Читать книгу A Fortune for the Outlaw's Daughter - Lauri Robinson - Страница 11

Chapter Four

Maddie would never, ever, let Lucky know just how badly he’d hurt her. For one, it didn’t make sense. No one, other than Smitty, had ever wanted her, and she didn’t expect people to start now. For two, if she did admit he’d hurt her, she’d open herself up to more hurting. She’d had enough of that in her life. All that really mattered was that she was here, on her way to the richest goldfields in the world. The talk in Dabbler, from miners, town folks and new arrivals, all said it was so, and she believed it.

Her wandering gaze, taking in the mountains they had to trek, the mud covering the trail, the tall pines and spruces, settled on the man in front of her. He was lucky, all right. Lucky she was with him. Especially after the things he’d said. She’d tell him that, too.

Someday.

Right now, they weren’t talking. They weren’t even looking at each other, which was fine with her. She was completely capable of trekking through the mountains without him, and took every opportunity to show him that. From the first night they’d set out, she ignored his offer to share a fire. Instead, she built her own, several yards away from his, and set up her own tent, too.

In fact, if not for the deal she made with Trig, she might have already ventured out on her own. She wouldn’t, though, not with an additional 40 percent of her gold hanging on the line. That was what it would cost her if she left Cole high and dry. Fifty percent of her findings would go to Trig if Lucky wasn’t at her side when they left the goldfields, but only 10 percent would go to Trig if they were together.

They’d be together, all right. Even if it meant she shackled him to her. Lucky, of course, didn’t know that part of the deal. Trig said it would be better that way, and she believed him.

That first night, her feet had throbbed from her new boots and her arms were rubbery after pulling on the stubborn mules all day, but she wasn’t about to let Lucky know that. She’d thought about just bedding down on the ground, but seeing him set up a tent had forced her to set up hers, too.

The days that followed were long; not just in the miles they walked but in how the sun barely left the sky before it rose again. One of the books she’d read said there’d be days when the sun never set. She hadn’t quite believed that, but did now, and found it frustrating. A person needs darkness. Not only to rejuvenate, but to think. She did her best planning, her best dreaming, while lying awake at night. But when it was light out, her eyes didn’t want to close, and that kept her mind busy.

It was midday, on their fourth day on the trail, when they had to stop to let the mules rest after a particularly steep section. She yawned while settling onto a rock to rest her own feet.

“Having a hard time sleeping at night?”

Surprised Lucky had spoken, she glanced up. They’d been civil to one another since leaving Dabbler, but since the day they’d docked they’d barely shared words, nothing like they had while on the boat. Not so sure she was ready to talk to him now, Maddie reached down and checked the laces of her boots.

“It’s easier when its dark, isn’t it?”

The urge to know if her voice still worked was too strong to ignore. “You must be used to it, considering you manned the helm at night and slept during the day.”

“That didn’t make it any easier. I can’t say I liked it, either.” He pointed toward the trail. “I’m going to scout up around the bend, see if there’s a place to set camp.”

“Why? It’s early yet.”

“I know,” he said. “But the mules are exhausted. We can’t chance losing one.”

Maddie didn’t say a word as he headed up the trail. Holding a grudge made her insides feel all dark and cloudy. Always had. She’d learned that years ago. Trouble was, when she’d let go of her grudges, mainly those against her father, he’d always reciprocated with another act that left her more vulnerable than the one before.

The deal she’d made with Trig already had her vulnerable enough. She’d attempted to bargain with the percentage, but he’d held strong. Her instincts said there was more behind Trig’s doggedness than he let on, for Lucky certainly could take care of himself, but nonetheless, she’d agreed. In part because she didn’t want to be alone. Serious gold mining took two people.

She was still in the midst of pondering things when Lucky reappeared. His solemn gaze had her rising to her feet.

“It doesn’t get any better around the bend,” he said. “But there is a small space someone else used as a camp. We’ll spend the night there, let the mules get a good rest and start off again tomorrow.”

The short reprieve had refueled her energy, but she respected his judgment, especially when it came to the animals. “Is there water?” she asked.

“Yes, and grass.”

She moved to check her packs, as Lucky did, making sure everything was still secure, and then gathered her lead mule’s rope.

“Ready?” Lucky asked.

“Yes.”

“It’s not far,” he assured her.

It wasn’t far, but the area was little more than an indention in the side of the hill with a tiny pool of water and small patch of grass. She was staking down her mules when Lucky walked over.

“There’s not enough room for two tents. We can share mine.”

“I don’t need a tent,” she said, focusing on driving the wooden stake farther into the hard ground.

Lucky took the hammer from her hand and finished the job. “It’s cold up here, Maddie. We need the shelter of a tent if we don’t want to freeze.”

