Jake

by Cynthia Woolf

  When they finally reached the main street they immediately went to the mercantile. Liam said the owner of the claim he’d bought ran the store. Jake went in with Liam and Zach stayed with the kids and the wagon.

  The store was owned and run by Lily Sutter. Her brother, Horace, had died on the claim and she didn’t want anything to do with it, so she placed an ad in the newspapers and sold the mine to the first person who responded with the money. That was Liam.

  Miss Sutter was a pretty little blond woman, who seemed quite capable of running the business without any help from a husband or a brother. Definitely not the simpering miss type to be treated with kid gloves. She was all business and didn’t take shit off anyone. Yet, there wasn’t a miner or merchant or mother that walked out of her store without a smile on their face. Jake was impressed.

  Liam approached the counter with Jake in his wake. “Miss Sutter? I’m Liam Anderson,” he said using their real name, “and this is my brother, Jake.”

  “Misters Anderson, I’m glad you finally made it.” She wiped her hands on the front of her white apron and then held her hand out to Liam.

  He took the dainty appendage and said, “So am I. Can you give me directions to the claim? I’d like to get set up before nightfall.”

  “Certainly. The claim is still being worked for me but now that you’re here, you’ll be able to do the work yourself. I’ve got a map all done for you. I didn’t know when you’d be here, so I’ve kept the paperwork ready. Here it is.”

  She reached under the counter and got two pieces of paper which she handed to Liam. A map was drawn on one and the transfer of the claim to Liam was on the other.

  “Thank you, Miss Sutter. I appreciate your keeping the claim open for me by having someone work it.”

  “Not at all, sir. It was in both our best interests that I do so. The person that is mining the claim for you needs the money I pay. Plus I let her keep fifty percent of the gold she finds in addition to the nominal daily rate I pay, so the situation is a winning one all around.”

  “Her? Your miner is a woman?” asked Liam.

  “Yes. She and her father have the claim next to mine…er…yours.” A pretty little blush crept up her neck at her error. “The situation was ideal to ask her to work the property to keep the find active so I could sell. If it’s not active, anyone can take the mine over. A lot of the Chinese take over the inactive ones. I didn’t want that to happen so I asked Becky to work the mine for me.”

  A customer came in and Miss Sutter held up one finger. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back,” she said before leaving to help the man.

  In a few minutes she was back. “I’m sorry for that, but my regular business must come first. I thought our discussion would be lasting a bit longer than I wanted the man to wait. Anyway, yes, Becky Finnegan pans the gold for me. Her father is supposed to work with her, but well, he’s pretty useless if you ask me. Will you need supplies?”

  Jake was trying hard to keep up with the conversation. Miss Sutter was a ball of fire. Jumping from one thing to the other.

  “Yes,” said Liam. “We’ll need basic supplies for about a month. Sugar, flour, coffee, salt, cornmeal and beans. We also need some bacon rind. Do you have eggs? We haven’t had eggs in more than two months and I know it would be a treat to have them for dinner tonight.”

  She nodded. “I do carry eggs. How many would you like? They are one dollar and fifty cents a dozen. I know that’s expensive compared to what you are used to, but you’ll find that all the prices are higher in a gold town.”

  “I understand. I’ll take two dozen. As I said it’s a treat.”

  “There’s a woman on the street behind my store who bakes bread for a living. You might want to go see her.”

  “Thank you. I’ve gotten pretty good with cornbread, but baking bread still eludes me.”

  Miss Sutter laughed. Jake expected a soft girlish titter but she had a glorious full laugh that came from deep in her belly. He thought she was charming, for an older woman. After all she was probably close to thirty.

  Liam and Jake loaded the wagon with the food. Zach was busy keeping five year-old Hannah occupied and out of the traffic on the street. Men, animals, and wagons, all jockeyed for right of way. He couldn’t let her down for a minute, she’d be trampled. The journey had been long and Hannah and David had both done very well but after five months they needed some stability.

