exactly,” Slade said, then motioned for them to keep walking. “Someone found something somewhere, but is trying to keep it a secret. There are dozens of holes, and there's no reason why everything should be covered like that. He's gone to great pains to make sure no one else finds his silver.”

Silver. More reason to believe in the security of his family's future.

“What do I do next?” Joseph looked to both men, who clearly had more experience in such matters, for guidance.

Slade looked at him. “I think you'd be wise to not go it alone. Not without knowing who Bart and Pokey are working with.”

Annabelle wasn't safe. She'd gotten away from her attackers today, but what happened when someone else came for her? Or Nugget?

“They're not going to stop until they get the silver, are they?”

Slade shook his head. “I can't see why they would. Greed does things to a man.”

No wonder Annabelle was so against mining. Joseph didn't need to be rich. All he asked was to be able to provide a home and a way to make a living to support his brother and sisters.

He looked over at Frank, hoping to hear the man's wisdom on the subject. Frank looked utterly exhausted.

“What do you think, Frank?”

The older man frowned. “I can't understand why whoever is behind this is going to so much trouble. And to endanger my daughter after everything we've done for them...”

Frank ran his hand down his face. “I don't know. Some days I wonder if Annabelle is right and we're wasting our time. But I believe the Lord has called me to be here working in these people's lives.”

The life returned to his face, and for a moment, Joseph envied Frank the sureness of his calling from the Lord.

Frank straightened, as though God had again confirmed the calling. “I think you'd be wrong to give up. Your father clearly found something, and I truly believe he intended to provide for his family. I know a few trustworthy men who'd be willing to provide assistance if you'd be willing to share some of what you find.”

“Of course,” Joseph readily agreed. “I don't ask for much. I'd never hoped to find a treasure. Just enough to get a place where I can raise my brother and sisters without wondering where their next meal is going to come from or how I'm going to get new shoes for the little ones.”

If only Annabelle could understand that. She'd spoken of the greed of the miners, but what about the ones like Gertie's family, who wanted nothing more than to provide for their children?

“I'll talk to Collin and his boys, then.” Frank looked over at Slade. “You'd be willing to help Joseph, wouldn't you?”

“Naturally.” Slade gave an easy grin. “Now that Annabelle's speaking to me again, I'd like to learn a little more about the man who's stolen her heart.”

“I haven't stolen anything,” Joseph insisted. “Besides, aren't the two of you—”

Slade and Frank started laughing. “Annabelle?” Slade finally sputtered. “She's like a sister to me. I lost my own kin a long time ago, and when the Lassiters took me in, I was part of a family again.”

Now it was Joseph's turn to be embarrassed. And worried. With the way his mind had been playing tricks on him over Annabelle all day, this latest turn made it nearly impossible for him to admit he didn't have feelings for her. The only trouble was that it changed nothing in his life.

When he found the silver, he had a responsibility to uphold.

“Well, that's all Annabelle can be to me, too,” he told both men, the words like a foul medicine on his tongue. “She's a wonderful girl, but it's just not meant to be.”

Frank's voice was soft. “You could bring your family here.”

He looked over at Frank. “What made you think of that?”

“Just thinking. You've told me that's your priority, and that you intended to take them from Ohio anyway. Why not bring them here? There's plenty of things needed in Leadville, good jobs, so if you wanted to pursue my daughter, there's nothing stopping you.”

Frank's earnestness almost made him want to believe. But there were so many unknowns. Too many things he had to work out and plan for. He couldn't allow himself the luxury of even thinking about falling in love until after he had his family's future settled.

“That's a fine idea, and perhaps we will decide to stay. But there's much more to consider. Courting Annabelle is not one of them.”

“Maybe you should talk to Annabelle about that first,” Frank stated.

“And maybe you should let my business be my business. I've already told you that I'll be careful with your daughter's heart, but that's all I'm going to do in Annabelle's direction. It's all I can do.”

“But what about your heart?” Frank's quiet question was one he'd already made up his mind on.

“My heart is with my family. My responsibility is to them first.”

Joseph cleared the lump forming in his throat. “Let's get back to more important business. Like our next move in finding my father's silver.”

With this talk of love and hearts and things best left alone, it was more reason time was of the essence. They were engaged in a dangerous game with everything at stake. No room for any of the impossibilities Frank wanted to discuss.

