Mail Order Bride 22 Book Boxed set: 22 Brides Ride West :CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle
Page 102
Jackson frowned and squinted as he looked over the old man's shoulder towards his mine. "What are you talking about Joe?"
Joe huffed and puffed as he struggled to get the words out in his fury. "Myself and other farmers rely on the water from the creek to grow our crops! The pollution and damage you're causing is going to put us all out of food and water, don't ya know?"
Jackson stood with his hands on his hips, trying to placate the man.
"I'm telling you now Jackson... If you don't do something about this, I'm gonna have to get the whole town involved! This mine lark of yours has gone on long enough. You're so pig-headed with it that you can't see the long term effects. This gold mine is nothing but a scheme. A get rich quick scheme, I'm as sure as day! If we can't farm the lands and grow crops, what's the point? The settlement is going to collapse as quickly as it was established."
"Just calm down," Jackson insisted, trying to keep his voice calm and soothing. He didn't want Joe being overheard by anyone else. What he was saying couldn't possibly be true: could a mine really cause so much damage? "You're overreacting Joe. Surely you can't blame the mine or me! Probably, something's just gone wrong with your soil, or your farming practices..."
Joe's mouth dropped open. "Are you saying I don't know what I'm doing? That I don't know how to run my own farm?" He shook his head, bits of spittle flying out of his mouth in his anger and rage. He took a step closer till he was right up in Jackson's face. "We all followed you out here, remember? Based on all your promises of finding gold. Well, where is all this so-called gold?"
"It's coming, Joe. We just need to keep mining till we strike it rich."
"How much longer is that going to take?" Joe spat. "We've waited long enough. It's time to shut that bleedin' mine down and concentrate on other matters. Farming. Things that will actually sustain this town. It's time we all got our heads out of the clouds and stopped chasing these ridiculous dreams of yours." He held his face in front of Jackson's for a moment, breathing heavily.
"Joe..." Jackson tried to protest. "Let's just talk about this calmly."
"Oh, we'll talk about it all right! At tomorrow night's town meeting, all of this is going to come to light, Jackson, and there's nothing you can do about it! This mine is going to get closed down for good!"
* * *
Indoors was where Ava found herself most days. She could feel Jackson's disappointment in her, could sense it in the things he didn't say, but he never pushed her to do anything she didn't feel up to. However, Ava was fed up with feeling as though she was such a delicate object that she might break at any time.
On that particular morning, Jackson had left with the usual amount of fussing. "Are you sure you'll be alright all alone here?" he'd asked, and Ava had simply sighed.
"Yes, just like every other day. Honestly, Jackson, I am not made of porcelain."
"Ava you know I'm just worried about you."
"Well, you'd needn't be. Do you think I wasn't able to survive before I met you? If you think that, I've got news for you. I've lived with this injury for thirteen years now, and believe it or not, I was not wrapped in cotton wool for all those years."
He'd placed his hat on his head and headed out the door in silence. Ava had wanted to apologize for snapping, but had kept quiet and let him go in peace.
She'd felt restless for the rest of the morning, unable to concentrate on her usual daily chores, and bothered more than usual by the heat of the Californian sun. There was something else that was bothering her though; it was something she hadn't really experienced before. A tugging, gnawing feeling. Boredom. She felt bored. She was tired of being shut up indoors while her husband was off running the mines.
She made a decision: she was going to surprise him down at the mines. She figured this would have a double benefit. It would give her something to do, while allowing Jackson to see that she wasn't so helpless she had to spend all her time indoors. It would be a bit of work getting all the way down to the mine site, but she could manage it.
A bit of preparation was required. She'd need the right boots, of course, for such a long walk, and she'd need to take her cane. She preferred to do without it when possible, but a three mile trek would require a little assistance. She hunted all over the house for the cane, unable to locate it.
Had Jackson put it away somewhere? She had the bad feeling that he might have put it somewhere out of sight. Where he didn't have to look at it, to be reminded of her handicap. When she had thoughts like this she felt a stab of bitterness, as the memories of thirteen years earlier came flooding back to her. The way her fiancé had looked at her on the day they were supposed to wed.
She knew in an ideal world that Jackson Abrams never would have wanted to marry a woman like her. Back in a large city, he would have had his pick of the women, with his good looks and charm. She saw even in Gold Creek the way the other women reacted to him. But in such a small community, he'd had fewer options: that was the only reason he'd sent for a mail order bride, she thought. Now he was stuck with a cripple, and he'd only come to resent me, if he hadn't already. The hidden cane was proof of that, she felt.
Ava caught herself and cursed herself for such judgmental thoughts. "There is no need to jump to such terrible conclusions," she told herself. "And no excuse to think so terribly of your own husband." No matter what else had happened, or what had taken place in the past, her and Jackson had stood before God and made a vow. It was her duty to be faithful to him, even in her thoughts about him.