  “Let’s go. I want camp set up and supper on before dark,” said Liam, as he put the last bag of flour in the Conestoga. He climbed up and slapped the reins down on the butts of the four horses that pulled the large wagon.

  Jake had to admit he was ready for the travel to be done, too. He would be glad to wake up and not have to face another day in the saddle.

  ~*~

  The new owners of the Discovery #9 claim had pitched their tents. Becky watched from behind one of the trees on the bluff that rose high above both of their properties. Each of them owned half of the land the cliff overlooked.

  There were three men and two children, the youngest looked like a girl. The poor thing. Growing up on a mining claim was hard. Hopefully, her da wasn’t like Billy. Maybe, with there being three men, they would keep each other sober. Billy didn’t pay her any mind except when he’d try to butter her up so he could get money and go to The Gem. The rest of the time Billy ignored her. Considered her a kid and not worth listening to. Kid!! She’d been doing adult chores most of her life, having to take care of Billy since she was seven.

  The thought of her seventh year brought deep down sadness, and she wondered if the pain would ever go away. That was the year her Grandma Bess died. Grandma raised her after she was born, when Billy didn’t want her. Her Ma died giving birth to her and Billy blamed Becky for her death. Still, when Grandma Bess died, Billy had done right and took her in…for labor. She’d taken care of him ever since.

  Now at twenty-three, she felt old. Certainly older than other women her age, except maybe the whores at The Gem. She imagined they felt pretty old sometimes, letting all those nasty men do whatever they wanted to them. She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about those poor girls.

  She went back to looking at the new arrivals and supposed she ought to make their acquaintance. Meeting them was the right and proper thing to do and her Grandma Bess would want her to do it. Besides, they’d see her nearly every day riding by on her way to and from Deadwood to fetch Billy.

  Pushing away from the tree she was hiding behind, Becky worked her way down the path to her and Billy’s claim. Then she saddled Buster, her mule, and started toward Deadwood. She needed to go to Sutter’s and pick up supplies anyway.

  Becky admired Lily Sutter. She hadn’t closed down for mourning when her brother died. Said he was never home anyway, since he’d gotten gold fever, and she had a daughter to provide for.

  That was the other thing about Lily. She had a daughter out of wedlock and wasn’t ashamed of it. She and her brother could have lied about it but she’d said Gemma was the best thing that ever happened to her and she’d never let her think that Lily was ashamed of her.

  They held the funeral after regular closing time and there was absolutely no disruption of the normal course of things. She treated her brother’s death like it was just another day and Becky supposed it was.

  She rode into the newcomer’s camp and was immediately greeted by the boy. He had dark brown hair that was a little overly long under his black Stetson. His clothes, a little baggy, were just like hers.

  “Hello. Who are you?” he asked eagerly

  “Hi there. I’m Becky Finnegan. My da and I have the claim next to yours,” she pointed back the way she’d come.

  As Becky slid from Buster, the men came over to greet her, followed by the little black haired girl.

  “I’m David Anderson and that’s my pa there with my sister.”

  Becky looked over at the tall man striding quickly toward her, the little girl running in his wake. The other two men fol
lowed at an easier pace.

  “Hello, I’m Liam Anderson,” he said, extending his hand toward her. He was a looker. They all were. And they were all tall. She was tall, for a girl, but Liam was easily six foot four, a good eight inches taller than her, with brown hair and gray eyes that were old, older than the rest of him. They told her he’d been through a lot. But his sharp features stretched into a friendly smile.

  “Becky Finnegan,” she gave him a firm handshake.

  “Miss Finnegan, let me introduce my family. You’ve already met my son, David. This is my daughter, Hannah and my brothers, Zachariah and Jacob.”

  The black haired one stepped forward. “Zach. No one except Liam uses Zachariah.”

  She nodded and accepted his outstretched hand. “Pleased to meet you, Zach.” This one would have all the women in camp swooning with his coal black hair and piercing blue eyes. The little girl looked just like him. If she hadn’t been told otherwise she would have though him the girls father.

