Wild Honey

CIWHEOUSES Wild Honey Janet M. Quinn 5/30/2004

Wild Honey Historical Romance By Janet M. Quinn Published by Awe-Struck E-Books Copyright ©2004 ISBN: 1-58749-443-4 Electronic rights reserved by Awe-Struck E-Books, all other rights reserved by author. The reproduction or other use of any part of this publication without the prior written consent of the rights holder is an infringement of the copyright law.

Table of Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter One Gold Strike, Colorado, 1859 Callum Reynolds watched Wittaker's wife as she struggled to stay astride her horse. By her seat, he could tell she didn't often ride. She bounced in the saddle and tonight she'd have trouble sitting on anything, but she didn't uttered a single complaint. A small smile twitched at the side of his mouth. Grit. She sure had it. To survive her present living conditions, she would have to have grit. He slowed up his horse. "Where'd you come from, ma'am?" "Ohio." Her body seemed to relax slightly as her horse matched the slower speed of his. She brushed back several tendrils of honey-colored hair escaped from beneath her calico bonnet. The determined set of her jaw told him she would do whatever needed doing to take care of those two children she'd left back at the gold camp with her drunken husband. Her threadbare but clean skirt draped across her legs and exposed walking shoes with holes in the soles. The pink flowers dotting the green skirt had nearly disappeared from scrubbing. But her daughter's hair had been dressed with ribbons matching the decorations on the child's dress. "Why'd you come out to Colorado?" "Gold. Same as most folks." As she slid slightly in the saddle, she grabbed for the gray mare's mane with ungloved hands. "You didn't think to send Mr. Wittaker by himself?" "We weren't given the option." She looked at him with eyes filled with despair and lost hope. "I can't understand a man dragging his family out to a God-forsaken place like this." A sigh escaped Missus Wittaker. "Some men don't cotton to leaving their families behind or don't have anyone to leave them with." "So he dragged you and two little ones along." Cal shook his head. Perhaps he hadn't done her any

service bringing Whittaker home? Would she be better off without him? What would a single woman with two young 'uns do on her own in the gold fields? "And for what?" She shrugged. "Gold. A dream." "He drank his dream and drowned in the whiskey." Somehow the thought of that drunken sot putting his hands on this beautiful woman made his stomach knot. He shouldn't care. Might be because of her sad eyes. Cornflower blue eyes. So beautiful. So sad. But, she was one of thousands who had swarmed to the gold fields to find their dreams disappear with the morning mists. And she'd come with another man. He let his eyes focus on the dirt path which led down the center of the town of Gold Strike, if one could call the ramshackle buildings and tents a town. Thinking about kissing her and touching her would make him crazy. A craziness he didn't need to bring down on himself. "We're here. The man whose got your wagon owns the store next to Red's. That's the third saloon on the left." Cal reined in his horse. "Thank you, Marshal Reynolds. I'm sure I can manage by myself now." She started to swing her leg over and dismount. "You might as well ride the rest of the way. Leave the horse tied up outside the store. I'll get her later." He needed to put some distance between them before his mind wandered into dangerous territories. "That's very kind of you." She flashed him a smile which made her eyes sparkle as his heart raced. "You've been most helpful. I wish to thank you again for bringing me into town to get my wagon and supplies. It would have taken me hours if I'd walked and I hate to impose on Mrs. Schmitz any longer than necessary. She's so gracious about watching Andy and Christina." Grasping the horse's mane, she urged it forward with her knees. Cal leaned back and watched her slow progress down the street past the empty Calhoun house at the edge of town. The sun glinted through a small cloud of dust encircling the horse, making her appear as a specter riding away. Pulling his hat from his head, Cal wiped his brow with the back of his hand. A fleeting specter. Nothing more. She'd crossed his path for a brief, but bright, moment. He looked up into the sky. Dark clouds gathered across the horizon. Rain. It would fit his mood. He nudged his horse with his knee and the animal walked slowly toward his office at the far end of town next to the assayer's office. *** Melanie Whittaker slid from the saddle and stretched. Brushing out her skirts, she glanced around and decided against trying to rub her backside inconspicuously. Jolting down the road on a wagon was bad enough, but she'd never quite mastered riding. She looked around Gold Strike. It didn't compare to the small town where she'd lived in Ohio, but it was the biggest town she'd seen in months. Pa had moved them from one gold field to the next, chasing the illusive golden pot at the end of the rainbow. At least here buildings, real buildings and not just tents, stood along a dirt street. And Red's Saloon, two stories high, issued forth tinny music. Best of all, this town contained a mercantile, somewhere to shop, not a tent pitched with mostly mining equipment and overpriced food. If Pa knew she'd gone into town alone and without his permission he'd skin her alive. He'd yell at her about the dangers a young woman faced around those gold-hungry miners who hadn't seen a decent woman in months, not to mention a "purty" one. With little luck, she tried to tuck one of the unruly strands

of hair back into the once neat coil tucked under her bonnet and smiled. Pa meant well, but that wouldn't feed the little ones. And she so did want to see a real store again. It had been so long. After shaking the remaining dust from her skirts, she squared her shoulders and entered the store, ready to do battle with the storekeeper. She needed supplies and her wagon back. And she would have them. Pa had put her in a similar predicament on more than one previous occasion. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be the last. She'd lost track of the number of times Pa had lost the team and wagon in a poker game, but she had become an expert at buying them back. She just hoped this store owner wouldn't give her too much trouble. The wheeling and dealing bothered her, but no other choice existed. If Pa came to without the team being parked in front of the tent, he'd take it out on her. But he hadn't found much gold and she couldn't afford to pay too much. Stepping into the store, she let her eyes adjust to the gloom after the bright sunlight outside. She meandered through the store, surveying her surroundings. The room smelled of bayberry candles and lye soap. Yellow gingham curtains added a splash of color at the front windows where sunlight filtered in. Rows of goods were piled on counters. Shelves held canned goods and a few trinkets for those who struck it rich. The store was empty except for a couple of miners leaning against the cracker barrel, taking turns swigging out of a bottle of whiskey. A shiver ran through Melanie as one of them turned toward her. Just the type Pa warned her about. She slid her hand through the slit in her skirt into the pocket of her petticoat. Her fingers caressed the metal of her pepperbox pistol tucked in the specially sewn pocket. Turning away from the men, she ran her other hand over the fabric on the counter in front of her. The coolness and silkiness caressed her fingertips. Taking up the edge of it, she rubbed it slowly. Good quality. And it felt wonderful. The pale blue background reminded her of the sky above the mining camp. Tiny green sprigs adorned with dark blue flowers ran across the fabric. She touched it against her cheek. It would feel heavenly to wear a garment made from this cloth. A new dress. She smiled to herself. It had been so long since she'd had anything new. But what would be the use? Where would she wear it? One of the mining camp dances on Saturday night while half drunk men tried to paw at her while Pa sat in a corner guzzling from a whiskey bottle. The whole notion was silly. Who cared what she looked like? She straightened her shoulders. No use came of sulking over her life. No knight in shining armor would arrive riding out of the sunset to whisk her away. But the clean-looking sheriff with thigh muscles rippling beneath the tight material of his pants as he guided his mount came close. Melanie sighed. What would he want with the likes of her? He could have any woman he wanted. He wouldn't want someone dressed in rags and covered in mud. What an impression she must have made when he rode into camp with Pa thrown over a horse. Splattered from head to toe with mud from the children, she had wished nothing more than to run and hide. She let her fingers drop back on top of the fabric. A gown was a luxury she couldn't afford. After she got the wagon and horses, she needed food for the children. A sigh rattled through her body. But,...if...maybe...Would the marshal show up at the dance on Saturday? They'd only been here two weeks. Anything was possible. And, if she wore a new dress... Why would he care? He wouldn't notice her, someone in tatters, even if the second set had been clean. No time existed for silly dreams about being carried off by the marshal. All her time went to tending Christina and Andy. Sighing, she started to withdraw her hand from the fabric.

"Can I help you, Miss?" Melanie jumped and released the fabric as if it had burned her. She looked up into the smiling face of a woman in her forties, clothed in a neat brown frock. "Yes. I want a dress length of this fabric." If she cut very carefully and made her own skirt not too wide, she could make Christina a matching dress. "This fabric comes very dearly." "I'm not surprised. But I'll take it and I need some other supplies. Also, I understand the owner of this store acquired a team and wagon last night. I wish to speak with him about purchasing them." Melanie squared her shoulders and looked the woman straight in the eyes. Golden brown eyes smiled back at her. The woman tucked at the graying brown knot of hair at the back of her neck as a short rotund man joined her. "The wagon and horses ain't for sale," he said. "Everything is for sale." Melanie smiled at him. "Besides, what possible good can you get from two beat up old nags and a wagon near ready to crumble into pieces at the first good jolt." "Then what would you be wanting with them?" His heavy eyebrows furrowed together as he stared at her. "Sentiment." She walked toward the counter at the back of the store. "If you could fill my order, then we'll discuss the wagon." As the man stacked the items she named in front of her, she tried not to grimace. Forty cents a pound for flour. The prices truly were a crime. It would be wonderful to have butter for the biscuits or bread she made, but not at six dollars a pound. The flour, pork, beans, and dried beef would have to do. And, a penny stick of candy for each of the little ones, at fifty cents each. "Now. How much do you want for the wagon?" "A hundred a piece for the horses and two hundred for the wagon." She sucked in her breath. Exhaling slowly, she stared at the man. "That, sir, is plain and simple robbery." "You're the one what wants 'em." He leaned his beefy elbows on the counter. "For that price, I could have real horses and a real wagon." Melanie crossed her arms in front of her and tapped her foot. "Then go find some." A smile crossed his face. "I didn't offer to sell 'em to you." "True." Staring at the grease spot on the front of his shirt, she paused. "However, you are never going to find another buyer for those worthless beasts that you won in a card game last night. And, from what I hear, you've had the good fortune to win enough rigs to drive a different one every day of a fortnight." She gave him her sweetest smile. "Seeing as most folks arrive with their own teams and wagons, I can't imagine the call for such goods is that high. Especially, goods in their shape." "Why do you want such beat up animals yourself?" A frown creased his face. "As I said, sentiment. I raised those two horses from foals."

His eyes widened as he listened to her. "Yes, sir, you fleeced my pa in that card game last night." "I most certainly didn't fleece him." He slammed his hands flat down on the counter top. "I won the team and wagon fair and square." "Mmmmm. I apologize, sir. So many in the past have fleeced my pa. Every time he gets near a whiskey bottle he seems to think he knows how to play poker." Shaking her head, she looked at her feet . "He's a dear man, but..." She let her voice trail off. "Anyway, without that wagon and horses, I have no way to get these supplies back, and two little ones await me in camp. My pa really is a good man, and he will be so distressed when he finds out what he's done. The wagon won't fetch you the price you're asking, but I'll be more than glad to take it off your hands for twenty-five dollars and the horses for ten each. 'Tis an exorbitant amount to pay for such broken down beasts, but I do so want to be fair." "Now you're trying to rob me. Those are some mighty fine horses." "Now, I would never do such a thing, sir. I'm only trying to take care of my family." "Oh, give her the wagon, Cyrus. You've got ten more out back no one wants." Leaning over the counter, the woman patted the man's hand. "I won't be cheated." He straightened himself and folded his arms across his ample stomach. "The poor little thing is trying to take care of her and hers out here in this wilderness. The wagon will end up firewood if you don't sell it to her. It's the worst of the bunch." She winked at Melanie. "Then I'll sell it for firewood and get more than twenty-five dollars for it. I'm a business man." He scowled at his wife. The woman continued patting his hand. "Now whose going to pay for firewood when they can go chop their own?" "Some of these lazy worthless bums who hang around the store." He inclined his head toward the two men leaning against the cracker barrels. "Now, dear," the storekeeper's wife said, "it won't hurt none to help the child out. Not often do we get the chance to help someone deserving." "'Tis a good thing or we'd be broke with you giving away the store." Still scowling, Cyrus shook his head. "All right. But only because she raised them horses from foals. I know what 'tis to put time into an animal." He turned toward the back door. "I'll get the damn rig hooked up and around front while she pays." Huffing, he stomped out. Over his shoulder, he hollered, "Make sure you charge her for everything." "Yes, Cyrus." The woman picked up the first item and marked the price on a paper pad. "Your children, boys or girls?"

"They're not my children." Never lifting her head, the woman kept inscribing the costs. "Not yours?" "No. My brother and sister." "How old are they?" "Six and three." Watching the growing column of numbers, Melanie wondered if she'd have enough to pay for everything. "Must be a handful. Barely more than a girl yourself." "Sometimes. Especially Andy. But there's no help to the matter. Someone has to watch over them." The woman paused and looked up at Melanie with a smile. "Name's Amanda." "Melanie." "Well, Miss Melanie, if you ever need anything, even some female talk, you come on back." Amanda reached under the counter and pulled out a jar. Opening the top, she scooped some butter into a paper, wrapped it up and added it to the pile of supplies. Melanie looked at the package for a moment, saliva filling her mouth as she thought of hot biscuits dripping with butter and honey. "I can't afford butter." "No charge. It'll be going rancid if it isn't used up." The smile Amanda flashed warmed the space around Melanie. "Thank you, ma'am." "Please call me Amanda. If we stand on too much formality around here, we'll all be strangers. People come and go so quickly, you have to make friends fast. It keeps the lonelies away." "I'll remember that." For a moment she thought of Regina in whom she'd confided all of her hopes and dreams until two years ago. Now she had no friend, but then she had no hopes or dreams either. "You haven't been in this territory long, have you?" "Less than two weeks. Pa got the itch to move here when he heard folks were getting rich in the fields." "Lots of folks hear that. Not too many make it." Amanda leaned against the counter. "That's the right of it." Melanie smiled. "You seem to be taking the moving around pretty well." Melanie shrugged. "Not much a body can do about it. Here's not much different than the last camp we were in. Lots of mud, lots of hopeful people, little gold." "A pretty little thing like you ought to be settled into a home of her own. A nice home, not a grubby tent."

"All I see in my future is caring for Pa 'til he dies. I'll probably end up like my spinster aunt." "Living all alone? That's no life for a woman." Melanie laughed. "No one would have Aunt Myrtle. She'd scare a grizzly bear. Hopefully, I only end up taking care of my nieces and nephews and making my little brother or sister support me after I raise them. I surely don't want to scare anyone." "You're too young to be seeing yourself on the shelf as someone's maiden aunt. Lots of men would be happy to take a wife as pretty and smart as you." "Not any of those grubbing in the gold field." Melanie grimaced and a shiver ran through her. "I'd rather be a maiden aunt than the wife of a prospector. At least being the daughter of one, I've hope of getting out." "Truly spoken." Amanda patted Melanie's hand. "We're having a quilting bee on Wednesday afternoon." Melanie raised an eyebrow to look at her. "We?" "Some of the women from the camp. I'm having them here. Suzy's about to birth that young 'un of hers. I started the tradition awhile back. All the women get together and make a quilt for any new babies in the camps. It gives all of us a great excuse to have a day of female company. The men can't complain too much, since we do it for the baby." Amanda gave her a sly smile. "We'd be pleased if you'd join us. It turns into a right nice afternoon. Tea, talk, and sewing." "Oh, that sounds so lovely." To be around a group of women to visit and have a good time. It sounded heavenly to Melanie. She couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed female company. "If Pa'll let me, I'd love to join you. What do I need to bring?" "We each donate two or three squares to put into the quilt. Then the new mother has something to remember us all by every time she looks at it." "What a wonderful idea. Yes. I'd love to join you." "We'll see you on Wednesday." Amanda picked up her pencil and started scribbling on her tablet. Melanie watched while the woman totaled up her purchases. When she finished, the air rushed from Melanie's lungs as though someone had punched her in the stomach. Lord, but the prices in the gold fields were outrageous. She slipped her hand through her skirt and into her pocket, pulling out a small bag. She poured gold dust and flake onto the scale in front of the woman watching as it tilted toward a balance. The stream from the sack stopped before the scales evened out. "I'm afraid you're short. I could take back the material even though I've already cut it. Some other woman will want it when her man strikes it rich." The only things they didn't need were the cloth and the candy, and the candy wouldn't make enough difference. Besides, the look of joy on the children's faces would make the price worth it. She must give back the material. She really had no need for it. The two dresses she owned would last a bit longer and the material came so dear. She stroked the material with her fingertips. She'd never seen anything so beautiful nor felt anything as luxurious. A dress of that material belonged in a fancy city ballroom, not a

grubby miners' camp. For a moment she stared at the scales. Scraping the gold back into her leather bag, she drew the string shut. Shoving it back into her skirt, her fingers dug deeper into her pocket. She pulled five nuggets out and dropped them on the scales. "That should be more than enough."

Chapter Two Cal watched the Whittaker woman as she exited the mercantile, clutching a package. A broad smile flashed across his face. He'd seen Cyrus tie up the horses and wagon in front of the store minutes earlier. She'd gotten that for which she'd come. How she'd gotten the old reprobate to part with them was a mystery. She couldn't possibly have the gold he'd ask. Admiration flashed through him. Leaning against the porch post in front of his office, he wondered what she'd look like in a proper dress and a fancy bonnet. Something blue to match her eyes. He shook his head. Utter nonsense wondering about another man's wife. He'd been in the wilderness so long, his mind had been affected. Maybe the time had come to pull up stakes again and move on. Ghosts from the past hadn't caught up with him yet, but the atmosphere here wore him down. He looked at the batwing doors at Red's, settling back as though someone had entered. A drink would keep his mind from Missus Whittaker. She walked around to the front of one of the finest sets of bays he'd ever seen and leaned her face against the head of one of the animals, scratching him under the chin. Then she moved to the second. For a woman who didn't ride, she seemed to appreciate good horse flesh. After saying hello to both animals, she moved to the wagon. Gathering her skirts up, she nimbly leaped onto the seat, then settled her skirts around her shapely legs. With ungloved hands, she picked up the reins, slipped the brake, and slapped the horses on the back. Cal headed towards the saloon for dinner and a drink as the wagon rolled down the street. The cloud of dust coming up from the wheels obscured his vision of the woman. It was just as well. He needed to attend to other things. Long strides took him to his horse. Lazily he threw his leg over the saddle. He'd follow her. Just out of town. Just to make sure she was safely on her way. *** Melanie smiled to herself. She'd be able to feed the children for awhile longer. And though she'd spent most of her stash, she wouldn't worry about adding to her reserves until tomorrow. If she got back quickly enough, Pa would still be passed out and she could convince him he'd won at poker and bought her the material as a present. He wouldn't question her because he wouldn't remember otherwise and wouldn't want to admit that. She pursed her lips together. Some day, maybe she'd be shed of him and the drinking and the lies. But the little ones. She could never leave them to Pa. That was all they had in common was Pa. When she was eight, her mother had died giving birth to yet another stillborn baby, one in a line of many. Her stepmother hadn't even given Christina time to be weaned before she ran off with a drummer. At seventeen, Melanie had become the mother of two. She didn't really mind. They were her brother and sister, though Andy was a handful. A big sister didn't replace a pa and a ma.

Horse hooves sounded on the road ahead of her. She gripped the reins tighter, the leather cutting into her palms as she glanced around her. Tall trees with overhanging branches lined the narrow dirt road, obscuring much of the hazy sunlight. Neither the town or the camp were within sight. She was alone. Goosebumps ran up her arms and down her back. She shivered. Taking in a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart. She had nothing to fear. Pa's voice invaded her mind. "Stay in camp, daughter. Some drunken miner will steal your virtue if given half a chance." "It's your fault, Pa," she whispered. "You and your drinking." Sitting up straighter, she forced Pa's voice out of her mind. She would be fine. It would be nothing more than a couple of men going to town to get drunk for the evening. Surely, they'd recognize her and go on past. Then she'd laugh at her silliness. She guided the horses around the bend. Two men blocked her path. The two who had been leaning against the cracker barrel in the store. Sweat trickled down her back. "Hold up there, Miz Wittaker." The shorter of the two removed his hat and smiled at her. Melanie reined in the horses and smiled back. She didn't know the men, but they obviously knew Pa. "I'd be much obliged if you'd move your horses so I can get past. I'm in a bit of a hurry to get out to camp." She stared straight at them. "We'd be obliged to," the other man spoke, "in a moment." A scar slashed from his eye to his chin. The edge of the eye puckered, making his brown eye seem ready to pop out of the socket. To keep from recoiling, she braced her back against the seat. "Please excuse me." She held her voice steady. "I really must go." "First, we'll takes the bag of gold in your petticoat." The man with the puckered eye slid from his horse and held her horses' heads. Drops of sweat dripped from beneath her coiled hair and under her tight dress collar, making it stick to her skin. She drew in a breath as her ribs strained against her corset, threatening to suffocate her. If she remained calm, she could get away from them. She had to. The children needed her. "'Tis such a paltry amount I can't imagine why you'd want it. Now, please release my horses." She slapped the reins on the horses' backs and they jolted forward. "Damn." The puckered-eyed man jerked on the horses' bridles as he stumbled backward. He stepped to the side and yanked out a pistol. "Don't try that again." He pointed the weapon at her. "We wants yer gold. Then yous gonna tells us where you found them nuggets." "What nuggets?" She held the reins lightly and smiled as she continued to stare at him. Her knees quaked, but her skirts hid the trembling. "The ones you gave the shopkeep's missus." The first man's smile turned into a frown. His bushy black eyebrows drew together to form one line across his forehead. With the puckered-eyed man to the side, she couldn't run over him. And the second man was still mounted. She had to find another way to get shed of them and back to camp. "I don't rightly know. Pa does the gold mining." She looked at him, widening her eyes in innocence the way she'd seen her step-mother do when she wanted her way with Pa.

"I do believes yous lying. Yer pa would skin yous alive for spendin' his gold on fancy dress goods." The puckered-eyed man growled. "But 'tis the truth." She blinked. The first man swung down from his horse. "Hand over the gold." He stretched out his hand. Melanie reached slowly through her skirt and into her pocket. *** Being able to keep track of her by the dust her wagon stirred up, Cal let the distance between himself and the wagon grow. He really needn't worry about her, since she only had a couple of miles to the gold camps and seldom did any trouble occur on this road. Of course, mostly men traveled it. When a woman did travel into town, her man accompanied her. But, then, Wittaker was worthless when it came to being a man. The dust trail he'd been following stopped as she turned the corner. Probably he couldn't see it anymore because of the heavy growth of pine trees. He urged his horse forward at a gallop to the curve in the road, then he slowed to a walk and sidled to the edge of the bend. His heart stopped beating. The air stuck in his lungs. His stomach hardened into a knot. One man reached out to the woman. The other stood beside her horses and held the harness. His fingers slid his Colt from its holster as his feet landed in the dirt. His horse stood, unmoving, next to him. Creeping to the right, he entered the cover of the trees and eased forward. His boots trod through the underbrush without creating a sound as he made his way towards the wagon. The man holding the horses had drawn his gun. If he took him out, he should be able to get the second one near the woman before the man had a chance to blink or draw. He should be able. Her life depended on his being able. But he had no choice. He blocked the sound of his heart beating in his ears so he could hear the voices. His lungs burned. "Pull out the gold real slow, Miz Whittaker. Wouldn't want to hurt ya, now," the man next to her said. "Am I free to go after I give you the gold?" The woman's voice floated on the air, soft, but steady. "There's the little matter of where yous found them nuggets." Her movement was fluid as she reached deeper into her pocket. "I told you I didn't find them." "We knows Wittaker. He wouldn't let the likes of yous run about with his gold." The man waved his hand at the woman. Cal saw beads of sweat form on his brow. "Hurry up." Cal glanced from one man to the other, judging how much time he needed. He gripped his Colt and slid it from his holster. Easing back the hammer, he aimed at the man standing by the horses. She shifted on the seat. "I'm just doing as you asked. Taking it slow." "Hand over that pouch," the man by the horses growled.

The woman's left foot flashed out, connecting with the chin of the man standing next to the wagon. He collapsed with a groan. Her arm pointed toward the other man. The sun glinted against metal. Cal blinked. She held a pistol. "Move away from my horses." "Not 'til I has the gold." The evil smile returned to the man's face. She pulled the hammer back on the derringer and fired, knocking his hat to the ground. The man jumped and yelped. "The next one will go right through your forehead." The man released the horses and stomped toward the side of the wagon, blocking Cal's view of the woman. "Don't believe you'll shoot me." She pulled the hammer back, flipped the switch and fired at the man's chest. The weapon made a clicking noise. She yanked back the hammer again. Cal jammed his Colt back in its holster and made a flying leap at the moving man as he reached the side of the wagon. Catching him above the waist, they sprawled on the ground. Cal raised his fist and slammed it against the other man's jaw. The man went slack beneath him. "Giddy up." Her voice flew at him from the side as the reins cracked in the air. The wheels of the wagons skimmed the side of his leg. "Ma'am, wait. It's me. Cal. The marshal," he yelled at the back of the wagon as he scrambled to his feet. The wagon slowed, then stopped. When he overtook it, the woman clutched the derringer in her lap. Gently, he reached up and pried it from her fingers. "It's over, ma'am. You're safe now." Tears flowed down her cheeks and her body trembled. Lifting her down from the wagon, he set her on her feet. Her body sagged and he grabbed her toward him. Her arms hung at her sides. He scooped her up with his arm under her knees, and cradled her against his shoulder. It amazed him how right she felt resting against his chest. It had been so long since he'd held a woman. So long. He patted her back. "You damn near shot him, ma'am." She gulped. "I tried." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. "But my weapon misfired." "Have you ever fired at a man before?" She shook her head. Her breasts pressed against him. The day had suddenly turned warm and he wished the dark clouds would spill their rain and cool it off. He looked at her, then away as the tears continued to stream down her face. God, he hated it when a woman cried. He looked at the brush growing beside the dirt road, trying to reclaim it. Trying to blot out any signs of civilization. Her trembling eased and he glanced at her again.

"This is ridiculous." She placed her hand on his shoulder, her fingers branding his skin through his shirt. "What is?" "Crying. I have no reason to cry." She lifted her head from his shoulder. "You nearly got yourself killed." Her lips parted slightly and he wondered what she would taste like. "Anybody would react this way." "Especially a woman." She dropped her head back against him. A sigh rattled through her body pressing her closer into his chest. And what a woman. "Nothing wrong with that, ma'am." A small giggle escaped her lips. "Please, call me Melanie. Ma'am makes me feel a hundred years old." "Yes, ma'am." Her giggle caressed him as if she'd touched his face. He lowered his head. Her lips invited his touch. A groan came from one of the men behind them. "I'm feeling much better now. Best put me down and do something about those two." The heat from her breath brushed against his mouth. He set her on her feet, letting her body slide down his. What was he thinking? She belonged to another man. *** Melanie gazed at the sleeping form of Christina. Such an angelic bit of a thing. Andy was with Pa, panning for gold. He'd been a good boy and hadn't mentioned the marshal bringing Pa home. And Pa had believed her story about the supplies. She hated lying, but the welfare of the children came first and Pa would tan her hide if he found out she had gold. At the moment, her gold supply was very short. She looked at the bundle at the back of the tent. She shouldn't have spent the money on dress goods. But worrying over spilt milk wouldn't change the facts. The stick candy had kept Andy's mouth shut, so all would be well. But now, she had to have more gold for the next emergency. And with Pa the next emergency could be waiting outside the tent flap. If she didn't love the children and feel responsible for them, she'd leave. Go back to Aunt Myrtle. Her spinster aunt was unbearable most of the time, but being with her was better then being in this Godforsaken place. She peeked out of the tent and up at the hills with their lush verdant coverlet of deep grass. Wildflowers bloomed dotting the green with a myriad of colors. The sun shone brightly. The slight wind made the shadows dance merrily with the breeze. How such beautiful country could bring such sorrow to the soul was beyond her comprehension. She squared her shoulders. Her extravagance made it necessary to face the mountain again. She couldn't be without money to provide for the children. Mrs. Schmitz would watch the tent and Christina for her which would give her about two hours before anyone would need her.

