Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range

by Danica Favorite

  She put the last dish back in the crate. Maddie would tsk over her reddened hands when she got home tomorrow, but if that was the worst Maddie could find fault with, it would be worth it. Funny how as much as she’d been longing to go back east to visit Aunt Celeste, she couldn’t think of a more contented moment than now.

  It had grown dark, and the last remnants of light faded from the one tiny window the cabin had allowed. Their lamps would make them easy targets for intruders, but she couldn’t bear to spoil the special time Nugget and Joseph were having. If only she had been given more similar moments with her own baby sister.

  But she couldn’t. All she could do was give that time to Joseph and Nugget.

  Annabelle turned down the rest of the lamps, conserving oil, and making their presence as unobtrusive as possible.

  “Everything all right?” Joseph paused in his reading.

  “Fine,” she said. “Everything’s fine.”

  She stood at the corner of the window, looking at the dark landscape. The bandits could be anywhere, and she wouldn’t see them. The door was already bolted, but would it be enough? She spied a large barrel in the corner. Against the door, it would be an additional barrier.

  Annabelle started pushing the barrel.

  “Let me help.”

  “I can do it. Nugget—”

  “Is asleep.” Joseph had come alongside her, and together they pushed the barrel in front of the door. Even in the darkness, she could see his smile. Sometimes she wished she could have his same calm attitude. With all that he lost, how was it that his burden would be so light?

  Having Nugget must make it easier.

  Annabelle leaned against the door. Wisdom said they should rest. But what if the men came during the night?

  “Why don’t you take the bed with Nugget, and I’ll make a pallet on the floor? We should both get some rest.”

  She hated the way he could read her mind sometimes. It reminded her too much of how her father and mother had been together. Finishing each other’s sentences, often so alike that...well, that didn’t describe Annabelle and Joseph at all. Not only did they have no future together due to his mining ambition, but he wasn’t the sort of man she could fall in love with. Why, she didn’t even like Joseph.

  Something tickled her on the back of the neck as a small voice reminded her that telling falsehoods was a sin. Fine, then. She mostly didn’t like Joseph. Sometimes, like when he was caring for Nugget, he could almost be all right. Not that her admission made the tickle go away.

  Annabelle looked around the cabin. No sense in thinking about Joseph, not now. Not with all the other things they had to worry about.

  “I think we should be safe enough for the night. I thought I saw—” When she turned to point out the trunk she’d noticed containing a number of blankets, she saw that Joseph had already beaten her to it. Yet again, he’d known what she had been thinking.

  She huffed out a breath. Coincidence, that’s all. Joseph wasn’t a stupid man. Of course he would remember that the trunk contained blankets. Obviously being in these close quarters was addling Annabelle’s mind. She’d be thinking more clearly once she had a good night’s sleep and was home safe.

  “That’s just what I was about to suggest,” she finally said, almost forcing a smile, but stopping when she recalled how it usually served only to irritate Joseph rather than placate him as she intended.

  Joseph shifted slightly, then looked at her in a way he hadn’t looked at her before.

  “I know you’d prefer to be anywhere but here, so um...” He shifted again, his shoulders rising and falling. “I appreciate everything you’ve done here with Nugget and me. I’m not sure what we would have done without you.”

  She’d been thanked countless times, but none of the thank-yous she’d ever received had made her so queasy. So... Annabelle closed her eyes. She’d done what was needed, nothing more. Which didn’t explain why his thanks was so disconcerting.

  “Of course I would help.” She didn’t look at him as she turned toward the bed she’d be sharing with Nugget.

  But his silence didn’t feel right to her at all.

  Obviously she was overtired and overwrought after such a day. Once she’d had a good night’s sleep, the jumble in her mind would make sense again. Then she could get them all back home and back to their normal lives.

  Chapter Ten

  Joseph tried making himself comfortable. He’d slept in far worse conditions, so he couldn’t understand why he couldn’t fall asleep. He’d need every bit of rest he could get for their trek in the morning.

  He could hear Annabelle snoring softly. She’d be mortified if he said anything, but he wished he could tell her that her unladylike noises were actually somewhat cute.

  Maybe if he took a look outside one last time to make sure everything was fine, he’d be more comfortable going to sleep. He stood, and in the faint light, could see Annabelle and Nugget curled up together. Absolutely beautiful.

  A noise outside the cabin startled him. The men? Maybe his lack of sleep wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Joseph tiptoed to the small crack that would allow him a view of the surrounding area. Two riders on horseback were in the distance, heading toward the cabin.

  Hating to disturb Annabelle’s peace, but knowing their safety depended on it, he crept to the bed, then shook her softly. As her eyes fluttered open, he put a finger to his lips, then pointed to the door.

  She nodded, then scooted out of the bed. He couldn’t help but notice how she tucked the quilts around Nugget as she left. Someday, Annabelle would make an excellent mother.

  Which made Joseph want to smack himself for being so daft when they were clearly in danger.

  They went to the crack, and Joseph pointed out where he’d seen the riders.

  “Get the gun,” Annabelle whispered.

