The Halsey Brothers Series

by Paty Jager

  At the mine, she lit the lantern and walked behind Colin as he pushed an ore cart inside. The track stopped before they reached the pile of rubble they’d been accumulating.

  “We still have to pack it by buckets to the cart, but at least we don’t have to pack it all the way out to the sluice,” Colin said, handing her two buckets and picking up two for himself.

  “Aye.” She bent to the task of filling buckets while Colin carried them to the cart.

  When the cart was full, she turned a bucket over and sat down. “Tis still a job for two people.” She commented when Colin did the same with a bucket.

  He smiled at her. “I’m glad. I like working with you, Ma.”

  “Aye, laddie. Ah enjoy my time with ye as well.”

  A sound echoed through the tunnel. “Did ye hear that?” She craned her neck and listened.

  “Just a rock falling off the wall.” Colin stood. “I’ll push this out and bring in another one.”

  “Ah’ll help.” Aileen stood. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. She didn’t want to leave him alone.

  “I can do it.” He placed his hands on the end of the cart and pushed. Grunting, he gave it another hard push. The metal wheels squeaked under the weight of the load.

  She placed her hands on the cart and pushed. After a couple more shoves the cart moved at a slow rate down the tracks.

  “I-I’m-glad-the-tracks-are-down-hill-from-the-mine,” Colin said between breaths.

  “Aye.” Each push of the cart set her legs on fire. She’d have to ask Ethan about an easier way to move the carts once they were full.

  Sunlight glowed ahead at the entrance. They steadily moved toward the light. Once the cart was in the open, she stood, wiped the sweat from her brow, and found a place to sit and rest her rubbery legs.

  “There’s got to be a better way.” She shielded her eyes with her hand and peered at the office, hoping to see Ethan and wave him over. There wasn’t a body moving around the building. Gazing up at the sky, she figured it neared the noon hour.

  “Let’s go home, eat a meal, and come back to load another cart?” She suggested standing.

  “I want to push this empty cart in. Besides we left the lantern in there, and we’ll waste fuel if we leave it burning.” Colin grabbed a cart waiting on a side rail and started into the mine.

  Knowing the laddie, he’d start loading the cart and forget about the noon meal. She followed behind, holding onto his shirt as the tunnel became darker.

  The rumble of the wheels grew louder the darker the tunnel became. Following along, she stumbled.

  Colin stopped. “Ma, here, take this side.” He grasped her hand, placing it on the edge of the cart.

  The cart moved forward. The tug on her arm kept her moving through the shaft. Colin’s shirt sleeve rubbed hers. A faint light from the lantern glimmered ahead. They both moved forward faster. The light grew, and they soon came to the end of the track. The lantern sat on the rock where they’d left it.

  She picked up the lantern and turned to head back. The rumble of rolling rocks echoed in the tunnel behind her. Colin cried out. Fear coiled in her gut. She spun around and found him pinned to the ground with a large boulder on his leg.

  “Laddie, hold on, ah’ll help ye.” She set the lantern down and pushed on the rock. How had such a large boulder rolled from the side? The shaft walls had never appeared weak before.

  Her feet slid out from underneath her. Colin moaned. His head lolled to the side. “Laddie! Laddie!” She leaned down, placing her cheek in front of his mouth. His breath came in pants. Pain whitened his face and squeezed his eyes shut. She had to get help.

  She started to grab the lantern. She could move faster with the light. But what if he came to? He’d be in the dark and know she left him. She chewed on the inside of her mouth. But she had to hurry.

  She bent to snatch the lantern. Someone grabbed her about the waist.

  “No one here to stop us this time.”

  The voice sent shivers up her spine.

  Miles.

  He ripped her shirt open. Fear and anger battled within her. Her laddie needed her and this beast kept her from getting help. The man’s boney fingers dug into her flesh. He squeezed her breasts as his disgusting breath puffed against her cheek.

  Colin needed her.

  She stomped on Mile’s feet and threw her body backwards knocking him off balance. His arms flew out to stop his fall, and she surged forward. Scrambling deeper into the tunnel, she sought a dark place to hide.