A shiver ran up her back at the thought of going to that small, dark hole up the hill. It was a cold place, filled with death. And gold. Her gaze darted back to the package. Dress goods for impressing a man who couldn't care less if she lived. Wasted money. And terrible foolishness. For a moment she let her mind replay the warmth and comfort of his arms on the trail. But she'd never feel his arms around her again. Her life held no room for a man. She sighed deeply and gathered her skirts up as she stooped through the tent opening. She glanced up the hill behind the gold camp. Her secret lay up there. *** Melanie stood looking at the small opening on the side of the mountain. Buttercups, wild hollyhocks, and cow vetch grew in abundance along the hill, a patchwork quilt of yellows, pinks, and lavenders. The area looked innocent. Nothing more than flowers and an abandoned wolf's den. All the others looked for gold along the river and she'd found it nestled in the mountain, only because Andy had been angry. She'd lost her temper with him and for revenge when she'd punished him, he'd taken her mother's locket. Despair had clutched at her heart. All she had left of her mother was the precious locket. When she found out he'd crawled inside the den and the necklace had fallen from his pocket, she didn't know whether she was angrier about him losing her locket or crawling into a hole that could have been home to snakes or other dangerous critters. That once she'd come close to slapping him. But when his eyes filled with tears, her heart had melted. Standing and staring down at the small entrance, she struck a match and lit the torch she'd made. Holding it into the hole, she looked for snakes. The small cave appeared empty. She stretched her arm in front of her and balanced on her knees and one elbow while she wiggled through the small opening. The closeness bore down on her. The musty smell of the den filled her nostrils. Goosebumps ran down her spine. This was an evil place. Melanie inched her way forward, pushing with her toes and wriggling until she'd gained entrance to the tiny space. Curling her feet up under her and curving her shoulders forward, she scooted across the floor towards the back. Another opening gaped a few feet away. She shoved the torch through the second rift. The glint of light against metal greeted her. She reached her hand through. The last time she'd been in the cave, she'd been searching for the locket. As she had groped about, her light had reflected off the pocket of gold. With a gnawed bone, left by the last inhabitants, she'd dislodged the five nuggets she'd spent at the store. But she'd never found the locket. She let her hand glide over the dirt looking for the bone she'd used the first day. She'd only take a little gold. Enough to make sure the young 'uns ate. This time she wouldn't spend it on anything frivolous. Just necessities for Andy and Christina. Her fingers touched the rough surface of the bone. Clutching it, she crooked her head to one side to better see what she was doing. To her left, a pile of stones filled most of the small space. From her right came the dull glint of gold. Holding the torch up, she dug. She could see several thumbnail size nuggets within reach. She leaned through the hole and dislodged the first one. The quartz gave up its nuggets without complaint. But the place made her skin crawl and she had an urge to rub her arms. Why had the wolves moved on? The smell of death filled the place. She wanted out as quickly as she could. The cost of foolishness came too dear.

After she pried out six nuggets, Melanie dropped the bone and scooped them up. Her fingers touched something slender and cold. She jumped, banging her head on the rocks. Wincing, she rubbed at her scalp. Then she inched through the fissure. She ran her fingers across the dirt feeling for the item. A gold chain. She tugged at the slender strand and it came free. Rocks tumbled from beside her. Something sharp grazed across her face. The torch light glinted off a gold ring resting on the finger bone of a human hand. Her scream reverberated around her. Dirt and small stones cascaded down, dusting her with a fine layer of grit. She dropped the torch. It sputtered and went out. Blackness grabbed at her. Her breath stuck in her lungs, searing into her flesh. Clutching her locket, she scrambled backwards. She writhed through the opening to the outside. She glanced around to see if anyone was near by. Seeing no one, she brushed at her skirt. Pressing the locket to her chest, Melanie tried to calm her heart's beating. A loud rush of air forced its way from her lungs. This would be the last trip to the mountain. She'd gotten what she'd come for and she'd found her locket. She had more than enough gold to care for the children until Pa tired of this whole business and took them elsewhere. The rock's behind her groaned, grinding together.

Chapter Three Cal's head snapped sideways and he stood in the saddle craning to see from where the shot had come. Listening intently for a few seconds, he settled into the saddle and urged his mount forward. A second shot sounded from just beyond the grove of trees. As he approached the clearing using the trees as cover, he reined in his horse. There she stood, her hair hanging loose down her back, aiming her pistol toward the bank of the creek. He gave the embankment a scrutinizing look. Seeing nothing, he sagged into the saddle, slowly letting out his breath. What the hell was Missus Wittaker doing? He watched while she made one final shot and then let the derringer drop to her side. Her hair caught the glint of the afternoon sun reminding him of warm honey on a hot biscuit. He wondered what it would be like to bury his face in the glistening blanket that covered her to her hips, hiding her gentle curves. He tried to force the thoughts from his mind. She belonged to another man, if he could call Mr. Whittaker a man. With no right to be here, he should turn his horse around and head back to town where a marshal belonged. The last thing he needed was to get mixed up with another woman whose heart belonged to someone else. Experience should have taught him better. Refusing to allow the image of the other woman to surface in his mind, Cal urged his steed forward out of the trees. Missus Whittaker spun around and raised the pistol toward Cal. A moment later she let the weapon drop to her side. "You scared the daylights out of me." She clasped one hand over her heart.

"Just repaying the favor." A broad grin broke across his face. "What?" She blinked at him. "Heard the shots. Thought more trouble had erupted." Sliding his leg over the pommel on his saddle, he landed lightly next to his horse. "What are you doing, anyway?" "Cleaning and reloading." She turned and walked back toward the blanket spread out on the ground. A little blond haired girl slept soundly in the middle, undisturbed by the gun shots. The woman sat on the edge next to the child, folding her legs up and tucking her skirt around her feet. Reaching down, she picked up a ramrod and tied a piece of frayed rope to the end. After dipping the tow into soapy water, she forced it through the pistol's barrel. Cal hunkered down in front of her. He'd cleaned many a weapon, but he'd never seen a woman do it so quickly and easily. "What made you decide to clean it?" "When it misfired on the road the other day. I should have taken care of it before and reloaded. I knew it had been too long and the powder might not spark. It's just I've been so busy with the young' uns I didn't get around to it. It could have cost me my life. I know better." She rambled on, continuing the cleaning. "Looks like you know what you're doing. Don't reckon you need any help." "I've done it often." "Interesting weapon." What kind of woman was Missus Whittaker that she not only carried a weapon but was so comfortable and capable at cleaning it. Pausing, she looked up at him before she set down the ramrod and began oiling the weapon. "Why do you think so?" "Spent a lot of time studying on weapons. Never seen one quite like it." He removed his hat and wiped his brow with his shirt sleeve. "I'm sure you've seen many weapons, being a marshal and all." "Not so many." She set her cleaning tools aside and started to load the derringer. "Then how do you know so much?" "My father manufactures them." He'd never seen a four-shot derringer quite like the one she held. She stared up at him for a moment. Blinking, she looked down into her lap and picked up the rag next to her and rubbed the barrel of her weapon until it shone. "May I see it?" She glanced up. He held out his hand. She stared at his hands, then placed the weapon on his palm. Red crept into her cheeks.

Taking it, Cal turned it over and around, studying it carefully. The smile playing at the corners of his mouth threatened to turn into a full blown laugh. He couldn't for the life of him imagine why she blushed because he'd asked to see her derringer, but he'd sure like to know what thoughts went through her mind. Was Missus Wittaker comparing him to that drunken lout of a husband she had? Did she like what she saw? Hell. These thoughts were going to get him into trouble, once again. "Mighty fine weapon, ma'am. Don't remember my family making anything like this." "And why do you assume that your family made my derringer?" Her eyes sparkled. "Cuz we make most of the derringers in this country and this one doesn't appear to be imported from England or Europe." "Very astute observation on your part." "Like I said, I know my weapons. Been around them since I was in short britches." He turned the weapon again. Truly an unusual one. "And I've been around them since I wore short skirts." Cal glanced at her, but he couldn't tell if she was laughing at him or not. Her lips pursed together. The rosy pink color drew him toward them. Would she taste of wild honey as her hair promised? He wanted to know. His body leaned slightly forward under its own volition. Her hair would wind around his fingers like silk. Her lips, warm and inviting, would heat him down to the core and maybe defrost the ice encasing his heart. Or, would she make him feel the pain again? The pain that had nearly destroyed him? He handed her back the pistol and forced his legs to make him stand. Turning his back to her, he stared out across the creek into the grove of trees across the way. A woman was the last thing he needed in his life. Women only complicated things. They professed their undying love and then ripped out a man's heart, laughing while they ground their heel into it. He wouldn't let himself care for this one. Missus Wittaker might be the most beautiful woman he'd seen in a very long time, but she wasn't free for the taking. She'd made her life and nothing he could do would end her suffering. He could only add to his own. He started to walk back toward his horse. "Marshal, please wait. There's something I'd like to discuss with you." Her voice held a pleading note. He looked into her bright eyes. Fear shone from them. Something clutched at his heart. The fear hadn't been there before. If that beast had done something to her... He didn't see any bruises. Had those men threatened her? No. They still sat in his jail. "Did..." She held up her hand and Cal fell silent. Damn. Why couldn't he turn off the caring? When had it started? More to the point, why had it started? "Yesterday..." Her voice trailed off. Her eyebrows arched together and she shivered. "It can't be that bad, can it?" Cal moved back and sank onto the grass next to her blanket. "It was dreadful." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm being a silly female. Thinking about it makes me tremble."

"Thinking about what?" Damn woman. Was she being coy? She didn't seem the type. Squaring her shoulders, she spoke barely above a whisper. "The body." "Where?" He instantly tensed. All he needed to complicate life was a dead miner. "In the mine. More a...a skeleton." She trembled. He fought down the urge to reach over and pull her into his arms, to offer her comfort. Instead, he rubbed his hands on the coarse fabric of his pants. "What mine? Didn't know any working ones existed in this particular area." "Not exactly a mine. Well, I guess it was a mine once. But I went through a wolves den and there he lay. At least I guess it was a man. Didn't stay around long enough to make sure. Having that hand fall on me was enough." He took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb on the skin between her thumb and first finger. "Shh. It's okay. Take a deep breath. Skeleton's can't do you any harm." "Maybe not, but I wouldn't care to repeat the experience." Her eyes grew wider. "I'm sure not." Cal continued rubbing her hand, finding her skin as soft as a flower petal which surprised him. He figured being in the gold fields would have started to dry her out, body and soul. As it did most. Maybe she hadn't been here long enough. He was glad. He'd hate to see her wilt like the wildflowers in the summer sun. "Now, what were you doing in a wolves den in the first place?" "It's a very long story and has nothing to do with the skeleton." She left her hand lay in his. "That might be true, but I'd like to hear it anyway." After hearing her story, he stared at her for a moment. A lot of courage flowed from this woman. "Some miner probably got caught in a landslide." "Probably." A big sigh rattled through her. "I thought someone should know and you seemed the best person. I'd have ridden into town, but with the little ones, it's kinda hard. And with you happening by, I thought..." "You're right. Dead bodies are my business. I'll check on it and see if I can find out anything. Suppose we could dig the poor man out and give him a proper burial." "No." Her voice came loudly, making him jump. "Why not?" "No one should go in there." "You did." "I know, but I made a mistake. Not one I'll make again." "It wouldn't be that hard to get him out and put him in the graveyard."

"No. You must promise me you won't even try. If I had thought you might do that, I wouldn't have mentioned it. Any one going in there will be hurt." "That's nonsense. You went in." "It was a mistake. You have to promise me you won't try. I couldn't bear it if you were hurt because of me." He looked into her eyes. Hell, some dumb miner had probably got caught between his gold fever and shifting rocks. Let him stay buried with his strike. "I won't go near the place. I'll ask some questions, though. See if anyone's missing. In case more than a mining accident is involved. That's my job." She squeezed his hand. "Thank you." Missus Wittaker gazed into his eyes and for a moment Cal thought he would drown in a sea of blue. *** Cal sauntered into Cyrus'. If he wanted information, Cyrus and Amanda would be the ones most likely to have it. "Howdy, Cyrus." Before climbing down the ladder, Cyrus shoved the rest of the canned goods on a top shelf. He turned and leaned on the counter. "Hi, Marshal. What can I do for you today?" "Did that ammunition I ordered come in?" Taking off his hat, Cal dropped it on the counter. "Not yet. Maybe next week. Got a shipment coming in then." Cyrus pushed his shirt sleeves up his arms. "Don't know what's so special about them particular bullets." "Just like 'em. Easier than making my own." "Most men do. Cheaper." "Warm enough for you?" Cal reached into the candy jar for a piece of licorice. Since Cal had come to Gold Strike, Cyrus had become a good friend. His only friend. "Definitely warmed up the last couple of days. Shouldn't last long, but in the meantime, the wife's been sufferin'. Went to lie down with a wet cloth on her head. Never did take well to the heat." "Don't blame her." Cal chewed on the candy, part of it hanging from his mouth. "Got some new cigars in. Want to try one?" Cyrus smiled as he looked over his shoulder toward the door to the back. "The missus won't holler too much if you light one up in the store, you being the marshal and all. Yells something fierce at me. Says they stink the place up." "No, thanks. Never did cotton much to cigars." Breaking off a piece of the licorice, Cal twirled it back and forth between two fingers. He needed to broach the subject of the skeleton but without risking more questions than he was prepared to answer. He wasn't ready to share Missus Whittaker's find even with his friend. Not yet. He didn't want Cyrus or Amanda wondering about his feelings for the woman.

"Anything else I can do for you, then?" Cyrus helped himself to a hard candy stick. "Not really. Thought I'd come in and visit a minute. So hot out, nothing much happening at the moment." "Probably change about sundown when the fellas who hang out around the saloon get really likkered up. Temperature makes the tempers flare." "Don't I know it. Hate nights like this. Some young pup will figure he's all grown up and pick a fight with someone who'll break him in half like a matchstick. Then I'll have to clean the mess up." "Ain't that the way of it." Cyrus pulled the lid from the licorice jar and offered Cal another piece. "Some young 'uns ain't got no sense." He laughed, a laugh that sounded more sad than happy. "Seen it happen time and again." "'Up." Cal chewed on the candy, letting the taste fill his mouth. He remembered his grandfather always seemed to be chewing on a piece of the black candy, whether he sat at his desk going over columns of figures or supervised the gunsmiths while they worked. The candy tended to make him homesick, so he didn't eat it often. His hankerin' for it probably came from the feelings Missus Wittaker stirred up in him. The men stood quietly for several minutes sucking on their candy. "Any gold mines in this area?" Cal asked. After a long pause, Cyrus pulled the stick out of his mouth. "Don't reckon I've heard much success at anything but panning around here." "Umm." "Hard rock mining's more strenuous, anyway. Why dig and shore up walls and dig some more when you can sit by the river and let the gold come to you. 'Sides, it's cooler work." "You saying most gold miners are lazy?" "The ones I've met around here." They both laughed loudly. Amanda came into the store, her hands on her hips. "Here you are fritterin' away the day when you're suppose to be stocking the shelves, Cyrus O'Neil." "Too hot. Got the canned goods put away. Then the marshal stopped by. Only being neighborly." Amanda smiled at Cyrus. Something tugged at Cal's heart. What he wouldn't give for a woman to look at him the way Amanda looked at Cyrus. He figured they'd been married going on twenty years and the love still shone in their eyes. He wanted that, but it seemed as rare as the gold for which the miners searched. "What you men folk jawin' about?" "Gold mines." Cyrus stepped to the side so his wife could lean against the counter next to him. He wrapped his arm around her.

"Going to take up gold mining?" She smiled, reached up and patted the hand draped over her shoulder. "No, ma'am." "Will you please call me Amanda. I've known you nearly eight months. I do believe it's time you stopped with the ma'am." Knowing his face heated, Cal plucked at the edge of his Stetson. It never had seemed proper to him to call the woman by her Christian name. She was nearly the same age as his ma and it would be rude. That hadn't stopped the conversation from coming up every time he'd come in the store since he'd arrived in Gold Strike. "If you're not interested in gold mining, what's the interest?" Amanda pushed damp hair from her forehead. "Just curious. I've seen the panners, but I wondered if anyone had hit a really big strike. A mine, maybe." "Like I said, don't remember hearing nothing about any success except down by the water." Cyrus stretched and looked at the supplies that needed to be shelved. Amanda pulled the candy jar to her and pulled out a striped stick. "Now, if I remember right, I did hear tell about a man who supposedly hit it rich. Found a vein away from the water. Supposed to be a big one." "Where might that be?" asked Cal. "Not rightly sure. Heard the story after we moved here. Before the gold rush and all started." "Whatever happened to the mine?" Cal watched Amanda. This woman knew more about the area than anyone else. "Don't rightly know. The story I heard was the man came out here with his wife. Hadn't been married more than a couple of months. Anyway, he supposedly hit the big one. They built the big house on the edge of town. Then one day he disappeared. His wife got so heartbroken, she withered up and died." "Probably a story to keep the hopes of these idiots going." Cyrus' laugh boomed off the walls. "You're terrible." Amanda giggled and slapped his arm. "And what are we doing out here if it isn't looking for gold?" "That's different. We're establishing a future. Running a business." Cyrus winked at her. "Run by the gold others find." Cyrus gave her a squeeze. "Someone has to sell them what they need. Might as well be us. Better than slopping in the muck to find the gold." "Cyrus O'Neil, you are a terrible man." He leaned down and kissed her. "I know. But you love me anyway."

Cal smiled at the two. "Guess I'd better be getting back to work." Could the missing miner be the skeleton Missus Wittaker found? Might be. He guessed he'd never know for sure. A crash and a gun shot broke the quiet. "Definitely time to get back." Cal slammed his hat down on his head, frowning. "You be careful now, Cal. We don't want to be looking for a new marshal," Amanda called after him. *** Melanie had known Pa wouldn't let her borrow the wagon and team to go into town to help with the quilting. He'd sputtered and yelled about it being a waste of time. If she had extra time after taking care of the children, she should be out helping him instead of dawdling around with a bunch of gaggling women. But she'd gone anyway. With Christina tucked on her lap, she had ridden into town with Mrs. Schmitz and Suzy. How she'd found the courage to stand up to Pa, she still wasn't sure. But she had. She wasn't a child. She wouldn't be treated as one. She had become a woman. And she had a right to a life. She wanted friends again like when she was growing up. Female friends with whom she could talk and dream. She wanted someone like the marshal to notice her. To want her. Like a man wants a woman. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, she chided herself. Dreams didn't come true. They were made of gauze that became ragged and tattered in one small wind and disintegrated. And trying to latch on to one became a useless task. She'd learned that lesson real well from Pa and his dream of gold. She caressed Christina's hair. This was what life was. Maybe Christina would have the dreams. At least she wouldn't have a family to care for and no husband. Melanie kissed the child on the top of the head. If she could, she'd make sure Christina had a life. A life in a city where the hardships didn't seem unsurmountable and crush a body like a mine cave-in. "Here we be." Suzy stood, arching her back. It surprised Melanie to see how agilely Suzy clambered down from the wagon despite the large swell of her belly. For a moment Melanie let a pang of jealousy sweep over her. But her lot wasn't to bear a child of her own. Or have a home of her own. She shook the melancholy from her mind. For the moment she'd left the gold camps behind and would enjoy the afternoon. Besides, she wouldn't want to raise a family of her own in the grime and sloth surrounding her. Tinny music flowed out the door of Red's Saloon onto the afternoon breeze. Lifting Christina from her lap, Melanie scrambled over the side. She brushed out her skirt before she tucked Christina on her hip and carried her toward the general store. The other two wagons of women stopped and they climbed out, streaming toward the store. Melanie stepped into the dimness to see the scowl on Cyrus' face as he watched the onslaught of women. "Come along, ladies." Before untying her apron and tucking it under the counter, Amanda wiped her hands on it. "Tea's brewing. We can get started."

They filed through to the back room. Melanie forced down the sigh threatening to issue forth. She wanted to touch the rich upholstery on the couch and wished she could sink into the wing chair, but her fear stopped her. She might dirty the fabric with the dust from the gold fields that clung to her clothes. The coziness reminded her of her grandma's parlor with the crystal lamps and the rich furniture. An oasis in this lonely, godforsaken place. "Sit. Get comfortable. Mabel, you lay out the pieces while I get the tea," clucked Amanda as she herded the women into the parlor like a flock of chickens. "Suzy, you take that chair over on the right. It's the most comfortable considering your condition." Amanda disappeared through a doorway in a flurry of skirts. Melanie, not sure what she was supposed to do, sat Christina on the floor. "You sit here for a minute while I see if I can help." Christina looked up and smiled, before turning back to watch the women. Melanie slipped through the doorway after Amanda. This time the sigh slipped free before she could stop it. A stove. A real stove. Not a campfire to cook over, but a metal stove with a cooking surface and an oven. Amanda turned. "Go and sit down, Melanie. I can handle this." "Can I help? There must be something I can do. You've been so kind to open your home to us." And this was a home. The only one she'd been in for two years. She could feel the warmth and love which made it such. Amanda smiled and pushed her hair off her forehead. "Grab the tray of cups and take it out. I'll bring the tea and cakes. About the only time I get to show off my baking is when you women come to visit. Cyrus don't eat a lot of sweets and I do so love to bake." Melanie took the tray into the parlor and set it down on the table against the wall. Mabel had the squares laid out and several women sat on the floor stitching them together into a rectangle. The myriad of colors, patterns and textures made for a motley looking quilt with a charm all its own. "This is going to be wonderful." Suzy adjusted her extended body in the chair. "Every time I wrap the baby in it, I'll think of all of you." "Don't you be getting maudlin on us, now." Wrinkles creased Mabel's face from a perpetual smile. "Why don't you get yourself down here and hep us." Lettie squinted as she held the squares she stitched close to her face. "It's too hard to get up off the floor." Suzy smiled and settled her bulk in the chair. "Besides, I'm comfortable for the first time in days." "Just cuz you're expecting doesn't mean you don't have to work." Florence handed Suzy several squares and a threaded needle. "Start stitching." "Tea anyone?" Amanda set the tea pot and a plate full of little cakes next to the tray of cups. Suzy pushed herself out of the chair. "Don't rightly care much for tea, but I'd love some of those delicacies you bake."

Mabel laughed. "She ain't really expecting a baby. She's just been eating Amanda's baking." Everyone laughed. Someone shoved a needle and thread into Melanie's hand and she settled on the floor to stitch two pieces of fabric together. A small hand brushed against her neck and she looked up into Christina's eyes. "What do you want, sweetheart?" Leaning her mouth against Melanie's ear, Christina whispered. "Speak up. I can't understand you." Christina hissed into Melanie's ear. Melanie laughed and gave her a hug. "No one's going to bite you. You can talk up." The little girl looked down at her feet. "Do you want a cake?" The golden haired head bobbed up and down. "I reckon that would be fine with everyone as long as you don't make a mess." "Would she like a cup of milk?" Amanda jumped up from the wing chair where she perched. "She'd love one. I can't remember the last time we had milk." The warmth and friendship of the group wrapped itself around Melanie like the quilt would wrap around the baby. It had been too long since she'd had another woman she could call friend. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed it. "Couldn't get your pa to watch her for an afternoon?" Florence peered at her over the top of her spectacles. "I couldn't even get Pa to let me come into town." Melanie stared at the stitches. They blurred in front of her eyes. "He expressed his thoughts on the subject at the top of his lungs. A waste of time he said." "And you came anyway?" A warm smile lit up Suzy's face. "I appreciate your help, but I hope it doesn't get you into too much trouble." "If he gets back before I do, he'll probably be so far into his cups he won't remember I wasn't about." Melanie shifted slightly so Christina could nestle against her, pulling on the comfort she offered. "Besides, it's worth it. I don't get much chance to spend time in the company of other women." She didn't care what Pa said. Not this time. "Ain't that the truth of it." Lettie rubbed her neck. "Men folk don't understand the hankering women get to be together to talk." "It does get mighty lonely in the fields." Mrs. Schmitz's rheumatic fingers took slow even stitches in the fabric. "Well, somebody else better come up expecting soon so's we'll have another excuse to do this again." Suzy reached for another square. "Take too long for any of us. Most of us will be gone by the time another baby's ready to be born."

Mabel took a piece of cake. "Besides, I ain't having no more. Six young 'uns to tend is more than enough." Laughter filled the room. "Six isn't anything." Lettie set her tea cup down and knotted her thread. "I'll trade your six for my ten. And boys everyone of 'em. At least you got yourself four girls." "Girls ain't worth much according to my Horace. They can't mine gold or work, though he does have the oldest out in the mud with him." Mabel bit off a hunk of the cake. "Men don't ever think girls are worth much until they're where none's available to warm their beds." Suzy threaded her needle. "Then they change their tune real quick." "Don't they." Amanda filled tea cups and passed them around to the women. "We don't have time to wait for another baby to come along, but we could make a wedding quilt just as well." Lettie reached for the sugar. "That's a wonderful idea." Florence took a cup from Amanda. Melanie felt everyone's eyes on her. She kept her head bent, making sure her stitches remained small and even. Suzy smiled over the top of her cup. "Got to find Melanie a beau."

