by Amber Stokes
He drew her close as he waited for an answer. She placed a hand on the spot on her side where she knew the discolored bruise remained, only barely. Then she nodded against his chest.
“I told you I would come back, didn’t I? I told you I would let you know where I was.” He led her up another street perpendicular to C Street, back up toward Jacob’s house.
“I know. It’s just that I had so much to tell you, and I was worried when you didn’t come back right away. It’s been a couple of days, you know.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a long couple of days. I found work at one of the mines and a place to stay with some Cornish men.”
“Like the red-haired man at the Delta?”
“Myghal.” A smile was evident in his voice. “He’s an interesting one, but he’s a good man. Don’t judge him too harshly for having some fun at our expense.”
“You sound like you know him pretty well already.”
“Well, I suppose it’s a bit soon to know what he’s really like, but I think he’s a trustworthy fellow. I guess we’ll know for sure later on.”
Elizabeth liked how he included her, made it sound as if they were both going to stay for a long time.
“So what had you all eager to see me?”
They stopped to catch their breath, although Elizabeth supposed it was mostly for her sake, David being a mountain man and all. She looked up at him, silhouetted against the night sky, his hair and eyes looking so dark, yet so familiar. There was that light smile on his face as he stood close, head bent down a little as if the smallest threat was all that it would take for him to draw her back to his side and protect her, shield her.
In that moment, she forgot to tell him about her worries regarding Jacob, how odd she felt, certain that something was amiss even though she was thrilled to finally meet him. She forgot to tell him about her upcoming trip to Joe’s ranch, about her concern for Annabelle’s happiness, or even about her need to send word of her arrival to Sarah Anne.
As she stood there, huddled near him, she remembered instead the nights they sat by the fire, that first evening he’d rushed into the river to save her, the moment she glanced up to catch him watching her as she marveled at the field of wildflowers. So she reached up and softly kissed his cheek.
He turned toward her then, briefly meeting her gaze before touching his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and met his kiss, eager to return it. The connection was sweet, secure, and she hardly noticed when he reached down and lifted her up into his arms, deepening the kiss and holding her close. The wind continued to blow around them, embracing them, cold and wonderful as it contrasted with the gentle heat of that moment.
When David pulled back, his eyes were closed. Elizabeth let her head rest against his shoulder, a smile never fading as he carried her the remaining distance to her brother’s house. She didn’t protest being in his strong arms, and not once did he protest the effort of the remaining uphill climb. There were no words, just wind and warmth.
Chapter 11
“Ya ready?” Joe smiled wide, pleased to see Elizabeth and Annabelle standing outside the house, Elizabeth clutching a small bag tightly to her chest. They both appeared quiet but happy, and Joe thought again how nice it was that Annabelle now had someone to talk to. Elizabeth yawned slightly, trying to cover her open mouth with one gloved hand.
“Tired already? We haven’t even started down the mountain.” Joe relished the smile and blush that appeared on Elizabeth’s face.
“I’m sorry. There’s just been so much to adjust to lately.”
Joe paused, pulling back his hand from where he had reached out to help Elizabeth with her things. “Would ya prefer we wait till another time?” He genuinely cared, but he still held his breath, afraid his hopes for this visit back to the ranch would all be dashed.
A little laugh from Elizabeth brought his breath back in a rush.
“No, of course not. I’ve been looking forward to seeing your home. It won’t take too terribly long to get down into the canyon, right?”
“Well, not too terribly long, no.” He winked at her, and she laughed again as she handed her bag to him. While he secured the bag to the back of one of the horse’s saddles, he saw Elizabeth hug Annabelle out of the corner of his eye. Annabelle’s expression of surprise softened to one of pleasure.
“Ya sure you and Jacob don’t mind me being gone for a couple of days?” Elizabeth sounded concerned.
“Don’t worry. You just have a good, safe trip.”
“And you’re sure you don’t mind…?”
“I will send your telegram to your mother this very morning.” Annabelle smiled and shooed Elizabeth off the porch. “You make me feel like I’m a mother. You don’t need my permission to go anywhere, you know.” But Annabelle didn’t seem frustrated one bit. Joe grinned.
“I’ll see you soon!” Elizabeth called back, and then she turned to Joe, squinting in the bright morning light. “Which horse am I riding?”
“You can ride the paint.”
Elizabeth gasped as she took in the horse’s appearance. Was it just the light, or were her eyes watering? She walked over to the black and white horse, reaching out to pat its neck. “What’s its name?” Her question wobbled, and he felt his mouth tighten in concern.
“Her name’s Mary.”
She glanced up at him, head cocked, the sheen evaporating from her eyes when the warm hint of a smile appeared.
Joe gave her a tilted smile in return. “She was my brother’s first love, before he married Naomi. Now Mary’s mine, along with this here bay, Copper.”
“Men pick such interesting names for their horses.” Elizabeth shook her head, pulling herself up onto Mary’s saddle before Joe could help her.
“Oh?” Joe mounted Copper and led them down the street.
Elizabeth didn’t elaborate, but she gave him a secretive smile when he looked back.
