“I wonder how long it will take?” She didn’t realize she’d spoken aloud until Nathan responded.
“How long will what take?”
“Um,” she tried to think of a reasonable answer. “The cake,” she blurted. “I was wondering how long it will take to cool. That’s all.”
“It’ll cool faster if we cut a piece out of it, won’t it?” He eyed the confection as if choosing the piece he wanted.
“Probably, but you aren’t going to find out until you’ve washed up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Rachel let out the breath she’d been holding. It was a good thing he had been more interested in the cake than her answer. She was a terrible liar. The truth was probably written all over her face. She fanned her heated cheeks with her apron. If Nathan figured out what she planned to do, she’d never convince him to stay behind while she went to mine gold. He probably wouldn’t believe any story she made up to explain being gone all day, either. That meant she’d have to go at night.
A shudder ran down her spine. She wasn’t afraid of the mine, but being out of the cabin in the dark was different. She hated being outside alone at night. But there was no alternative. She’d rest a bit this afternoon to save her strength, and head out once Nathan was asleep.
•♥•
It was later than she’d hoped when Rachel climbed out the cabin window. She’d barred the door to keep Nathan safe, leaving only this window as her way in and out. The shutters didn’t meet in the middle, so they were easier to open. She closed one shutter, then checked that the length of yarn was still attached. She draped it over the top of the shutter and eased it closed. Pulling gently, she lifted and lowered the latch into place, securing the shutters.
Pride in her small accomplishment warmed her and she smiled in satisfaction. It was a trick one of Mama’s friends had taught her. She’d practiced raising and lowering the latch for an hour after Nathan had climbed the stairs to his bed, needing to be certain she could get back inside before he woke up. It had taken all afternoon to figure out a way to keep the metal hook in a position that she could reach, but she’d done it. She could drop the latch into place as she left, and open it again when she returned.
Rachel wrapped the old coat she wore tighter. It was too big, as were the men’s trousers and shirt she wore, but she didn’t want to ruin any of her dresses. Even the old wool one wasn’t expendable. When Nathan had gone to settle the animals for the night, she’d dug through the sea chest and found the clothes Jake had worn while she’d mended his. They still carried his scent and she buried her face in the cloth, fighting back tears. Wearing them made her feel safer somehow, like Jake was with her.
“Enough stalling,” she scolded in a quiet voice. “Time to get to work.” She grabbed up the lantern and an empty sack for the gold, closed her fingers around the handle of the knife she carried for protection, and set out for the mine. She had to step carefully in her borrowed boots. The toes were stuffed with a pair of socks to keep them on her feet, but the heavy leather still threatened to slide off with every step. Giving up on stealth, she dragged and scuffed along the path. The only mining tool she owned was still in the entrance to the cave, where it’d been abandoned the night of Nathan’s accident. She only hoped she could lift the old pick. It had seemed very heavy when she’d handed it to Hank Gerard.
It took longer than she hoped to reach her destination. She’d never been here in the dark, except for the other night, and she’d been so worried about her brother, she didn’t remember getting to or from the mine at all. When the opening finally loomed in front of her, she was so tired she wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest. But there wasn’t time. The night was nearly half gone already, and she had to return to the cabin before dawn. Nathan was a heavy sleeper, but he always woke up at first light. She had to be back by then, or he’d want to know where she’d been. That was a question she didn’t want to answer.
Turning up the lantern, she examined the entrance. The deed to the mine had come to her with the house. The previous owner of both was sure there was no gold inside. Since there was no promise of easy wealth, Arnold Miller had been happy to hand over ownership to her.
Hank had done a good job of replacing rocks to hide the opening. Between the pile of stones and the scrub trees growing nearby, it was nearly invisible. If she didn’t know better, she’d think the mine hadn’t been entered in years. But how did she get inside without the whole pile crashing down on her? One rock at a time, Rachel.