Chapter Four Melanie shifted Christina in her lap hoping the other woman wouldn't see her blush. In her dreams, Cal could court her, but in real life, she hadn't the time. And besides, who would want her. She dressed in near tatters. And she didn't want this life. She wanted a real home like Amanda's. Not a tent like the other women. She was tired of chasing Pa's dreams. "I don't have time for a beau. I've got two children and a pa to tend." "That's not the same at all." Lettie squinted at the seam she'd been sewing and picked out several stitches. "No, it ain't." Suzy poked thread at the needle she held. "I don't plan to get hooked up with some miner and spend the rest of my days moving from gold field to gold field." Melanie took Christina's cup and set it aside. She didn't want the others to think she felt herself better than them, but she had to hold to the hope of getting out. She wasn't tied to a husband. "None of us does, but a woman's got to go where her man does, even if it ain't the best of lives. I remember when we had a little farm." Lettie sighed and looked plaintive. "I had a real house with glass window panes and a wood roof that didn't leak in the rain." "We all remember those times." Suzy held her needle poised in the air. "We'll have them again as soon as the gold fever goes away. It's a sickness like a lot of things. But that doesn't mean we have to find a

miner for Melanie. She's right. She should be looking for a better life." A sigh rattled from Suzy. Mabel cut the thread with her teeth and inspected the pieces on which she'd been working. "Miners is about all we got around here." "She needs someone better than a miner." Lettie arched her back and stretched. "She's too pretty to be dragging through mud the rest of her life." "And right smart, too." Amanda reached for a quilt square and stitched on it. "Why, she came in to discuss some business with Cyrus. She dealt him from the bottom of the deck and he never even figured it out." The women laughed. Melanie winced. She hated the business dealings Pa forced upon her with his constant wagering of their wagon and team. If she didn't have to care for the children, she would be shed of him and the underhanded dealings that kept the family together. But she would never allow the children to suffer, no matter what Pa did and no matter what she had to do. "I know who we should be setting a snare for." Suzy grinned. "The marshal. Right good looking man he be, and smart. Wouldn't mind him warming my bed." "Suzy Mitchell, that's no way to be talking in front of Melanie. She's not been introduced to the ways of men," scolded Mabel. "Then it's about time she was." Suzy let the edge of the quilt fall into her lap. "And the marshal would be a fine way to get an introduction." The room full of women laughed. Melanie concentrated on her stitches, afraid her earlier thoughts of the marshal would show on her face. *** Cal leaned against the door to his office and watched the women file into Cyrus' store. He gazed on Missus Whittaker with the child cradled on her hip. The gentle sway of her hips made her skirt swish. The tiny hand clutching at her side pulled the material tight across her breasts, emphasizing their roundness and fullness. Cal took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. He tried to look away. Down the street where the music issued forth from Red's. But he couldn't get his eyes to obey his mind. He watched her until she disappeared into the store. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and wondered when the day had turned so warm. He had to stop these thoughts about another man's wife. It wasn't healthy, in more ways than one. She'd haunted his dreams the last few nights, making it impossible to rest. If he became too tired, he'd get careless and he couldn't afford that. He had to put her from his mind; from his dreams. Cal set his hat back on his head. Maybe he'd mosey on over and get a piece of licorice from the store. Cyrus would welcome the company with all those women buzzing in there. Maybe he'd even take one of those cigars he'd been offered. Cal tipped his hat back as he stepped down onto the dusty street and headed for the store. ***

Smoothing down her skirts, Melanie wished she had a full length mirror in which to see herself. It had taken some doing, but she'd managed to finish the dress for the Saturday night dance. She wished the skirts were a little wider, but making Christina a frock also, she'd had to cut back some. Not owning a crinoline, it was probably for the best. The second ruffle added the illusion of width and the skirt did swish nicely. It would work well for dancing, and even if the marshal didn't show up, she'd suffer from no shortage of dance partners. Not that she really cared if she danced with anyone else. At least she'd get to go into town. Tugging at the waistline of her garment, she tried to force the thoughts of the marshal from her mind. She'd have female company which in itself was a blessing. Besides the women from the camp, there'd be the women from town, including the ones from the saloons. They always came to events like this one. All the camps were the same. Such a shortage of women abounded, the men didn't care about the "girls" being in the same place as their wives, the few who had brought their families along. And the women, they didn't have much to say about it. The respectable women sat on one side and the "ladies" on the other. She was being fanciful if she thought the marshal would notice her amongst all those women from which he had to choose. "Come here, Christina." She held her hands out to the little girl sitting quietly on a blanket next to her own cot. "Time to get dressed." "You look real pretty, Melly." "Thank you." She curtsied. "You'll look as beautiful when I'm done." After slipping the new dress over the child's head, she tied back her hair with a piece of blue ribbon. Melanie turned the child to look at her. "Lovely, as I said." "You gonna put a ribbon in your hair?" She sat down on the cot and picked up the bit of cracked mirror she had. Another piece of the blue ribbon lay next to her. She could catch up her curls at the back. "Yeah, I think so." Finishing her hair, she stood and brushed down her skirt. "Ready?" Christina reached out her hand to Melanie. Together they left the tent. "Wow!" Pa's voice boomed around Melanie. She beamed, glad Pa approved and hadn't questioned too closely as to from where the dress goods had come. "You sure are a sight, Missy. Ain't she a beauty, Andy. Reminds me of her ma." He sniffed. "Aw, Pa." Andy shuffled his feet in the dirt. "Stop that, Andy. You're stirring up dust." Melanie took a step back, staring at Pa. "Now, Pa, remember you promised you wouldn't drink tonight. Just socialize." "Don't you fret, Missy. I won't be drinking. A promise is a promise. Besides, I'll have the most beautiful woman in the place on my arm." He smiled showing his chipped front tooth. Taking Melanie's arm, he helped her into the wagon. Melanie took Christina from Pa and held her, letting Andy's prattle wash over her as her mind wandered.

Would Pa keep his promise this once? She tried not to sigh. Nothing she did would make any difference. She forced herself to focus on the night ahead. Mrs. Schmitz would be there as well as the few other women in the camp. She would concentrate on the fact she would get another chance to visit with them. Most of the time they were all too busy taking care of their families, but when the festivities started, they made up for it. The music drifted out of the tent erected at the end of town and the happy tune enlivened her spirits. The lively sound contained none of the tinny quality that issued forth from Red's but had a warm sound that touched her soul and made it sing. As they entered the tent, Pa dropped her arm and headed to the back side of the tent where men gathered around, passing a bottle back and forth while they swaggered and exaggerated the amount of gold they'd found. A sigh rattled from her. So much for promises. She turned to see Andy heading toward a small group of boys. "Don't you leave this area, Andy," Melanie called after him. He turned and glared at her. She shook her head. "Just you and me, Christina." Like always. Moving across the straw-strewn tent, she sat on one of the packing boxes used for chairs. Christina plunked down on the straw and played with several other small girls. "My, don't you look purty tonight." Mrs. Schmitz pulled the ends of a gray wool shawl about her shoulders. "Thank you," murmured Melanie as she gazed around the room, hoping to see the marshal. Her body sagged after finishing her inspection. He had work to do in town and probably was glad for a Saturday when the women came out and about. It would give him a quiet evening. Suzy leaned over and touched the fabric of Melanie's skirt. "What I wouldn't give for a new dress." "Should make your husband buy you the fabric." Mabel smoothed her worn gloves. "It'll be as soon as your husband does." Suzy folded her hand on her belly. "All my worthless man gives me is more babies." They all laughed. "Suzy, that's a dreadful thing to say." Melanie laid her hands in her lap, laughing. "Might be terrible, but it's true." Suzy let her worn green shawl slip down her arm. "Ain't that the truth." Mabel spread a blanket on the straw in front of her and laid her youngest boy down. "By the way, how did you come by the money for dress goods?" "Pa bought it for me, Mabel." Melanie straightened her shoulders. She couldn't admit to anyone she'd bought it herself with gold she'd found. Then everyone would want to know where and she wouldn't tell about that evil place. It would only take more lives. She'd been lucky to get out unharmed. "Must have been in his cups." Mrs. Schmitz shifted on the box, straightening out one leg.

"Way in," joined in Mabel. All of the women laughed. "So I might as well get some enjoyment from the whiskey." Melanie joined the laughter of the other women, letting the lies that went with Pa's drinking drift away. She wouldn't let them tarnish the evening. "Now who's being dreadful?" Lettie smiled and leaned forward. "Did you hear what happened to the Coates family?" Melanie let the gossip wash over her as she let the music carry her away to a place filled with happiness, where loneliness never entered. Normally, she would have paid attention. Somehow hearing about other people's woes seemed to make hers a little lighter, but tonight she had no desire to share anyone's misery. She wanted to dream about being held in the marshal's arms and twirled around the dance floor. Tonight she wanted only to think of love and a home and family of her own. For a few moments, the dream could seem attainable. For a few moments. "Melanie, where are you?" Mabel's voice jarred her out of her dream world. "Huh?" "Andy's over yonder rolling in the dirt tussling with some other young man." Mrs. Schmitz pointed. "Oh, for heaven's sake. Keep an eye on Christina, please." Melanie groaned, thrust herself to her feet and made her way through the growing crowd of young boys. Standing over Andy, she reached down, grabbed his ear and twisted. "Andrew Wittaker, what do you think you're doing?" "Yeow." Andy tried to kick her, but she stepped back. "You know better than to act this way." "You let go of me, Melly, or I'll call Pa." "Too late. Figure he's on about his sixth drink and he won't care one way or t'other." The other young boy made a lung at Andy and Melanie caught him by his shoulder. "Thomas Kennedy, you stop this instant or I'll take you over to your pa and let him tan the hide off of you." Both boys looked down at their feet, grumbling. "Tommy, you go on back to your ma." Melanie maintained her hold on Andy's ear, dragging him across the floor. "I ain't gonna sit with the ladies." "You will if you can't behave." Melanie never slowed her step until she returned to her seat. She plunked the boy down on the floor. He bounded up like a jack-in-the-box and started away.

Grabbing his ear again, she yanked him back to the floor. "Sit. And don't think about moving." "Melly," he whined. "I'm not in the mood to listen to you right now." He'd ruined her daydreams which put her in less of a mind to listen to his nonsense. Mabel laughed. "Boys are so much work." "It isn't a laughing matter." Melanie sat down. "If you don't laugh about it, the little tykes will get the best of you. Eventually, they grow up and leave home." Mabel shifted on the hard box. "By then I'll be too old to care." Melanie sighed. By then she'd be too old to have a life of her own. But fretting about it wouldn't change anything. Only dampen her humor. "Of course, 'tis different in your case, seeing as they ain't your children." Suzy balled her hands against her back. "That do make a difference." Mabel smoothed her rose colored skirt. "Now, Lettie, finish your story." She leaned toward the other woman. "I ain't gonna listen to them gossips," Andy whined. Melanie plunked him on the head with her finger. "Shush." So much for dreaming about twirling around the dance floor. Reality always had a way of crashing in like a landslide. She let herself be drawn into the conversation, then one of the miners yanked Lettie away to dance in the middle of a sentence. "Why there's Amanda." Mrs. Schmitz waved at the woman across the room. "Amanda," she hollered over the din. Melanie watched the smiling woman weave her way towards them. The whole room seemed to brighten as Amanda moved through it. "Join us." Suzy patted an empty spot on a crate. Amanda sat and smoothed her neat navy blue skirt with spotless white gloves. "This must be Andy." She pointed to the sulking boy. "Yep." "Anyone seen the marshal?" Amanda's eyes sparkled. Mabel leaned forward, clutching her rough, ungloved hands in her lap. "You talk with him?" "About what?" A sinking feeling hit Melanie's stomach. The woman really wouldn't try to fix her up with Cal. He wouldn't have any use for the likes of her. Amanda patted Melanie's leg. "I spoke with him."

"And?" Mrs. Schmitz leaned in closer. "He sputtered on about being busy and having no time for socializing." Melanie sighed. Of course the marshal wouldn't have time for dances. At least if he stayed away, she wouldn't have to face his rejection. "What a lot of nonsense." Suzy shook her hair and a strand of brown hair came loose. "That's what I told him." Amanda brushed a bit of straw from her skirt. "Cyrus will make sure he shows up. Doesn't want to be stuck here alone." Suzy's eyes widened. "You got your husband to help?" Amanda smoothed back her graying hair and smiled. "He'll do most anything I ask." She looked from one woman to another. "Besides, he has no idea of what's happening." The women laughed. Melanie groaned. The marshal was about to be ambushed and it would be all over before he had a chance to defend himself. All over for him. And her. Suzy poked Melanie in the ribs and she glanced up. A miner, a young man in need of a hair cut, stood in front of her, his hat clutched in his hand. "Care to dance, Miss?" She looked at Christina playing contentedly to the side. Glancing down at Andy, she hesitated. "All right. Andy, go and play, but stay away from Tom Kennedy or I'll make you stay with Christina." "Aw, Melly." He kicked his toe in the straw. "I mean it." She rose and stepped in front of the man, walking to the dance floor. The man put his hand at her waist, touching her as if she were a fragile flower he might crush. His cheap cologne and hair tonic wafted around her reminding her of wilted wildflowers turned brown. She smiled up at him anyway, laying her hand on his shoulder. He clutched her hand in his own clammy one. A shudder threatened to pass through her. Would this be all that life ever held? Gangly young men mooning over her until she got too old, and then she'd be left to sit in the corner like Mrs. Schmitz. "You're Mister Wittaker's daughter, ain't ya?" "Yes." "Look real purtty." "Thank you." She winced as he stepped on her foot. "Sorry." He glanced down and his face reddened. "Not much at dancing." "That's all right." His rhythm clashed with the music. She stifled the groan building way down inside of her and prayed the dance would end while she still had feet. She continued to smile. His grin showed several missing teeth. "Excuse me, but I believe this is my dance."

Melanie glanced over toward the male voice and her smile brightened as she saw Cal, then dimmed as she remembered what the woman had in mind for the marshal. The young man looked down at her and then glanced toward the marshal. "Aw, Marshal," the young man groaned. "We just started." "I need to talk with her for a moment. You can have a dance later." Cal reached for Melanie's hand and twirled her away from the man. Melanie watched the dejected boy walk back across the floor. "You broke his heart." "It would have been your foot if I hadn't." "Undoubtedly. But he was trying his best." She tried not to giggle. Her dream had turned into reality for a moment. A moment she would store in her memories to relive on cold, lonely nights. And she wouldn't let the women intrude on this brief interlude and taint it. "I should thank you." "It will be thanks enough to dance with you." His smile lit up his face. "He only let you cut in because you're the marshal and you scare him." His green eyes reminded her of the grassy meadows around the gold fields, peaceful, safe. "I know that. If I can't use my position once in awhile to my benefit, it makes for a dreary life." His hand held her firmly at the waist as he glided her across the floor, avoiding the drunken men dancing. "Besides, I'm the envy of every man here. And, Amanda insisted I save your toes." "And, pray tell, why is that?" "Because I have the most beautiful woman in the room as my partner." The blush heated her face and she glanced down. "Course just having a female partner puts me in an enviable position, but to have the prettiest one dressed in such a lovely gown makes the rest of 'em just plain jealous." He winked at her. Melanie looked away, uncertain what to say. Most of the men danced with each other because of the shortage of women in the camps. In fact, the real reason Mrs. Schmitz sat was because her rheumatism bothered her so much, or a line of men would be forming at her feet despite her age. Melanie let the music caress her and block out the smell of whiskey mixed with crushed straw, concentrating on the feel of his hand touching hers. Warmth crept from his skin to hers. A flutter started deep within her, heating her to the core. The new sensation swept through her, making her feel giddy. She wanted the music to last forever. She wanted to freeze this moment so she'd never have to return to reality. A sigh issued from her lips as the musicians stopped, setting their instruments down to take a break. "Thank you, kind lady." The marshal offered her his arm. "Would you like something to drink?" "I don't believe you'll find much besides whiskey." She laid her hand on his sleeve. The marshal had strong hands without calluses. He didn't dig in the dirt looking for riches. He got paid to protect those who did. She wondered what it would be like to touch those hands. Heat flooded her face. She

remembered her stepmother's remarks about her pa's rough hands reddening her skin when he touched her. "Then maybe a walk outside in the cool night air. It's a bit warm inside." She fanned herself. It did seem awfully warm. "I can't leave the children alone." She glanced over to see Christina still playing near Mrs. Schmitz and Andy playing across the tent with some other boys. "They appear to be fine. The others will watch out for them for a few minutes." He patted her hand. "Oh, but Andy could be in trouble in the blink of an eye." She should remove her hand, but she liked the feel of his soft wool jacket beneath her fingers. For a few more seconds she wanted to remain close to him. "It won't matter whether you're here or not. Boys will find trouble. It's their nature." He smiled at her. Melanie wanted to see that smile forever. "I still shouldn't go off. They're my responsibility." "You'll only be outside. Besides, I need to talk with you." "About what?" "What we talked about the other day." He edged closer to the door. She hesitated for a moment. Was this part of the women's plan. Get her alone with the marshal where something compromising might happen. Were they laying a trap? For him? And her? "Only for a minute, Marshal." "Please, call me Cal." He made her feel so alive, so safe. It had been so long since she'd felt safe. Not since before her mother died. She didn't want to be responsible for anyone. Not right now. For this moment she didn't care what might happen. She nodded her head to him. "Such a pretty night." He stared up toward the stars. "Everywhere you go, you find the same stars up above." "I read some places have different stars." She leaned her head back to follow his gaze. "The other side of the world, but I've never traveled that far." He edged her away from the tent flap and into the darkness of the night. "Me, either." They wandered a short distance from the gathering of people. "It's so quiet out here." A quiet full of promises. Melanie saw a shooting star and made a wish. "Peaceful." "Umm." She did feel peaceful. The sensation most often alluded her. "What did you want to tell me?"

He turned her to face him. "I did some nosing around. The best I can figure, the...the body you found is probably some miner that disappeared a couple years back." "I didn't think any mining was done around here then." "Prospectors are found all over the place. One of them gets mouthy, then the place gets overrun." "I never thought of that." She looked at his mouth. A strong mouth like the rest of the man. She wondered what it would be like to have him kiss her. She'd never been kissed by a man before, but the sensations running through her guaranteed it would be wonderful. She forced herself to look away. Such improper thoughts. But just once. Once before she grew old and no man wanted her. Once before she spent the rest of her life taking care of her pa and his children. At least she'd have one more memory for the dark and lonely nights stretching ahead of her in endless procession. She found she had tilted her head back and leaned toward him. Quickly, she stepped back. "I best get back inside and check on the children." "I don't hear any squabbles." "You couldn't over the drunken men. Doesn't mean Andy hasn't gotten into trouble or Christina doesn't need me." She let him hold her hands, enjoying his touch. "Stay just a moment more and enjoy the night. How often do you get the chance?" His gaze bore into her and made her heart beat faster and her breath stuck in her throat. "Nearly never." She laughed, her lips parting. "Nearly never." Most nights by the time she finished her chores and got the children to bed, the bone-tiredness overtook her and she had energy for nothing more than to fall upon her own cot. "Then, you deserve the moment. Take it for yourself." "I can't." She hesitated. She should pull her hands from his. But they seemed to have a will of their own and refused to part with his touch. She gazed into eyes that promised peace and happiness. If she could only capture what they promised. Suddenly his lips touched hers, gently, then more insistently. Their warmth sent unfamiliar surges of pleasure through her body. She wanted to feel more. Her hands wrapped around his neck. Cal pulled her hands from his neck and set her back from him. "My God, what have I done," he whispered. "You looked so beautiful in the moonlight. So irresistible. I had no right." He stepped away. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have... I didn't mean..." Her face colored. She turned away from him. Did she kiss so badly he was sorry he'd kissed her? "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Whittaker's voice boomed from behind him. Cal reached for his colt, his fingers wrapping around the grip. "Oh hell," he muttered. "I'm going to get

myself killed over another man's wife. Not that I blame the man. If she were my wife, I'd make damn sure no other male came sniffing around her." Cal turned toward Whittaker. "It wasn't what you think..." "You got no right kissing her. I don't care if you're the marshal." Whittaker's words slurred together and he swayed. Sweat beaded on Cal's forehead. "You're right." Whittaker took a step toward Cal. The smell of liquor filled the air. Whittaker took a swing, grazing the side of Cal's face. Cal stepped back. Whittaker swung again, missing Cal and falling into a heap at his feet. Melanie shook as she clenched her fists at her sides. Angry tears ran down her face as she screamed, "You promised. You promised you wouldn't drink. Just once, couldn't you keep your promise, Pa?"

Chapter Five Cal stared at Melanie, then down at the prone figure. Her pa. The man was her pa. Not her husband. He closed his mouth, took off his hat, and wiped his brow. Her pa. Something inside him shouted for joy. This beautiful woman wasn't married to that poor excuse for a man. Then the children weren't hers. They had to be her brother and sister. He looked at her once more. She clenched her fists tightly, shaking. Why did she stay with the man? She was old enough to leave and have a home of her own. Men wanting to court her had to be hiding behind every rock and tree in this territory and every place else she'd ever been. He couldn't believe anyone so beautiful hadn't been whisked away by some man. She'd make an excellent wife. While Melanie brushed the angry tears from her eyes with the back of her hands, Cal watched. With her chin held high, she bent beside her pa and shook him by the shoulder. "Come on, Pa. Can you get up?" The anger in her voice had given way to acceptance. Acceptance of what she could never change. "He hit...," came the slurred reply. "No, Pa, you fell on your face. Do you think you can walk to the wagon and I'll drive us back to camp?" Whittaker pushed himself up on one elbow and glared at his daughter. "I'm not ready to go. I have to settle with the marshal." His head swayed back and forth. "And you, Missy, letting him take advantage of you. I won't have no daughter of mine acting like a trollop." "Pa, it was just a kiss, nothing more." Melanie's voice came soothingly as an ointment on a sore. "I don't care. No daughter of mine'll act like that." He raised his hand to shake his fist at her and fell face first into the dirt. "Leave him." Cal took Melanie's arm and lifted her to her feet. Reaching up, he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'll load him in your wagon."

Melanie stared at her feet. "Thank you." Her voice came barely above a whisper. "I'll get the children." "Leave them." He lifted her chin and looked into her face. Her cheeks were tinged with pink, but she looked him straight in the eyes. Her eyes shone with sadness and distress, but not defeat. "I need to take Pa home." The softness of her skin made him hold her chin a bit longer than he needed. He wanted to kiss those lips again that curved up at the edges. She had tasted so sweet. And her skin had a softness he'd never expected to find in a woman facing the ardors of a mining camp. "He's passed out. You might as well enjoy the rest of the dance." Melanie stared him in the eyes, questioning. "I'm ready to return to the tent." She shook her skirt, loosing the dirt from the hem. "Melanie, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed by your father's actions. You have no control over your parent." She looked away into the night "It's best to call it a night before..." He reached over and bussed her on the cheek. "Nonsense. So little about this place brings joy. You need to capture every bit you can." Besides, he wanted to hold her in his arms again now that he knew she didn't belong to another man. He wanted to savor being with a beautiful woman for a few minutes more because that enjoyment would be as fleeting as everything else about this place. But everyone else here had their dreams. He could indulge in his until the starkness of reality dispelled it along with the miners' dreams. He bent down and lifted Whittaker from the dirt, hanging him over his shoulder. Rescuing this drunken sot was becoming a habit, a habit for which he didn't care. Laying the man in the back of the wagon Cal ignored the slurred mutterings and turned back to Melanie. "Come inside and dance with me." Melanie hesitated. "Everyone will know Pa's caused a scene." She didn't want to feel the sympathy from the other women. Too many times before sympathy had been offered when Pa had caused problems. And she didn't want her new-found friends offering it. She hated when Pa intruded upon the little bit of life she could call her own. But she wanted to dance with Cal again. The magical moment of being in his arms had chased away all of the ugliness brought by the broken miners' hopes. "You have to face them sometime." He took her hand in his. "The women will understand and most of the men are so far into their cups they won't even remember the dance, let alone what your Pa did." Cal's hand was strong and his touch made her skin tingle. She hesitated, then nodded her head. Yes. She wanted to dance with him again. She'd made this dress specially for him and Pa would not ruin her evening. Not this one, at least. "I'd very much like to dance again." He smiled and brushed his lips across the back of her hand, sending shivers through her. "'Tis my pleasure, my lady." ***

Pulling her worn flowered dress over her head, Melanie went to fetch water to start Pa's coffee. As the rich smell of the brewing liquid wafted toward the tent, Melanie fried bacon. She had a tiny bit of the butter Amanda had given her left for the biscuits, but it would be gone with breakfast. Pa stumbled out of the tent, buttoning his pants over his red long johns. She handed him a cup of coffee and he sat on an up-ended crate they used for a chair. Rubbing his hands through his graying brown hair, he stared toward the swirling river. He took a long drink of the hot liquid. "It's no use, Missy." He looked at her through blood shot eyes. "What's no use?" Melanie squatted to turn the bacon in the pan balanced above the fire on rocks. Christina drew designs in the dirt as she sat beside her. "No gold's left." He rubbed his hand over the stubble of beard covering his chin. "I heard there's better pickin's 'bout thirty miles from here. I figure we'll pull up stakes and move on day after tomorrow. Give me time to get some supplies for the road and you time to break camp." He reached for the plate she handed him. "You should have time to say good-bye to the other women in camp, but I won't be holding to you going into town to talk with the storekeep's wife, nor the marshal. You got enough to do here." Melanie looked toward the river where Andy played. The thought of moving on bore into her until she feared she would scream. For the first time in months she couldn't bear to leave a place. The next one wouldn't be any different, only the next one wouldn't have Amanda who gave the women a little taste of home. Nor would there be a Cal. Only awkward clumsy boys who stared at her from afar. Boys chasing dreams of which she didn't want to be part. "Andy, breakfast," she called and handed Christina a plate. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat on another crate. Her appetite had fled with Pa's words. Her world would never hold any dreams, just drudgery. And to believe otherwise was just plain foolishness. Pa dropped his empty plate into the dirt before disappearing into the tent. He came out with a bottle of whiskey in one hand. "I'm going off to talk with some of the men who know where the gold's better." Melanie watched him take a swig before he disappeared among the tents. He wouldn't return for hours, unless he passed out, and then he wouldn't be back before morning. She'd be shed of him until then. Tomorrow would be soon enough to pack up camp. Slowly she stood and gathered the tin plates. Pressing her fingers against her lips, she smiled to herself. She could still feel Cal's warm lips against hers. She swirled around as if dancing. Pa could move them from one God-forsaken camp to the next, but he couldn't steal her memories. She'd tuck them away where he couldn't touch them. Then when she lay alone on her cot in the next tent town along another part of the river, she'd dance again with Cal, feel him holding her in his arms, and his lips pressed against hers. She didn't care what Pa said. She wouldn't leave Gold Strike without saying good-bye to Amanda. Or Cal. *** With his ankles crossed, Cal stood leaning against the door frame to his office. There had to be some reason for him to ride out to the gold camps. Something that sounded legitimate. Something other than his desire to see Melanie. He dusted his hat against his pants' leg. He should know better than to get involved with a pretty woman. He should have learned his lesson in Philadelphia, but she drew him as the gold drew the miners who streamed through the area.

But he really didn't have to worry about giving away his heart. Her Pa would pack them up and move on before long. These miners never stayed in one place for more than a short stretch of days. The thought of Melanie leaving tugged at his heart. Melanie Whittaker was the only thing about this place that held any value. And when she left, and she would, he'd be alone again. Alone in his self-imposed exile. He pushed himself away from the wall. No excuses came to mind, but he might yet come up with one on the ride out to the camp. Lazily, he swung his leg over his horse and turned the animal toward the other end of town. A freight wagon came down the street at break-neck speed and Cal stopped to watch its progress. A prim looking middle-aged woman sat on the wagon seat, her back ram-rod straight, trying to maintain her balance while the freight driver raced down the street kicking up a cloud of dust. George never brought passengers when he delivered goods to Cyrus' store. The fact the man reeked of stale sweat and whiskey deterred most people from riding with him. The more persistent ones usually got off the first time George stopped to unload and refused to board the wagon again. George prided himself on scaring off passengers. He hated having any other human on his wagon. Cal slid from his saddle. Any woman who could survive a ride with George warranted further investigation. Especially one who looked like a city lady. He'd stop by Cyrus' for a moment before he rode to the camps. At least he'd have a story with which to entertain Melanie. As the wagon jerked to a stop, the woman straightened her skirt and then her hat. "Well, don't just sit there," she snapped. "I haven't got all day. Help me down." George tumbled over the side of the wagon. "Dang woman." He stomped around and reached up for his passenger who was of ample size. Cal tied his horse to the hitching post outside the store and watched, wondering if the five-foot-two scrawny man would end up at the bottom of a heap of woolen skirts and woman flesh. She pushed him away and brushed the dirt from her skirt. She looked at the front of the store then down the street. Her head tilted back so she appeared to be looking down her nose. "I told you to stop at the hotel." "And I told ya there ain't no hotel." George turned and trudged toward the mercantile. "Come back here, young man. I need my luggage." She spoke with such authority Cal half expected George to return and retrieve the luggage from atop the wagon. Cal laughed to himself as George disappeared inside, banging the door behind him. "Can I be of assistance, ma'am?" He removed his hat and inclined his head. The woman gave Cal a hard stare. "I need help with my bags and directions to the hotel." Cal climbed up the side of the wagon and slid down a trunk. Then he lifted down two carpet bags. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we don't have a hotel in Gold Strike. Red rents rooms upstairs sometimes." She raised an eyebrow. "Red?" She looked up the street. Her eyes widened. "You can't possibly mean over the saloon."

