No Greater Treasure

by Amy Lillard

  The how wasn’t the real problem. “If I had stayed up to help him—” His words choked off.

  “You don’t know that,” she said gently.

  He pulled away from her gentle touch. He couldn’t have her comforting him. “If I had stayed awake, I could have done something. I could have saved him. I killed my brother as surely as if I had hit him over the head with the rock myself.”

  Birdie could hardly believe the words that she was hearing. What a burden to carry!

  “He lingered for a week,” Jed continued.

  She hated the sound of his voice in that moment, hated what she was hearing. How could one man blame himself for the life and death of another when he had no responsibility? It just proved the sort of man that Jedidiah Evans truly was. Good, honest, and godly, though he wouldn’t believe her if she told him.

  “What did you do?” she asked.

  “I prayed.” He shook his head as if the memory was more than he could stand. “I prayed and prayed that he would come out of whatever fever he had slipped into.”

  But in the end, he had died. She didn’t need him to say the words for her to know them.

  “You prayed,” she said hoping that he would see the beauty in those words. He had said that he was a believer once before. It seemed to her that he was one still.

  “But God didn’t answer. I have no use for a god who ignores his people.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t believe that,” she said.

  He nodded emphatically. “I do. More than anything. When I needed God, He wasn’t there.”

  Jed Evans was a stubborn man. A beautiful, stubborn man.

  “What did you do?” she asked. “After Toby passed?”

  “I buried him.”

  “Yes,” she murmured. “I thought as much.” She had left her father on the mountain as well. “And did you mark the place?” she continued.

  “Yes.” The word was rough as if it had been pushed through a throat too tight to breathe through, let alone speak.

  “How?” She saw the dawning light in his eyes before he answered. His words were reluctant, the admission a time in coming.

  “I made a cross out of two wooden stakes.”

  “You haven’t lost faith,” she said hoping the words would come as a comfort to him. “It’s all still right there.”

  Thankfully the night passed without any intruders. After making him admit that he had placed a cross at his brother’s grave, Birdie had taken herself to bed, and Jed had started his own shift of watching the camp.

  The last thing he needed was to have to stay awake and allow all the thoughts in his head free rein. But as much as he tried to corral them, they slipped away and taunted him.

  He had put a cross on his brother’s grave, but it had been for Toby’s benefit not Jed’s. But even as the words formed in his mind, he knew they weren’t the truth. As much as he wanted to blame God for his problems, for taking his brother and leaving him on the mountain alone, he knew better.

  “But I don’t understand, Lord,” he said, talking to God for the first time since he’d buried his brother. “Why did Toby have to die?” But there was no answer.

  Which was the exact reason why he had stopped in the first place. There was no reason, no explanation, and he hated that with every part of his being. He’d had to write his mother of his brother’s death. He had tried to explain, but there were no words. He dreaded facing her now, telling her how he had failed her and Toby.

  Even then, how long could he go on blaming God when he knew it was no one’s fault? Not even his own.

  “We have to be getting close,” Birdie said around noon the next day. Her heart was beating out a quick tempo, speeding up with every step they took nearer to Sacramento City. She was certain that it had changed in the last five years, but how much was the real question. She had heard news of a devasting fire a few years back that burned nearly the whole town to the ground. Later news came that the city had been rebuilt using brick instead of wood, but word had come last year that yet another fire had ravaged the town.

  It was hard to know what to believe and what to scoff at. Word had it that the courthouse had burned to the ground, but she wasn’t sure if the news was accurate. She knew the fires themselves were real. There were too many accounts for them to be anything else.

  Jed checked the sky, as he was prone to do, then muttered, “Soon.”

  Birdie wasn’t sure what that meant, but her heart kicked up another notch. “Are we just going to follow the river into town?”

  Sacramento City had been founded at the junction of the American and the Sacramento Rivers, but she felt like heading for the docks seemed a little too easy.

  “We’ll hit the main road into town. I’ll take you to the closest hotel. Will that be sufficient?”

  His words held a note of finality. As if he would take her to the hotel and leave her there. She had plenty of money so that wasn’t a problem.

  “Lin Sing won’t be able to stay there.”

  “I’m sure he can find his way into China town.”

  The China man nodded. “I be fine, Bird. You go get your bath.”

  “Yes,” she murmured. But somehow the thought of taking a long hot bath didn’t hold the joy for her that it had before. Why?

  Because of the man walking next to her.

  Ridiculous.

  “Then you can send word to O’Neil that you made it back to town.”

  “Yes,” she said again. She would send word. “What will you do, Mr. Evans?”

  He eyed her carefully. “So we’re back to that are we?”

  They had to be. Somehow along this trip she seemed to have become a little too familiar with Jed Evans, and she needed to get their relationship back to where it belonged. He was leaving soon; she was marrying Nelson. Such intimacy between virtual strangers was...not appropriate.

  But it was hard to picture him as a stranger. She may have only known him a week, but she felt as if he were a friend. She supposed that after all they had been through, friend was a strong word, but acquaintance was too weak. She didn’t know how to classify Jed Evans. Strong, handsome, capable, handsome.