Standing on her toes, she pulled out a fist-sized rock. Several more came with it and she jumped out of the way until the small slide stopped. She worked for an hour, laying rocks onto the burlap bag and dragging them out of the way before returning for another load.
“It’s taking too long,” she whispered aloud, breathing hard with exertion. “I should be inside by now.” Growing impatient, she grabbed a large stone with both hands and yanked it out. The weight of the stone knocked her backward just as a section of the wall gave way, spilling rocks in the spot where she’d been standing. One bouncing stone knocked over the lantern and plunged her into darkness.
As silence returned, Rachel rose and dusted herself off. She could feel a new hole in the knee of her trousers, but she didn’t examine it closely. If she was bleeding, she didn’t want to know. She searched through the rubble until she found the lantern. Thankfully, it wasn’t broken. The wetness on the ground around it told her a lot of the oil had spilled. She kicked dust over the spot, not wanting to risk a stray spark setting it ablaze. Then she relit the lantern from one of the two spare matches she’d brought along and set it to the side, out of harm’s way. Though the moon was nearly full, she didn’t want to walk home with only its light to see by.
When she turned back to the opening, she discovered the rockslide had opened a gap large enough for her to squeeze through. “It’s about time something went right,” she muttered. Moving the lantern to a spot on the rocks that she could reach, Rachel tucked the empty sack into the waistband of her trousers and climbed into the black hole.
The air inside was thick with dust, making her cough and choke with each breath. Tomorrow, she’d remember to bring a handkerchief to cover her nose and mouth. She tried taking shallow breaths, and that seemed to help. At least she wasn’t doubled over in a fit of coughing.
For hours she shifted stones, one at a time, trying to remember what Jake had said to Hank when they were looking for Nathan. Fifteen feet into the mine and one turn to the left. Rachel paced back to the entrance, measuring how far she’d come. Only six feet, and most of that had already been cleared. Even if the vein of gold was right where Nathan had been found, she still had nine feet of digging to do. “It will take days,” she moaned.
She returned to the opening to pace off the distance again, hoping she’d miscounted. A glow of pink in the eastern sky snagged her attention. It was nearly dawn. She had to go, now. She scrambled out of the opening, taking the lantern with her. She left everything else behind. Working quickly, she piled rocks in place to disguise the entrance. It wasn’t nearly as effective as what Hank had done, but it would have to suffice. Grabbing up the lantern, she hurried along the path home. By the time she stepped onto the porch, it was light enough that she didn’t need the lantern to see the yarn hanging from the shutter.
Her hands were shaking so much from worry and exhaustion it took three tries to open the latch. She shoved the shutters open and tumbled into the room. Leaving the window sash up, she hurried to her room to change clothes and stash the filthy trousers and shirt. It took another precious few minutes to tend her cut knee, but she was so worried about being discovered there wasn’t even a twinge of nausea at the sight of dried blood.
She was much calmer ten minutes later, when she was dressed in an old gown with her hair piled on her head. She splashed water on her hands and face, smoothing a few loose tendrils into place. Satisfied nothing would look out of the ordinary, she headed to the hearth to
start coffee.
The sun peeked over the horizon, lighting the room through the open window with the colors of dawn. Rachel leaned against the doorjamb and enjoyed the sight, glad to see it, but wishing it would go away for a few more hours. Now that she was home, exhaustion threatened to claim her. It took all her effort to stay on her feet. If she was this tired now, how on earth would she get through the day?
As she pushed away from the door, something on the floor drew her attention. There, from the window to her doorway, was a line of dusty boot prints. For a moment, all she could do was stare. Then, with a soft cry of dismay, she fell to her knees. Landing on the spot she’d abraded in the rockslide nearly made her cry out, but she bit her lip to hold it back and started scrubbing at the prints with her skirt.
When she realized dirtying the hem of her dress was sure to bring questions from Nathan, she bolted to her feet and ran to get a rag and some water. She plunged the cloth into the icy water and went to work, washing up the evidence that she’d been out of the cabin, doing something very dirty. She was almost finished when Nathan came thumping down the stairs.