Cal stood next to the bags. "We don't get enough travelers through here to need a hotel. Most people come with tents on their wagons and make camp down by the river." She looked him up and down and he felt like he was in first grade again standing in front of the school marm when she'd caught him poking his neighbor rather than practicing his letters. "The saloon is not a proper place for a lady to stay." She turned and walked into the store. "Bring my bags," she snapped over her shoulder. Cal picked up the two carpet bags, leaving the trunk in the middle of the roadway, and followed. "I need a room and some information," the woman said to Amanda. Amanda smoothed her hair back and tucked the errant strands into the bun at the nape of her neck. "Red's is the only place in town with rooms for rent." The woman waved her hand in dismissal. Amanda smiled as Cal placed the bags next to the woman. "Information I can surely help you with." She held her hand out to the woman. "I'm Amanda O'Neil." The woman didn't take her hand. "Myrtle Johnson and I'm looking for my niece, Melanie Whittaker. I heard her worthless Pa dragged her to this area." Amanda's brow furrowed together while she studied Myrtle. Then a smile spread across her face. "You're Melanie's aunt." "That's what I said," snapped Myrtle. "Is the child still here abouts? You can't believe how many gold miners' camps I've been to the last two months." She straightened her jacket and brushed at the dust. "And why are you looking for her?" Cal took a step closer to the woman. Myrtle turned and gave him the once over. "I don't see how that's any of your business." "As marshal of this territory, I'm making it my business." Cal crossed his arms in front of him. Someone else to whisk Melanie away, but at least not to another camp. "Lots of strangers come through here, and usually when one of them's looking for someone, it's because he's owed money or something else and trouble follows." "Humph." Myrtle turned back to Amanda. "Such nonsense. Now why would I be looking for my niece with anything but her welfare in mind." Amanda reached across and patted Myrtle's hand. "Cal's just cautious. Any trouble and he has to deal with it. Of course you're not here to hurt the girl." "Then you won't mind telling us why you're here," Cal repeated. Myrtle turned and looked at him as though he were a pesky fly. "To take her back home to Ohio where she belongs. I can't abide my sister's only daughter being dragged from one hell-hole to another. It isn't fittin' or proper. She needs to be where she can find herself a husband and live in a proper home." Cal nodded. The woman was right. Melanie needed to be free from the lout of a father who thought of

nothing but his next drink. She needed a proper home, not a dirty tent, and proper dresses like the one she'd worn last night. His heart tightened. As much as she belonged with her aunt, he didn't want her to leave. But the leaving was inevitable and it would be better to be with Aunt Myrtle than Mr. Whittaker. Not only for Melanie, but for the babies. "I know where they're camped. I can take you there." Myrtle glared at him. "That would be right nice of you, young man." She turned back to Amanda. "However, I still have the problem of no where to stay while I make arrangements to retrieve my niece from that drunken sot of a father of hers." "I don't rent rooms." Amanda wiped her hands on her apron. "But I'd be more than glad to let you use our spare bedroom, being Melanie's aunt and all. She's such a sweet girl, taking care of those two little ones. We've become quite good friends." "I wouldn't want to be beholden to you." Myrtle opened her reticule. "I would insist on paying." Amanda put her hand over Myrtle's. "Nonsense. To survive out here, we all end up beholden to someone. Doesn't mean we have to pay that person back, just help another. You're here to help Melanie. That's enough." Myrtle looked at her for a moment, then turned to Cal. "I'll need to rent a rig. I don't ride." "We don't have a stable here either." Cal reached for a piece of licorice. As he chewed the end, he realized he'd missed home and having a family more and more. "Cyrus has several wagons and teams. I'm sure he'll let you use one." "I'll let who use what?" Cyrus lugged in a crate and set it behind the counter. "Canned goods to unpack," he said to Amanda. She nodded at him. "This here is Melanie's Aunt Myrtle." Cyrus wiped his hands on his apron and nodded to her. "Nice to meet you. You don't look much like the gold mining type." "What nonsense." Myrtle rolled her eyes heavenward. "I've come to take my niece home and have need of one of your wagons." "I could rent it for twenty-five dollars." Cyrus leaned against the counter, sweat stains showing on his shirt sleeves. "I only wish to rent it, not buy it." She tilted her head backwards. "I'll give you a dollar and promise to have it back before dark." "Out here, things cost more." Cyrus stared Myrtle straight in the eyes. "I can't go a bit below twenty. 'Twouldn't be worth my while." "Cyrus..." Amanda started to say. "Highway robbery. That's what it is." Myrtle took two dollars from her reticule and laid it on the counter. "Now, where's this team I've rented?"

Cal suppressed a laugh. He knew where Melanie had learned her bargaining abilities. "The wagon's out back. I'll go hitch it up." Cyrus sputtered as Myrtle turned to walk into the street. "And I need my trunk brought in and my bags taken to your spare room." *** A child's wailing cut through the quiet morning air. Melanie shoved back the tent flap, emerging into the strong Colorado sunlight. Blinking against the offending brightness, she shaded her eyes with her hand trying to locate the sound. Near the river's edge. She lifted her skirts and sprinted toward the water. She should never have tried to rest for a few minutes with the children outside. But, she'd been so tired. And tomorrow there would be so much to get done. If something happened to one of them she would never forgive herself. Christina's wailing grew louder as she raced over the rough ground. She couldn't be hurt too badly if she could muster such screams. As Melanie zigged around the wooden trough set up by Pa for gold mining, she saw the child sprawled face down on the muddy bank. Stooping, she scooped the child into her arms. "Hush, baby. Stop crying. Tell me what's wrong." Melanie's voice crooned into the little girl's ear. "Andy...pushed...me." The child hiccuped between sobs. Melanie shook her head as she lifted the three-year-old and slung her across her hip so that Christina's legs encircled her. Brushing back the wisps of muddy blonde hair, she sighed and shifted the child to lug her back to the tent. "Andrew Wittaker, you come here this instant." A small toothful grin greeted her from the other side of the trough. "Why'd you push your sister?" She glared at the little boy. "Honest, Melly, I didn't do nothing." He stared down at his feet. Melanie knew he would be shuffling his feet in the mud even though she couldn't see them. The little girl burrowed her face against Melanie's shoulder. "He did. He pushed me." She wailed anew. "I know, baby." Melanie rocked back and forth. "Hush. You're not hurt. Stop the caterwauling." "I hurt." The intensity of the crying increased. "You'll be fine." She patted the child's back. "Andrew, you're three years older than your sister. Why do you have to be so mean?" "She's a cry baby." His small face framed with wispy blond hair screwed up into a glare. "She's a baby."

"No, I not." The small voice sobbed into Melanie's shoulder. "Go back to the tent, Andrew." Melanie extended her arm and pointed. "No." Melanie glared at him. "Now." "Don't have to." "You do what I say." "Don't have to." Shifting Christina on her hip, she stomped around the trough, feeling the mud ooze between her bare toes. She made a grab for the defiant boy, snagging his shirt collar. "You let me go." He swung at her, his fist landing against her side. "You little hellion." "I don't have to do what you say. You're not my ma." She released his shirt and caught the edge of his ear. Twisting, she propelled him back toward the camp. "I may not be your ma, but when Pa isn't here, I'm in charge." Andy screamed and tried to kick Melanie in the shins. "I hate you." She twisted his ear harder as she endeavored not to slip in the muck. The cold muddy edge of her petticoat clung to her legs. Her body sagged. She was so tired. Tired of mud. Tired of crying children. Tired of taking care of a family that wasn't hers. She wanted to live in a real house again with a stove instead of a camp fire. She wanted a life of her own. She didn't want to move to yet another camp. "I'm not terribly fond of you at the moment either." "I'll tell Pa on you. He'll hide you for sure." She laughed. Giving Andrew a shove, she marched him back to the camp. "Pa won't care a fig about what I do as long as I keep you out of his way." "He does too. He promised to bring me a present when he goes to get supplies tomorrow." Andy stomped his foot. "He'll make you sorry you're mean to me." Melanie turned her head away from the boy's pouting face. Pa and his promises of presents. There wouldn't be any. They'd be lucky if Pa remembered supplies at all when he got to town and if he didn't lose their wagon in another poker game. She didn't have any way of retrieving it again without using her small stash of gold. And that she needed to save for food because she wasn't going back to that mountain. A sigh rattled through her body as she forced Andy to sit. He stuck out his tongue and glared at her. Turning away she set Christina on the ground. Stripping the muddy dress from the little girl, Melanie picked up a rag and dipped it in the bucket of water in front of the tent. She scrubbed at the child's face,

arms and legs, removing the worst. She'd have to get soap and take her back to the river to get the sludge out of Christina's hair. Would life ever change? She knew she shouldn't resent having to take care of her little brother and sister, but... Other women her age had husbands and children of their own. All she had was...nothing that she wanted. A tear formed at the edge of her eye. She wiped it with the back of her hand. This was nonsense. The little ones couldn't be faulted anymore than she could and she wouldn't take out her frustrations on them. Sulking over her life did nothing but waste time. No knight in shining armor would ride out of the sunset to whisk her away. No marshal either. "Come on, Christina. You need a bath." She took the child by the hand, grabbed a towel and picked up the bucket. "Andrew, stay by the tent 'til I get back." "I don't have to do what you say." Andy rose and crossed his arms across his chest. "Stay put or I'll take you down to the river and give you a bath." He plopped back down in the dirt, glaring at her. She trudged away, Christina in tow. Returning to the tent, she held the child wrapped in a towel. "I'll get you some dry clothes and then you can go play." "Hungry." Christina smiled as Melanie rubbed her hair dry. "I'll fix dinner in a bit." She still had enough flour for two batches of biscuits and a small piece of bacon. She would manage to feed them until tomorrow. Retrieving a brush from the tent, she sat on the upended bucket, dressing Christina then brushing her hair. She pulled it back into a thin plait which she tied with a small piece of golden ribbon. At the sound of horses hooves, she looked up. Cal drove a wagon toward her camp. She saw a smile spread across his face as he saw her. Bending, she tugged at Christina's dress to straighten it. "Go and play, but try to stay clean." Melanie smiled at the little girl and gave her a small push. "Stay near the tent. Don't go to the river." Christina turned and watched the approaching wagon, not moving from Melanie's side. Melanie brushed at the front of her dress, knowing her cheeks darkened. Christina's arms wrapped around her leg and she howled. Why did he have to arrive when she looked such a sight? Tucking a loose strand of hair back into the plait that wound around her head, she smiled back at him. "Stop your caterwauling, Christina. Andy, go watch your sister and make sure she doesn't go near the river. And don't you be pushing her again." "But..." "Now. I need you to help by taking care of your sister." He kicked his toe in the dirt sending up a cloud of dust. "I don't have to help." Melanie pried Christina from her leg and put her hand in Andy's. "Today you do." She turned back and stared as Cal brought the wagon to a halt. She wanted to crawl under a rock and disappear, except none were left that were big enough to hide a squirrel, let alone her. With Pa fixin' to move on, this would

probably be the last time she saw Cal. Why did she have to be covered with mud?

Chapter Six Cal watched Melanie finish tying a ribbon in Christina's hair and then look up at the wagon. A streak of mud ran across her cheek and he wanted to jump down from the wagon and wash it. Even in the worn, mud-stained dress, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. He could still taste her from the stolen kiss of last night. Somehow he'd have to steal one more to remember her by before her aunt whisked her away to Ohio. But then, Ohio wasn't so far away. He'd been meaning to ask for a new territory and he could wander that way while he decided where he wanted to settle. Cal pushed the thought away. Once she was back in a town, men would be fighting for the right to court her and she wouldn't remember the marshal from Gold Strike. She'd put him from her mind with all of the other unpleasantness. He drew the team to a stop and jumped down, walking around to help Aunt Myrtle. As he set her on the ground, she turned toward the tent. "Melanie Whittaker, you are a disgrace. Take yourself inside and clean-up. Your ma taught you better than to greet company dressed in such a manner." Melanie looked at the woman for a moment as if she'd never seen her before. "Aunt Myrtle? Whatever are you doing here?" Myrtle tapped her foot. "Did you hear me, child?" Melanie lowered her eyes. "Yes, ma'am, but I have to get clean water before I can do that." "Then be about it." Myrtle looked around. "You might offer a body a place to sit while they wait." Melanie brushed off one of the crates and indicated it to her aunt. "This is the best I can offer. I have coffee if you'd like some." She squared her shoulders and looked directly at her aunt. "Humph." Myrtle sat on the crate. "I'd love a cup of coffee." Cal took the other crate and smiled at Melanie. She'd definitely be better off in Ohio. Nothing about the torn tent spoke of a home. And the lot of them looked to be barely surviving. Removing the mud splatters down the front of her dress would do nothing more than reveal that it was threadbare. The little girl, scrubbed clean, was dressed in a nearly new yellow frock with golden ribbon bows decorating it. The boy had mud on his bare feet, but his clothes were neat and his hair was slicked back from his face. She obviously put the children first. More than he could say for their pa. She handed him a tin cup filled with coffee. "I'm sorry but I haven't any sugar to offer you." "This'll be fine." He sipped the liquid. It tasted as though she hadn't much coffee either. She retrieved a pail of water from the river and disappeared into her tent. When she returned, her face was clean and she'd changed into another thread-bare but clean dress. She should never have to be dressed in such a fashion. She should always have dresses to wear like the one she'd worn Saturday

night. She should have proper bonnets and gloves to protect her hands. Melanie didn't need beautiful things to make her beautiful, but she deserved them. "Are you sure you wouldn't like some coffee, Aunt Myrtle? I wish I could offer you some biscuits or something, but I have nothing at the moment." Melanie's hands dropped to her sides. "I would like a cup of tea." Myrtle smoothed her skirt. "I am sorry, but I haven't any tea to serve. Pa wouldn't brook my spending money on tea, especially since he doesn't drink it." Melanie shrugged her shoulders. Cal stood and indicated the box for Melanie to sit. She smiled at him and the world seemed a bit brighter. "I'm sure Mrs. O'Neil will be glad to brew you a cup when you return to town, Mrs. Johnson." "Miss Johnson," snapped Myrtle. "Oh, you've met Amanda," said Melanie. "Right nice woman and very neighborly. She's going to allow me to stay in her home until we're ready to leave since no proper hotel exists in this...place." Myrtle waved her gray gloved hand in an arc. "Where is your father?" "Pa's off talking with some of the other men." Melanie sat on the crate and folded her hands in her lap. "And how soon do you expect him back?" "Could be a few hours. Most likely he won't return until sometime in the middle of the night." Melanie shrugged. "I cannot sit around here and wait for him." Myrtle stared off toward the river. "Never mind. It doesn't matter." She looked toward Melanie. "Pack your things. I'll talk with your father in the morning." Melanie stared at her aunt. "Don't just sit there, child. Go and pack what you have." Myrtle wrinkled her nose. "I hope you have something decent in which to travel." "Where we travel, this is just fine, Aunt Myrtle." Melanie smiled at her aunt. "It's nice to see you, but so very unexpected. However did you find us?" "Your father wired me a couple of months ago. He wanted me to wire him money. Said I had money that belonged to your mother and now it belonged to him." Myrtle folded her gloved hands in her lap. "I started from where he sent the wire and have been following you from camp to camp. Your father makes quite an impression, especially with his drunken behavior." Cal saw Melanie shiver and remembered the look of horror on her face from the night before when her father lay face down in the dirt. "That was quite an undertaking to find your niece. These gold miners move so often it's nothing short of a miracle that you were able to catch up with them." "I don't believe in miracles. I believe in hard work." Myrtle turned to Melanie. "Why are you sitting there?"

Christina crawled up into Melanie's lap and Melanie cuddled her. "I have plenty of time to pack. Pa's not planning to pull out until Tuesday. And he'll be so..." "Drunk," finished Myrtle. Melanie nodded. "He won't notice that nothing has been done to break camp." She leaned her cheek against the child's head. Cal hunkered down in the dirt trying to suppress the sudden wanting to change places with Christina and be the one Melanie held in her arms. She and the children would be leaving and going back to a better place. A place that was a real home. He could see Melanie sitting in a spotless parlor serving tea and cakes to her women friends on a sunny afternoon while they chatted. He could see young gentlemen callers all vying for her hand. He pushed from his mind the image of Melanie being held in the arms of another man on the dance floor. He couldn't stake a claim to her heart. He no longer had anything to offer a wife and he had chosen his life to be this way. "I'm not speaking of breaking camp. Let your father do that himself." Myrtle shifted on the crate. "I want you to pack your things so we can return to town. If we can borrow a wagon or get that wagoner to take us, we can catch the stage East. There's a stage stop about twenty miles south of here." "What are you talking about?" Melanie stroked Christina's hair. "Why taking you back to Ohio. What else?" Melanie sat very still for a moment. Cal was glad she wouldn't be dragged to yet another mining town. He had to let her ride out of his life, but to know she was safe would make him sleep better at night. At least he hoped it would. Last night had been plagued with dreams of the softness of her skin and the taste of her lips. "You want to take us back to Ohio?" Melanie stared at her aunt. "Us? What us?" Myrtle straightened her hat. "I've come to take you back to Ohio. I have no desire to have your father join us." "Pa would never leave the gold fields. He knows he'll strike it rich if he looks long enough." Melanie sighed and shifted on the hard crate below her. She couldn't remember anymore how often she'd dreamed of returning to Ohio. But now she didn't wish to leave Gold Strike. She looked over at Cal. He was the first man who had ever kissed her. At twenty-one, she'd had several opportunities. Since Pa had dragged them off to hunt gold, many men had tried to steal a kiss. But she'd always been careful and avoided them. But the marshal. She'd allowed him to steal a kiss and the heat of it had seared her all the way through her soul. He'd branded her like a cattle rancher branded his cattle. And truth be told, she wanted him to kiss her again before Pa dragged them to the next tent town. "That's fine with me. I'll have no truck with the likes of him." Myrtle shifted her bulk and the crate creaked.

Melanie shifted her gaze to her aunt. "He won't let us go without a fight. He won't like being alone with no one to fix his meals." "He'll learn to fend for himself. The way I hear things, he drinks most of his meals anyway." That was the truth of it. "Nevertheless, you'll have a fight on your hands." Myrtle straightened her shoulders. "I can handle that sot. Now go and pack your things." "It'll take me awhile to pack for the children and me. Its best if we wait until Pa returns and you've spoken with him." She needed to pack anyway, but she didn't want to start. She wanted to prolong her last few minutes in Cal's company. She wanted to memorize what he looked like. To remember more than the feel of his lips against hers, but also the way they looked and how they turned up at the sides when he smiled at her. His long fingers and hands swallowed hers, but gave a gentle touch. His hat perched at an angle on his dark brown hair. His slate-gray eyes glowed when he looked at her, stoking a fire within her. "You needn't pack for...those children." Myrtle waved her hand in dismissal. "I've only come to take you, my sister's only child, and make sure you have a proper home and find yourself a husband. One who'll take better care of you than he did of your mother." "Pa took good care of Mama." Melanie straightened and looked her aunt straight in the eyes. "He didn't drink at all before Mama died. It broke his heart." "Humph. I suppose that's why he married that harlot." "My stepmother wasn't a harlot." Melanie shrugged. "She just got tired of his drinking and never having any money. One day she left." "I don't brook any woman who'd run off and leave her own children to a no good drunk. And I have no intention of taking in those children and raising them. They're no kin of mine." Myrtle stood and brushed her skirt. "Now, get your belongings. I've had enough of sitting on crates and am ready to head back to town. I want to leave in the morning to catch the Tuesday stage." "I can't leave the children alone." Melanie stood and put her hands on her hips. "I thank you for your offer, Aunt Myrtle, but I can't leave them to Pa's care either. Andy might survive alone with Pa, but Christina never would." "They're not your responsibility." Myrtle walked toward the wagon. "Yes, they are. They might not be your kin, but they are mine and I won't abandon them." Melanie remembered how alone she'd been when Mama had died. She'd never let the children feel that, no matter how much trouble Andy gave her. She turned and faced Cal. "You can take my aunt back to town." "You think about what I've said." Myrtle climbed aboard the wagon by herself. "You think it over real careful, child. You'll see it's the only way. You're too young to be saddled with another woman's children and near too old to be looking for a husband. You have to return to Ohio before its too late. You'll come to your senses and see I'm right. I'll be in town waiting for you."

"I won't leave the children, Aunt Myrtle." Cal stepped in front of Melanie, holding his hat in his hands. He smiled. "Your aunt's correct. This hell-hole is no place for a beautiful woman. Your pa will find someone to take care of the young 'uns and you can have a life again." Melanie lifted her head. "And where will he find someone? The only women out here are married." "There's a few at Red's. They wouldn't mind having a husband." Melanie laughed, a harsh sound. "They're not crazy. Red's is a far sight better than the mining camps. And they see a sight more gold than the wives do." She stared into his eyes. Did he really want her gone? "Suppose so." Cal reached up and ran his fingers down the side of her face. "Suppose so." He bent and kissed her on the cheek, then turned and walked to the wagon. As they drove away, Melanie placed her hand on her cheek. Would she ever see him again? *** Cal leaned against the counter in Cyrus' store as he chewed a piece of licorice. "I know I have those special bullets you ordered somewhere. I set them aside when I unpacked the goods, I just can't seem to find them." Cyrus dug through the items jammed beneath the counter. "I can't figure where they could have got to unless the missus moved them. Amanda," he hollered. Amanda came from the storeroom. "What are you bellowing about?" "I can't find Cal's bullets." Cyrus shoved the butter aside. Amanda grabbed Cyrus' arm. "Now you stop that. You're making a terrible jumble of things." "But I put the bullets here." "Of course you did." She reached behind a box and pulled out the container. "Right here." She handed them to Cal. "I hear the Whittakers are moving on." Cal nodded as he inspected his merchandise. "What a shame. Melanie's such a sweet child." Amanda leaned against the counter. "I'll really miss her." "But not that aunt of hers," grumbled Cyrus. "Now, now." Amanda patted Cyrus' hand as he draped one arm around her. "She does seem a bit overbearing." Cal set the box of ammunition on the counter. "How much do I owe you?" "Two dollars," said Amanda. "But no hurry."

Cal pulled his wallet from his vest pocket as the door opened. He turned to see Pete Whittaker saunter inside. Cal handed the two dollars to Amanda. "And how much for the candy?" She smiled at him and handed him another piece. "Don't you worry none about it." She moved from behind the counter and walked over to Whittaker. "May I help you?" Cal turned to Cyrus and flipped him a two-bit piece. " I'll take some candy out to the Whittaker children. And how much is that bottle of lavender water?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow. "Five dollars." "You are a born highwayman." Cal laughed. "They're leaving town." Cyrus reached into the penny candy jar. "I know. Just a little good-bye gift. I'm sure he won't buy anything for them." Cal inclined his head toward Whittaker. "Never does." Cyrus took Cal's money. "You know as a marshal you can't be affording extras." "You let me worry about that." "Well, I'll be." Cal turned to see Miss Johnson coming from the living quarters. "I figured I'd have to rent that horrid wagon again to go out to talk with you." Myrtle moved across the store to stand in front of Whittaker. "I cannot believe you would drag my niece out here. You have no sense, man." Whittaker pushed by her. "Get out of my way, woman. I got nothin' to discuss with you." He walked over to the counter as Cyrus lifted a twenty-five pound sack of flour onto the counter. "I don't want that much. Missy can make do with five pounds until we get to the next camp and I find me some more gold." Cal shook his head as Cyrus added two bottles of whiskey to the small pile of provisions. Myrtle stomped up behind Whittaker. "I have plenty to say to you. I won't have you dragging my sister's only daughter around places not fit for a young lady. I'm taking her back to Ohio and find her a husband." Myrtle looked down her nose at the man. Whittaker pivoted and glared at the woman. "She's my daughter and I need her. She'll be staying with me. You already stole my money, you won't be stealing my child." "It's not your money." Myrtle spit the words out as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. "You just want her to raise those children of yours. Melanie deserves better." "I take care of Missy." He reached over and pulled the cork from one of the whiskey bottles and took a long swig. "She's fine where she is and she's staying." "We'll see about that." Myrtle put her hands on her hips. "I'm taking her with me to Ohio."

Whittaker lifted his hand. Cal grabbed it and the man spun to face him. "You again. You stay away from my daughter and stay out of my business." "I won't allow you to strike a woman." Cal gripped Whittaker's arm. "The old biddy. Someone needs to beat some sense into her." Whittaker tried to free his arm. Cal twisted it behind Whittaker's back and propelled him toward the door. "You come back when you can control your temper." "What about my supplies? I can't move my family without supplies." Cal pulled on the string that extended from a bulge in Whittaker's shirt pocket and yanked out his gold bag. Cal tossed it to Cyrus. "Measure out what you need." Holding onto Whittaker's arm he watched Cyrus finish and retie the bag. He crammed it back into the pocket then pushed Whittaker through the door. "Your supplies will be loaded in your wagon." Whittaker spat at Cal. "You tell that old battle-ax to stay away from my family. And you stay away from them too." He drank from his bottle and staggered towards Red's. *** Melanie checked the drying laundry she'd spread across the tent. They might as well start the journey clean. By the time they settled somewhere else, it'd be time to do laundry again. She glanced about and saw Christina playing with her doll and Andy down by the river with a gold pan in his hands. He jumped up and came running towards her. "Look, Melly." He pointed to the bottom of the pan. "I found gold. Just like Pa." Melanie looked in the pan. Several flakes lay in the bottom. "You're gettin' real good at that, Andy. I have a bit of material we could fashion into a pouch for you to store your gold." "I want to show it to Pa. When will he be back?" Andy looked toward the dirt road where it came into the camp. "In a bit." Melanie looked at the sun. Pa had left at first light and by now, noon had passed. He probably sat in a poker game in Red's. "In a bit." She sighed. "Let's make you a pouch so you don't lose your gold before Pa gets back." She took a quick peek at Christina then ducked into the tent. "Do you really think there'll be more gold at the next place like Pa said?" Andy watched as Melanie found a scrap of material and trimmed the edges. Letting Andy place the gold inside, she tied up the ends with a piece of ribbon. "I hope so." "This looks like it belongs to a girl." Andy scowled. "It's the best I can do for the moment." She patted him on the head. "But if you go back and pan some more and stay out of my way while I pack, tonight I'll make you a real pouch just like Pa's."

Andy threw his arms around Melanie. "I love you." He scampered out of the tent. Melanie smiled to herself. Andy could be a real handful, but he was her little brother and she did love him. She'd made the right decision not to return to Ohio with Aunt Myrtle. "Pa's back," Andy hollered. Melanie stepped outside to see Pa racing toward the tent. A scowl creased his face. She grabbed up Christina and moved her out of the way of the wagon. Cradling her on one hip, she watched as Pa jerked the horses to a stop and jumped from the wagon. He reeled toward her. She set Christina on the ground. "Go inside, sweetheart." Christina looked up at her. "Your baby needs her nap. Go put her to bed and wait until I come to check on her. All right?" She smiled down at the little girl. Christina nodded and toddled toward the tent. Melanie turned to face Pa. He must have had a run-in with Aunt Myrtle by the look on his face. He stumbled toward her until she could smell the whiskey on his breath. "You're no good. A lying no good just like your step-mother. Thought you'd run off and leave me to tend to the brats." Melanie took a step back. "Pa, what're you talking about? I'm not going to run off." He stepped closer. "Sure you are." "Pa." She forced down the bile that formed in her throat. "I don't know what Aunt Myrtle told you, but I told her I wouldn't go to Ohio with her. I told her my place was with you and the children." "Why would you run off with that old hag when you've got all that gold you been holdin' out on me?" He swayed back and forth as he stood. Melanie took a deep breath and clenched her hands in her pockets. She'd never lied straight to Pa's face. At least not unless he'd been so drunk he wouldn't know better and then only to protect the children. She'd been raised better by her mother, but sometimes the lies were all that made it possible to keep going. The only way to provide for the children. And she hated the lies. "Where's the gold you've been hiding?" Pa leaned so his breath assaulted her. She took another breath, but a shallow one so she wouldn't gag, and lied. "I don't have any gold, Pa." He slapped her across the face. Her head snapped back and tears came to her eyes. She put her hand against her cheek. "Don't lie to me, Missy." She stepped back. "Pa, where would I get gold?" "That's what I'd like to know." He closed the space between them. "But I hear in town you had plenty of gold. That's how you got that new dress. 'Tweren't my poker winnings." He raised his hand again.