  She had to get back to Colin. Would Ethan come looking for them or would history repeat itself?

  Chapter 30

  Ethan wandered through the quiet house. Where was everyone? Time spent alone with Aileen had been his goal, but she wasn’t around. Opening the office door, he stepped inside and scanned the small room for any sign of her.

  He navigated through the office and flung the outside door open. He didn’t see a sign of her around the shack or the mine. A full ore cart sat in front of the mine and one cart was missing. Surely, she wasn’t filling the carts by herself?

  He hurried across the bridge, jogging to the mine. At the entrance, he hunted for a lantern. Behind a box, he found one with dents and a tilting chimney. He shook it, a small amount of fuel sloshed inside. It had to do. Wasting time to go back to the stamp mill for another one wasn’t an option. His gut told him something was wrong.

  Pulling out his match safe, he lit the lamp and headed down the tunnel using the weak light to guide him. He kept his pace to a brisk walk to avoid stumbling even though his heart raced and he wanted to rush.

  The faint light ahead loosened the knot in his gut. His strides lengthened, carrying him toward the beacon.

  The lantern sat on the ground precariously. But a rock, half the size of the ore cart, wedged between the cart and the mine wall blocked his way. Peering over the rock his heart stopped then beat frantically. Colin lie sprawled on the ground. His face was a ghastly white and—the way his leg twisted under the rock—he looked dead.

  Ethan hurtled his body around the other side of the cart and felt the boy’s neck for a pulse. The slow throb against his fingertips slowed his own heart. He was alive. Relief reduced the pounding in his head.

  Why in blazes did he come in here by himself? Where the hell was Hank or Zeke? They were supposed to stick to him while Clay stayed with the Irishman.

  He unclenched his fists and shoved them under the rock. His muscles bulged and his head pulsed as he tried to raise the boulder off the boy’s leg. It was wedged too tight. He scanned the area. There had to be something to get the rock off the boy. He needed a lever. His hands clenched into fists, again. He wanted to break something.

  Reeling in his frustration, he focused on helping Colin. To fail would be to fail Aileen. His gaze locked on the pick leaning against the wall. He grasped the handle and swung the tool, lodging the pick under the rock. Leaning back, using his weight as well as the strength in his arms, he pried at the wedged rock. Sweat popped out on his forehead and his arms ached from using every muscle to pull on the handle. The ore cart creaked and the rock scraped the wall.

  The small movement gave him renewed encouragement. His stomach unclenched when the rock dislodged and rolled backward.

  Ethan knelt beside the boy. He refrained from pulling the child into his arms, to comfort and appease his own need to be comforted. He focused on the injured leg. The bone protruding from the boy’s trouser’s made his stomach lurch. The pool of blood steadily growing made it hard to stop the dread and urgency swimming in his head.

  Colin moaned and his eyes opened. Pain shrouded eyes stared at him.

  “Ma—”

  “I’ll take you to her as soon as I get that leg splinted.”

  The boy raised up and fell back against the dirt wall. “No. He’s after her.”

  Intense rage ripped through him. “Healy!”

  Colin fell back into unconsciousness.

  “Damn!” Et
han scanned the area. Could Healy and Aileen have exited the mine before he arrived? The ground around the boy was disturbed from dislodging the rock. He grasped the lantern and held it low to the dirt. The faint light wavered from his shaking hand. She needs you. They both need you. Containing the emotions threatening to thwart his attempt to find Aileen, he peered at the ground. The scuffed prints of someone running headed deeper into the mine. These were followed by the imprint of a boot heel. Aileen was fleeing deeper into the mine. Into the dark and away from help.

  He glanced back at Colin. The pool of blood grew around his shattered leg. The boy had to be tended.

  Aileen would fight like a she bear knowing her son was wounded. He’d get the boy’s bleeding stopped and the leg splinted. Then he’d go after the woman. Tending the boy would be a hard task. His mind cried out to race after Aileen. His heart ached with the knowledge she was no match against a man who had killed before.