Slade pulled a map out of his pocket. “Based on what I could see, Bad Billy seemed to have a lot of claims near the Eastern side of Mosquito Pass and around his cabin. The area near the cabin is where things looked dug up and buried, but as far as I can tell, there's no evidence there's actually any silver there.” He pointed to a corner of the crinkled paper. “But there's this one, all alone, in the center of claims owned by Slim Deckert.”

Frank rubbed his chin. “Slim probably didn't like the idea that Billy purchased a claim in the center of his claims.”

“Billy didn't buy it,” Slade stated matter-of-factly. “He won it in a poker game against Slim.”

Poker. Joseph shouldn't be surprised that his pa would engage in such activity, given that he'd fathered a child by a soiled dove. But surely there had to be an end to the sinful legacy left by his father.

“I remember that game,” Frank said. “Slim was fighting mad over the deal and tried accusing Billy of cheating. But Lon was there, and he'd said it was a fair game.”

Slade nodded. “It's the same mine where Billy died.”

“Or was killed,” Frank said somberly.

Now, more than ever, Joseph was convinced that his pa had been murdered. And with the attempted kidnapping of Nugget and the attack on Annabelle, whoever was after the silver was willing to get it at any cost.

Chapter Fifteen

P
olly's dismissal and subsequent lie about what happened at the creek stung. Annabelle had said unkind things to Polly. And yes, she deserved to be punished for her thoughtlessness. But that didn't mean it was right for Polly to be so nasty to her at the creek and then lie to everyone about it.

“How's your foot?” Gertie asked, the familiar kindness in her voice not nearly as painful as her foot.

“It's fine, thanks.” Annabelle tried to stand, but Gertie shook her head and clucked at her.

“You sit right back down and put this compress on it. Polly may think you're faking it, but a foot doesn't swell up to twice the size of the other on its own.”

Gertie handed her the compress, and Annabelle tried not to wince. Still, it was some comfort to know that Polly's poison hadn't completely taken hold.

“I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I truly appreciate your kindness,” Annabelle said, not knowing what else to say.

Gertie brushed her hands on her apron, then frowned. “I need to get supper started. I'd ask you to mind the girls, but I suppose you can't go chasing after them.”

Yes, a lot had changed in her relationship with Gertie. As much as she'd thought it wouldn't matter, given all of the hurt Annabelle felt, she'd come to realize that it actually did, quite a lot.

“I could help with supper,” Annabelle offered. “I assist Maddie all the time.”

“Can you peel potatoes?”

“Of course.” Annabelle smiled. “And as far as minding the little ones, why, they can help.”

Just then, the little girls came bounding over, huge smiles on their faces. “Annabelle! Guess what we found?”

Nugget held out a sticky handful of tangled wildflowers.

“Lovely.” Annabelle smiled at the little girl. When her foot got better, they'd have to go flower picking again.

“We brought these for you to feel better,” Caitlin said shyly.

Annabelle closed her eyes for a moment, giving herself time to collect her thoughts. Yes, her heart hurt, but she had to remember that poor Caitlin had lost someone, too.

“Thank you so much, Caitlin.” She made a big show of smelling the flowers, even though they were just a bunch of weeds. Still, as she gave an appreciative, “Mmm...beautiful,” the smiles she was rewarded with made it worthwhile.

“Now that I've got my flowers, you two wash up and you can help prepare supper.”

“All right,” Nugget said with a smile. “Come on, Caitlin. If we're real good, and there's biscuits, Annabelle might let us help roll them out. Annabelle makes the best biscuits.”

The compliment warmed Annabelle's heart, and for a moment, she wished she hadn't been so wrapped up in her own life that she'd failed to do such with her sister. Of course, their mother had, which was where Annabelle had gotten the idea to do it with Nugget.

“You're good with them,” Gertie said quietly. “Your mother would be proud.”

She looked up at the older woman. “At least I've done something right. I know she wouldn't be proud of how I've been shutting everyone out. I hope you know I'm trying to do better.”

Slade's story earlier in the day had made her realize that Gertie, too, probably harbored unspoken grief over her family's losses.

“I know you are,” Gertie said quietly. “I just hope you learn to do it for your sake, not for hers.”

She turned, then handed Annabelle a sack of potatoes. “Your father was too generous. I invited a few other families for dinner tonight, so you can fix them all. We'll fry them up with the venison the boys brought back yesterday and it'll be a wonderful meal.”