"Pa, please." She put her arm in front of her face. "Don't, Pa," screamed Andy. He grabbed hold of Pa's arm. Pa raised him from the ground as if he weighed nothing. Whittaker shook Andy lose and grabbed Melanie's arm. "I want that gold." He shoved her aside and she stepped backwards, her legs colliding with the crate by the fire. She fell backwards, her legs scraping the sides of the wood. Andy jumped up and grabbed Pa around the waist. "Don't hurt Melly, Pa. It's not her fault." He shoved the boy aside again and entered the tent. Christina howled and Melanie scrambled up and ran after Pa. Christina grabbed her leg as she entered the tent, nearly knocking her off her feet. Pa held her new dress and pulled at the neckline. Around his feet lay the rest of her belongings and Christina's. She grabbed up Christina and tried to shut out the sound of the ripping material. "Pa, stop. Please stop. I've got a little bit of gold I've been saving in case we needed food for the children." He turned and faced her. "Where'd you find it?" "In the river." She held out the pouch she'd taken from her pocket with the small amount of flake in it. She focused her eyes away from her dress laying on the floor. They would be leaving tomorrow and she'd never see Cal again. She had no more use for a fancy dress. Whittaker snatched the bag from her and looked inside. He flung it back in her face. "I'm talking about the nuggets you spent in the store, not flake. Where'd you find them?" He moved closer to her. Andy threw himself at Pa. "Don't you hurt Melly. I won't let you hurt Melly. I'll show you where the gold is." Whittaker stopped and looked down at the child. He grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him up. "Where is it, boy?" Melanie set Christina on the ground and pushed the child behind her. She grabbed hold of Andy and pushed Pa's hands away. "Don't you hurt him." She shoved Andy behind her. Whittaker raised his hand. Melanie stared at him. "You can hit me again, Pa, but you won't hurt Andy and Christina. I won't let you hurt them." He glared at her. "Where'd you find the gold?" "Up the mountain." "Take me there." "No." She raised her chin and stared back at him. He grabbed her by the arm and shoved her out of the tent. Holding her wrist, he pulled her along as he stomped up the hill behind the tent. Andy grabbed hold of Whittaker's belt and pulled. "You leave her

alone, Pa. I'll show you." "No, Andy." Melanie bumped into Pa as he stopped. "No one's going up there. It's an evil place. The wolves' den collapsed. No one can get to the gold." Whittaker spun and glared at her. "I'll be the judge of that, Missy." He shoved her backwards and grabbed Andy's arm. "You wait at the tent, Missy. I'll deal with you after Andy's showed me where the gold's to be found." Melanie grabbed Pa's arm. "Don't go up there, Pa. It's evil. The place has already taken one life. It won't give you any gold. Please, Pa. Don't go. Let's just pack up and move on." He turned and slapped her across the face again. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she didn't back away. He turned and stomped up the hill. "Please, Pa. Andy, don't take him." Her hands dropped to her sides. "Pa, no."

Chapter Seven Standing in front of his office, Cal fanned himself. Since Whittaker had driven out of town, the place had been quiet. No more trouble would occur until nightfall when the men would show up at Red's to spend the gold they'd panned today. He wanted to ride out to see Melanie before she left and give her the perfume, but he didn't want to do it while Whittaker was there. He'd ride out in the morning and hope Whittaker was either off panning or drunk. He pushed himself away from the post and stretched the kinks from his back. He should be attending to something. His prisoners had been fed. He was waiting for a telegram letting him know when he could take them to Denver to appear before the circuit judge. The rest of the afternoon stretched out in a long lazy haze in front of him. A horse came trotting down the street, its rider bouncing and trying to hold on to something in front of him. Cal stepped from the wooden porch and strolled toward the rider. He couldn't tell who was astride the animal because of the dust being kicked up, but the posture of the rider screamed urgency. As the horse came nearer, he saw Melanie. Melanie holding Christina in front of her. He broke into a run. Melanie didn't ride. Where was the wagon? He grabbed the reins of the horse and eased it to a stop. Taking Christina, he set her on the ground and lifted Melanie from the animal's back. She collapsed into him. "What's wrong?" He hugged her. The child screamed. "Hush, Christina." Melanie pushed away from Cal. "You have to help me." "What's wrong?" He looked into her face. A dark red mark stained her cheek. "Who hit you?" He'd throw whoever did this into his jail. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I need your help." She grabbed his hand. "Please, you have to

come." He stroked the side of her face. Fear shone from her eyes. "Of course I'll help you. Anything." He pulled her close and rubbed her back. He could feel the edges of her corset through the thin material. She pushed herself away and looked toward his office. "It's Pa. He's going up to that mine. The one where I found the skeleton." The one where she'd probably found the gold nuggets he'd heard she had. If Whittaker found real gold, he wouldn't be in such a hurry to move his family to the next camp. They'd stay awhile. She'd stay in his life for a brief moment more. Stroking the hair back from her face, he let the nearness of her body soak into him. "I know you've used that gold to feed the children, but it can't be so bad. He'll be happy because he found gold." She yanked on his arm, trying to drag him down the street. "You don't understand. He can't go in there. Something awful will happen. And Andy's with him. Pa might send Andy in because he's small. What if Andy goes in and the cave collapses on him? They have to be stopped. It's an evil place." He took her hands in his and held them. "It's only a gold mine." The red streak on her face was taking on a purple tinge. "Did he do that to you?" Her hand went up to cover her face. "He was drunk. He didn't mean it." He took her hand back and kissed her palm. "Doesn't matter how drunk he was. I won't brook him hitting you. I'll ride out and settle this. If he's going to treat you badly, then I'll make sure you're packed up and on the next stage with your aunt." Melanie's arms fell to her sides and her shoulders sagged. "Cal, please. You don't understand. I have to stop him from going into that place. I can't do it alone. I need your help. We have to hurry before it's too late." Cal swept Christina up from the ground and put his arm around Melanie's waist. She was right. Whittaker had to be stopped. Stopped from hurting his family. The drinking was bad enough, but hitting Melanie. Not while Cal still drew breath. He'd deal with him all right. "I'll get a wagon from Cyrus. You can't ride back out to camp holding the child." "Thank you." She sagged into him. "But please hurry." He wanted to continue holding her close. She seemed to belong next to him. Small errant strands of hair caressed his cheeks and the urge to reach down and steal another kiss swept over him. He hugged her with one arm as he escorted her into the store. "Whatever happened, child?" Amanda hurried from behind the counter. Melanie covered her cheek. "Nothing." "We need to borrow a wagon, Cyrus." Cal handed Christina to Melanie. "I'm not a livery service." Cyrus crossed his arms over his chest. "It's important. I'm going out back and hitch up the team I used yesterday." Cal walked by the counter

and Cyrus followed him outside. Myrtle came over to Melanie and looked at her face. "That's it. I'll take no more argument from you. You're going back to Ohio with me." "Not now, Aunt Myrtle. I have to get back to the camp. Cal has to help me stop Pa before something terrible happens." Melanie waved her hand at her aunt. "Something terrible has already happened." Myrtle put her hands on her hips. Cal called from the doorway. "Let's go." Melanie turned toward the door. "I'm going with you." Myrtle took Melanie's arm. "I'm going to have it out with that man once and for all. I won't brook any of this nonsense. Not from you or him. He can't treat my sister's child in this fashion." She marched out the door in front of Melanie and climbed aboard the wagon. Melanie looked at Cal, then the wagon. "I'll sit in back with Christina." "I'll ride my horse. You drive the wagon." He'd prefer to have Miss Johnson stay behind. He had enough to handle without her along. He took Christina and handed her up to Melanie's aunt. Myrtle pulled her arms back. "I'm not holding that child. Put her in the back." "She's too little to ride in the back. Either you hold her or you stay behind." Cal frowned and plopped the child in Miss Johnson's lap. Christina wailed. Stiffly, Myrtle encircled the child with her arms while Cal lifted Melanie up on the seat. He held her hand for a moment. "It'll be fine." "No." She shook her head. "Not if he goes in that awful place." She slapped the horses' backs with the reins. The wagon rattled as she urged them to go faster. *** Melanie pulled the horses to a halt at the end of the road and jumped from the wagon. Grabbing Christina from Aunt Myrtle, she slung her on her hip and ran across the meadow toward the foothills where the wolves' den lay hidden. Cal caught up with her and lifted Christina from her, swinging her onto his shoulders. The small girl whimpered and shoved her hands beneath his hat, intertwining her fingers in his hair. Cal plopped his hat on Melanie's head. Grabbing her hand, he ran along beside her, the child bouncing on his shoulders. "Wait up," Myrtle hollered after them, but neither of them turned to acknowledge her. "This way." Melanie clutched the front of her skirt in one hand and pulled him, changing their course. His boots crushed tiny yellow flowers growing in the grass.

Cal could see Andy half way up the side of the hill, squatting down. He didn't see Whittaker or any hole. As they neared the child, Melanie released his hand and flew to the boy's side. She pulled him up and held him by the shoulders. "Where's Pa?" Andy pointed toward the mound on the side of the hill. "Inside." A groaning came from the mountain side as though the rocks warned them away. Melanie pulled Andy to her and turned to Cal. "You have to get him out before it collapses on him." Her eyes begged him. He placed Christina on the ground beside Melanie and hunkered down to peer into the dark recesses. "I don't see him. Are you sure he's in there?" The darkness bore down and Cal could see why Melanie called this place evil. The smell of stale air and death emanated from the blackness. He looked back at the huddled family. Christina's wailing raised the hair on the back of his neck. "He went in." Andy nodded his head. "Awhile ago. I've been waiting for him." Fear shone from the small boy's eyes. "There's a second chamber back aways." Melanie clutched the two children. "That's where the skeleton is." Cal bent forward on his knees and inched his head into the hole. He needed a torch or a lantern. Why anyone would crawl into such a place was beyond reason. No amount of gold would be worth disturbing the ghosts laying in this place. A groaning came from above him and dirt rained down on his head. He pulled free from the hole and brushed the dirt out of his hair. "No man would fit in there." "Pa kinda slithered in like a snake." Andy moved and stood next to Cal. "I could fit inside." "No." Melanie's voice rose several octaves on the one word. Cal patted the boy on the arm. "I'm sure your pa's crawled back aways where I can't see him 'cuz I don't have a lantern. The way the dirt's sliding, you best not go inside." "It's my gold mine. I found it." Andy looked at Cal. His blue eyes shone with intensity. Then he shook his head. "It's not Pa's. He shouldn't go inside. It's mine." Cal ruffled Andy's hair. "I know, boy. I'll see if we can get him to come out. That all right?" Andy nodded. Cal stuck his head back inside the den. A small glow of light came from the left. He inched his shoulders through the opening. "Whittaker," he whispered, afraid any noise would bring the roof down upon him. "Whittaker." He spoke a bit louder. "You in here, Whittaker?" "Get out, whoever you are." Whittaker's voice had a slur to it as if he had his whiskey bottle with him. "This here's my claim."

"I don't want your gold. Your family's worried about you. Why don't you come on out until you can shore this place up? The ceiling doesn't seem any too stable." The light moved and flashed across Cal's face. The brightness blinded him. "So its you, Marshal. Not enough to be spoilin' my daughter's reputation, now you're tryin' to steal my stake." "I don't give a damn about your gold." A rumbling sound echoed around them. A scream carried on the background of Christina's crying. "And I don't give a damn about the likes of you. But you've got three children who are scared spitless. So drag your drunken self out of here and let them know you're all right. Then if you want to mine the area, dig a new hole into this place." Dirt filtered down around Cal's head. What in hell was he doing in this place? Trying to save a drunken sot who the sight of made him sick. Because Melanie loved her father despite everything. Why? "Why dig a hole when I can crawl through one already made? I've found more gold in the last few minutes then in all the months I've been panning." Whittaker's voice came closer. "But I best get to town and put a claim down on this spot afore someone else has a mind to." The light came closer to Cal. The groaning above him increased and he scooted backwards toward the entrance. He needed to get out of the fetid air and breathe in the fresh air that caressed the meadow outside. His holster caught on something as he pushed himself backwards. He should have thought to remove his weapon before crawling into a hole. He yanked it free. The rumbling noise drowned out the crying child. Cal could see Whittaker in front of him, holding onto a lantern. He reached out and grabbed the man by the hand. The lantern crashed to the ground and darkness swallowed up Whittaker's form. "Damn it." Whittaker's voice sounded just beyond where he held his hand. Only a tiny bit of light came in around Cal, his body blocking most of the entrance. He tightened his hold on Whittaker and inched backwards, pulling the man with him. Bits of rock pelted Cal's head. The whole damn place was about to bury them. He tried to squirm through the hole faster, but Whittaker pulled against him. "Come on. The place is coming down." "Leave me be." Whittaker's voice slurred. The rumbling increased. Cal gave a final yank on Whittaker and felt him move toward him. He could feel the breeze against his neck and Cal pulled his head from the wolves' den. A cloud of dust swirled out of the den after him, choking him. Rocks crashing against rocks propelled more dirt out of the small hole. "Pa," screamed Melanie. Cal grabbed for the flash of dress that rushed by him and pulled her into his lap. "You can't get to him." "We have to try," she sobbed. She pulled away and clawed at the dirt filling the opening, flinging it aside. Andy stood with his mouth hanging open. "Pa," he called. Cal scrambled to his feet and shook the boy. "Andy, listen to me."

The boy's gaze riveted on the pile of dirt filling the entrance to the wolves' den. "Andy. Run back to the camp. Get help. Lots of men and shovels." Cal lifted Andy's chin and looked the child straight in the eyes. "Do you understand?" Tears began to trickle down Andy's cheeks. He turned and raced across the beautiful green meadow toward the torn and dirty tents by the river. Cal turned back to Melanie. He slipped the ring he'd torn from Whittaker's hand into his pocket and dug at the pile of dirt. His heart told him it was no use. But for Melanie he would try. In moments men arrived. Cal picked Melanie up and moved her from the front of the cave-in. "Let them work. They can go much faster with shovels." She shook as she leaned into him. He looked into her eyes, eyes filled with tears that didn't spill, eyes filled with fear and knowing. "It's my fault." Her voice cracked. Cal wrapped her in his arms and held her cradled against him. "No. His greed and stupidity took him in there." She shook her head against his chest. "If I hadn't gone in there and taken gold. If I hadn't bought that dress material, he would never have known. We'd be leaving tomorrow." She rocked back and forth. Cal looked over her head at the men struggling to unearth Whittaker. For every shovel of dirt they removed, two took its place. Whittaker had been so close to the entrance. If only he had allowed Cal to pull him out. If he hadn't fought against him, Whittaker would be safe now. Cal looked down at Melanie's head. A coldness crept through him. Whittaker, even at the end, had given no thought to his family. Only what he wanted had been important. Now, he'd abandoned his children in this hell-hole. At least Aunt Myrtle was here. She would care for the children. He brushed Melanie's hair back from her face. Her braid had come loose and hung down her back. Strands of the honey-colored hair had pulled free to frame her face. Dust smears streaked the bruise forming across her cheek. "He's gone, Melanie. He's gone." "No." She flung her head from side to side. "No. They have to keep trying." "It's no use." Cal looked over to see the miners one by one stand back and watch the dirt trickle out and form a pile. His neck prickled. A moment more and he too would have been trapped in the pile of rocks and dirt. Melanie had been correct. The place was evil and had no intention of giving up its gold. "I know this won't help much, but his wedding ring came off his finger when I tried to pull him out." He took Melanie's hand and pressed the ring into her palm. "At least you'll have something to remember him by." She stared at the ring, then closed her fingers over it. She looked at Cal, emptiness in her eyes. "Pa's ring?" "Yes." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. Walking her over to her aunt, he set

her down on the ground. He went over to the men and sent them back to camp. Andy stood as still as a stone, watching the men leave. He looked up at Cal with pain-filled eyes. "They can't stop. They have to get Pa out." Cal hunkered down to be eye level with the child. "They can't get him out, Andy. The earth's too unstable. And there's no reason to dig him out to bury him again. He's gone, Andy. Do you understand?" Andy shook his head. "Gone like Ma." "No, Andy. Your Ma's not dead. Your Pa is." Cal reached out to hug the little boy who seemed to have shrunk within himself. Andy pushed away. "It's my fault. It's my fault Ma ran away. It's my fault Pa's been killed." "It just happened, boy. It's no one's fault." Maybe Whittaker's. He should have had enough sense to get out when the rumbling started. "I found this place." Andy turned to look at the hill. "If I hadn't lost Melly's locket, no one else would ever have gone in there. Pa would be alive." Cal reached over and took Andy's arm. "It's not your fault." Andy's eyes closed and hid the pain deep inside, the way Cal hid his own pain. The boy jerked away from Cal and ran across the meadow and away from the camp. "Come back, Andy," Cal yelled. The boy kept running, not turning back. Christina's wailing swirled around Cal. He could do nothing to put this family back together again. They were alone in the gold fields without a man to provide for them. He looked for Myrtle. She stood silently for the moment, her arms across her bosom. She would take care of them. Now that Whittaker was gone, she couldn't refuse to take in the young 'uns even if they weren't her sister's children. The lot of them would be far better off with that tyrant of a woman then their drunken father. But he knew the pain of losing a loved one. The pain cut through the body and the soul. The pain lessened, but never really left. He turned and looked at Melanie. She sat on the ground, her arms wrapped around her knees, rocking back and forth. No noise came from her as she stared off across the meadow, her eyes unseeing. He wanted to take her into his arms and comfort her. But he didn't have the right. And he had nothing to offer her. He couldn't give her a home. His job took him to places no better than the ones to which her pa had dragged her. He continued to stare at her as her pain filled the air around her and reached out toward him.

Chapter Eight Melanie could hear Christina crying, but she couldn't make herself move to pick up the child. She'd seen a flash of Andy as he'd run past her. She needed to find him, comfort him. Pa was dead. She was alone with the children. She rocked back and forth. The world spun around her and she didn't know which way to turn. How could she take care of them with Pa gone? She had a little gold, but not enough to last long. The gold fields were too expensive. Ohio. She'd convince Aunt Myrtle to take them all to Ohio. No other solution made sense. Pa had left her a mess to clean up again. This would be the last one he caused, but figuring out this one would take a bit more than usual. She had to convince Aunt Myrtle. She'd do that. In a few minutes, she'd do that. An arm went around her and she raised her head. Mrs. Schmitz smiled at her and patted her shoulder. "It'll be okay, child. I'll take Christina with me. Mabel's and Lettie's husbands have gone after Andy. We'll take the children for a few days while you figure out what to do. We're here to help you." Melanie nodded. "Get up, child." Aunt Myrtle stood above her, her arms crossed. "Get up. You need to clean up. I'll take you to town. We need to find a minister to say a few words for your pa, then we can be on our way back to Ohio. We can catch the Thursday stage." Myrtle took her arm and attempted to lift her. Melanie tried to move, but her body weighed too much to stand. She'd sit here for a few more minutes, then she'd go with Aunt Myrtle. She'd talk to her then. A strong arm went around her shoulder. She leaned against it and looked into Cal's gray eyes. She let him take hold of her hand. "You go back to town, Miss Johnson." Cal's voice seemed to surround her and block out everything else. "I'll bring her in when she's ready." "Humph." Myrtle wiped at her eyes. "She needs to clean off the dirt. She'll feel much better back in town." "I know," Cal murmured. "But give her a few minutes to sit. I'll make sure she's taken care of." "I could use a cup of tea." Myrtle didn't move away. Melanie looked at her. Tears formed in her aunt's eyes. Aunt Myrtle crying. Crying for her Pa? Aunt Myrtle hated Pa. She leaned against Cal's shoulder. For a little bit, she'd draw on his strength. Until she could muster up some of her own. For a little bit. "It's all right, Aunt Myrtle. Go and have your tea."

Melanie closed her eyes. She didn't want to see the pile of dirt burying Pa. She didn't want to see anything of life. Not now when death had reached out. Not when the fear she'd lost Cal, too, still hung so close. Not when her whole world had disappeared with her pa. She needed to sit next to him for a moment longer. "Who will drive me back to town?" Myrtle asked. "One of the men from the camp will be glad to, I'm sure." Cal continued to hold Melanie. Melanie opened her eyes. Everyone had drifted back to the camp. Cal sat on the grass next to her, holding her. "I have to make sure Andy's all right." "He's being taken care of." "He was so upset about...about Pa." Cal pulled her into his lap. "You can go to him in awhile. When you're ready. When you've gotten over the shock." Melanie looked at him. His hair was embedded with dirt and his face streaked. "Thank you." "For what?" "For trying to get Pa out." She leaned her head against him. She shivered remembering Cal's boots sticking out of the hole and the terrible rumbling noise coming from within the mine. "I thought I'd lost both of you." He turned her face to him. "He wouldn't come, Melanie." She nodded. "Pa never listened to anyone but his bottle. Not since Ma died. She was his whole life. Sometimes I think I reminded him too much of her. Often times he'd avoid me." "It wasn't your fault." She nodded. "But I know how lost I felt when she died. As if the only person in the world who would take care of me had left. He took it worse." She reached up and brushed the dirt from Cal's cheek. "You'd have liked Pa if you'd known him before Ma died. He used to smile and laugh often. He brought home little presents for me and Ma. I always had ribbons for my hair and nice clothes to wear. Pa worked hard. In those days, he never drank. Never." She sighed. "He's happier now. He's with her. Part of him died the day Ma died. He was never the same." Cal held her close, not speaking. She looked up into his eyes. "What am I going to do? I'm so alone, so empty." "Your Aunt Myrtle will take care of you. She seems the type who could take care of anything." He trailed his fingers down her arm. Coldness permeated her, clear to her bones. She didn't remember ever being so cold. "She'll take care

of me, but will she take the children?" "With what's happened, I'm sure she will." Cal laid his head against hers and she snuggled against him. At the moment, she wanted someone, anyone to be in charge, to tell her what to do. Pa had moved them about like a thistle on the wind, and though she'd taken care of the young 'uns and the chores, he'd made all the decisions. Who would make the decisions now? "I hope you're right." "I'm sure I am." He rubbed her arm as she shivered. Melanie wanted to stay in his arms. Then she wouldn't have to think about tomorrow and all the tomorrows that followed. She didn't want to go to Aunt Myrtle's. She remembered visiting as a child before Ma had died. Aunt Myrtle's house was cold. As cold as she felt now that Pa had left her. But she offered a home and she would take care of them. "I'll miss my friends here." "Amanda and the rest of the ladies. They are a bunch." Cal brought her hand to his lips. "They offered me friendship. The first friendship I'd been offered in a very long time." His touch made a warm spot on the back of her hand. She didn't want him to stop. He turned her arm over and kissed the inside of her wrist. "Is it just the women you'll miss?" Melanie looked away. "No." She shook her head. She snuggled her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around him, holding on to him, afraid to let go. He seemed the only solid thing left and his warmth seeped into her, pushing back the coldness. She wanted to gather strength from him. For in two days she would be on the stage and alone. Alone with the children and Aunt Myrtle. Never to have a husband and children of her own. Why, Pa? Why did you abandon us? Her tears dampened the front of Cal's shirt. His arms held her and kept the fear and the loneliness at bay. *** Melanie stood next to Cal by the mound of dirt that had once been the opening to the gold mine. Andy stood in front of her, his head bowed. Lettie held Christina on her hip, bouncing the child to keep her quiet. Most of the miners and their families stood around Melanie as the minister spoke of heaven and the better place to which Pa had gone. Melanie hoped so. He'd been so terribly unhappy here. The awful aloneness still plagued her. She glanced over at Aunt Myrtle. Her shoulders were squared and her head held erect. In her gloved hand she held a white linen handkerchief which she dabbed at her eyes every few minutes. Melanie took Cal's arm and listened to the minister's droning voice. She wished she'd had something better than her repaired dress to wear to Pa's funeral. With the torn edges of the material sewed up, it was the best she owned, but still marred by Pa's rage. The seam down the front didn't look too ghastly and at least Christina looked like a little princess, though she didn't reckon what was happening. The minister's amen shook her from her thoughts and she moved forward to put a bouquet of wildflowers atop the mound. "Good-bye, Pa." She stood for a moment with her head bowed, then she turned and walked back to stand next to Cal.

It was finished. They were orphans and now she needed to tend to their future. The weight of caring for two small ones bore down on her. She squared her shoulders, hoping the weight would sit more comfortably, but it didn't. Cal took her arm and led her back toward the camp. She leaned against him, absorbing his strength. Amanda came over and hugged her. "If I can be of any help, you be sure and let me know. We're all so sorry." Melanie looked at her. "Thank you. You've already been a great deal of help, getting the minister, helping the other women make food." "We'll take the children with us. You take a moment for yourself. When you're ready, you can join us." Amanda smiled and patted her arm. "It'll seem better soon." Melanie nodded as she watched the miners and their women and children move back toward the camp. As much as she'd hated the mining camps, they'd been home. Now she had no home. She turned to look for Aunt Myrtle. She still stood looking at the grave. Melanie closed the distance between them and laid her hand on Aunt Myrtle's arm. Myrtle looked up. "I'm sorry, child. I never wanted anything bad to happen to him. He couldn't help what he was." She wiped at her eyes. "I guess you were right. He wasn't never the same after your ma died. He 'tweren't a strong man." "I know, Aunt Myrtle. But he did try. He did keep us together." Melanie looked at the woman who stood so stiffly and wondered if she'd ever loved anyone. Even touching her arm, Melanie only felt coldness. She let her arm drop to her side. "I need to talk with you." Myrtle nodded. "Yes. You need to pack. Now that his resting place has been blessed, there's no point to your staying. Of course we can't catch the stage until next Tuesday. That'll give you time to get the children settled." "It won't take but a bit to pack." Melanie felt Cal standing behind her. She wished she could turn and let him hold her. "We can be ready to leave as soon as you are." Myrtle raised her head and looked at Melanie. "His death changes nothing." "His death changes everything. I have no reason to stay here without him. The children can finally have a proper home. Christina doesn't even remember living in anything but the tent and moving from place to place." "Then it won't be so hard for her in a foundling home. She's a pretty bit of a thing. Someone will take her. And I'm sure if you ask around, you'll be able to find someone to take Andy. Boys are a great deal of use." Myrtle smoothed her glove on the back of her hand. "They're my brother and sister. I can't leave them in a foundling home or with other folks to raise.