She heard him stop on the bottom step and felt him staring at her.
“Why the heck are you doing that now?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I just wanted to get some work done. I haven’t washed the floor in over a week. It needed it.” She scrubbed away the last footprint, then pushed herself up and carried the bucket to the porch to empty the filthy water.
“You must have been at it awhile. Your neck is all dirty.”
She barely kept herself from running to her room to look in her tiny, cracked mirror. “Really? My goodness, I didn’t think I was working that hard.” She tried to laugh, but it didn’t sound very convincing, even to her ears. “Do you feel up to doing some of your chores this morning?”
“Of course. I did them all last night, remember? I’m not a baby, Sis.” He limped across the room to close the window left open when she came home. “A man has responsibilities, and no bump on the head is going to keep me from doing what I have to.” He chafed his hands to warm them and went to stir up the fire.
She looked him up and down, and realized for the first time that he looked more like a young man than a boy. Sadness pricked her heart. Her little boy was almost gone. “I worry too much, as you’ve reminded me often. I’ll try to do better. You go see to your chores. Just promise to call me if you need help.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He snagged his coat from the peg by the door and headed outside, trying very hard not to limp. The moment he disappeared from sight, she ran for her washbasin.
The day dragged by for Rachel. She was so tired, she could barely stand, but she did her best to hide it from Nathan. She managed to get a short nap in the afternoon by telling him she had a bit of a headache and needed to rest. But it wasn’t nearly enough sleep for her worn-out body. She got up in time to fix some supper for them both, but she didn’t do much more than push the food around on her plate. Fortunately, Nathan tucked into his meal with gusto, eating every bite without pausing.
“That was real good, Sis.”
“I thought you liked it, seeing as you’ve eaten nearly everything in sight. I suppose this means you’re going to get taller again this spring. I’ll have to see about letting down your trousers some more.”
“If you can’t, there are some in the chest that might fit.” He pushed back his chair, intent on finding the pants.
“No! Not tonight, Nathan, please. The ones you have will do for a while longer.”
His shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Fine. But can we look tomorrow?”
“We’ll see. Why don’t you read to me while I do the dishes?” She carried their plates to the sink and dipped water from the bucket near the hearth. She spilled nearly half of it when she stumbled. She was too tired to even walk straight. How would she get through tonight in the mine?
“Here. Let me do that. That headache must be a pretty bad one.” He carried the bucket of hot water to the sink and filled the dishpan half full, then added cold water until it was cool enough to put his hands in. “Go sit down. I’ll do the dishes tonight. If Jake can wash plates, I can, too.”
She stared at his back as he plunged his hands into the water, wetting his shirtsleeves. Jake. Why did everything come back to him? She swallowed the tears that rose and eased into the rocking chair.
When he finished the dishes, Nathan fetched the book they’d been reading together from the mantel and lit a candle. He read carefully, working his way through any unfamiliar words. He finished the chapter they’d started on the night before, then looked up at her.
“That’s enough for tonight. You look like you need to get some sleep.”
Rachel smiled at his concern. “I’m fine. I can begin the next chapter if you’d like.”
“No, I think I’ll just go on to bed.” He returned the book to the mantel and carried the candle with him to the stairs. “Good night, Sis.” He climbed slowly, stepping up on his good leg, then bringing his injured one up to join it.
She knew he must be hurting if he went to bed without being asked at least three times. “Do you need something for the pain, Nathan?”
“No. It’s not too bad. I’ll be fine once I lie down.”
She heard him overhead, moving around as he changed clothes and prepared for bed. She nodded off once, coming awake with a start when Nathan called out from his room.
“Go on to bed yourself. You don’t need to stay up on account of me.”