  ****

  Aileen ran deeper into the darkness. Her ragged breaths echoed in her ears. She couldn’t hide from him if she kept running and gasping for air. She’d have to confront him and hope she could get around him and back to Colin. A vision of her son with his leg under that huge rock gave her a burst of resolve.

  She frantically felt along the wall for a hollow they’d dug while chasing a vein. She fell forward when her hands found the sunken area.

  She flipped, smashing her back into the cold wall and dug her fingers into the side, filling her hands with dirt. She held her breath, but her lungs ached with the need for air. Gasping, she inhaled and heard him.

  His breathing came in great gulps and puffs. His footsteps not as agile. He wasn’t used to moving about in a mine. His feet scattered rocks as he shuffled them. The breathing came closer. She held her breath and pressed tighter against the wall. Her heart beat like a racing horse and thundered in her head.

  The warmth and stench of his breath flickered across her face and was gone. She waited until his shuffling steps grew faint.

  With one hand on the wall, she stepped into the shaft and headed back the way she’d come. She hurried along, picking up her feet to avoid making noise. She had to get back to Colin, he needed her.

  ****

  Ethan pulled off his coat and shirt. As he shredded his shirt, each rip represented what he’d do to Healy when he got his hands on the man. He folded the largest piece of cloth into a neat square, wishing he could control his emotions as easily. He placed the square and other strips within arm’s reach.

  “Colin?” He gently patted the boy’s face. “Colin, I need you to wake up.” His stomach churned at the thought of what he had to do next. The bone had to be put back in place. The jagged end that protruded through a hole in his britches had ripped open his leg, causing all the blood.

  When Colin didn’t respond, Ethan carefully stretched the boy out on the ground. Gulping back the bile rising in his throat, he positioned Colin’s injured leg between his own. The bone had to be pulled and slipped into place. Cold sweat beaded his forehead. Fear and lack of confidence had never swamped him as it did now. He’d always had control of situations. Always dealt with them head on.

  He stared at the growing pool of blood. The boy would bleed to death if he didn’t get on with it. Shaking off his doubts and fears, he pressed his feet against the boy’s upper leg and then grasped the ankle and began to pull.

  Colin cried out, then went limp. He glanced at the boy’s face. He’d fainted. He’d not feel the worst of it.

  He returned his attention to the injured limb. Ethan grimaced. The sight sickened him, but to save the boy he had to do this. His hands shook as he continued the steady pull and watched the bone disappear into the flesh. He turned the foot, aligning it with the boy’s knee.

  Exhaling, and holding the foot in place with one hand, he swiped a long john-covered arm across the sweat dripping in his eyes. The hard part was over. Picking up the folded piece of flannel, he pressed it against the open wound. Careful not to bend the leg and pop the bone out of place, he wound a strip of fabric around the square, tying it tight to stop the blood loss.

  Standing, he scanned the area for something to use as a splint. The only pieces of wood other than the pick handle were the cross ties on the track. He pried the pick under the steel track and popped up the spikes in the last two cross ties. The pieces of wood were thick and long, but he had no other choice of material for a splint.

  He leaned the pick against the wall of the tunnel and knelt down to get the cross ties. A shadow loomed over him. The upper body of a person with a pick poised to strike.

  Adrenaline kicked in. He sprang from his crouched position and rolled to the side.

  Aileen—wild hair, torn shirt, and a haunted look in her eyes, swung the pick and let it fly. Relief rushed through him in a wave of warmth at the sight of her. Then he saw the rage contorting and darkening her face. The ugliness slammed into him like a loaded ore cart. The fury behind the explosion of power that sent the heavy tool flying through the air knotted his stomach. He’d never seen such violence in anyone.

  A thud and moan resounded beyond the empty ore cart.

  Disregarding her victim, Aileen fell to her knees beside Colin.

  Ethan remained on the ground watching the woman. Who had she flung the pick at with such vengeance? Could she have killed Miller? His head throbbed. There had been no one else around when Miller was killed. It had to be her. Self-defense he could stomach, but she’d just shown cold-blooded rage.

  Colin moaned.