They're my kin." Melanie took a step back. Cal placed his hands on her shoulders. "I told you before I had no intentions of taking any but you. You're my sister's own child. I'll take you to Ohio and it shouldn't be hard to find you a husband. You're comely enough and know how to run a household. Plus, the money your grandfather left you will help. I know of several men who would be right glad to take you as wife." Melanie placed her hand on Aunt Myrtle's hand. "Is that the money Pa said you stole." Myrtle pushed her hand away. "It didn't belong to your pa, but to you. I've been holding it in trust so you could be settled in a home of your own." She snuffled. "But with that money I could take the children to Ohio and take care of them." Cal's hands on her shoulders spread warmth through her body. She would miss him, as much as she'd missed living in a home if she left Gold Strike, but the children would be safe and in a civilized home. "I think not. I have no intention of releasing that money to you. You aren't old enough to manage a large sum. And I most certainly won't allow you to spend it on those children. Your grandfather left it to take care of you, no one else." Myrtle opened her parasol and turned toward the camp. "I'm far too old to raise two children even if I had a mind to, which I don't." She walked across the meadow. "I don't suppose anyone is heading back to town anytime soon. All of this dust bothers me." She held her handkerchief in front of her nose. Melanie stood stock still for a moment. No! Aunt Myrtle had dismissed the children as if they were worth no more than last week's leftovers. She couldn't mean to deprive them all of the money that rightfully belonged to her. "Aunt Myrtle, wait." Melanie moved in front of the strolling woman. "You can't mean for me to leave the children. You can't." Myrtle continued strolling over the meadow. "They're not my responsibility." "They're mine." Melanie reached out and took hold of Myrtle's arm. "I won't leave them behind. Not for any amount of money." Myrtle stopped and gave her a hard look. Then she swept her arm in dismissal. "That is the way it'll be. If you can't find anyone here who wants them, a foundling home exists in Ohio where we will leave them on the way home. That way, I suppose, you can at least see them once in awhile if you've a mind to. But I really think it best if you drop them off and leave them be." She removed Melanie's hand from her arm and continued walking. "But...but..." Melanie stood and watched the rigid back of her aunt. She wasn't going to take the children. "I don't care about the money. We'll do fine without it or you." She turned to Cal. "What am I to do?" He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead. "Melanie, you can't take care of two children without a husband and you aren't going to find one out here." She looked at him for a long moment. He had held her, but he didn't want a family. He wanted a moment. But, then, she couldn't fault him. So had she. She'd never figured on staying. She had no place to stay. She wasn't a miner. Only fool's chasing a dream mined for gold and she'd seen enough dreams shattered while Pa followed his.

But where could she go and how would she take care of the children? She'd never abandon them. She'd been abandoned. First by Ma. Then by Pa. She couldn't do that to the children. She moved away from Cal and wrapped her arms around herself. She was alone. Truly alone with no one to help her. No one but herself. *** Melanie loaded the last of their belongings into the wagon. She looked at the bare spot of dirt which still held the impression of their tent and beds. The rock encircled area held ashes from the last fire. The time to say good-bye had come. Reaching down she picked up Christina and set her among the bedding in the back of the wagon. "Andy, come on." She looked toward the river where Andy panned. "I got some gold, Melly." Andy held up his pan. "I can get more. I can take care of us." She shook her head. "No, Andy. There's not enough gold here abouts. That's why Pa wanted to move on." Andy shuffled towards her, his bare feet covered with mud. "I can take care of us." "I know you can. But not here. Climb aboard." He stopped next to the wagon. "Ain't you gonna take Pa's rocker." "No." She looked at the rocker still sitting near the river. Some other miner would come along and take it. She'd already given away Pa's few clothes. She had nothing left of him except the children. "But, Melly, we have to take it. How else am I going to get enough gold to take care of us?" Andy moved toward the large wooden trough. "We're done with gold mining. We'll find another way to live." Melanie looked at the river rushing by, carrying away the dreams of so many. If she had a dream, would hers be carried away also. She sighed and turned back. The women stood near. Mabel moved over and gave Melanie a hug. "Where you gonna go?" Melanie shrugged. "I'm working on that." "Wish you didn't have to leave." Lettie wiped at her eyes. "We're sure gonna miss you." Melanie gave her a hug. "I'll miss you too, but you know your men'll be pulling up stakes soon and moving on." "I'm not moving a mite until this babe decides to do the moving on his own." Suzy stretched her back, then rested her hands on her stomach. The rest laughed. "You be careful. It's right dangerous traveling alone without a man for protection."

Lettie handed Melanie a quilt. "It ain't near as purtty as the one we made Suzy, but its to remember us by." Melanie hugged it to her chest. "I'll never forget you." She climbed aboard the wagon and slapped the team on the back with the reins. She didn't dare look back at the women, or she'd cry. She'd been here hardly more than a fortnight, but it seemed as though she'd known these women all her life. "I don't know what they're talking about." Andy crossed his arms and glared ahead down the road. "I can take care of you womenfolk." She patted him on the leg. "I know you can, Andy. I know you can." "Why can't we stay?" Andy looked at her. Anger came from his eyes. "Pa wouldn't want us to give up mining for gold. I know he wouldn't." "Pa would want you to have a proper home and schooling. That's what Pa would want. That's why Pa went looking for gold so he could give you those things." "How we gonna live, Melly, without Pa or the gold?" She ruffled his hair. "We'll think of something." She drove the team into town and stopped in front of the general store. She had to say her good-byes to Amanda before she drove out of town into nowhere. Lifting Christina onto her hip, she took Andy's arm. "I'll bet Mrs. O'Neil will give you a piece of candy if you're good." He squared his shoulders and marched into the store ahead of her. "I want candy," Christina said against Melanie's neck. "I'm sure she'll give you a piece too, sweetheart." Amanda rushed across the store and hugged Melanie. "You can't be leaving. Have you decided where you're going or what you're going to do?" "Not yet." Melanie set Christina on the floor and nodded to Cal who leaned against the counter. She'd hoped he wouldn't be here because it tore at her heart to say goodbye to him. "Candy," said Christina. "Go see Cyrus. He'll give you a piece." Amanda smiled at the child. "You can't ride off. Not alone. Anything could happen to you on the road." "You should wait until one of the other families moves on." Cal smiled at her. "If your aunt can't convince you to go with her, at least travel with others. You're easy prey for any highwayman you might stumble across." "I can't wait around here. I haven't enough money to survive for long. Who knows when someone else will leave." Melanie wouldn't let herself think about the long, lonely road ahead and who she might meet.

Reaching her hand into her pocket, she wrapped her fingers around her derringer. Pa's ring brushed against her hand, and she pushed down her feelings of being abandoned. She had a family to tend and no one would hurt the children. "I have no choice but to move along." "Yes, you do. Stay here. Work for us." Amanda took her arm and led her to the back of the store. "You hardly have room for yourselves. The three of us would be in your way." Could she stay in Gold Strike? Could she figure a way? "Melanie, you should reconsider your aunt's offer. Staying around here will only bring you pain." Cal pushed himself away from the counter. Melanie looked into Cal's eyes. Sorrow shone out at her. She wanted him to put his arms around her and tell her she didn't have to leave. She'd never have to worry again because he'd take care of her. But she also saw the look that said, "I can't take care of you. I don't know how." She turned away from him and tried to block out the emptiness and shaking which threatened to overwhelm her. "I see you've come to your senses." Aunt Myrtle swept into the room. Turning and seeing the children, she wrinkled her nose. "No one would have them? Not even the boy?" "They aren't goods to be given away like Pa's shirts, Aunt Myrtle." Melanie looked around the store. She wished she could stay here and work for Amanda. Then she wouldn't be alone anymore. She wouldn't have to make decisions. Aunt Myrtle waved her hand. "We'll take them to Ohio." Melanie whipped around to face her aunt. "And raise them." Aunt Myrtle lifted her chin. "Heavens no. Leave them at the foundling home. They'll be much better off." Melanie raised her hand in dismissal imitating her aunt's gesture. "Take the stage home. You're not needed here anymore." "Well, I..." Myrtle sputtered. "You're going home with me where you belong. I'll hear no more nonsense about it or the children." She started to turn away from Melanie. "No, Aunt Myrtle. The children are my family and I love them. We're going to stay a family. And that means you're going home alone." Melanie picked up Christina and hugged her. "We're going to stay right here." "You can't stay in this...this place." Myrtle's mouth fell open. Melanie glared at her aunt. If she figured hard enough it would come to her how to stay here and survive. And figure she would. "I'm of an age where I can do about anything I please. And I please to stay here."

Chapter Nine Amanda threw her arms around Melanie. "That's a wonderful idea."

"And where do you plan to put all these people?" A smile flitted across Cyrus' face. "We'll figure that out." Amanda took Christina from Melanie. "How would you like to stay with us?" The child whimpered. "It's all right, Christina." Melanie patted her arm. "Mrs. O'Neil won't hurt you." Christina buried her face against Amanda. "You're my sister's child and you will come home with me." Myrtle grabbed Melanie's arm. Melanie removed Myrtle's hand from her arm. "Aunt Myrtle, I have made my decision." "Are you sure you've thought this through?" Cal played with the brim of his hat. Melanie faced Cal. "Yes." How had lying become so easy? The words had slipped from her mouth without even a hint of a thought before hand. But she wouldn't back down now. Not in front of Aunt Myrtle and not in front of Cal who appeared to be in an awful rush to be shed of her. "What're you going to do in this place, Melanie. It's not a safe place for a young woman alone." He reached over and pushed a wisp of hair from her face. She smiled. Had part of her decision been because she couldn't bear the thought of never seeing him again, never having him touch her? Or had she reacted to Aunt Myrtle's ultimatum? It didn't matter. She wanted to stay here. "She'll stay here and help us." Amanda rocked Christina back and forth in her arms. Melanie watched her and smiled. The woman should have had children of her own. She would have made a fine ma. "I don't think that's going to work. But..." "No buts. There isn't anywhere else for you to go." Cyrus leaned over the counter and handed Andy a second piece of candy. "Of course there is. That house at the edge of town. Who owns it?" Melanie looked from Amanda to Cyrus to Cal. One moment he seemed ready to rush her off on the next stage. The next he touched her and drove all reason from her mind. "The Calhoun house?" Cal plopped his hat on Melanie's head. "Why no one's used that house in years." Cyrus rested his elbows on the counter top. "Probably full of dust and spider webs." "That doesn't matter. A little elbow grease will shine it right up." Melanie smiled. What this town needed was a restaurant and hotel. Not much call came for renting rooms, but most of the men were alone, and they'd pay for a home cooked meal. "Does anyone own it?" "Let me think." Amanda set Christina on the counter and reached for a piece of candy. "Mr. and Mrs. Calhoun built that big old place before gold was found in these parts. He had the idea of starting a town named after him. Not many people flocked to this area before the gold strike, so he didn't have much luck. Tried advertising back east in the big newspapers. Got a few takers. That's who built the few

permanent structures about here. But the railroad, nor the stage come through, so people drifted to other places. Mrs. Calhoun died about five years ago. From what I hear, Mr. Calhoun up and disappeared. The town was empty until gold was found, but no one's ever wanted that old place." "I want it. It would be the perfect home." "Whatever for?" Cal's eyebrows drew together. "You can't just live there alone." "Why not?" She looked at him. Concern showed on his face. "It's a perfect place for children." "How will you feed them?" Cal reached for a piece of licorice. "I'll open a restaurant." She smiled at all of them. "And I could rent out rooms if travelers come through." "I never heard of anything so ridiculous in all my days." Myrtle humphed and crossed her arms. Melanie looked toward her. "What's so ridiculous about starting a restaurant? I bet many of the men would love to have a home cooked meal." "You can't do that." Cal laid his hand on her arm. "Why not?" "Because it's dangerous." "Oh, pooh. What could be dangerous about cooking?" For the first time since the cave-in, Melanie felt she could continue. "Those miners can be dangerous." Cal shook his head. "Absolutely not. One of them might try to rob you or worse. I won't allow it." "Neither will I." Aunt Myrtle snorted. "You're coming to Ohio with me." Melanie glared at Cal, then at Myrtle. "I'm old enough to make up my own mind. What either of you thinks is not important to me." What Cal thought did hold some import, but the only way she could stay in Gold Strike and be near him was if she could care for herself and the children. This seemed the only practical solution. "It's a wonderful idea." Amanda smiled. "We could use a restaurant. I'd like someone to fix my dinner upon occasion." "Mrs. O'Neil." Cal twirled the licorice between two fingers. "You mustn't encourage her. It's too dangerous for a beautiful young woman to be alone in that house. She should take her aunt's offer and return to Ohio where she can have a normal life." "Are you trying to be shed of me?" Melanie looked Cal straight in the eye. He looked away and fiddled with the grip of his colt. "That has nothing to do with this. It only makes sense for you to go back to a real town and find a husband." "Why is everyone in such a hurry to have me wed?" Melanie put her hands on her hips. "I have two

children to provide for and this seems the most logical means." She raised her head and stared from one to the other. Besides, she didn't want to admit she didn't know where else to go, nor did she cotton to the idea of traveling alone. And no one was going to force her. "Melanie, think about this. You don't know if people will come into a restaurant or not. What're you going to use to start a business? The O'Neils can't afford to back you." Amanda placed her hand on Cal's arm. "Now you let us decide what we can and can't do." She smiled at Melanie. "Besides, I find it a right nice idea having another woman in town. I'll have someone to visit." Cyrus nodded his head. "It'll work. This town's growing and if we don't want another ghost town when the gold's played out, then we have to build a place where people want to settle. I'm for investing in the future." "Thank you." Melanie smiled at him. "But this is my venture. I have enough to get started." "If you need anything..." Amanda hugged Melanie. "I know where you are." Melanie clung to the woman for a moment. She'd have a life. Not the life she'd envisioned in her dreams. No husband to take care of her, but children to raise. And a business to run rather than a household. Honestly it couldn't be anymore difficult than life in a mining camp. *** Melanie shoved open the door to the Calhoun house. The strong afternoon sunlight illuminated the large room off to the right. Sweeping cobwebs away with her hand, she stepped onto the dust laden rug. When Mr. Calhoun had left, he'd taken nothing with him. "It's going to take a mountain of work to clean this place up." Cal ran his hand along the banister leading to the second floor and sneezed. She laughed. "But it has real floors and furniture." She twirled around in a circle. "It can be a real home. It can't be packed in a wagon and moved on." She walked over to a settee and patted it, causing a cloud of dust to rise. She coughed. "Oh, it's gorgeous. It reminds me of the meadow with the little yellow flowers blooming." "Come winter it's going to take a whole lot of wood to warm this place." Cal walked up behind her and placed his arms about her. "Are you sure you want to do this? Your aunt won't be leaving 'til the beginning of next week. It isn't too late to change your mind." She turned in his arms. "I'm not going anywhere. I have to try. I have to make a home for the children." He kissed her on the cheek. "You need to think of yourself, also. You'll work yourself to death in this place. And who's to tell, it might all be for naught." She nodded. "It might. But haven't you ever had a dream." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. She nibbled at his lips, watching his eyes. He crushed her to him, teasing her lips with his tongue. He pulled away and looked at her. "Once I had a dream." Cal brushed the side of her face with his hand.

She pressed her cheek against his hand. "I have no choice but to try." He pulled her head against his chest and rested his chin on her hair. She tucked her arms around him as he ran his hands down her back, cupping her buttocks with his hands and pulling her to him. "There are always choices." "Not always." She knew that from living with Pa. She'd never had a choice but to tell lies to keep the family together after Pa'd lost everything in another poker game. She'd never had a choice but to go where Pa wanted her to, no matter what. Now she had the choice of where she would stay, and Gold Strike was it. She pulled back from Cal, hating to break the contact. "I need to get busy. There's so much to do." She took his hand and pulled him toward the back of the house. Entering the kitchen, she squealed with delight. "A stove. A real stove." She ran her fingers across the cool metal. "It's been so long since I've cooked on a real stove. I can bake bread again." Cal laughed. "How can a stove make you so happy?" She leaned her head back and laughed. "You try cooking over a camp fire." "I have." He moved to the sink and examined the pump. "Oh, the meals I could create with a real stove," she said joyfully. "And it has an oven." She looked around the kitchen. "Does the pump work?" "Looks to be in working condition. Won't know for sure until I get some water to prime the pump." He leaned against the sink. "Got to say the Calhouns put in the most modern conveniences." She crossed the kitchen and leaned against him, tangling her fingers in his hair. She gave him a quick kiss, feeling a bit brazen and loving the feeling. "I have to get my cleaning things from the wagon. And a bucket of water from the river." A weight had lifted from Melanie. She could make this into a home. Finally, she'd have a place to live. There wouldn't be anymore lies. No more worrying about Pa coming home drunk without supplies. She didn't have to worry about anyone but herself and the children. She lifted her skirts as she skipped down the steps to her wagon. Unhooking the horses, she led them around to a shed in the back. "The children will finally get to live with a roof over their heads. I'll get to fixing up a fenced area for them, but for now, this will have to do." She shoved open the door. "Let me take care of the horses and get you water." Cal took the reins away from her. "This'll work real nice as a stable." Melanie let the sunlight bathe her as she went back to the wagon. Lifting a crate, she smiled. No longer would the packing boxes double as chairs. They'd have real beds to sleep in again. She set the crate on the top step. She should check the upstairs and see to the beds and changing the straw in the mattresses. She'd like to move the children in as soon as possible. The sound of a wagon coming up the dirt road made Melanie turn. She ran down the road toward the wagon piled with the women from the camp. Lettie drove the team and Amanda sat beside her holding Christina on her lap.

Lettie jumped down and helped Suzy from the back of the wagon. Mrs. Schmitz eased herself over the side, putting her hands to her back and stretching. "We've come to help." Suzy gave Melanie a hug. "Can't have you doing all the work yourself." "Like she's going to be much help." Mabel pulled a bundle of rags from the wagon bed. "It's as good an excuse to come to town as any." Suzy waddled toward the house. Amanda set Christina on the ground as other children jumped from the wagon. "The little ones can play while we work." Amanda lifted her skirts and climbed up the stairs. Opening the door, she stopped. "Oh, my. We surely have a lot to do." The women filed into the house, chatting amongst themselves. Amanda grabbed an apron from the pile of material Mabel held. "I'll start in the kitchen. Send some of the boys for water." "Cal's going to get the pump working." Melanie hugged herself. Friends surrounded her. "Get me that broom from the wagon." Suzy waved a hand over her head. "I'll start in this room." "That's so you can clean off a chair to sit in," teased Lettie. "And right nice chairs she's got." Suzy ran her fingers across the fabric on the back of the settee. "I remember having real furniture." She shook her head. "If we do a real nice job, you gonna invite us back for a visit. A body could get used to sitting on such fine furniture." Melanie placed her hand on Suzy's shoulder. "I expect all of you to come and visit anytime, with or without an invitation. I'll be glad to fix you tea. Amanda can bring her pastries." "We'll have to have us another quilting bee." Mrs. Schmitz leaned against the door frame. "You can have us here. Then we won't bother Cyrus." "He'll be grateful for that." Amanda tied a scarf around her head. Melanie led the way into the kitchen. Cal pushed the pump handle up and down. A small trickle of reddish water flowed into the sink. "It works." Melanie clapped her hands. "It's a bit rusty, but it should clear up." Cal wiped his brow with his sleeve. "The damn thing was stuck." "But it's working now. Thank you." She flung her arms around him and kissed him. She turned back to Amanda. "Isn't this a wonderful kitchen." "Of yes." Amanda stared at her then glanced at Cal. "A wonderful kitchen for a family." *** Melanie dropped into bed. Not one spot on her entire body didn't hurt. Thanks to the women, they'd gotten three of the bedrooms cleaned, the large room downstairs, and the kitchen. They'd even restuffed the mattresses, so tonight, for the first time since Melanie could remember, she slept in a real bed.

Amanda had taken her order for supplies and promised to have her goods delivered within two days. The women had promised to bring their menfolk back on Sunday and help her move the furniture. One of the empty rooms upstairs would do as a sitting room. The rest of the furniture would have to go to the attic. She still had three rooms to rent. And the second room downstairs could be used as another dining room if business got good enough. Or maybe she'd make it into a tea parlor for the women where they could sit and sip tea, eat cookies, and talk while their men frequented Red's. She needed tables at which to serve her customers. She'd only found one in the house, but planks of wood balanced on crates and covered with tablecloths would suffice for the moment. She spread her arms out, enjoying the feeling of sleeping in a real bed. Christina hadn't wanted to sleep in a room by herself, but with a little coercion and Melanie's sitting with her until she fell asleep, the child had succumbed to Melanie's wishes. Andy loved the idea of having a room to himself. He'd even helped stuff his own mattress. Melanie rolled to her side and looked at the shadows dancing on the walls, cast by the lamp. Pink flocked wall paper adorned the walls in this room. Her room. She'd aired the comforter and the sheets. Tomorrow she'd have to wash all of the linen, but for tonight they'd do. The big four-poster bed took up a great deal of space, but still left room for a wardrobe and table to hold the wash basin and pitcher. She'd stood and run her fingers over the cool surface of the porcelain pitcher before she'd finally climbed into bed. She couldn't believe all of this was hers to use. No one else claimed it. She turned down the lamp and watched the flame flicker and go out. Moonlight filtered through the window, casting more shadows across the room. An eerie feeling came with the moonlight. Melanie shut her eyes. Silliness and not Pa's ghost made her wish she'd let Christina sleep with her. Tiredness fed her imagination. She'd concentrate on all she needed to get done so she could serve her first dinner on Sunday. She'd be feeding the men in exchange for their labor. But she needed to make it a meal they'd wish to come back and sample again. She hadn't any chickens, but Amanda said George could bring some in with his next freight load. Plenty of rabbits inhabited the area and she and Andy could trap them. He'd like to help. Then she could use the hides to make Christina a winter coat. She'd never cured a hide before, but it couldn't be that difficult. And tomorrow she'd plant a vegetable garden. Then she'd have fresh vegetables to feed people without having to pay a fortune for them. Yes, this would work. She settled into the mattress. Heaven couldn't be any better. She remembered sleeping on a mattress, but had forgotten how good it felt. Her muscles relaxed as her mind sifted through ideas for Sunday's meal. Melanie sat bolt upright. A noise! Something had thudded downstairs. She rubbed her eyes and listened. She must have been asleep. Had she dreamed the noise? Old houses made noises. They settled at night and she wasn't used to sleeping inside real walls. She laid back down and listened to the house. An unearthly quietness settled over it. Maybe she should

get up and check on the children. Rolling over, she pulled the comforter up to her chin. She needed to get control of her imagination. No one would bother her. A creak came from the stairway. Melanie clutched the comforter and held her breath. Another creak sounded. Maybe Andy had gone down to the outhouse or to get a drink of water. That was probably what woke her. She slipped out of bed and pulled her wrapper over her nightgown. Picking up her derringer, she checked the ammunition, then tucked it beneath the folds of her wrapper. She didn't want to scare Andy, but she wanted to make sure it was him. She stepped into the hallway and eased the door closed behind her. Only a small amount of light filtered up from the floor below so she couldn't see across the narrow walkway. She listened again. Another creak sounded. The noise came in short intervals as though someone crept up the stairs, feeling his way in the dark. Andy would have raced up the steps, even in the dark, as he'd done all day. She should get the lamp. But then if someone were in the house, he'd be able to see her while she wouldn't be able to see him. She glided along the hall, keeping one hand on the wall. The stairs weren't far from her room. She bumped into a small table near the head of the stairs and grabbed for the vase before it crashed to the floor. Holding her hand against her throat, she stepped onto the first step. She held her breath. The creaks came closer. "Who's there," she demanded. Her voice echoed down the hallway and came back to her. She stood stock still on the first step. No sound greeted her. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Someone who didn't belong here was in her house. She stepped back and hugged the wall. "I've got a pistol and I know how to use it, so whoever you are, get out of my house." The stairs creaked in a rushing sound as though the intruder ran toward her. She aimed at the sound and fired. The flash blinded her and the noise echoed around the hallway. Christina screamed. "Damn," muttered a male voice from below her. Andy's bedroom door opened behind her. "Get back inside, Andy," Melanie ordered. "Now." She pointed her pistol towards the man's voice and fired a second shot. Hands grabbed her and she struggled against the grip on her arms. A hand went over her mouth and she could taste sweat. An acrid taste formed in the back of her throat. The man forced her head back until her neck ached. Spots of light flashed before her eyes. She couldn't draw in a breath. She squeezed the trigger a third time.

Chapter Ten Cal awoke with a start. Had he heard a gun shot? He listened to the stillness of the wee morning hours. Red's tinny music had silenced with the passing out of the last drunk. Nothing but crickets and owls broke the silence. A snore from one of the prisoners echoed around the small room where Cal slept. That must have been what awakened him.

He stretched and drifted back towards sleep. A crack of a bullet came on the morning breeze. He sat up straight. He'd heard a shot. Cal yanked on his pants and grabbed his colt. The sound came muffled, as though it had traveled a distance. The only thing far enough away was the Calhoun house and Melanie. He ran barefoot through the streets. His heart refused to beat. Melanie could be dead. He'd told her that house wasn't a safe place to stay. He jumped the steps to her front door. It stood ajar. Holding his breath, he listened. Christina's caterwauling blocked out all other sounds. He crept in, hunched over. The darkness of the night weighed down on him, the moon barely touching it. He tiptoed toward the stairs. At this time of the morning, Melanie should be upstairs. He had to get to the child, anyway. At the bottom of the steps he tripped over a body. Grabbing for the railing, he kept himself from the floor. Hunkering down, he rolled the body over and felt the clothing. A man. His breath rushed out and he gulped in another. He crept up the stairs. Christina had stopped crying and the quiet had an eerieness about it. The floorboard creaked beneath his foot. He paused. A shot whisked by his ear. He flattened himself against the stairway, aiming his colt toward from where the shot had come. "Who's there? I'll shoot if you move." Melanie's voice caressed Cal and he lowered his gun. "It's me, Melanie. Cal. Don't shoot. I'm coming up." Her gun clunked against the side of the staircase. He leapt up the stairs and found her hunched body on the top step. Pulling her to him, he kissed the top of her head. "I thought you were..." Her body shook in his arms. "Is he dead?" She clung to him. "Yes." Cal pulled her into his lap and cradled her. Her head rested beneath his chin, her loose hair caressing his bare chest. He entwined his fingers in it while he held her. "Who was he?" "I don't know. I'll have to get a lantern to see." He picked her up and carried her back toward her room. "You rest and I'll take care of him." "I need to go to the children." Melanie leaned her head against his shoulder. "They're quiet for the moment. You need to calm down first." Whoever laid at the bottom of the steps could have killed her. Cal's stomach clenched. He would have to put a stop to this nonsense of running a boarding house and restaurant. The only logical thing for Melanie to do was to go back to Ohio with her aunt. At least she'd be safe. He set her on the edge of the bed and lit the lamp. He clenched one fist as he lifted her head and

examined her neck. "He did this." She tried to nod her head, but Cal continued staring and refused to release her. "It's a good thing he's dead," he hissed. "Melly?" "Yes, Andy. Come in." Melanie pulled away from him and turned toward the boy. He ran to her, pulling Christina behind him. Melanie held out her arms and the children flung themselves at her. Cal stepped back watching the scene in front of him. Melanie would never leave those children. Not for anyone. Especially not for Aunt Myrtle. But she couldn't stay here alone either. "I'll get another lamp and take care of things down stairs." Cal stomped toward the door. "Thank you." Melanie rocked the two children tucked beside her on the bed. "Andy, you were such a big help going in and taking care of Christina. And you did just as I asked." "Don't leave us, Melly." Andy leaned against his sister. "I won't, sweetheart. I won't." Cal trudged down the stairs, careful to step over the body which he dragged outside. He'd have to borrow Cyrus' wagon again to bury the man. After cleaning the blood off the stairs, he climbed to the second floor. Laying across Melanie's bed were the three of them, fast asleep. Melanie cradled one child on each side of her. Cal sighed and sat on the top step. The sun would be coming up soon. Until then he'd wait here. To make certain they were safe while they slept. *** "I won't hear anymore about it." Aunt Myrtle crossed her arms in front of her. "You're leaving this god-forsaken place and coming to Ohio with me." Melanie stood in her front room, her shoulders sagging. After last night, the invitation sounded better. But, she could never leave the children. "Aunt Myrtle, we've had this discussion before. Nothing has changed. You won't take the children and I won't leave them." "I'm moving in until I leave for the stage at the beginning of the week." Myrtle tapped her foot. Melanie sighed. Of course her aunt belonged under her roof and not Amanda's, but she'd be glad when Aunt Myrtle left. "I'll see to cleaning another room for you." She turned to mount the stairs. Everything seemed overwhelming at the moment. "Your aunt is correct. You can't stay here alone. Last night is testament to that." Cal moved in front of her and blocked the stairway.