  He nodded slowly, wishing he didn’t have to let Annabelle do a man’s work. When they returned to town, the first thing he’d do was practice his shooting. If the place was so unsafe as for a man to teach a woman like Annabelle how to defend herself, then he’d need it, as well. Especially now that he had Nugget and her silver secret to protect.

  As the riders drew closer, she set the gun down. “It’s my father.”

  Though Joseph expected to have to face her father at some point, it somehow seemed more wrong for him to find them in the cabin together.

  “Help me move this.” She pushed at the barrel they’d only recently put in the way of the door.

  There was nothing Miss Annabelle Lassiter couldn’t do.

  As the riders stopped just short of the cabin, Annabelle ran out, carrying a lantern.

  “Father!” Her joyful cry made his gut ache. He supposed he wouldn’t have had such a reunion with his own pa. Even more than before, he’d like to punch the man for messing up so many lives. Not only was there the obvious evidence of his pa’s infidelity, but now, they had dangerous men after them.

  What kind of man had his pa been, really?

  Certainly not the kind of man who jumped from his horse and wrapped his arms around his daughter. He’d never seen such affection with his sisters.

  Nugget made a small noise in her sleep as if to remind him he had another sister. A little girl who called their pa “Papa,” with such fondness he had to wonder if he knew his pa at all. Could a man change? And if he’d changed, why hadn’t he cared enough to make sure the rest of his family was provided for?

  Annabelle, her father, and another man walked toward the cabin. He steeled himself for what would most likely be a confrontation ending in a marriage proposal. He knew how poorly that had gone over before. But with them being unchaperoned for so long, the preacher was bound to make him do right by his daughter.

  Somehow, they’d make it work. And he’d make it up to Annabelle for ruining her life.

  Joseph steppe
d out to meet them, but Annabelle shook her head. “We’ll talk inside.”

  Once inside, neither Annabelle nor her father, nor the strange man made a move to add additional light.

  “Annabelle tells me that you may be in danger.” The preacher looked at him with a very unpreacherlike expression. “What did you see on the cliff?”

  Joseph relayed the details as best as he could remember.

  “I know the spot he’s talking about,” the strange man said. “I’ll go check it out.”

  The preacher gave a nod, but kept his attention on Joseph. “Thank you for your quick thinking. I’m sure you saved both Annabelle and Nugget.”

  Annabelle gave a most unladylike snort, and despite the serious nature of the situation, Joseph wanted to smile.

  “It was all Annabelle’s doing. Her quick thinking and resourcefulness has been a real blessing.”

  This time, the preacher turned his attention to Annabelle, who appeared to back away from his examination. “Is that so?”

  “I just did what I had to do.” She looked away, then grabbed the pile of blankets Joseph had left on the floor. “I can make pallets for Nugget and I so you two can trade off with the bed.”

  “Annabelle—” Her father seemed to want to say something, but she cut him off with a glare.

  “Not now. I did what I had to do, and that’s that.”

  Even if he’d wanted to, Joseph couldn’t ignore the bitterness that had returned to her voice. Somehow the carefree Annabelle had gotten misplaced with the arrival of her father.

  Joseph reached out and took the blankets from her. “It doesn’t make sense for you to disturb Nugget. You take the bed with her, and your pa and I will make do on the floor. I haven’t been able to sleep anyway.”

  “That’s because you’ve been on the floor while I’ve had the bed,” she retorted, tugging at the blankets. “You need your rest.”

  “And so do you.” He held them firm, glancing at her father for reinforcement.

  “Joseph is right. Go to bed, Annabelle.”

  Finally. Someone with enough authority to get Annabelle to obey. Not without a fight, though. She practically stomped to the bed, then snuggled down into the covers.

  Neither man said a word until Annabelle’s soft snore sounded through the room.

  “I’m sorry for my daughter’s behavior. I realize this situation is difficult.” Frank broke the silence first.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for. Because of Annabelle, we had a fine dinner and were safe inside the cabin until you arrived.”

  He glanced over at the mounds on the bed before continuing. “Sir, I realize that my being alone with her is improper. I’d like to assure you that I took no liberties with your daughter’s person. But if you feel it necessary for us to marry, I’ll be glad to do so.”

  The words came out all in a rush, lest he lose the courage to utter them.

  Frank, though, looked at him, then chuckled softly. “Son, you have a better chance of taking liberties with a mountain lion. Unless she feels it necessary, I won’t be forcing you into a wedding.”

  Which should have left him feeling relieved, only it didn’t. Worse, that traitorous part of him almost wished her father had insisted otherwise.

  “There’s something I don’t understand.” Joseph moved closer to the preacher so they could talk more. “In town, you acted like Annabelle was near perfect. Here, you seem to have a more realistic view of her.”

  Frank sighed. “I’m not blind to Annabelle’s faults. Still, she’s got a good heart. One that’s been broken too many times by these mountains. I should never have sent her with you, but I’d hoped it’d bring some healing to her. All it’s done is put her in danger.”

  For the first time, Frank sounded like a broken man instead of a man of God. “She wasn’t always so bitter. But when her mother and brothers and sister died, she let the bitterness take over. If you’d been alone with her then, I’d have made you marry her. Because she’d have been impossible to resist.”