  She pushed the thought away as in the distance shapes began to rise. “Is that the town?’ she asked.

  Jed...er, Mr. Evans gave a curt nod. “Yep.”

  She belonged to someone else, he told himself as they walked the mules down the main street. Like any town he had ever been in, the main thoroughfare was lined with hotels, saloons, brothels, banks, and general stores selling everything from fabric and flour to mining supplies. Though unlike most of the towns he had seen in Texas and on his trip to California, these buildings were mostly made of brick. He supposed the threat of fires was strong and owners had taken the necessary precautions.

  “Where would you like me to escort you?” he asked. His voice sounded a bit choked, and he wondered if he was coming down with something.

  “Any hotel is fine.”

  He stopped in front of the next one. It looked nice enough, though he supposed with the amount of gold that she had stashed away she could buy the place as easily as she could secure a room.

  Lin Sing swung down from his donkey and nodded to them both. Then he pulled a tote sack from one of the saddle bags, grabbed his bang stick, and bowed toward them.

  “You know where I’ll be,” she said.

  The Chinaman smiled and bustled away.

  She sighed.

  “What?” Jed asked. He could see that something was bothering her.

  “It’s just stupid, you know. He can’t stay in the room next to mine because he came from another country. I don’t understand.”

  He didn’t either, but it wasn’t the only thing about their world that didn’t make any sense. “He’ll be okay.”

  “I know, but—” She stopped.

  “But what?” he prompted.

  “I would feel better knowing that he was next door.”

  “Still leery of bandits?”


  She made a sweeping gesture, encompassing the majority of the street where they stood. “I have no one here I can trust.”

  “What about O’Neil?”

  “Well, of course I can trust him,” she sputtered. “But—” She stopped again. “I want a bath, Mr. Evans, and proper clothes. Then tomorrow I have a gift to take to the church. I wonder, will you accompany me?”

  It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why O’Neil wouldn’t have the honor, but he bit it back. He might have to say goodbye to her soon, but it would be after tomorrow for certain. “Of course. What time?”

  “How about ten?”

  “Perfect.”’

  She nodded, gave him a little smile. “I’ll see you then.” She looped the reins to the mule around the hitching post, then pulled the saddlebags from its back, the contents too valuable to leave unattended while she went in to get a room.

  But the load was bulky, heavy.

  “Can I help you, Miss Banks?” He shouldn’t have offered. It was bad enough that he was going to meet her tomorrow. He needed to be on his way. He needed to be looking for work, anything that would help him earn enough money for a way back home.

  “That would be lovely, Mr. Evans.” She handed him the saddle bags and made her way inside the Bella Union Hotel.

  The interior of the hotel was plush by Eastern standards and nearly out of place in the growing city. He supposed that Sacramento was the capitol now and such places were needed when government officials came to visit. One thing was certain. It was nicer than any place he had ever stayed. Or probably ever would.

  She made her way to the front desk. A man stood behind, waiting patiently for her to reach the counter in front of him. “I’d like a room please.”

  The man with his slicked back hair and drooping moustache picked up a quill pen and prepared to write. “Name please.”

  “Cora Mae Hawkins.”

  “Uh-hmm,” the man murmured as he wrote her name in the ledger. “And how long will you be needing the room, Miss Hawkins?”

  “At least a week. Maybe more.”

  “And how will you be paying?”

  She turned to Jed and bit her lip. She faced the hotel manager once again. “Where is the nearest bank?”

  “Across the street.” He didn’t bat an eye at her request, nor did he seem repulsed by filthy clothes and disheveled appearance. Jed supposed she wasn’t the first prospector to come in looking for a place to stay after months or years in the mountains.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said. She whirled around and made her way back to where Jed waited, still holding both saddle bags filled with her findings. He felt a little like people were staring at him. Maybe they were wondering what was in the bags. Or maybe the gold was making him a bit paranoid. Birdie had said that it would make a man crazy. Having it was just as bad as not having it.

  “What’s wrong?” Jed asked where only she could hear.

  “I need to stop at the bank first. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Eager for that bath you’ve been talking about?”

  She smiled. “You know it.” Then she bit her lip again. “Will you go with me over to the bank to...you know. I’ll pay you.”

  “You don’t have to pay me,” he said the words knowing full well he could use the money. Any money he could get.

  “Consider it an extension on your current job.”

  “So you’re hiring me to guard you?”

  “Just until I can take care of the...cargo,” she said cryptically. She smiled at someone behind him, and Jed turned just as a well-dressed woman swept past. Birdie was doing everything in her power to appear that all was just as it should be, that she didn’t have thousands of dollars in gold squirreled away in the leather bags that he carried. “Please.” She flashed him that sweet smile that made her whole face light up.

  He shook his head at himself. He needed to cut ties with her before he fell completely in love with her. But when she smiled at him like that he wondered if it might not be too late.

  It took less than an hour to trade her gold for paper money. She didn’t exchange it all, which left Jed holding a bag full of gold as they returned to the Bella Union.

  “I’ll be paying with cash,” Birdie said as she handed the man a couple of bills from the stack she had gotten at the bank.