"He's right." Amanda worried the side of her skirt. "I don't know when I've been so frightened. When the marshal told me someone had broken in here and you'd nearly been killed, my knees went weak and I could hardly breathe. I thought opening a restaurant a good idea, but not if it puts you in danger." "Does anyone even know who the man was?" Melanie turned to look at each of them. Could she fight them all? She'd fought Pa for years barely keeping body and soul together for the lot of them. Now she thought things would be different. "Never seen him before, but new drifters come through here every day." Cal set his foot on the bottom step. "Who knows what he was after, but you can bet more will follow." "I'll get a good strong lock for the door." Melanie squared her shoulders. "And a dog. The children will love a dog. And the beast will keep away intruders." "That won't do." Cal scowled. Melanie glared at him. "Who are you to say what will or will not do?" "I'm the marshal of Gold Strike and everyone's safety is my responsibility." He straightened so he looked down at her. "And I will say what goes and what doesn't." All her life someone had told her where to live and how to act. For the first time she was free and now that Pa no longer held her reins, she had no intentions of turning them over to someone else. Not her aunt. Not Cal. She pushed him aside and climbed the steps. "Melanie, you have to show reason." Cal reached for her arm. She stepped out of his reach and down at him. "Reason. I have to show reason? Yesterday it was perfectly reasonable for me to take over this house. All the women pitched in to help make it livable. You even fixed the pump for me so I'd have water in the kitchen." She took a deep breath. "Now, because I want to stay here, I'm being unreasonable." "We never expected anyone to break in." Amanda moved toward her. "We'll all be so worried if you're here alone." "I'm sure after it gets about I killed the intruder, others will think twice about breaking into my home." Melanie lifted her head. "I have no intention of leaving. Now, I have work to do." She turned away. "Melanie, wait," Cal called. "If you won't go with your aunt, then some other arrangement needs to be made." She glared at him. "I suppose you have it all figured out." He nodded his head. "What is this marvelous plan?" Melanie crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't going to like whatever Cal had in mind. At least arguing with the lot of them chased away the emptiness, the loneliness that had clung to her all morning. "I shall have to stay here with you."

"Absolutely not." Myrtle tapped her parasol on the bottom stair. "I'll not have you ruining my niece's reputation. She still may have a chance at finding a husband who does not care about her age." "Of for goodness sakes, Aunt Myrtle, I'm not that old." The woman was insufferable. If she didn't leave for Ohio soon, Melanie would not be able to bite her tongue and would tell her just what she thought of her. Then she'd no longer have to worry about Aunt Myrtle wanting to take her to Ohio and finding her a husband. Melanie turned to Cal. "I won't allow you to move into my house." Cal's face turned red. "I didn't mean it that way. I have no intention of marring your reputation." "Then what did you have in mind?" Melanie knew if they stayed under the same roof, she wouldn't be able to keep her hands from him, even if she thought him insufferable. And she wasn't ready to concede defeat or that she needed him. She might want him, but never would she let him know she needed him. Cal looked around the room. "I meant I would marry you. Then you'd have someone to take care of you and the children and you wouldn't be alone in this house, prey to any drifter who happens by." Melanie looked at him for several seconds while he shifted from one foot to another. She'd dreamed of him asking her to marry him. More than anything, she thought she wanted to be his wife. But to have him command it as though she were a burden for which he needed to care... She opened her mouth, then closed it and cleared her throat. "I've had quite enough of this discussion." She looked at Amanda. "I appreciate all of your help, but I'm sure Cyrus needs you. Aunt Myrtle, I'm sure you can find someone to help you bring your belongings here. It's only proper you stay with relatives while you finish your visit and not impose on Amanda any longer. I should have moved you here last night." She took a deep breath and looked at Cal. "As for you. Get out of my house. I have never in my life heard such nonsense. Marry me to provide protection. I think not." She took a step toward him, slipping her hand into her pocket and wrapping her fingers around the grip of her pistol. "That wasn't how I meant it." Cal stepped backwards. She pointed toward the door. "Get out." Melanie watched as Cal slunk out the door followed by the others. Then she sank down on the stairs and put her head in her hands. Life had taken turns she'd never expected. She'd figured she'd spend the rest of her life cleaning up Pa's disasters. "It's your fault, Pa. This time you got in where no one could save you. And you left the little ones and me alone. Just once, why couldn't you have thought of us first?" She stood and smoothed down her skirt. It did no good to sit about and fret over what couldn't be changed. She had too much work to do. Aunt Myrtle would be staying for several days and Melanie wasn't giving up her room, so another needed to be cleaned. And if she were to be ready for everyone on Sunday, she'd best get to work. She heaved herself up the stairs, the burdens of life weighing her down. *** Cal stood behind a tree and watched as Cyrus dragged Myrtle's trunk up the steps of the Calhoun house. Never would he see it as Melanie's. He couldn't believe what an idiot he's made of himself and what a muddle he'd made of everything. He'd meant to propose to Melanie in a proper way. After all, it

was the only logical solution to the problem. Besides, she was beautiful and would make any man a wonderful wife. His stomach clenched at the thought of any other man marrying Melanie or putting his hands on her. He'd staked his claim to her in the meadow and again last evening when he'd held her against him after she'd shot that man. He wanted to always be there to take care of her, protect her from the world. But at the moment she wouldn't even allow him in the door. Not that he much blamed her. His words had come out jumbled and he hadn't meant to anger her. The only way around things was to apologize. And he had the perfect solution. *** Cal held the squirming puppy under one arm and a sad looking bunch of wild flowers in his hand as he walked up the steps to the Calhoun house. He set the puppy down, holding the rope tied around the animal's neck. The brown and black bundle of fur wiggled his back end and wagged his tail. The puppy jumped up on Cal's leg and yipped, begging to be held. "Hush." Cal looked at the flowers in his hand and realized he should have dumped them somewhere along the way. He had picked a beautiful bouquet of lavender western larkspur and yellow zinnias before the squirming little beast had decided to taste them while he carried him. He glanced around, but no matter where he tossed them now, Melanie would see them. He removed his hat and knocked at the door. The puppy bounded for the steps. Yanking on the rope, Cal scooped him into his arms. The puppy swiped his face with his tongue, then grabbed Cal's hat, growling and shaking it. "Damn it, you little beast. Give that back." Cal hunkered down and set the puppy on his feet. The puppy backed away, hat in mouth, growling and shaking his head furiously. Cal grabbed his hat. The puppy braced his back feet and pulled. Cal heard the door behind him open. He picked up the puppy and tried to pry the hat from his teeth. The puppy dropped the hat and barked. He licked Cal's face and wiggled in his arms. Cal turned to see Melanie standing in the doorway. The flowers lay at her feet. He smiled as he leaned away from the puppy and tried to get the animal turned so he couldn't lick. "I brought you a present." Melanie looked at him, a smile spreading across her face. "And what am I to do with that?" She pointed to the puppy. "Full grown dogs are hard to find. No one wants to part with them, but I figure you can train this one. He'll make a great guard dog." Cal set the puppy down and retrieved his mauled hat. The puppy grabbed a flower, ran through the door, and headed for the kitchen. Cal grabbed for the rope, but it slipped between his fingers. "Excuse me." He nodded his head at Melanie as he raced after the puppy. He'd picked a fine way to apologize. By the time the puppy got through destroying the house, she'd never allow him in again. "Melly, Melly." Andy came out of the kitchen dragging the puppy by the end of the rope. His face beamed. "Look what I found. Isn't he wonderful." Andy bent down and wrapped his arms around the animal's neck.

Christina followed her brother. "Doggie, Melly. Doggie." She plopped on the floor and patted the animal with zeal. Melanie knelt on the floor beside the children. "Easy, Christina. You'll hurt him. He's only a baby." The puppy yipped and jumped up on Melanie, knocking her to a sitting position. He washed her face thoroughly, then proceeded to beat at Andy's face with his tail. Andy caught the tail and the puppy turned to look at him. Squirming away, the animal washed Andy's face amid a torrent of squeals and laughter. Then the animal went over by the couch and squatted. Cal groaned and dropped his head. "I'll take the beast out of here." He couldn't believe everything he tried kept turning out so badly. Melanie shook her head, tears running down her face. Cal hunkered down next to her. She was laughing. He helped her to her feet and she leaned against him for a brief moment. "Andy, go get a rag and a pail with some water." Melanie reached down and grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck. She glared at him. "Bad dog." Then she picked him up and held him. He licked the side of her face. "Why do I have to get a rag?" Andy stared at his feet. "So I can clean up the mess the puppy made. Then we'll figure out a name for him." Melanie cradled the animal and stroked his fur. He settled into her arms and laid his head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." Cal shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't expect him to..." Melanie smiled. "He's a baby and doesn't know any better." "I wanted to get you a dog to guard you seeing as you insist on staying in this place alone." Cal looked at his hat. Stupid beast had torn the edge. "I was trying to apologize for the way I acted. I really did mean that I wished for you to become my wife." Melanie squeezed the dog, then set him on the floor. "I don't wish to wed so I have someone to take care of me. I had enough grief with Pa. I don't wish to trade his dominance over me for the dominance of another man who will tell me what is proper and what is not." Melanie took the rag from Andy. "Andy, take the puppy outside, but don't let go of the rope or he might get lost." "I go." Christina toddled after Andy. "Take your sister and stay close to the house." Melanie scrubbed at the rug. "Aw, Melly," Andy whined. "If you wish to take the dog, you'll also take your sister." Melanie didn't look up from her work. Cal hunkered down. "Melanie, I didn't mean it that way." She looked over at him. "It doesn't matter how you meant it. 'Tis the way it sounded." She searched his face. "I don't believe you're interested in settling down and caring for children who aren't your own."

"They're important to you. I would take care of them because of that." "That's not enough." Melanie picked up her rag and rinsed it in the water. "Where did you get the puppy?" "There's an old mountain man holed up a few miles out of town. He pretty much stays clear of the mining area and the town folks. Says its too crowded, but as long as they don't bother him, he's content." Cal picked up the pail of water and carried it to the back door. "His bitch had a litter. He was more than willing to be shed of one. Of course, he didn't tell me he gave me the troublemaker of the litter." "It was a kind thought and the children are happy." Melanie took the emptied pail from him and rinsed it out. "The puppy'll give them something to love and he's no more boisterous than Andy. I don't know how much of a guard dog he'll make, but he can stay." Cal lifted the petalless flower from the floor. "He ate the flowers I picked for you." Melanie took the stem and giggled. She reached over and kissed him on the cheek. Cal put his hand to his cheek. "Want to take a walk?" "I have supper to fix and so much work to finish before Sunday." Cal took her hand. "Take a few minutes to enjoy. Besides, what you don't finish, the women will help you with." He pulled her toward the door. She followed him, showing no resistance. "I should check on the children anyway." "That horrid dog has probably led them off somewhere." Cal slipped his arm around Melanie's waist. She didn't pull away from him. He'd convince her yet that the only reasonable solution to her problems was to marry him. "Melly, doggie run off." Christina ran towards them. "Oh, good grief." Cal looked around and saw Andy run into a grove of trees behind the house. He crammed his tattered hat on his head and raced across the clearing. Melanie picked up Christina. She wiped away the little girl's tears. "It'll be fine. Andy and the marshal will find the rascal." She carried the child, nestled on her hip, across to the trees. The puppy came bounding out, barking loudly. He laid down, wiggled his back end, then growled at Andy as he came racing out of the trees, Cal right behind him. The puppy waited until Andy stood within inches of him, then bolted away again. "Come here, puppy." Andy called as he chased after the dog. "If you stop chasing him, he'll come back to you." Melanie smiled to see the little boy running and playing, something he hadn't done since they'd left their home in Ohio. Maybe her decision to stay in Gold Strike would turn out all right after all. Andy plopped down on the grass and crossed his arms. "I'm not chasing you any more."

The puppy stopped and looked at Andy. He crouched down and yipped. Then he bounded closer. When Andy reached out, the dog took off at a dead run. He stopped and turned back to Andy, who sat. After several mock attacks, the puppy bounded right on top of Andy, knocking him backwards. Andy wrapped his arms around the animal and the puppy washed his face. Cal laid his hand on Melanie's shoulder. "They do seem to make quite a pair." Melanie set Christina down and watched the child run over to her brother. She laid her hand on top of Cal's. "He's not much of a watchdog, but he offers something the children need." Cal took her hand and led her over to the shade of a tree. Sitting next to her, he wrapped his arm around her. "Friends again." She leaned her head against his shoulder and nodded. Even if he were overbearing, knowing he cared for her brought happiness. She'd never be free of her responsibility and able to marry, but she could enjoy Cal's company. She wanted to be held in his arms forever, but since that was not going to happen, she'd take the stolen moments she could. She watched as the two children played with the dog, chasing the animal around the clearing. When Christina got too far from the house, he barked and nipped at her feet, herding her back. Maybe he'd make a good watchdog yet. Cal took her face in his hand and tipped her chin upward. He bent his head and kissed her. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she returned his kiss. Parting her lips, she allowed his tongue entrance. He traced a pattern down her sides with his hands, caressing her, making the fire within her build. He drifted his fingers over the sides of her breasts and she trembled against him. Pulling away, she laid her head on his shoulder. "You're so beautiful. I want you," he whispered. She ran her fingers down the front of his shirt. She reached up and pressed her lips against his. She couldn't marry him, but neither could she stop herself from kissing him.

Chapter Eleven Cal pulled her into his arms and hugged her. He wanted her more than he'd ever wanted a woman. Even the one back in Philadelphia. He sighed and broke off the kiss. Caressing the side of her face, he smiled at her. She nestled her head against his shoulder as he rubbed her arm. "Melly. Melly." Andy ran toward them with the puppy nipping at his heels. "I named the dog." He squatted down and the puppy pushed his nose against Andy's hand. Melanie sat up and straightened her bodice. Cal's hand shifted to her shoulder. "What have you chosen for a name?" "Gold." "That seems a strange name for a puppy." Melanie stood and brushed off her skirt. "Maybe we should think awhile longer."

"No." Andy crossed his arms and glared at her. "We came here to find gold. Gold will bring me luck." Melanie tousled Andy's hair. "Maybe that's a fitting name after all. Come along. It's time to wash up and fix supper." She turned toward Cal. "Would you care to join us?" "I have prisoners to feed." He led Gold toward the house. "But I'll check later and make sure no strangers are lurking about." "I don't think that'll be necessary." Melanie smiled. "Between Aunt Myrtle and Gold, no one in his right mind would try to break in." "Ain't that the truth of it." Cal tied Gold to a post by the back door. Andy started to untie the rope. "I want to bring Gold inside." Melanie put her hand over his. "The dog belongs outside. He's too big to stay in the house and he makes messes." "Aw, Melly." Andy scuffed the dirt with his foot. "Doggie come inside," chirped Christina. "No." Melanie scooted the children up the stairs. She turned to Cal. "Thank you for the dog." He nodded. "I hope the beast doesn't turn out to be more of a nuisance than he's worth." He wanted to kiss her good-bye, but the children stared at him. Instead he reached up and brushed a tendril of hair away from her face. He could remember the feeling of it against him last night when it hung loose. He wanted to loosen the braid and feel the honeycolored tresses against his arm again. Dropping his arm, he turned and walked back toward his office at the far end of town. Melanie watched him disappear around the side of the house, then turned to the children. She wished he had stayed for supper, but he couldn't very well let his prisoners go hungry. "Let's fix supper. Andy, you can help." "I don't want to. I want Gold to come inside and play." Melanie shook her head as she opened the door. "Well, there you are." Aunt Myrtle sat at the table sipping a cup of tea. "I wondered where you'd wandered off to without fixing supper and with all this work to do." "You were resting and we didn't want to disturb you." Melanie pulled out a pan. "I'll fix supper now." A howling noise outside the door increased in volume. "What in tarnation is that?" Aunt Myrtle covered her ears with her hands. "Gold." Andy opened the back door. "He wants in." Melanie stepped out. "He's not coming in. Gold, be quiet."

The puppy crouched and wagged his tail, then bounded toward her, jumping up on her skirt. "You're still not coming in the house. Dogs belong outside." "But he's a baby, Melly. He's lonesome and scared." Andy petted Gold. "I need wood for the fire, Andy." Melanie stroked Gold's head. "The puppy'll be fine outside by himself." Andy lugged in wood and laid it in the box. He went back and closed the back door after looking wistfully at the puppy laying on the bottom step. As the door closed, the whine increased to a howl. "Where did that beast come from?" Myrtle put the tea kettle back on top of the stove while Melanie added wood. "The marshal brought him." "What do you need with a dog? That's another body to care for. You'll barely be able to take care of yourself." Aunt Myrtle sat down at the table. "He'll be a guard dog." Melanie raised her voice to be heard over Gold's howling. "As soon as he's grown some." Christina pulled at Melanie's skirt as she fried bacon. "Doggie crying." "I know, darling, but the dog belongs outside." Melanie mixed a batch of biscuits and shoved them into the oven. "He'll stop crying in a bit." "Christina never stops crying unless you pick her up." Andy edged toward the door. "Maybe Gold won't either." "Stay away from the door. He'll get over it in a bit if you leave him be." Melanie wiped her hands on her apron. The noise the dog made ran up and down her spine making her want to scream. Aunt Myrtle tapped her fingers on the table. "That noise is abominable and has to cease." Gold's voice increased. Melanie threw up her hands. "All right. Andy, bring him in, but keep an eye on him so he doesn't make a mess." Andy yanked open the door. "Come on, Gold." Andy untied the rope and the puppy bounded into the house and raced around the kitchen. Melanie laughed at the puppy's antics. Gold braked in front of Aunt Myrtle. He lowered himself to the floor, laid back his ears, and bared his teeth. A low rumbling growl came from deep within him. "Get that beast away from me." Aunt Myrtle stood and inched toward the door. Gold jumped for her. Melanie caught the rope and yanked the dog back. "Bad, Gold."

Aunt Myrtle grabbed up her skirts and scurried toward the upstairs. "Lock that beast away. He'll hurt the children." Melanie scooped up the puppy and rubbed his ears. He licked her face and wiggled in her arms, his tail wagging. "Now what ruffled your fur?" Christina reached up and pulled on the puppy's paw. He leaned over and licked her. "I don't like Aunt Myrtle either. She's mean." "Christina, what a horrid thing to say," Melanie scolded. "It's true." Andy turned out his bottom lip. "She hates us. She wants to give us away." "Now I would never allow that to happen." Melanie pulled the children close to her. "I'll always be here to care for you." Aunt Myrtle probably did appear to be mean to the children. She did the best she could. "Aunt Myrtle's just lonely. She never had anyone to love her." *** Melanie tried to block out the sound of her aunt snoring across the hall. No wonder the woman had never married. She made more racket than Pa ever had. If someone tried to sneak into the house, she'd never be able to hear them. Melanie reached over and touched the grip of her pistol laying on the table next to her. She should get up and check on the children. She wouldn't be able to hear them either if they awoke in the middle of the night. She stretched out under the comforter enjoying the softness of the bed. The bed shook and she jumped. A wet tongue attacked her face. She clutched her hand to her heart and laughed to herself. "You nearly scared me to death, Gold. What are you doing up here? I locked you in the kitchen." The puppies howling had been worse than Aunt Myrtle's snoring. But eventually, the puppy had worn out and gone to sleep. Melanie climbed out of bed. "You're going back to the kitchen." She lit the lamp and pulled on her wrapper. Barefoot, she wandered down the hall and opened Andy's door a crack. Gold bounded in and up on the bed. He washed Andy's face. Andy wrapped an arm around his neck and fell back to sleep. "All right. You win for tonight." She tucked the blanket around Andy and went to check on Christina. Gold hit her legs, buckling her knees as she went into Christina's room. He bounded onto the bed and washed Christina's face. The sleeping child rolled away from him. He jumped down and entangled himself in Melanie's legs. She reached down and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. "You're a nuisance. Either Andy's room or the kitchen." Gold reached up and licked her face. He bounded away and disappeared. Melanie shook her head and went back to her room. Gold sat in the middle of her bed. "Get down." He crouched, wagged his tail, and yipped at her. "Shush." She sat beside him and scratched his neck.

"I'm glad we have you even if you don't behave." She buried her face against his fur. He abounded with love which he gave freely, asking for nothing but their company. She crawled back in bed and drew up the comforter. Gold snuggled up next to her. "You'd best not wet in my bed." He yipped in reply, then put his chin on his paws. She laughed, laid her hand on his head and promptly fell asleep. *** Melanie awoke with a start and sat up straight in bed. What had she heard? Gold no longer lay beside her. The house was deadly quiet. She reached for her pistol and tiptoed to the door. Peeking out she saw Gold laying at the head of the stairs. He looked up at her, then put his head back on his paws, standing guard. Then she realized what had awakened her. The house was quiet. Aunt Myrtle had stopped snoring. *** "That sofa can go in the upstairs room. And that chair needs to go to the attic." Melanie wiped her face with her apron as she directed the men moving the furniture. "You can't put that lovely chair in the attic." Suzy ran her fingers over the deep blue velvet fabric. "Look at those rosewood legs. It's too nice to hide away." "I only have so much room. I have to put tables in here." Melanie leaned against the wall. She'd cleaned for days, but still dust came from every piece of furniture they moved. The last of the keeping furniture was being moved by the men. "Surely you can fit this in the parlor." Suzy looked at Melanie with wistful eyes. "I've never sat in such a beautiful chair." Melanie smiled. "I suppose we can fit it in the tea room." "She's acting that way 'cuz her times coming." Lettie lifted a small rosewood table. "We could use this in the tea room next to Suzy's chair." "Then some other chair has to go to the attic. That room won't hold anymore furniture if we plan on sitting in it ourselves." Happiness filled her home. The women chattered among themselves. They had rearranged the furniture a dozen times already, never happy. They couldn't agree on which was the best furniture for the tea room they looked forward to frequenting while their husbands sat playing poker at Red's. "Suzy's chair definitely has to stay." Amanda wiped her hands on her apron. "It's the nicest piece of furniture you have." "That's what you said about the settee." Mabel held a lamp with flowered glass. "This will work perfectly on the table Lettie's got."

"The room is for you women so you fix it anyway you wish. However, the rose-colored wing chair and settee go upstairs to my sitting room. And so does the Boston rocker, the other small table, the larger table, and the two lamps you found in the tea room." Melanie crossed her arms. "Whatever else doesn't fit in the tea room goes to the attic." Florence nodded and picked up one of the lamps and moved it back to the tea room. "Now doesn't that look lovely. We have to have more than one lamp in this room." Melanie let her head drop. The women would decorate the way they pleased. Tomorrow, after everyone had gone, she could rearrange the smaller pieces to her liking. "I'd best go and tend to supper." "I'll come and help." Mabel wiped dust from the lamp glass. "I'm going to try out my new chair." Suzy followed the men into the tea room. "I'll go and supervise. Make sure the men put things where we want them." Mrs. Schmitz shuffled after the men, a smile on her face. Mabel linked arms with Melanie. "Can't remember when I saw Mrs. Schmitz smile. And you've made Suzy so happy. She's not been feeling too sprightly and she surely does love that chair." "If she had a place to put it, I'd give it too her." Melanie pushed open the door to the kitchen. Gold bounded through it. She could hear the men cursing and something hit the floor. "I hope nothing broke." Mabel cringed. Cal came into the kitchen, holding the puppy. "No real damage." "What does that mean?" Melanie looked at Andy pumping water into a bucket. "A bit of a dent in one of the tables, but Sam Mitchell says he can fix it." Cal shifted the puppy so he couldn't lick his face. "Andy, I told you to keep Gold outside with you children while the men worked," scolded Melanie. "I came to get us some water. It's hot outside." He turned from the pump and looked down at his feet. "I didn't know Gold was going to cause trouble." Melanie raised her eyes upward. "He always causes trouble if he gets a chance. It's all right. Take him outside to play. Besides, someone needs to be watching Christina." "She's playing with some of the other girls. She's fine, Melly." Andy kicked his toe against the floor. "It ain't fair I have to watch her all the time." "I wasn't talking about you watching her. I was talking about Gold watching her. He makes sure she doesn't go anywhere she might get hurt." The little boy looked up at her. "Oh." "Go play and take Gold with you. I have work to do to get supper ready." Melanie lifted the pail from

the sink and handed it too him. "Oh, real baked bread. I can't remember when I last had real baked bread." Mabel leaned over and smelled the still warm loaves. Andy stood by the door holding on to Gold. "I caught the rabbits for supper." "Such a big boy." Mabel smiled at the child. "What can I do to help, Melanie?" "Peel the potatoes and carrots and put them in the stew." Melanie picked up a knife and sliced the bread. "Potatoes and carrots. Those are so expensive." "It's a special occasion. I'm going to plant a garden this next week. That'll be the only way I'll be able to serve anything but meat and bread." Cal walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She leaned back against him. "I know where's there a milk cow and a couple of pigs you can buy for next to nothing." "What's next to nothing around here?" Melanie liked having Cal watching her cook. It seemed almost like he was part of her little family. It made it appear she had the family of which she'd dreamed. "A couple of dollars." She turned in his arms and looked at him. "And how would you know of such a thing." He smiled. "Remember, I'm the marshal. I meet most everyone in these parts at one time or another." "And no one sells anything here abouts for a couple of dollars." She resisted the urge to kiss him. Instead she brushed her fingers across his cheek, tanned from being outdoors a great deal. His skin was not as dried and rough as Pa's, but not soft either. She loved to touch him. The texture made her shiver and wish to touch more of him. She knew his lips would be hot against hers. His breath caressed her face. "You need milk for the young 'uns. I'll take care of it tomorrow." "I thank you for that. It would be wonderful to have milk and to be able to make butter. Amanda is going to send for chickens. Then I can make a cake." "A cake would be so lovely." Mabel picked up another potato. Melanie turned back, her face heating. She'd forgotten Mabel stood but a few feet away. Melanie moved from the circle of Cal's arms and began placing plates on the table. "As soon as I have eggs, I'll invite all of you for tea." Mabel gave her a knowing look and went back to preparing the vegetables. *** "That was a wonderful meal." Jake, Mabel's husband, leaned back in his chair and patted his stomach.

"Certainly was." Cal didn't think he'd ever tasted such cooking. "I ate enough for a week." "Comes from eating your own cooking." Lettie reached for her coffee cup. "Absolutely the best meal I've had in forever." Bert, Suzy's husband, wiped his mouth. "You sayin' my cooking's not good." Suzy shifted in the chair she'd made the men bring back to the dining room. "No, darlin'." Bert leaned down and kissed her. "It just seems to taste better cooked on a stove than a campfire." He reached for another piece of bread. "You didn't eat much." "I'm not feeling so well." Suzy's eyes fluttered closed. "I'm terrible tired." "When's that young 'un supposed to be making an appearance?" Mrs. Schmitz leaned her elbows on the table. "Not for a couple of weeks yet." Suzy shifted in the chair. Florence stood. "I'll help with the dishes. Come along, Lettie, and let Melanie rest. She did put on a fine feast." Melanie started to rise. "Sit." Mrs. Schmitz laid her hand on Melanie's arm. "They can clean up." Amanda patted Melanie's knee. "Let them clean. You've done plenty today." Melanie sat back down in her chair. Cal sat next to her, letting his hand rest on her arm. Everyone flocked to Melanie. The women helped her and even got their men to help. She was a bright flicker in this otherwise dreary place where dreams died. He watched her as she relaxed and chatted with Amanda. Even in her worn dress, Melanie was beautiful. Tendrils of hair had escaped her braid as always and framed her face. A face soft to the touch. And lips of which he couldn't get enough. "I don't understand why your aunt wouldn't come down and join us." Amanda smoothed a piece of hair back. "She said we create too much confusion. She's used to living alone." Melanie covered Cal's hand with her own. "She's a sour old thing." Mabel stacked the plates. "I've never seen the likes of it. I'm sure she has a proper house and a nice one but all she can do is find fault with folks." "She's always been that way." Melanie took a sip of coffee. "I bet you'll be glad when she's gone." Mrs. Schmitz stood and stretched her back. "She don't know what she's missing." "That's right." Sam stood. "Any of you men want to join me outside for a smoke."