Rachel pushed to her feet and paced the room, trying to stay awake. A half-hour after Nathan blew out the candle, she changed clothes and climbed out the window. The moon was full and the wind was light as she made her way back to the mine.
The work seemed even harder tonight, the rocks heavier, the dust thicker in the air. But she pushed on, making her way deeper into the shaft, moving one stone at a time while keeping a wary eye on the ceiling. She knew the dust that sifted down on her from between the timbers wasn’t a good sign. It meant the mine was getting more dangerous with each passing hour. Rachel sneezed, wincing at how loud it sounded in the tiny cave. The dust was getting worse, making it hard to breathe and hard to see. But she couldn’t quit. They needed the gold if they were going to escape from this horrible town.
She dropped to her knees to shove a large rock to one side, but it refused to budge. Groaning, she leaned her weight into the stone. “Come on,” she gritted through her teeth. “You’re in the way.” She took a gulp of air, preparing to shove again. Instead she choked on the dust and collapsed across the rock in a fit of coughing.
“Enough,” she panted, crawling toward the opening. She had to stop. She couldn’t breathe. She laid her head against the pile of stones still partially blocking the entrance and gulped in the cold night air. When the coughing subsided, she stood to pace off her progress. The sky showed no sign of morning, but she wanted to get home earlier tonight, so she had time to wash up properly. Nathan would never believe she’d been up cleaning twice in two days because she couldn’t sleep.
She shook her head to clear the cobwebs. She was so tired. If she didn’t get moving, she’d go to sleep standing up. Turning to face the bowels of the mine, Rachel started walking, counting the steps aloud. One, two, three long strides. Nine feet. She’d cleared three more feet in one night. She smiled behind the filthy cloth covering her nose and mouth. Progress. If she could make it three feet farther into the shaft every night, she’d have the gold in hand by week’s end.
Rachel crawled out of the mine and stood, shaking some of the dust from her clothes. She untied the cloth from her around her face before tugging on the oversized coat. Bending to retrieve her lamp, she straightened, turned for home, and slammed headlong into the hard body of a man. The scream tore from her throat before she could think. Struggling with her captor, she drew her arm back, intending to use the lantern as a weapon.
“Don’t even think of doing that,” a familiar voice growled.
Rachel stilled. “Jake? What are you doing here?”
“What the hell are you doing in that mine, woman, trying to get yourself killed?”
She’d never seen him so angry. His eyes looked as hard as flint, fury blazing in their depths. She stepped back, trying to put some space between them, but he followed her, matching every step she took, backing her against the rocky hillside.
“I don’t owe you any explanation, Ranger McCain.”
His eyes flashed, and he leaned one hand on the rock close to her head, trapping her. She took a deep breath and willed herself to stop shaking.
“I think you do. I thought, after Nathan nearly died in there, you’d have enough sense not to go back inside that godforsaken hole in the ground. But instead, I come back in the middle of the night to find you missing.”
“Let me pass. I need to get back before Nathan wakes.” She shoved him back a step and slipped past, heading for home. Jake caught her before she’d gone two steps, shortening his steps to keep pace.
“He’s already awake. That’s how I knew where to find you.”
She didn’t slow down. “No. I left him sleeping. As long as I get back before dawn, he won’t know I’ve been gone.”
“He just met me at the cabin door with that rusty old rifle pointed at my belt buckle.”
Rachel stopped so fast Jake nearly ran her over. “But it doesn’t work.”
“Hell, I know that. And it wouldn’t take anyone else with a lick of sense long to figure it out, either.”
She stumbled backward a few steps before Jake caught her arm and steadied her. “Let go of me.” She put up a struggle, but her heart wasn’t in it. She was grateful he’d kept her from falling, and she was just too tired to care that he stood close enough to touch.
“Give me that before you drop it.” He took the lantern from her hand and lifted it until the light shone on her face, blinding her. He let out a string of curses that would make a miner blush. “What the hell have you done to yourself?”
Texas Gold Page 17