  It was almost on the tip of Joseph’s tongue to tell him that he’d gotten a glimpse of that Annabelle. But he wasn’t sure that information would be helpful about now.

  Maybe it was time to talk about more relevant information. “Who was that man you brought with you?”

  “Slade Holmes. Best tracker I know. When Annabelle wasn’t home in time for supper, I figured she might have run into trouble. So I found Slade and came up here.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to protect them.” He glanced over again at their sleeping forms. “I don’t know what I’d have done if those men had—”

  “Don’t fret over what-might-have-beens. The girls are safe. That’s all that matters.” Frank grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around himself. “I’m going to get some shut-eye, and I suggest you do the same.”

  “What if the men come back?”

  “Slade will give us plenty of warning.”

  With that, the older man turned and curled up on the floor, the conversation clearly over.

  But it wasn’t over, not in Joseph’s mind. Not with the puzzling woman still snoring softly on the other side of the room. As much as Annabelle held the silver search in disdain, she had to realize that it was the only way he was going to save his family.

  * * *

  A small slant of sunlight roused Annabelle from her slumber. Nugget still lay curled beside her. She sat up slowly, looking around the strange room that had become familiar to her in less than a day. Joseph slept slouched in a chair, and her father was gone.

  Slade must’ve found something.

  Annabelle stretched, and careful not to disturb Nugget, slid out of bed.

  She walked to the door, wondering if Slade and her father were near. It figured he’d bring Slade along. One more reminder of all she’d lost.

  “Morning.” Slade’s voice greeted her as she stepped out of the cabin.

  She didn’t look at him. “Morning.”

  “You can’t hate me forever.”

  Oh, yes, she could. “I don’t wish to discuss that particular topic. Where’s my father?”

  She scanned the area, noting that her father’s horse was gone, but Peter’s—now Slade’s—grazed nearby.

  “Maybe if you were a little nicer to me, I’d tell you.”

  Annabelle sighed. Staying angry did her no good, especially when she knew Slade was just trying to help. But forgiving him in theory was so much easier than in actuality. “What do you want from me?”

  “How about a bit of civility? You lost a brother, but I lost my friend. Can’t we call a truce?”

  A truce. For the man who should have been getting the doctor for her brother but somehow ended up bringing home a pocket full of silver instead.

  “What’d you do with the silver?” She hadn’t meant to confront him with the question that had been plaguing her for months, but the words bubbled up of their own accord.

  Slade’s face darkened. “Your father went down to the camp at Greenhorn Gulch to see if he could get some food and borrow some horses.”

  “I’ll start a fire.” Annabelle turned toward the cabin.

  She probably should have apologized for her rudeness, but it was hard enough being in his presence without having to also humble herself and admit where she’d been wrong.

  Before she could enter the cabin, hoofbeats sounded in the distance. Her father. At least he hadn’t witnessed her conversation with Slade. She’d have had to endure another sermon about forgiveness. Then, she’d have had to paste another smile on her face and pretend it was all right when it wasn’t.

  Nothing was all right. But if she didn’t pretend, everything around her threatened to cave in. While she appreciated Joseph’s attempts at wanting to do away with the falseness she surrounded herself with, he simply didn’t understand it was the only way
for her to survive the grief that tried to swallow her whole.

  “Hello, Father,” she said when he dismounted. “I was about to go inside and build a fire. I believe Joseph has some fish from last night.” Hardly a feast, but at least it’d keep her hands occupied so she didn’t go crazy.

  “No need.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head. “I ran into Gertie at the camp, and she’s got breakfast for all.”

  “I wouldn’t want to impose. I know how provisions are scarce for them.” She gave a half smile in return.

  “I told Gertie the same thing.” The genuine smile her father gave made Annabelle’s insides curl up. “But Collin’s had a bit of good fortune lately, so there’s plenty.”

  Yet not enough for them to leave the mining camp and live in a decent house. She’d never understand these miners. They settled for living in squalor and throwing their money back into a pit that might someday pay off.

  Or, like Collin MacDonald, throw it all into a bottle that never did anyone, least of all his family, any good.

  “That’s very kind of her. We’ll be sure to send a basket of Maddie’s goodies to thank her when we’re back home.”

  Her father sighed. As if he, too, was learning to see right through her. “I know it’s going to be hard on you, seeing Gertie. Just remember that she was your mother’s best friend, and that she loves you like her own.”

  “I’ll try.” It was the best she could do. She hadn’t seen any of the MacDonalds since her family died. Her father had dutifully come from his visits to the family to let her know of how they were all doing, but she couldn’t bring herself to visit. There were too many reminders of what she’d lost.

  “I’ll let Joseph and Nugget know.” Annabelle went inside before the feelings got to be too much to bear. She knew it was wrong to shut out the remaining people who loved her. But what else was she supposed to do?

  She’d tried so hard to build walls around all the things that hurt, and to keep out the people that reminded her of that pain. But now she was being forced to confront it, and that seemed like the worst injustice of all.