“Sharing a tent wouldn’t be proper.”

“Proper? We’ve shared a cabin for months.”

She opened her mouth to tell him that wasn’t the same, but he was faster.

“Don’t you think it’s time we called a truce?” Lucky asked. “What’s done is done. There’s no sense dwelling on it.”

“I wasn’t the one dwelling on it,” she insisted.

“You weren’t?” he asked. “You’ve barely spoken since we left Dabbler.”

She took the hammer from his hand and tied it to the pack. “Because you’ve barely spoken.”

Lucky was right behind her and took her shoulders to spin her around to face him. “I know,” he said. “And I don’t like it. Can we call a truce?” A grin formed on his lips before he asked, “Please?”

Though she tried, the smile forming on her lips was too strong to hide. There was something about him that made her feel all light and airy, especially when he grinned. And no one had ever said please to her before, not like that. “All right.”

“Good.” His hands slid off her arms. “How about I get a fire going and then you can cook supper while I put up the tent?”

In an attempt to ignore all the silly things happening inside her, Maddie asked, “Is that the only reason you wanted a truce? So I’d cook for you?”

“No,” he said. “I’ll cook while you put up the tent if you want.”

The twinkle in his eyes tickled her, and that made staying mad impossible. “I smelled the beans you burned last night. I’ll cook.”

“That’s my girl,” he said while touching the tip of her nose with one finger. “I knew you were still in there.”

She frowned, wondering exactly what he meant. He certainly made her think a lot. About many things. He had her feeling things, too. Silly and odd things.

With the afternoon ahead of her, Maddie made a stew out of jerky and rice for supper, and after setting it to cook in the heavy lidded pot, she took advantage of the water trickling down the mountainside and pooling near the base before flowing out along a miniature stream. She heated several pots full and washed her clothes, as well as the spare shirt Lucky dug out of his bag when she asked. She laid everything out on the rocks to dry and couldn’t help but think of those women back on the Mary Jane.

They’d been washing clothes constantly, hanging them all over the decks, even their bloomers, for the wind to dry. Dull and plain, her dresses were nothing like theirs had been. Bright and colorful with bows and ribbons and fancy buttons, she could only dream of having such things.

She smiled then. Dream. Someday she’d have dresses as fancy and frilly as those women had. One of every color. Maybe two. Once she found her gold, all her dreams would come true.

“Sure smells good.”

The packsaddle he’d been working on now sat next to the other one. As he approached, Maddie gathered the tin pans and forks she’d unpacked earlier. “It should be done. I hope you like it,” she added. “I made enough for us to have tomorrow, too.”

“Like it or not,” he said, “I’ll eat it.”

Maddie removed the lid, but paused in dishing up the stew. “Why do you say that?”

“Because we aren’t here to worry about what we’re eating, darling. We’re here to find gold.”

She grinned then. “You’re right. We are.” As she handed him the plate, she added, “I still hope you like it.”

That night, long after everything was put away and they were both stretched out in his tent, the day was repeating itself inside Maddie’s mind. Lucky had said he liked the stew and considering he’d eaten two plates full, she figured he’d been telling the truth. He always did, though, tell the truth that was, which was what she was pondering now.

“Still having a hard time sleeping?” he asked.

“I guess so.” Shifting on the hard ground, she turned to look at him. There was barely enough room for the two of them to lie between the angled sides of the tent. “It’s different here than on the ship.”

He grinned. “Sleeping during the day is easy when you’ve been up all night.”

“Do you always work all night when sailing?”

“Usually.”

“Why?”

“It’s my duty.”

She knew all about duty, and rolled onto her back again, staring at the canvas billowing from the wind. It was chilly this high in the mountains, and tonight seemed colder than the previous ones, which left her with the desire to shake a shiver from her shoulders. “Do you always do that?” she asked. “Fulfill your duties.”

“Yes. Every man does.”

“No,” she argued, as an invisible and heavy weight filled her chest, “they don’t.”

“Why do you say that?”

Unable to hold it at bay any longer, she let the shiver go and snuggled deeper beneath her blanket before saying, “History.”

He scooted closer, pushing an arm beneath her head. Growing stiff, she turned his way, questioning such behavior.

“You’re cold,” he said. Curling his arm so her head rested on his shoulder, he pulled his blanket over so it covered both of them. “We’ll share our blankets. Maybe then we’ll both get some sleep.”

She’d shared shelters with men before, plenty of them, out of necessity, and told herself that was what this was, too. No different than sharing the cave with Smitty, or dugouts with her father and the men riding with him had been.