Gertie turned her back before Annabelle could respond, and she knew that tonight's dinner with all the other families would be equally uncomfortable. She'd try to put on a brave face, and hope that no one said anything that tore at the tiny pieces of her heart she was trying desperately to hold together.

The sound of gravel crunching beneath someone's boot drew Annabelle's attention. She looked up to see Joseph approaching.

“How's the foot?” Joseph bent down as if he was going to tweak her nose or something, but then straightened, like he'd thought better of it.

“I'll be fine, thanks.”

The girls returned, fortunate, since she could tell by the light in Joseph's eyes that he was probably going to say something to dispute her claim.

“Joseph! I'm gonna help Annabelle fix supper!” Nugget's clear voice made it impossible to feel too sorry for herself. Though she'd done a lot of things wrong over the past couple of days, at least this was clearly one area in which she'd done all right.

Concern littered his face. “Are you sure you should be doing anything with your injured foot?”

“I'm just peeling potatoes,” she told him with a smile. “I can do that sitting.”

“I'll help.” Joseph sat next to her in the dirt. Did he have any idea how charming that grin was? Why couldn't he be doing something useful with his life like being a banker or a teacher or a blacksmith or, well, just about anything other than a miner? As soon as he found silver, Joseph would leave, taking Nugget, and where would that leave her?

She turned away before he could see that her cheeks were feeling a bit warm. Surely she was as red as fire.

And really! She shouldn't have been thinking such thoughts about Joseph anyway. About any man. Here, of all places. Where she'd met Henry and carelessly given her heart away knowing so little about him. She'd not make that mistake again.

Stronger in her convictions, Annabelle turned back to Joseph. “Haven't you ever heard that too many cooks spoil the broth?” She dug in the bag of potatoes and began peeling the first one. “Nugget, have you ever peeled a potato?”

The little girl shook her head, and Caitlin stared at her wide-eyed. “Mama says knives aren't for little girls.”

Unfortunately, that was just the right amount of inducement Joseph needed. “You girls fetch us some water and I'll help Miss Annabelle.”

Miss Annabelle. Her cheeks heated again, which was absolutely silly, given the close quarters in which she'd found herself with him over the past day or so. She was used to much more familiarity from him, and yet, moving to more formal address felt... Something prickled in her heart, stinging and leaving her more alone than ever. Why had she thought that opening her heart to a friend would be a good idea?

The knife slipped in her hand, nearly nicking her skin. Why did she always have to be so clumsy around him?

Her father entered the campsite, and he looked at Joseph, then at her, almost as though he was signaling Joseph in some way. Joseph gave a quick nod.

Joseph cleared his throat. “Miss Annabelle, if I may, I'd like to escort you to the creek for some water.”

Did he grow daft all of a sudden? They'd just sent the— Annabelle glanced at her father, who nodded. Of course. Her father had something he wanted to have Joseph talk to her about. Right now, her heart couldn't take any kind of talk. Especially not one encouraged by her father.

Annabelle lifted her swollen foot. “While I do appreciate your kind offer, you might recall that I'm unable to put any weight on my foot.”

Polite enough to satisfy even the stodgiest of matrons. She was very tempted to stick her tongue out at both Joseph and her father for being such meddling oafs, but that would only prove just how childish she was. Annabelle sighed.

Fortunately, Joseph looked just as relieved as she felt at the prospect of not having to go to the creek together—code for having a little chat, she was now certain.

“I'd forgotten. Please accept my apologies.”

“Certainly.” She smiled in the direction of her father. Annabelle dropped a peeled potato in the pot.

“You thoughtless wretch!” Polly grabbed the pot off the ground and glared at Annabelle. “Have you any idea how wasteful you're being? Look how much potato you've taken off with the peel!”

The insides that had finally begun to feel more comfortable in this place knotted up. “I meant no harm,” Annabelle stammered. “This is how Maddie told me to do it.”

“There are a lot of hungry bellies to fill, and you've just wasted the food that goes into them.”

Annabelle looked at the pot of potatoes she'd carefully peeled the way Maddie had shown her. “I've only done a few. I'll be more careful with the others.”

Then, because she couldn't bear to look at her father or anyone else witnessing more of her humiliation, she looked at the ground. “As for filling hungry bellies, someone else can have my share of the potatoes. It's the least I can do.”