  “And this is Jacob,” said Liam, introducing the last brother. He was also tall, about six feet she guessed, with dark blond hair and brown eyes that twinkled with laughter. He had a strong, square jaw and friendly smile.

  “Jake,” he said, eyeing his brother as he shook her hand, “not Jacob.”

  His voice, deep as Grandma Bess’s well, washed over her. This man was dangerous to her peace of mind.

  “Becky,” she said, shaking his hand. She went still. When they touched, she filled with heat. Not just the warmth from his hand, but one that went much deeper. Warmth that seemed to touch her soul.

  Her green eyed gaze flew to his and saw that he was as affected as she was. She snatched her hand from his grasp, looked down and rubbed it. She didn’t know what she expected to see. Maybe that her fingers and palm were on fire because they sure burned.

  “Becky,” he repeated, his voice like satin on her jangled nerves.

  “I…I…ah, came to welcome you to Deadwood. You have the Discovery #9 claim. Mine is Discovery #3. We share a border along there,” she pointed and moved her hand showing the boundary from the bluff down through the creek and over to the middle of the trees. “I’ve been working your claim for Lily Sutter until you could get here. Keeping her rights to the parcel active so she could sell it to you.”

  “I’m much obliged. Do you work your claim by yourself?” asked Liam.

  “My da and I are both owners on the paperwork, but I’m the one who works it. You might meet Da tomorrow. I’m heading to Deadwood now to fetch him from The Gem.”

  “The Gem?”

  “It’s a saloon and whor—,” she stopped mid word and looked at the two children, “house of ill repute.”

  Liam smiled. “Thank you.” He ruffled the hair of his children. “Why don’t you two go play over by the tents.”

  Becky watched them go. She turned to the three men before her, “I should warn you this ain’t a good place to raise kids. I’m not tryin’ to tell you your business, just that my da is a no good drunkard and I can’t guarantee his behavior.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” said Liam.

  “I’m on my way to fetch him now. He’s more than likely passed out and I’ll have to bring him back tied over the saddle of my mule, Buster. It could be upsetting to your children, but they’ll have to get used to it.”

  “We understand,” said Jake. “Do you need some help with your father?”

  It happened again. Every time he talked to her. His voice was smooth, warm like her favorite treat…hot chocolate. Something she could definitely get used to if she let herself. “No, but thanks. After all these years I know how to handle him and,” she smiled, “I don’t much care anymore, if he hurts himself when he falls off the mule. He don’t remember it anyway.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Jake. “It must be hard for you.”

  Becky backed away from the handsome man that gave her shivers just by looking at her. “Don’t feel sorry for me. I get on just fine. I been takin’ care of Billy since I was seven years old. I’m used to it now.”

  Jake put his hands up in front of him, palms out. “I meant no disrespect.”

  Becky nodded, went over to Buster and swung up on his back. “Well, I just wanted to say, ‘Hi and welcome.’”

  “Miss Finnegan,” the men said in unison and tipped their hats to her.

  She turned Buster east and started him walking down the rocky path to Deadwood.

  ~*~

  “Well, she’s a bit prickly,” said Zach.

  “Sounds like she has a right to be,” said Jake in her defense. “Can you imagine having to take on the care of your father at such a young age?”

  “No, I can’t,” said Liam. “She’s obviously had a hard life.”

  Jake watched the mule’s retreating form, the tall, slender, red-haired girl with eyes as green as a new born leaf shining in the morning sun, sat ramrod straight on the mules back. Her vibrant copper hair captured in a single plait down her spine. She wore men’s clothes, wool pants, chambray shirt, suspenders, a baggy coat and a revolver on her hip.

  He supposed she wore them because of the work she did, panning for gold wasn’t something that could be done in a dress. If it was to hide her figure, they did a poor job. He saw the flare of her hips and the outline of her ample breasts, pressing against a shirt that was a bit too small and had been washed too many times.

  About two hours later, she returned walking the mule, a man tied over the saddle. The man had red hair, the same color as Becky’s. If he hadn’t known before, that alone would have been a dead giveaway that he was her father.