  He couldn’t neglect the boy, no matter what the mother had done. But he’d keep his distance from Aileen until he had time to think things through. He picked up the cross ties and knelt at Colin’s foot.

  “How did this happen?” he asked when Aileen turned to him.

  Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “Thank ye,” whispered across trembling lips. His heart nearly shattered. He almost forgot she’d just hurled a pick at someone.

  “Who did this?” he asked, turning back to Colin.

  “Miles. He pushed the rock on Colin then attacked me. Ah got away, drawin’ him into the mine, then ah hid in a vein hollow. When he went by, ah hurried back here.” She held the boards as he wrapped the strips of cloth around the splints and the boy’s leg.

  Ethan worked, avoiding eye contact with the woman. Why was Miles after Aileen? And why injure the boy? To get to the woman? The boy would fight like a man to save his mother. He’d proven it time and again. But that didn’t answer who was moaning behind the ore cart.

  He tipped his head toward the ore cart. “Who’d you try to kill?” He tried to keep his voice neutral, but he noticed her flinch at the accusation in his voice.

  “The Irishman.”

  Healy? “Was he with Miles?” Now he knew why Miles was watching Aileen. Healy must have pulled him into the scheme.

  “Nae.”

  He gawked at her with disbelief “Then why did you throw the pick at him?” If the man hadn’t harmed her, how could she show such violence?

  “He had ye in a vulnerable spot, and ah dinnae like the man.”

  Ethan stared into her eyes. She talked about it as though swinging a pick at someone was an everyday occurrence. He’d been a fool. Believing an angel resided in that angel-kissed complexion. Or been played for a fool.

  He scowled. How could he have fallen in love with such a callous woman? He thought of her soft touch and the love he’d witnessed when she looked at her children—he moaned inwardly—and him. She’d shown him a side of himself he’d never believed in. Yet, he couldn’t deny the moans growing louder behind the ore cart.

  “Yer lookin’ at me funny.”

  He ducked his head and continued to wrap the boy’s leg. Confusion swirled. How could she be so loving and caring? She took in his family, made them all feel special and welcome. And then maneuvered him into paying for the track, ore carts, bathtub, and an agreement of no payments for stamp mill services. He shook his head, not wanting t
o listen to the click of doubts rattling his brain. He finished wrapping the leg.

  “I’ll check Healy.” Before he could rise to check the man someone landed on his back. Roaring to his feet, he ripped the arms from around his neck and turned.

  Miles jumped up and lunged for Aileen. He pulled her against him, one arm wrapped around her long, white neck. The other hand held the tip of a knife at her side. Her face paled, and her eyes widened in fear. All doubts dissolved.

  The woman who captured his heart was in danger.

  “Let her go, Miles.” He kept his voice even, unflustered despite the knot that twisted his gut and his heart pounding against his ribs so hard he was sure a rib would crack.

  “She’s mine. What I did for her—” The wild-eyed man rubbed his face in her hair. Aileen kicked out with her legs.

  She stopped and her eyes widened with fear. The side of her shirt sliced opened and a small bead of blood darkened the material.

  “What did you do for her?” Ethan moved to his right, forcing the man to step to his right. If he could get the man backed into the ore cart, he might be able to do something. He needed action.

  Miles laughed. “Only took care of her troubles.” He raised the knife up to her face, stroking her cheek with the shiny blade.

  Ethan started forward. The way the man caressed her face sent shivers down his spine. Jealousy ripped his gut.

  “What troubles?” he said as his jaw clenched.

  “I seen Miller drag her out of this mine by the hair that day. And that boy—” he pointed to Colin still unconscious on the floor, “whacked him a good one with a board. Miller went down, and the boy managed to get his ma out of there.” He sniffed her hair. Ethan moved to his right some more.

  “What happened after the boy and the woman got away?” Ethan watched the man, but he glanced at Aileen to see how she was doing. Miles’ story had caught her attention.

  “Why, I finished the bastard off with the same board!” Miles glared at Aileen. “Then when I come around to collect for my good deed, she laughed at me.” He slid the knife down to her throat. “You laughed at me!” His face twisted in disbelief.