Frank looked around, slowly. “Every now and again, I’d find bits of silver in the offering. I never knew where they came from. I figured it was a miner’s way of giving back but not wanting to call attention to himself. One day, I noticed your father slipping silver into the offering when he thought no one was looking.”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Now I ask you. Why would a man hide having so much silver?”
With what Joseph was learning about his pa, he had a pretty good idea. “So he wouldn’t have to give your share to you? Only he felt guilty about not giving something to the church, so he put in a portion?”
Frank leaned back and gave another shrug. “Or maybe he’d found the big one and was trying to go about securing it before making the big announcement. Like I said, he’d been talking about the Mary May last time I saw him.”
At least his pa had some loyalty, naming the mine after one of the daughters he’d abandoned back home. Not that it would give her any comfort at all.
Joseph riffled through the crumbled, dirty papers. Each of his sisters had a mine named after them. Maybe he’d give each of his siblings the papers to their mines. Probably worthless, but at least something to remember their pa.
“You think I should check out the Mary May?”
“Wouldn’t hurt. He had a cabin up that way. Maybe you’ll find some of his personal belongings or something that can help your quest.”
Joseph sighed. The preacher was right. It wouldn’t hurt. Maybe this cabin would be a safer place to keep Nugget. “I’ll check it out. See if the cabin is livable.”
Frank pointed at the shadows in the window. “Not tonight, you won’t. It’s going to be too dark to head up there now, and having been to the cabin once, I can tell you that Billy did a real nice job of making it hard to find.”
Somehow, his pa’s cleverness at making a hidden cabin didn’t bring the same kind of twinkle to his mind as it did to the preacher’s eyes. Maybe he’d once had that kind of fondness for his pa, but after cleaning up so much of his pa’s mess, he wasn’t so kindly inclined.
“Thank you, Preacher. Would you happen to know of a place willing to rent a room to us tonight? I’ve tried just about everywhere, but being where Nugget came from and all, no one wants us.”
Maybe the preacher could put in a good word for them. It was only one night. Then they could go to his pa’s cabin and make it a temporary home for Nugget. What his siblings would do when they found out...well, it’d be like losing their parents all over again. Especially for the girls, who’d been sheltered from such things.
“You’ll stay with us, of course. It’s a shame to have all those bedrooms sit empty when there are heads needing a place to rest. And I told you, it’s Frank.” The preacher’s smile appeared benign, but Joseph saw the underlying power behind it. There’d be no arguing with this man.
And really, it would be foolish. He was running out of money, and with an extra mouth to feed, he had to think beyond his pride. But someday...he’d keep an account of all the preacher had done for him and his family and he’d pay him back.
“Again, my thanks. Your generosity is—”
“None of that.” Frank held up his hand. “The Lord has been generous to me, so it’s only right that I am generous in return.”
Frank reached into his desk and pulled out a coin. “Take this. Go on down to the bathhouse on West Seventh. It’s run by a couple of nice widows who will take good care of you.”
Joseph didn’t need a man of the cloth to tell him he reeked. But every penny he wasted on a bath was a penny less for his family. “Thank you, but—”
“No buts. Maddie, that’s my housekeeper, is one of the most particular women you’ll ever meet. If you don’t go to the bathhouse and take care of it, she’s liable to haul you out back and scrub you down herself.”
Joseph took the coin and stared at it. Still, it seemed a shame to spend it when he’d just received a letter from Aunt Ina asking for more money.
“Thank you,” he finally managed to force himself to say. “What about Nugget?”
“Don’t worry about her. Like I told you, Annabelle loves children. Once I tell her what’s going on, she’ll have Nugget cleaned up, and if I know my daughter, she’ll probably have found her a pretty new dress and done her hair all up. You won’t find a better person to leave Nugget with than my Annabelle.”
Joseph remembered the looks of disgust the other women in town had given them as they’d walked in search of the church. Annabelle was different. She’d taken Nugget’s hand and treated his little sister with respect.
All these warm feelings did nothing to dispel his wariness. In fact, it only made them worse. Liking a golden-haired girl such as Annabelle couldn’t be on his mind. He’d come to Leadville to solve the problem of how to care for his siblings, and so far, all he’d come up with was another mouth to feed and a few probably worthless pieces of paper.
Thinking thoughts he had no business thinking about a girl was just borrowing trouble. And Joseph already had more than his share.
* * *
Annabelle reached to knock on the door to her father’s office just as the door opened, causing her to nearly run into the miner’s chest.
“Where’s Nugget?” Joseph peered around her, invading her personal space.
“She’s fine,” Annabelle said, stepping out of the man’s way. “Maddie’s got her taking a bath in the kitchen, so if you could give her a little privacy...”
She entered the office, looking around to see any sign that her father had yet again funded some foolish endeavor. “Maddie also wanted me to tell you that supper’s going to be ready at seven. We’ll be serving outside so if you could get some men to put out the tables, she sure would appreciate it.”
No sign that anything was missing, so at least this man wasn’t a thief. One time, a miner stole the gold crucifix from her great-grandfather right off the church’s wall. And her father, with his forgiving soul, had let him.
“What’d I tell you,” her father said, putting his arm around her. “You don’t have to worry a bit about Nugget. Go take your bath so you can be back in time for supper. Maybe some of the miners your father knew will be there.”
Joseph cleared his throat. “Are you expecting many?” This time, his voice sounded less raspy, more husky, and less like he’d spent too much time in the mines. She briefly wondered what he’d sound like singing in the church, but then shoved that thought out of her mind.
Her father gave her a squeeze. “Only the Lord knows. But He always provides enough. My dear, sweet Catherine, before she passed, had a heart for making sure those boys had a home-cooked meal. Every Wednesday night, and also after services on Sunday, we invite anyone who wants to eat over for supper. I don’t know what I’d do without Annabelle to carry on the tradition.”
Annabelle’s heart sank at his words. How was she supposed to leave Leadville and move on with her life when her father needed her so desperately?
“Your kindness is much appreciated,” the miner said gruffly. So unlike most of the miners who’d grown to expect the handouts. This one was different.
Not that she’d allow herself to see him as different, she told herself as sternly as she could. Seeing miners as individuals and caring for them as people was dangerous stuff. Getting attached had gotten her heart broken more times than she could count. Which was why, after all the tragedies of the winter, Annabelle absolutely was not going to find herself caring about this miner or his child.
She’d do her duty, feed them, give them what they needed, then send them on their way. Just like she did with everyone else. And when the letter from Aunt Celeste