  Jake ran over to her. “Hi, Becky. That your father?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, who else would it be?”

  “Uh, no one,” Jake said as he walked beside her. “Just trying to start a conversation.”

  “Not very good at it, are ya?” She continued walking up the gulch.

  Jake ignored the barb. “So, how far is your claim from ours.”

  “Not far. Just around the bend. They adjoin each other.”

  “Mind if I walk with you?”

  She shrugged. “Your choice. Makes no nevermind to me.”

  “I’m only trying to be your friend.”

  “Don’t need no friend.” She kept walking along the path that wound its way through the green valley full of tall grass and colorful flowers. Next to the swift flowing river with its small gold nuggets and large trout..

  “Everybody needs a friend now and then,” said Jake, “or family.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Why are you being so stubborn?”

  “Why are you?” She stopped, halted the mule and turned to face Jake. “I didn’t ask you to be my friend. Just ’cause I stopped and said ‘hello’ doesn’t mean nothin’. Just bein’ polite ’cause you’ll be seein’ me a lot. That’s all. Nothin’ more.”

  “Alright, then. We’ll be on friendly terms but we won’t be friends.”

  “Fine.” She started walking again and pulled the reins on the mule’s bridle to get him moving again.

  “Fine,” he said.

  They walked in silence. She may not want his help with her father but damned if he wasn’t going to try to help her get the man off the animal.

  When they reached the camp, Becky pointed at him and said, “You just stay right there. I’ve got Billy.”

  Reluctantly, he nodded his ascent. Jake saw that their camp was similar to his own. There were two tents. Mining pans lay stacked neatly on the ground in front of one of the tents. He thought that one must be Becky’s since she was the only one to work the claim.

  There was a rope strung between two trees for a clothes line. Laying across the line was a shirt, pants, chemise and drawers. Jake pretended not to notice them so as not to embarrass her.

  He needn’t have bothered. She wasn’t paying him any attention.

  Jake did as she asked and stayed put, though it nearly killed the gentleman in him to do so. Meanwhile, sh
e pulled the end of the slip knot she’d tied around Billy’s wrists and dropped the rope to the ground. Then she went around the backside of the mule and held on to the other end of the rope that was tied to his ankles. She pushed on his butt until he started slipping off the mule away from her and then she used her weight to slowly lower him to the ground. With about six inches to go, she abruptly pulled free the slip knot around his ankles and released the rest of the rope, letting him crash onto his shoulder on the ground.

  “Hey, wh…what the hell is going on?” he slurred.

  “Wake up you ol’ bastard,” said Becky. “We got company.”

  “What company?” growled Billy

  “The new owner of the Discovery #9. Come now, get up.”

  He crawled to his knees and promptly vomited.

  “You never want to be near him when he wakes up. He does that every time. I made the mistake, one time, of getting myself trapped under him while trying to help him off Buster. He woke up before I could get out. That’s when I devised this method.”

  “I noticed you let him go a little soon.”

  “Soon? For who? It wakes him up. You can shake his shoulder all day and he’ll sleep right through it. Drop him on the ground and he wakes right up. At least long enough to get up and go in the tent to sleep it off.”

  Jake took a deep breath and shook his head. “You go through this every day?”

  “Not every day,” she said defensively. “Three to four times a week, is all.”

  “That’s a lot.”

  “I warned your brother about Billy. He’s a drunkard and a bully. Don’t be surprised if he shows up at your digs and tries to get money off you. He won’t hesitate to use those kids for it either, so warn them to stay away from him.”

  “I will. Thanks.”

  She looked him up and down appraising him like he was a prime piece of horseflesh. Then she surprised him.

  “Thanks for walking with me. I didn’t need your help but the company was nice.”

  “You’re welcome. I liked it, too.” He took his hat off and held it in front of him. “Look, we’re going to be neighbors. There’s no reason we can’t help each other out. Why don’t you come to dinner and tell us a little about Deadwood. Then, we won’t seem like quite the greenhorns.”