“Guess that’s all the information I’ll be gettin’ then.” Joe didn’t mind. It was enough that Elizabeth was teasing him, and he was taking her back home with him for this visit. The sun coaxed an even bigger smile from him as they left Virginia City behind.
***
The sunshine flowing down the hills and pooling in the canyon below made Elizabeth giddy. There was just something about sunlight that made an ordinary visit seem like an adventure. Although this wasn’t really an ordinary visit. She hardly knew Joe, and she hardly knew what to expect in this canyon of his, but she couldn’t deny a little tremor of excitement that was causing her hands to tremble.
“It’s all downhill from here.”
Joe’s voice flew on the wings of a slight breeze, back to where she sat on Mary. She glimpsed the downward path Joe was headed toward, her eyes widening.
“That looks rather steep. Are ya sure it’s safe?” Elizabeth wasn’t sure if the shaking in her hands came from excitement or fear.
“I’ve traveled down this path hundreds of times. You’ll be fine. Jest follow me.”
The trail dropped sharply down the canyon wall, eventually turning right once the path met with the canyon floor. “Oh, dear.”
Thankful that Joe was ahead of her and couldn’t hear her or see the trepidation on her face, she allowed Mary to follow Copper down. At least the trail was familiar to the two horses.
She debated within herself as to whether she dare look into the canyon. Yes, it might make her even more frightened, but she reasoned that she’d rather face a little fear now than be completely in the dark as to what she could expect once she got down there.
So she glanced to her right. And another gasp escaped her lips.
The scattered tents, animals, and people were not what she had expected at all. She spied a ranch house set back a piece from the hubbub, but who on earth were those other people? Joe had failed to mention anything about them to her.
Anger and confusion replaced the fear she had felt moments before. The only boy she had ever
really spent much time with before leaving Golden was Amos. She had imagined her own brother would be just like him, and her brother’s friends would be good, trustworthy men. But as she stared at the foreign scene below, she realized anew that Virginia City was far removed from her farmhouse, and this man she was following might not be safe, no matter how Jacob and Annabelle felt about him. She had been foolish to blindly follow this man who hadn’t prepared her for the truth of the canyon—whatever that truth was.
“Joe?”
“Yes?” She saw him turn his head to the side, waiting to hear what she had to say. Well, she wouldn’t disappoint him.
“Who are they?”
“What?” Genuine uncertainty filled his voice.
“You know who I’m talking about. You failed to mention how crowded the canyon is.”
“Oh. Well…I didn’t tell ya?”
“No.”
She waited for his answer. As seconds turned into minutes, she wondered what she was doing with a relative stranger, headed toward some place far different than what she had pictured. How did she know she could trust him?
“I want to go back, Joe.” Even as she said the words, she knew it was much too late. They were already near the canyon floor, and there was nowhere to hide among the bush-like piñon pines and sagebrush.
Joe reined in Copper and turned to face her.
***
Joe realized that his lack of complete honesty had been the wrong move. He regretted the man he had become in Elizabeth’s eyes.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell ya. I didn’t know how to really explain this, and I was afraid you might not want to come if I told ya.”
She tilted her head, watching him with what appeared to be a combination of curiosity and wariness as she leaned farther back in the saddle. He better proceed cautiously.
“Ya see, me and my family are obviously not the only ones livin’ in the canyon. It’s sort of, well, a place where the unwanted people of Virginia City are forced to come.”
Elizabeth’s eyebrows scrunched tight over her bright green eyes. “I don’t understand what you’re sayin’.”
“I’m sayin’ that Virginia City may be filled with some unsavory sorts, but a lot of folks there see themselves as better than others. They go to St. Mary’s, or the Presbyterian church, and they think that they have a right to look down on people who are different.” Joe realized that his voice was getting heated, so he took a deep breath and added, more calmly, “There’s a Jewish community that’s been forced to come down here. And some outlaws have settled here, as well, but we don’t generally tolerate them as much. It’s just a mixed group of people unwelcome in town, so we let them stay here. We don’t own all of the canyon, so it’s not like we could force them completely out anyway.”
Elizabeth turned to take in the canyon’s inhabitants. “So they live like nomads down here?”
He could see the compassion in her eyes, and he blew out a breath. Her rigid posture still spoke to him of the likelihood of her fleeing, but there was hope.
“Purty much. We all get along all right, as long as they leave our horses alone.”
Her eyes scanned the groups of people and finally settled on the ranch house, back toward the other side of the canyon.
“As ya can see, it’s a different sort of situation. I didn’t know how to tell ya about it. I’m sorry, Elizabeth. Please give me another chance? My family would love to meet you.”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ll watch out for you. You’ll be safe. I promise.”
She bit her lower lip and gripped Mary’s reins tighter. “I suppose, since I came this far…”
Joe smiled wide and reached for her horse’s reins. “I’ll lead ya to the ranch.”
His smile faded when Elizabeth didn’t return the gesture. He had a long way to go to make up the ground he lost. He never backed away from a challenge, though.