“The least you can do is—”

“Polly!” Gertie banged on one of the pots. “Just because you're cross with Annabelle doesn't give you the right to treat her like that.”

She marched over to where Polly stood over her with the pot. “You know how to fix potatoes the way Maddie does?”

Annabelle nodded. “But I can fix them the way you want. Just tell me what to do,” she said as quickly as she could.

Please, please, please, please let everyone see how hard I'm trying to be a better person.
It was just potatoes, after all. Surely that wasn't something to be declared sinful.

“I haven't had Maddie's potatoes in ages.” A smile filled Gertie's face. “So if you know how to fix them, I'll be looking forward to eating them.”

Gertie glanced at Polly with a look that dared her to defy her, but that's just what Polly did. “So you're taking her side, are you? Fine. But don't expect me to go without because of her. Bad enough she made more work for me with the laundry. Then she goes off and has to play princess with the hurt foot. Well, you can count me out. I'm through putting up with her.”

Polly stomped off, leaving Annabelle feeling like a bug that had been squashed for no other reason than existing. Pure meanness, that's what Polly's words were.

Her stomach churned and turned sour in a different way. This is what she'd done to Polly. She'd said horrible things out of anger and hurt, and it had squashed something in Polly's heart.

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled again, knowing that no amount of times she said it would ever change what had caused this mess to begin with.

Joseph placed his hand over hers. “It's all right. She's hurting, too. I'm sure she didn't mean to offend you.”

At least the old Joseph was back. Even under the weight of her father's stare, she couldn't ask Joseph to remove his hand. Someone cared for her. Someone understood how awful this whole situation was, and how she'd never meant for any of it to happen.

“Yes, she did,” Annabelle said softly. “And I know I deserved it, I just...”

Her throat felt raw and ached like she was coming down with something. But it wasn't that. That she knew, even without a doctor. “I guess I see why they say an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. I was hurting, so I let the harsh words take over, which led to Polly hurting, and then she needed to be mean to me.”

Annabelle removed her hand from Joseph's and picked up another potato and began peeling. “I suppose it'll eventually wear itself out.”

Her father stood and motioned to Gertie, who followed him out of sight of the tents. Probably more discussion over how to solve the problem of Annabelle.

Joseph picked up a potato. “Why is Polly so upset with you?”

“Because.” Annabelle sighed. There was so much to the story that Joseph didn't understand. That no one understood. Because the one person to whom she'd bared her soul was gone.

“I was in love once. With a miner. I thought Henry a good man, and he helped with my family's ministry. But then the sickness hit over the winter, and Henry wanted to leave. He wanted to avoid getting sick, and besides, there was gold in Alaska.”

She set another potato in the pot, trying to focus on the task at hand so her heart didn't ache the way it always did when she remembered how selfish Henry had been. “I was needed at home to care for my family. He promised to wait. But then Polly came to see me. Told me he'd left without saying goodbye. I called her a liar.”

Her knife got caught in the potato, and Joseph took it from her. “Let me do that. You just focus on the story.”

“There is no more.” She sucked in a deep breath as she turned to look over the fire. It should have been warm, only all she felt was cold inside. “I asked why she would deliberately hurt me with such lies when she knew how I was hurting already. I'd already watched as they'd taken Susannah's and Peter's bodies out to the icehouse to be kept until the ground was thawed enough to bury them. I couldn't imagine why Henry would abandon me at such a time, so Polly must've been lying.”

The fire popped, and Annabelle jumped, bringing her attention back to Joseph. “Turns out, Polly was telling the truth. I believed in a scoundrel over my dearest friend.”

“Your dearest friend should have understood.”

Annabelle reached for another potato and began peeling again. “Maybe. But I hurt her, and I shouldn't have.”

“Even if Polly was hurt by your words,” Joseph said quietly, “she had no right to speak to you like that. Or even to tell lies about you.”

She looked up at him. Why did he have to be so wrong for her? “Thank you.” She finished the last potato and brushed off her skirt. “I wish...”

No, she couldn't say what she wished. She wished too many things that would never come true.

“Well, I suppose it doesn't matter.” She turned her head, wishing she could stand and get away from the closeness of this man who confused her so.

“It does matter. And I...” Joseph looked in the direction her father had gone, then back at her. “Annabelle, your father has asked me to get something straight with you. As a gentleman, I need to be sure that I don't dishonor you in any way.”