  The man’s eyes widened. “Very good. Very good.”

  “I need two rooms,” Birdie continued. “Next to each other.”

  “We have a suite.”

  “Perfect.”

  Jed could tell that the man was pleased that she hadn’t asked the price. But it worried Jed for her. She couldn’t go around acting like she had money to spare and not attract attention.

  The man behind the counter gave her a set of keys, then made another note on the ledger. “We hope to see you next door for meals. My wife runs Nellie’s Restaurant and is the best cook in Sacramento City.”

  “That sounds lovely.”

  “Anything else?” he asked.

  She peeled off another bill and slid it across the desk to him. He pocketed it without missing a beat. “I would like a bath brought up to my rooms. Two tubs actually. One in each.”

  “Of course.”

  She slid him another bill. “And dresses. I would like someone to bring in some dresses for me to look at. Can you manage that for me?”

  The man’s smile turned positively wicked. Jed didn’t like it one bit.

  Birdie smiled and tucked her money back into one of her pockets and picked up the keys.

  She made her way back to where he was standing.

  “You need to be more careful,” he told her when she was near enough he could whisper the words to keep others from hearing. “You walk around like you have more money than the whole state and the wrong people will take notice.”

  “Do I?” Her wide eyes portrayed her innocence. She hadn’t meant to be a show-out but that was exactly what she had done. Jed figured she had either been in the mountains too long or had never had money enough for anyone to bother taking it. He supposed it was a bit of both.

  “Renting the room next to yours and leaving it empty won’t make it better.”

  “I’m not going to leave it empty,” she said. “That’s where you’re going to stay.”

  Maybe getting a suite for the two of them had been a bit impulsive. But when the idea had first popped into her head she had immediately felt better, safer. But the shocked look on his face had almost made her rescind the offer.

  Now as she watched the porter pouring water in the large copper tub, she wondered if it had been a mistake. But she wanted him close. She needed him close. Well, maybe not him, but someone and since Lin Sing was across town for the time being... Hiring someone else would have been a chance she didn’t want to take. Jed had proved himself loyal and trustworthy. She needed him to continue to help her, but maybe she had gone about it the wrong way.

  “Is there anything else, miss?” the porter asked.

  Birdie looked from the tub to the stack of undergarments sitting on the nearby chair. The dresses were hanging over the top of the room divider. A towel, a bottle of lavender oil, and bar of pristine white soap were waiting near the steaming tub.

  “That will be all,” she said and pressed a coin into his hand. She had the paper money and Jed had the gold. But tomorrow...tomorrow, with this help, she would be rid of the burden.

  She followed the porter to the door and locked it behind him, then she stripped out of the miner’s clothes and eased into the warm, warm water.

  Joy washed over her like silk. This was definitely one of life’s greatest pleasures. Now if she only had a novel to read. Like her favorites by Jane Austen. For so long she had hoped for a Mr. Darcy of her own and she’d had to come to California to find him. Tomorrow after she got rid of the gold, she would surprise Nelson at the store.

  The thought made her heart thump painfully in her chest. He hadn’t seen her in years and her self-consciousness ove
r her scars and her limp rose once again to the surface. Nelson wasn’t that kind of man, she told herself. He was kind and loving and a few scars weren’t enough to damage the love they felt for one another.

  It just wasn’t possible.

  Since she didn’t have a novel to read, she eased back into the tub and sighed. Eyes closed she let the water soothe her tired muscles and bruised spirit.

  “Thank You, Lord for getting us here safely,” she prayed. “Your love and greatness abound. Thank You for sending me Jed. He has been a tremendous help as You know. I may have been leery at first, but now I know that he is a trustworthy man and was sent to us by You. Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you bestow. Amen.”

  “Birdie?”

  Her eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice so close. She sat up in the tub, water sloshing over the sides in her haste. In a vain attempt at modesty, she plucked the washrag from the nearby stool and used it to cover her naked breasts. A woman had to have some modesty. “Jed?” She looked around but he was not in her room. Not that she could see.

  “I’m here.”

  She looked in the direction his voice came from only to find a thick wooden door. “Are you in your room?” she asked.

  “I guess they put the tubs by our connecting door.”

  “I suppose,” she murmured. She relaxed a little but didn’t remove the tiny towel from her chest. Couldn’t be too careful. Isn’t that what Jed was always saying? “So you’re in the bathtub too?” she asked.

  “Yes. The porter just left and I heard you...praying.”

  “Oh.” She thought back on the prayer and hoped that she hadn’t said anything too personal about Jed, something that she might want to keep just between her and God. Like how when she thought about her own Mr. Darcy, it was Jed’s face that came into her mind first and not Nelson’s. In fact, she had to try hard to remember what Nelson’s face even looked like. The thought made her a bit queasy.

  “Do you always pray in the bathtub?” he asked. She heard the faint sounds of sloshing water and knew he was shifting in the tub. Washing? The thought made her blush. She needed to get Jed Evans out of her thoughts and quick! But the feat seemed next to impossible since he was right underfoot. Or next door, rather. And she had hired him to protect her until she could get the gold and her claim safely to the church.