Inside, though, it felt different. Lucky’s chin rested on top of her head, and that, as well as his arms, was uniquely comforting. Heat was penetrating her clothing, too, from him, and she turned onto her side, snuggling her backside up against him to gather more.

Needing something to concentrate on besides his warmth and comfort, she asked, “Why do you want gold, Lucky?”

“Just ’cause I do.”

“But—”

“Go to sleep, Maddie,” he whispered. “We have a hard trail to travel tomorrow.”

“Worse than today?” she asked. Even with her head full of questions, the warmth was relaxing and her eyes wanted to close.

“Probably not,” he answered.

They both chuckled and Maddie sighed afterward, feeling herself slipping into sleep.

* * *

The trail the following day was no worse, but no better than the day before. At this height, snow covered the ground, so they made one bed that night, sharing the blankets beneath and over them, as well as their body heat. From then on, Maddie began to look forward to the nights. She was sleeping sounder than ever and waking up refreshed, ready to face whatever they encountered.

The days were more fun, too, than in the beginning. Lucky was much more jovial. They talked and laughed and planned how they’d mine gold. She told him about sluice boxes and exactly what they’d need to build one. She’d never felt more pride than when he’d said he’d build one first thing.

Going down the other side of the ridge was no easier than going up had been. The ground was rockier and the trail full of sharp pebbles and gravel rather than sand and mud. Fearful of a mule getting stone bruised, Maddie walked with caution, picking routes for the animals to step.

They’d just topped a miniature ridge when Lucky slowed his mules and waved her up beside him. She clicked her tongue, encouraging her mules to pick up their pace. Arriving at his side, she asked, “What? This doesn’t look like a good stopping place to me.” There wasn’t an iota of flat ground; besides, it wasn’t time to rest the mules, not yet.

“Look.” He pointed down the hill.

Tents and buildings along with a river appeared in the valley below as if Lucky had waved a magic wand rather than pointed.

“Home, sweet, home,” he announced.

A shiver tickled her spine. “That’s a town.”

“Yep. Bittersweet.”

“I didn’t expect a town,” she said.

Lucky started down the hill. “With any luck, darling, we’ll be sleeping in real beds tonight.”

A chill, not from the wind, seemed to start in her toes and didn’t stop tingling until it hit her head, setting a good number of thoughts into motion. The only reason Bass had taken her into towns along the trail had been to leave her there. A warning from Trig flashed through her mind, too. Don’t let him go off on his own, his uncle had said. He likes to do that.

Her gaze settled on Lucky’s back. If he thought she’d just trekked halfway across the world, tugging two stubborn mules in her wake, just to be left in town while he went out looking for gold, he had a whole other think coming. She didn’t care if she ever slept in a real bed. She would, of course, once she was rich, but until then the ground was just fine. Had been all her life and would continue to be for a while longer. She didn’t need his shoulder for a pillow, either. But she would not let him sneak away. Would not.

Hours later, for the town was much farther away than it first appeared, as it usually was when looking down upon things, Maddie had worked herself into a good, steaming fit of anger. Lucky was dang near running toward Bittersweet.

Trig had outfitted her for the excursion, including pocket money, and she was good at finding gold, but Lucky had the map. Therefore, she was trekking just as fast.

Several other sets of prospectors had left Dabbler before them. Their camps had littered the trail, but it hadn’t been until the downward trek that she’d seen how many others there were. All afternoon the trail ahead of them had been dotted with people, scurrying toward the town as quickly as she and Lucky. A glance back up the hill told her how many traveled behind them, too. All the time she’d thought it had been just the two of them in this vast wilderness, they’d just been two among many. Another thought had forced its way into her mind, too. Mad Dog. She hadn’t thought of him for weeks. That wasn’t like her. She still didn’t believe he’d follow her all this way, but others were here, and they were after the exact same thing she was. Gold. She had to get to it first.

“Let’s see if there’s a livery where we can put up the mules and then find a place for ourselves,” Lucky said. “Hopefully everything’s not full.”

“It most likely is,” she said. “With the number of folks ahead of us, I think we’d be best just to continue on.”

His grin had the effect of cactus needles on her—biting deep and leaving a sting. “Can’t hurt to check,” he said, all bright and cheerful.

Swallowing a growl, she kept her frustration out of her voice, but did tell him, “If you’re that tired we’ll just pitch our tent on the edge of town. There isn’t any reason to spend money frivolously.”

“Yes, Maddie, my girl,” Cole said, “there is.” He wanted a room—two rooms—almost more than he wanted gold. One more night of cradling Maddie in his arms might just be the death of him. He woke every morning, stiff and sore, neither from the hard ground, and desperately needed a reprieve.

If his uncle had been anywhere at hand, he’d have belly punched him. Putting a man in this type of predicament was flat-out evil.