She pulled open a drawer and found the cane laying there. She hadn't placed it in the drawer, so Jackson had definitely been the one to put it there. He was probably just trying to keep it safe, Ava told herself. Better to have it in a drawer than leaning against the door where she had left it.
Shaking her head to prevent any more bad thoughts from entering, she grabbed the cane out and tightened her bonnet around her head. She glanced down at the dress she was wearing. Still white, her preferred color, but made of cotton, not lace. It might get a little grubby on the walk, but it would be easy enough to clean. She leant down to shut the drawer when something caught her eyes.
Bank records. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled out the documents and scanned over them. Why had these been hidden down there in the bottom drawer? Surely Jackson's financial records were her concerns as well now? Had he been hiding these from her?
She pulled them out and read over them carefully. Debts. Money owed various parties. In the column where there should have been deposits, funds coming in, there had been nothing for months.
She dropped the documents with shaking hands and dropped onto a seat behind her, as her shaking leg threatened to give out from underneath her.
There were things about Jackson she'd been unsure about: his political ambitions, his overprotectiveness, his arrogant streak. But she'd never, till right at that moment, worried that he was a liar.
He'd promised her a secure future if she'd agreed to move to Gold Creek to be his wife. Ava was far from being a greedy woman, but the whole reason she'd left her ma behind in Philadelphia, to move to California, was to save them from poverty. And now it turned out that Jackson didn't even have a dime to his name?
She was in complete shock. The bank papers drifted from her hands as she sat there stunned, wondering what to do next. What way was there out of this? It felt as though the bottom had come out of all her plans.
Her ma. How on earth was Ava going to tell her she had no money to send her? She'd already promised to send money back to Philly at the end of the month. Now she would have nothing to give her.
Ava felt her head spinning and she leaned her head forward between her knees to allow the blood to rush back to her head. Now was not a time to lose grip. It was a time for decisions.
She pulled herself up and grabbed her cane. She was going to go down to the mines, to confront Jackson about the entire affair.
* * *
On the walk down to the mine, she rehearsed what she was goi
ng to say many times. She was not used to confrontation; she was from a family that kept things to themselves, without raising a fuss, or causing an argument. And maybe that hadn't been the right way to deal with issues, but it was how she'd been raised, and what she knew. Ava could tell her husband was far less conservative in nature, and would gladly get into a quarrel or disagreement if he needed to, but so far he had respected Ava's manner and kept things polite.
But now was not the time for being polite. Ava was practically fuming as she traipsed over the harsh land, her cane in her left hand, taking the weight of her damaged limb. The journey was a tough one, but there was no turning back now. She had to stop for breath and to give her arm a rest at roughly the half way point.
To her immense surprise, she saw a man rushing towards her. He was so lost in his own affairs that he practically ran into her before he stopped and noticed her.
"Oh, hello ma’am," he said, taking his hat off and bowing slightly. "My apologies. I didn't see you there."
She shyly looked away from the man, whom she didn't recognize.
"I'm Horton," he introduced himself.
The name rang a bell. She'd heard Jackson mention him a few times. Not in such kind terms, if she recalled. The two men were rivals of some sort, as far as she'd been able to gather. She often tuned out when the topic turned to politics.
But she knew a little about the struggle between them: whereas Jackson had been considered the unofficial 'leader' of the settlement, Horton had been keen to make things more official, and wished to appoint himself as Marshall of the town, establishing proper law enforcement. Jackson was of the opinion that all of that could wait until the town had established itself.
"I'm Ava," she replied quietly, not sure she should be talking to the man. According to her husband, Horton was not a man of upstanding morals, and wasn't to be fully trusted. Still, she didn't wish to be rude. She hoped he'd place his hat back on and be quickly on his way, but he lingered for a moment, asking her questions.
"You're Jackson Abrams' new wife, ain't ya?" he asked, looking her up and down.
She nodded, self-consciously moving the cane behind her back.
"What ya got there?" he asked, peering behind her. Now she really wished the conversation could come to a halt.
"A cane, to assist me," was the plain answer she gave. Please, no more questions, she silently pleaded. She was beginning to regret her trip outside. Maybe Jackson had been right; she should have kept herself safe indoors.
"Assist ya?" he asked, pursing his lips. "What do you need that for? You ain't got a lame leg, do ya?"
Ava felt her cheeks blush and she bent her head down so that her bonnet shaded her eyes. Who was this rude man who asked so many questions? No stranger on the streets of Philadelphia would ever stop her like this to ask such questions.
Not sure how to answer, she looked away and adjusted her cane so that she could keep on walking.
"Hey, where ya going?" the man asked. "Not down to the mines, are you?"
"Why, yes I am," Ava replied, with a little bit of indignation this time. She had a right to go down there, didn't she? This man was speaking as though the mines were none of her business when they very much were her business - her livelihood, and the livelihood of the only family she had left depended on the mines' success. Of course, she should go down there and see what was going on.