Chapter 12
The beauty of the night could really have been enhanced by some peace and quiet. As it was, Elizabeth felt a headache coming on, and she had a difficult time thinking over the events of the day. Didn’t all these people living on the canyon floor realize that the day was over?
“Can’t think with all the noise?”
The deep voice startled her, causing her to jump up from her seat on the porch steps. Joe’s older brother, Seth, stepped out from the shadows by the door, his face lit slightly by the glow of his pipe. He studied the sky. “You get used to it after a while. It all sort of fades into the background.” He glanced at her. “You might even find you like it.”
“Do you?” Elizabeth asked, curious.
“Yeah.” He drew long on his pipe and blew the smoke up to the stars. “You know what I like most?”
She shook her head and waited, arms crossed over her chest to ward off the chill.
“The fiddle. Some of those folks play the fiddle like they have no cares. No ranch to run. No herds of horses to protect from the mountain lions. No worries.”
“Maybe not the same worries.”
Seth regarded her silently, the smoke continuing to rise above him and flow through the canyon with the wind.
She cleared her throat. “The music might be more of an escape than an expression of joy. I’m sure that if they’re really outcasts, some might feel unwanted. And some have probably come out west only to have their dreams of fortune crushed.”
He stared straight ahead, and she wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps this man didn’t want to hear what she thought.
“How did Joe find you?” His distant gaze never wavered, but she was surprised at the abrupt change in topics.
“Well, I came to Virginia City looking for my brother. Joe found me at the train station and told me where I could find him.”
“Who’s your brother?”
“Jacob Lawson. He runs the—”
“Yeah, I know him.” His dark eyebrows lowered, and she sensed disgust in his tone.
“What is it? What do you know?” Eagerness and dread mingled in her voice.
He glanced at her again. He took the pipe out of his mouth and seemed about to reply when the front door opened.
“Elizabeth?” It was Joe.
Seth tipped his head and walked back into the house.
“Is everything all right?”
Elizabeth would have found Joe’s concern sweet if not for the frustration flooding through her, as deep as this strange canyon. “I’m fine.”
“Couldn’t sleep?” He edged closer to where she remained rooted on the stairs.
She nodded and sat back down with a huff.
He sat beside her on the steps. “I guess I’ve become used ta the noise. And you have to admit, all those fires in the camps do look sort of purty.”
She snorted. “Do you know somethin’ about my brother that I should know?”
A prickly pause. Then, “No.”
She glanced over at him, skeptical. His blond hair glowed in the light of the fires, the moon, and the stars.
He smiled gently. “Everything’s fine. Yer brother just works harder than many people in Virginia City. There’s no shame in that.” He looked away at that last line, grinding out the words as if he didn’t believe them.
She stood and hugged herself against the cold. The wind and the stars were beautiful, but their loveliness combined with the echoing sounds of the camps was more haunting than enchanting.
Joe rose to his feet beside her, and she turned to him. “It was great to meet your brother and his wife. I guess I’m a bit worn out after all. Good night.”
“Good night.” His whisper followed after her as she walked across the porch to the house.
Before she closed the door, she glanced back one last time. He stood with shoulders hunched and a hand covering his eyes.
***
“How’re the mines treatin’ ya, me friend?” Myghal smiled knowingly as he leaned on the outer wall of the boardinghouse, showered in afternoon light. David coul
dn’t hide a grimace. A man wasn’t made to work in those conditions. David had never thought that beneath the cold earth he had slept on many a night, there was a heat that would make him feel like he was being melted from the inside out. And the explosions he set off with a stick of dynamite and a cry of “Fire in the hole!” seemed to shake the foundation of the world.
“Probably no better than they’re treating you,” he finally replied, smirking as Myghal laughed loudly over that. He had to admit, Myghal’s exuberance put him at ease. There was a sense of welcome among the Cornish that agreed with him.
Myghal leaned in conspiratorially. “And how be your girl treatin’ ya?”
David had no ready answer. A few nights ago, their kiss had sent his spirits rising higher than they’d ever been. Yet, when he’d tried to see her two days later, Annabelle informed him that Elizabeth had gone to the canyon with that Joe fellow to visit his home.
“Ah, I see. Which is it? Ye’ve found another girl, or she’s found another man?” Myghal’s eyes were more sympathetic and somber than David had ever seen them.
“There is this other fellow who keeps following her around. He took her to visit his home for the past few days.”
Myghal shook his head and pushed off from the wall. “Ye were askin’ for this, ya know. Listen here, David. Ye’ve been leavin’ her alone too long. I know ye’ve got yer work in the mine, but ya need to go see her at least once every day, even if yer tired. Ya gotta stake yer claim, me friend.”
They started walking down the dirt street, and David pushed his hands into his pockets. He wasn’t sure if it was the hot sun or nervousness that caused sweat to gather on his forehead. “It’s not like I haven’t wanted to see her. Just the other day I went to the home where she’s staying with her brother and his wife, only to find she was gone on that little trip. What was I supposed to do? Track her down and bring her back?”
“Is she back now?” Myghal bumped David’s shoulder with his own.