"I'd be careful if I were you then, miss," he said, putting his hat back on his head and shrugging.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Even down at a mine."
"Not this one. You can't." He raised an eyebrow. "And it ain't got nothing to do with your leg. That mine is about to collapse."
With that, he gave her a sly grin, then turned and scurried off, leaving Ava there in an even greater state of shock. Collapse? She spun around, her white skirt picking up dust in the rough terrain as she squinted in the direction of the mine. Now, she really had to see it for herself.
* * *
"Ava!" Jackson cried out. "What are you doing down here!"
It had taken her the better part of two hours to finally make it down to the gold mine on the creek bed, and she was exhausted from the effort. But before she finally collapsed, she had to ask,
"Is it true Jackson?"
"Is true what?" He rushed over to catch her before she fell to the ground. "Ava you shouldn't have come out here."
She tried to stand up on her own, brushing him off. "I can come out to wherever I want, can't I? Or am I a prisoner in that house?"
"Well, of course you can come and go as you please. That's not what I mean." Jackson looked around him in dismay. This was not the day he wanted Ava to see the mine. Not with all the drama, first with Joe, and then Horton sniffing around.
"So there must be another reason you don't want me down here then," Ava said, trying to keep her balance while surveying the state of the mine. She didn't see anything that looked particularly hazardous, but then again, she'd never seen a real gold mine before. It looked secure enough to her untrained eye. Perhaps Horton had just been stirring up trouble.
"What other reason?" Jackson asked, still trying to get Ava to sit down. "Please Ava, rest your leg."
"Will you please stop going on about my leg?" she asked. "And tell me the truth about this mine, Jackson."
He gulped. "What truth?"
"I know you haven't made a profit from this venture yet, Jackson," Ava stated, trying to keep her voice steady. "I saw the bank statements." If she allowed emotion to creep in, if she let herself think about her ma back at home, relying on the money being sent to her, then she might start to cry. She wasn't ready to be that vulnerable. And she wanted to have a calm, reasonable discussion with Jackson about the matter. As long as he could be honest with her, that is.
"Ava," he said, chuckling, shaking his head. "Don't worry about all that." He waved a hand as if everything was sunny and fine. "Those are old statements! There is plenty of gold in this mine and plenty of money coming in for us, for the town, and…," he said, placing a hand on her arm, "for your mama. You don't need to worry about this."
"Oh." Ava furrowed her brow and tried to remember if she'd looked for a date on the bank records. Perhaps not. "So you've found gold since then?"
"Loads of it," he said, with confidence, though she thought she caught the look of something in his eye.
"And there'll be money to send to mama at the end of the month?"
"Plenty," he said. "I promise."
Ava took a deep breath and nodded, before finally taking a seat. "I'm sorry. I might have overreacted."
He sat down next to her in the shade. "Don't concern yourself over it. I understand why you were worried. Still, I wish you didn't trouble yourself by coming all the way out here." As he sat beside her, he gave a worried glance at her leg, trying to shield his action from her.
Oh Ava, he thought, why have you pushed yourself in this way? He wished she'd just stayed in the house, though he was hesitant to say just that. He'd found himself more and more worried, during the past few weeks, that Ava was not physically fit enough for life in the rough mining town, and this seemed to confirm his suspicions. He hated to see the struggle on her face, and the strain in her body.
"Well, I wanted the fresh air as well," Ava said.
He nodded. "I'm glad you can finally see the place, then," he gazed ahead, not meeting her eye.
"Jackson...," she started, unsure of whether or not she should ask a further question. She'd already accused her husband of one untruth, could she risk another?
"Yes?" he asked.
"The mine...it isn't going to collapse, is it?" Again she tried to keep her voice strong and steady, but this time she could hear the waver enter.
He gave another soft, low chuckle. "No, of course not. What makes you think that, Ava?"
She shook her head and smiled at him softly. "Nothing. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything."
* * *
"Please God," she prayed, silently. "Send me a sign that I should remain in Gold Creek."
* * *
5
The Fight
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“ With what happened … being jilted at
the aisle. It's hardly a memory she can
ever forget, but now is the time to move on. ”
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two weeks later.
The final day of the month arrived, and Ava waited anxiously for Jackson to return from the gold mine. She knew her Ma was relying on the money, and she'd put off asking Jackson about it for long enough. All week, she'd wanted to broach the subject, but hadn't wished to appear as though she was pushing him for it. Money was still a delicate subject for her, and one she felt shy talking about, even with her husband. But the time had come. She needed to ask Jackson where the money was.
Before he arrived, Ava sat down to pray, to ask for strength to get through the difficult conversation, and for grace and mercy from God, asking him to please provide for them. Her nerves were calmed a little, but she still stood anxiously waiting for her husband to come up the long drive to their home.