Most of the men nodded their heads and stood to follow Sam toward the door. Sam turned back. "You coming, Marshal." "No. I'm going to sit and let my dinner settle. I'll be having to get to work soon enough. Red's will be getting busy." Cal leaned back. He didn't wish to leave Melanie yet. He would need to walk by Red's and make sure no trouble brewed, but for the moment he could sit next to her. "Bert," Suzy cried. "What's the matter?" Mrs. Schmitz walked to Suzy's side and took her hand. "It's the baby." Suzy doubled over and groaned. "I need Bert." "Nonsense. What good's a man at a time like this?" Mrs. Schmitz patted her arm. "He delivered the last two." Suzy squeezed the arm of the chair. "Melanie, where can we lay her down?" Amanda took a cloth and wiped the sweat popping from Suzy's brow. "Upstairs in my bed." Melanie leapt up and went to Suzy. "Are you all right?" "I'm feeling right poorly." Suzy doubled up again. "This don't feel like the last ones." "They're all different, deary. You've had five before. This one'll slide right out." Mrs. Schmitz put her hand under Suzy's arm. "Let's get you up the stairs." Mabel took one arm and Amanda the other. Mrs. Schmitz lifted her skirt and plodded up the stairs. "We'll need some clean sheets and hot water." "I'll take care of that." Melanie walked toward the kitchen. Cal followed her. "I'll help." Lettie and Florence turned as Melanie entered the kitchen. "We about got it done." Lettie lifted the dish pan to throw the water out the back door. "We thank you again for the hospitality." Florence dried the last dish and put it away. "Guess we best round up the young 'uns and head back to camp. The men'll be wanting to make up for lost time tomorrow since we kept them from mining today." "We need hot water." Melanie reached for the pump handle. Cal reached around her. "I'll do that." "I better stoke the fire, then." Melanie moved across the floor. "What do you want water for?" Lettie wiped her hands on her apron.

"Suzy's having her baby." Melanie shoved several pieces of wood into the stove. "Figures she'd decide to do it here." Florence laughed. "It'll be a site more comfortable than in the mining camp." Cal continued to pump the handle, watching Melanie as the water flowed into the pan. He wondered what it would be like if she were having his child. He shook his head. His stomach was doing flips and it wasn't even his child. "Did anyone tell Bert?" "I don't know." Melanie closed the door on the stove. "I best do that." Florence left the kitchen. "Looks like we'll all be staying a mite longer." Lettie took off her apron. "Can't be leaving until we know how things go. I'll go and see if I can help." "Amanda and Mrs. Schmitz are with her. I should get sheets." Melanie turned toward the door. "You stay here, dear. A birthing room ain't no place for a single woman." Lettie smiled at Melanie and patted her hand. "I'll get the sheets if you tell me where you keep them." "In the wardrobe in the hallway." Cal wrapped his arm around Melanie. "Do you suppose she's all right?" A chill ran up his back. Melanie nodded her head against him. "She's had five other healthy children. I'm sure she's all right." She wrapped her arms around him and placed her head against his chest, hugging him. "She has to be all right." She pushed the sight of her mother in the birthing bed from her mind. When the water boiled, Cal lugged it upstairs and left it outside the room. He could hear Suzy scream and the muffled sounds of the women comforting her. Going back downstairs, he sat next to Melanie on the settee. He pulled her close. Women went through so much in life. It was a wonder any of them survived. He looked into Melanie's face. She was so beautiful. So young. Too young to be saddled with so much responsibility. All these women had too much responsibility and not enough happiness in their lives. Melanie brought them some. Suzy didn't lay on a dirty cot in the mining fields. She lay in a bed because of Melanie. Melanie gave them all hope, but did she have any of her own? What had she to look forward to? Serving dinner to strangers so she could feed her own. This harebrained scheme of hers would bring comfort to others, but only hard work for herself. He needed to get her away from here. She shouldn't wither and die like so many did. She deserved better. Somehow he'd see to it that she got it. "I'd best find the children and a place to settle them in." Melanie leaned against him. "You'd best not take them upstairs. It might scare them." "Why?"

"The strange noises. Christina scares easily enough." Melanie nodded. She pushed herself up and broke the contact between them. Emptiness filled him. *** Melanie stood at the top of the stairs and listened to Suzy's screams. She remembered the night Christina had been born. Pa'd been drunk. Her step-mother wanted the doctor, but he wouldn't come because Pa owed him money. No one would help, so Melanie had delivered Christina while Andy had hidden in the corner, covering his ears to block out the noise his ma made. She'd cursed Pa and the whole world. She'd screamed herself hoarse. Then when Christina had finally come, she'd rolled over and fallen asleep, leaving Melanie to tend to the newborn infant. Melanie hadn't even been able to get her step-mother to let her change the bed or wash her. Her step-mother had refused to feed the baby for a week. Melanie had to beg the store owner for a bottle and canned milk. She'd been so fearful the child would die. But Christina had been strong and grown in spite of her ma's neglect. Christina didn't even remember her ma. Unlike Melanie. She remembered the night her ma had died. Pa had gotten the doctor and the midwife. It had seemed like hours she'd waited with Pa. Ma had barely made a noise. The doctor said she was weak. The son Pa had always wanted had never drawn a breath. Ma drew but a few after the doctor delivered the baby. Melanie hadn't even been able to say good-bye. Ma was gone before they'd let her into the room. Suzy's screams echoed around the room. Melanie could hear Mrs. Schmitz and Amanda talking, but she couldn't make out what they said. She had to know what was happening inside that room. She'd seen babies birthed. Nothing in the room would scare her anymore than standing out here not knowing. She turned to Cal who stood next to her. "I have to find out." "There's nothing you can do that Mrs. Schmitz isn't." He brushed the side of her face. She drew on his strength. "The not knowing is worse. Go and sit with Bert. He has to be beside himself." "The other men are with him. They're his friends. I'd only be an intruder." She reached over and kissed his cheek. Menfolk were in the way at a time like this. She squared her shoulders and entered the room. Crossing the room, she looked at Suzy. The usually glowing, lively woman was ashen. Her hands clawed at the rope attached to the top of the bed. Lettie wiped her head with a wet cloth. Suzy screamed again and thrashed back and forth. "Hold still, Missy. We got to get this young 'un into the world." Mrs. Schmitz crooned as she looked at Amanda. "We got to turn that baby before its rips her to pieces."

Amanda nodded. "Do you think we can save it?" Mrs. Schmitz shrugged. "Don't know. Best to save the mother. She's young and can have another. Not like it's her first." Mrs. Schmitz lifted the sheet covering Suzy and reached inside to turn the baby. Lettie and Mabel held Suzy's arms as she screamed. "It'll be over soon." Lettie brushed Suzy's snarled hair from her face. "You hang on. He's coming." "It's not right." Suzy thrashed about. "I know it's not right." "Mrs. Schmitz and Amanda will take care of you. You hang on now." Mabel tightened her hold on Suzy. "I got the baby." Mrs. Schmitz whispered. "Hang on to her while I turn it." The women held Suzy while Mrs. Schmitz turned the baby and pulled on it. Suzy's scream rent the air. The baby lay still in Mrs. Schmitz's hands. She shook her head to Amanda. "It's done, Suzy." Amanda pulled the covers over the trembling woman. "We'll get you some more blankets to keep you warm." "My baby?" Suzy's eyes were wide with pain. "Now don't you fret about your baby none. You rest now." Amanda patted her hand and motioned to Lettie to get more blankets. Suzy looked at her and a tear ran down her face. "Was it a boy or a girl?" "A boy." "Poor wee thing." Mrs. Schmitz wrapped the small body in a towel. Suzy turned her face away, shaking. "I'm terrible cold." Mabel crawled up on the bed beside her and held her. "There'll be another young 'un soon enough." Melanie looked at the bed and saw the pool of red spreading around Suzy's legs. Amanda turned and looked at her. "Go and get Bert. Quickly." Melanie flew down the stairs and outside. "Bert. Come. Now. It's Suzy." "The baby?" Melanie shook her head. Bert raced into the house and upstairs. He disappeared inside the bedroom. His scream filled the night air.

Chapter Twelve Melanie clung to Cal. She couldn't fathom that Suzy, who had been such a bright spirit, was gone. "It's not right. Who will tend her children?" Cal brushed her hair back. "They have a pa." "But they're so little. One was younger than Christina. How will they manage without a ma?" She had been ten and had barely managed. "I'm sure he'll find them another. A man with that many children will have to." "Why does this place take so much?" "I don't know." Cal held her close. "Melanie," called Aunt Myrtle. "Come inside and help me." Melanie groaned. She couldn't face her aunt and the myriad demands the woman made. Now was not the time for the woman to be thinking of nothing but herself. Coldness filled the world. Unhappiness touched so many lives. She let the warmth from Cal seep into her. "Melanie, come along. Have the marshal bring wood for the stove. The women could use some tea and the children need tending." Aunt Myrtle's voice swirled around Melanie. Sighing, she released Cal. He wrapped his arm around her waist and walked her back to the house. "I'd best bring in wood or she'll send me out again." Melanie let her shoulders sag as she entered the kitchen from the back yard. "Yes, Aunt Myrtle. What do you need?" Aunt Myrtle gave her a quick hug. "I'll make tea. Have you anything left to serve with it." "Some bread. I saw some jam that Amanda brought over." Aunt Myrtle nodded her head. "Yes, that will do. I'll make the tea and bring everything to the tea room. Mrs. Schmitz and Amanda will be done with the laying out shortly. Usher the other women in and I'll serve them. You and Mabel can settle the children upstairs. I'm sure they'll be delighted to share Andy's and Christina's rooms. Most will have to sleep on the floor, but at least they'll be bedded down." Melanie watched her aunt as she pumped water. How could she act as though nothing had happened? Myrtle looked at her. "Go along now. Things need tending." Melanie walked through the dining room. The men sat huddled, talking in whispers. They ceased as she entered the room, looking as though they were small boys caught with their hands in the cookie jar. She nodded to them and went upstairs. "Aunt Myrtle is making tea. She'll bring it to the tea room in a few minutes." She watched as Mrs. Schmitz finished washing Suzy and began to dress her with Amanda's help. They looked as though they

had done this many times before. Everything looked so matter-of-fact except for Bert sitting beside the bed, his head drooping. "Mabel, if you'll help me, we can put the children to bed in Christina's and Andy's rooms. I'm sure I can find enough blankets." "That would be right nice." Lettie watched Amanda and Mrs. Schmitz. "I'll go and help your aunt." "That minister who buried your Pa is still in camp." Mrs. Schmitz took a hair brush and rebraided Suzy's hair. "I'll send my husband for him in the morning and we'll find a right pretty place for Suzy." "Some place with lots of flowers." Florence rolled up the soiled sheets. "She loved the wildflowers here abouts. She'd be happy if she had wildflowers around her." Sally came and took Melanie's arm. "I'll help with the children. There's a passel of them. Once they're down, we can have our tea." Melanie tucked Christina in bed with two of Suzy's girls. "Now sleep tight." She bent and kissed Christina. "Where's our ma?" asked the older of the girls. Melanie looked at her for a long moment. "Is she going to kiss us good-night. She always kisses us good-night and sings us a song," the younger girl said. "Not tonight." Melanie tucked the blanket over them. "I'll kiss you good-night instead, but I don't know any songs." She turned the lamp down low, but left it burning. Lamp oil was expensive, but she wouldn't leave the girls in the dark. Tonight she'd let the light push away the ghosts. Tomorrow they'd learn of their mother's fate. Trudging downstairs, she could hear the women's hushed voices from the tea room. She stood at the door a moment, then went outside and sat on the doorstep. The cool night breeze brushed against her face. "Want some company?" She looked up at Cal and nodded her head. He sat next to her. Reaching over, she took his hand and clutched it. Cal had strong hands. Not hands that had done hard work. No calluses marred his skin, but strong hands anyway. Hands that could protect a body. But could anything really protect anyone. Pa's greed had caused his death. But Suzy had only done what every woman did. She'd given her husband children, and now, because of that, she too was gone. And would those children grow up with the same loneliness she had? "Bert had the same look on his face Pa did the night Ma died." Cal put his arm around her and pulled her close. "He loved her very much. He loves those children too. I've seen it on his face when he watches them." "But will that be enough? Pa loved me until Ma died. Then he didn't love anything. All his love went with

her." "We can't know the answer to that question, Melanie. We can only see what happens." Cal rested his cheek against the side of her head. "Not all men fall in a bottle when their wives pass on." "I hope not." She looked out at the stars twinkling above. The moon shone down on them. It looked like every other night. "Why does nothing change when someone dies?" "Things change. For the people close to them. But even while some face sorrow the rest of the world plods along." "It doesn't seem right." She squeezed his hand. "It just doesn't seem right." "We all have sorrow touch our lives." She turned and looked at him. Dark shadows flashed across his face. "But what of the happiness? There seems so little of it." "That's why you have to grab it while you can, before it disappears on the wings of the sorrow." He bussed her. "Don't let the sorrow swallow you up. Once it does, you can't ever shed it." *** Melanie stood next to Cal with the children in front of her. Bert stood by the side of the grave, his head bowed, his shoulders slumped. She wanted Cal to wrap his arms around her. Instead, he held his hat in front of him. The minister from the gold camp had had too much business the last week. She was sure he'd never expected to be called upon so often when he'd gone off to find gold. When the minister finished his prayer, Aunt Myrtle took Melanie's arm. "I'll take the children home and put Christina down for a nap. You stay here as long as you wish." Melanie looked at her aunt. "Are you sure?" Aunt Myrtle didn't like the children. She never did anything to help. Not until last night. "I'm sure. We can manage for a bit without you." She smiled at Melanie. "You say good-bye to your friend. I'll have supper ready when you come home." She took Gold's rope from Melanie. The puppy bared his teeth. Aunt Myrtle yanked on the rope as she took Christina's hand. The children and the puppy followed her as she marched across the meadow. Cal plopped his hat on Melanie's head. "You really need to wear a hat in this sun. You'll get sunstroke." Melanie watched as the others moved back to camp. They were a much more somber group than when she'd buried Pa. Everyone had loved Suzy. Amanda came and took Melanie's arm. "Are you coming? The women have fixed food." Melanie nodded to her. "In a moment." She watched Amanda walk over to Bert, then herd his children back toward the camp. "I don't want to go back there."

Cal wrapped his arm around her waist. "I'll walk you home." Melanie shook her head. "I don't want to go there just yet, either." "Let's take a walk." He took her hand. They walked away from the camp and the town into the grove of trees at the end of the meadow. Melanie stooped and picked some zinnias. "Suzy loved flowers. She always had some in her tent." Cal pulled her down beside him and held her against him. She snuggled her head against his shoulder, holding the yellow flowers clutched in her hand. She sat there, watching the breeze play with the leaves on the trees. A charred tree trunk stood among the trees filled with green leaves. Life and death, side by side. The sorrow of death still dwelled within her and she wanted to be shed of it. Pa was gone. Suzy was gone. But she still had the children for which to care. Aunt Myrtle's visit was drawing to an end and she would return to her life. Melanie would be alone. Cal held her within his arms. Life flowed from him. She looked up into his face. He'd seen death often as the marshal, but he went on with life. He touched the side of her face and ran his fingertips across her cheeks. She lifted her face and he traced a pattern down the side of her neck. He nuzzled her ear and her neck sending shivers through her. Pulling the pins from her hair, he unwound her braid and let her hair spill down her back and over his arm. She tipped her head sideways as he rained soft kisses against her neck. Her skin tingled where his warm lips touched her. He laid her back on the ground and laid beside her, pulling her close. He captured her lips with his, then caressed the end of her tongue with his. She clung to him, darting her tongue against his. Rolling her backwards, he smiled down at her. He kissed her cheeks, her chin, then down her throat, nibbling at her neck. She lifted her chin, exposing the tender skin to his touch. Laying beside her, he looked down her body and back. He stroked her down the front and across her breast. A tingle started deep within her and she grabbed his head, threading her fingers through his hair. She captured his lips with hers, flicking her tongue along them. She wanted to stay with him forever. Cal broke the kiss and looked into her eyes. "You're so beautiful." He stroked the side of her face and she nuzzled her cheek against his hand. He kissed her cheek and along the side of her neck. Then he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her palm, pressing it against his face. She smiled at him. For a moment she could pretend that things were different and she could belong to him. But that was all it was. Pretending. She sighed and stroked the side of his face.

Chapter Thirteen Laying in the grass, Cal held Melanie. He'd never meant to take her, but he didn't regret doing it. Now maybe she'd see the reason for marrying him.

Not for a long time had he wanted to hold a woman. He'd thought to marry once, but since that time he'd never trusted any woman. But Melanie was different. She wasn't looking for a rich man to support her. She wasn't looking for anything. He brushed her hair back and kissed her cheek. She rolled into him and laid her hand across his chest. The sun crept across the sky and someone would come looking for them soon. He needed to get her home, but he wanted to hold her for awhile yet. He wanted to touch her and love her again. "It's getting late." She rolled away from him and looked up at the sky. "Aunt Myrtle and Amanda will wonder where we've got to." "And it wouldn't be a good idea if they figured it out." She smiled at him and ran her finger along the side of his face. "Probably not. Now that you've ruined me, Aunt Myrtle would insist we wed. Amanda probably would also." "Would that be such a terrible idea." He held his breath waiting for her reply. She pushed herself to a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Marriage brings responsibilities." She turned her head and looked at him. "I know." He sat up and rubbed her shoulders. "I won't marry because it's convenient and to have someone to take care of me. I can take care of myself and my own. I won't be a bother to anyone." "You would not be a burden." "But the children would." Cal looked at her for a long moment. Taking on a family with his job might not be a great idea. He never stayed long in one place and some of the places he'd been were worse than here. Would it help to marry her, then get himself killed and leave her alone again in some other god-forsaken place. "The children need a ma and a pa." "They only have me." She looked away. "Never will they have a ma and a pa. Only a big sister, but that'll have to do." "We could make them a home." She looked at him again. Reaching over, she touched his shoulder. "Is that what you want?" "It's what would be best." "That's not reason for marrying." She rose and pulled on her clothes. Buttoning the front of her dress, she smiled down on him. "Marriages made for what is best bring unhappiness to the house. I'll not do that to the children." Or to myself.

*** Melanie's stomach fluttered as she stirred the stew. Finally she had her first customers and gold would come in instead of just going out for supplies. Aunt Myrtle had left for Ohio three days ago and the house seemed emptier. She'd started to warm toward the children like a spring thaw. She'd even promised to come and visit again next spring if Melanie hadn't come to her senses by then. Cal had helped her paint a sign and hang it in front of the house. She'd wanted it to say Melanie's Place, but he'd said that would invite trouble. Instead, she'd named the place Gold Mine Restaurant and Hotel. She really didn't expect any customers for rooms, but she'd cleaned them all. Cal had moved Suzy's chair to the attic and brought down another one. Then he'd made her two deacons benches and a long table. She had two smaller tables for any families who might wish to come for a special dinner. Not many families were left in the gold camp. Bert had packed up his children and left the day after Suzy's funeral. The following day Sally and Sam had moved on. Then Mabel and Jake had pulled up stakes. Melanie missed them all, but since Suzy's death, everyone had been disheartened. Mrs. Schmitz, Lettie, Florence, and Amanda had come for tea yesterday. Florence talked of leaving soon since her Ben couldn't find much gold. No other families had moved in, but Amanda told her not to fret. Others always came and those women would use her tea room and be grateful for the furniture and service. Tonight her customers consisted of three single men and Cal. And when he was through, he'd take back two plates to the men in his jail. He told her they'd appreciate it after eating his cooking for so long. Melanie scooped stew onto plates and placed biscuits in a basket. Covering the biscuits with a napkin, she dished up some of the butter she'd made yesterday. Cal had brought her the cow and two pigs he'd promised her, then built a sty for the pigs. Having fresh milk and cream was heavenly. She'd planted her garden and Amanda assured her the chickens would arrive with the next shipment. Then she could make a cake. Also, she could offer eggs on her meager menu. She'd be able to fix flapjacks and bacon for breakfast. Balancing two plates and the basket of biscuits, she pushed through the door from the kitchen and served two of the men. She smiled at them and scurried back to the kitchen for the rest. She smiled at Christina and scooped some stew into a bowl for the child. Setting it before her, she grabbed up the other two plates and the butter. She served the third man, then walked to the table where Cal sat alone. "Why don't you join the others? It can't be so enjoyable sitting alone." He squeezed her hand. "They don't wish to eat with the marshal. Makes them nervous." "Miss, can we have some coffee?" one of the men asked. Melanie looked at the men. One had gnarled hands and a gray beard that hung half way down his chest. The other two were still so young they should have been at home. "Coming right up." She poured coffee and went back to the kitchen. Looking out the back door, she searched the area for

Andy and Gold. She hadn't seen them since early this morning. Andy had gotten angry and run off when she'd asked him to help weed the garden. Surely he would be returning soon. He hadn't had any dinner and now suppertime had arrived. Sighing, she turned back to Christina. "How are you doing, sweetheart?" She picked up a rag and wiped the little girl's face. "Done." Christina held up her half filled bowl. "You can eat a bit more." Melanie buttered a biscuit and handed it to Christina. "I'll be right back." Grabbing the coffeepot with a towel, she went back to see if anyone needed a refill. When she'd thought of this idea of a restaurant, she hadn't thought of the difficulty of cooking and serving. After filling the men's coffee cups, she sat with Cal. "You look tired. Are you working too hard?" He reached for another biscuit. "There has been so much to get done." She leaned her chin against her hand. "It should get better." He brushed the side of her face. "Are you all right?" "I'm a bit worried about Andy. He ran off this morning and hasn't come back." What if something happened to him? He'd gotten angry with her before, but he'd never run away. She'd looked for him around the house, but he wasn't hiding in the tree grove or anywhere nearby. Cal set down his fork. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? It's near dark. I would have gone looking for him." "I thought he was off sulking somewhere. He gets angry over so little, but he's been better since you brought Gold." A chill set in her bones. He's such a little boy to be about by himself. Anything could happen to him. "I'll get my horse and go looking. Any idea of where he might go." She shook her head. "Most of his friends from the camp have moved on. I looked close by, but I couldn't find him." "Don't worry. Boys lose track of time when they're playing. I'm sure he'll be home soon. His stomach will remind him it's suppertime." Cal reached for his hat. The front door flew open and Andy raced in, Gold barking at his heels. "Look, Melly. I found us gold." The child held out a small amount of flake in a grubby hand. Relief flooded through her. "Andrew Whittaker, where have you been?" "Panning for gold." His smile lit his face. "You worried your sister near to death." Cal grabbed Gold by the scruff of the neck. Andy's face fell and he stared at his toes. "I'm old enough to take care of myself. Don't know why she

worries so. I'm not a baby." Melanie knelt down in front of him. "Andy, I worry when I don't know where you are. I don't want you going up to the gold camp. I want you to stay around here." "I'm just trying to help." He balled his hand into a fist around the gold. "You could help more by not worrying your sister and doing chores around here." Andy glared at both of them. "I hate you both. You're not my ma and pa. You can't tell me what to do." He turned and ran upstairs. Melanie rose and started after Andy. Cal caught her arm. "Leave him be 'til he calms down. He's still grieving for his pa and doesn't mean what he says." "And grieving for his ma." Melanie reached down and patted Gold. "You took good care of him, but next time keep him closer to home." Gold yipped and jumped up on Melanie's skirt. "Miss, can I have some more stew?" one of the younger men asked? "It'll cost extra." Melanie forced herself to smile. What would she do about Andy? She'd thought things would be easier now that Pa wasn't about forever causing a ruckus. The young man looked at his plate then nodded his head. "I'd like some more biscuits too." Gold looked at the men and growled, a rumbly growl that he'd only used on Aunt Myrtle before. "Do you know these men?" Cal asked. Melanie shook her head. "I thought you were the one who knew everyone in these parts." "They're newcomers. Be careful." He pulled the dog around the table and took him to the kitchen. Melanie served up more stew. When the men had finished, she weighed out their gold and watched them leave. She went back into the kitchen and patted Gold. "Go watch the stairs." Gold licked her arm and bounded toward the door. "He really is protective, isn't he?" Cal put plates into the sink. "Yes, he is and you don't have to do the dishes." She lifted Christina from her chair and the little girl ran after Gold. Cal put his arms around Melanie's waist and nuzzled the back of her neck. Shivers ran through her, chasing away the uneasy feeling that had crept into her when Gold growled at her customers. She'd never make it in business if she got the flutters every time a new customer arrived. "I can stay awhile to make sure they don't come back."

Melanie leaned her head against his shoulder. "Gold'll warn me if they do. Besides, you have prisoners to feed." "I'll be glad when I'm shed of them." He hugged her. "And when will that be?" She laid her hand on his, enjoying his presence. Sometimes it seemed as though he belonged in her kitchen. "I'll be leaving in two days to take them to Denver." "And how long will you be gone?" "About a week, barring any trouble. Will you miss me?" He kissed the back of her neck. She shivered and turned in his arms. "I'll have to think on that awhile." She smiled at him. "I'd best take a plate to Andy and clean up." "I've asked Cyrus to look after you while I'm gone." She pushed away from him. "I can look after myself." "But I worry about you here alone." "You needn't. Nothing ties you to us." She pumped water into a pot to put to boil on the stove. "You don't know that." He took the pot from her and placed it on the stove. "Yes, I do. There will be no child from our coupling, so you needn't feel obligated." "Melanie, I don't feel obligated. I worry." Cal took her into his arms, kissing her hungrily. *** Melanie held Christina's hand as they entered the general store. The second the door closed behind them, Christina flew across the room and held her arms up to Amanda. "Candy, grandma," the little girl squealed. Melanie looked at Christina. "Now who taught you that?" Amanda pulled a stick of licorice from the jar and Christina began chewing, a black sticky coating covering her mouth. "It's all right for her to ask for candy." Amanda shifted the child to her hip. "She shouldn't be greeting you with a request for candy, but that wasn't what I was speaking of." She pulled her list from her pocket. "Oh." Amanda's face turned pink. "I thought since she didn't have a ma or a pa anymore, it wouldn't hurt for her to call me grandma." Cyrus wrapped his arm around the two. "Besides, us not having any children of our own, Amanda's sort of adopted this one."

Melanie shook her head. "The two of you are incorrigible." Christina held the chewed end of her licorice out to Cyrus. "Grandpa want a bite." "No, thank you, darlin'." Cyrus smiled at her. "But I have something special I've been saving for you." He lifted Christina from Amanda's arms. "It's in the storeroom. Want to see?" Christina squealed and bounced up and down in Cyrus' arms, clapping her hands. "Oh, yes, please." Then she threw her sticky hands around his neck. "Now how am I to bring her up proper with the two of you spoilin' her." Melanie crossed her arms and tried to glare at Amanda. Amanda put her arm around Melanie's shoulder and gave her a hug. "Nonsense." She looked around. "Where's Andy?" "Off panning for gold again, I guess. He leaves as the sun rises and doesn't return until supper time." Melanie sighed. "I've tried to tell him not to run off, but he won't listen to me. He's so angry." "Now that's a child what needs some extra spoilin'." Amanda looked around the store. "I haven't got much for a little boy, but you can take him some candy." "I won't reward him for not doing what he's told." "He needs understanding. His pa died." Melanie hugged Amanda back. "That's no excuse for his sassing me and running off. If Cal hadn't brought us Gold, I'd be beside myself with worry. Who knows what trouble Andy might get into." "He'll come around. Give him time." "I hope you're right. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him." She'd lost enough in this place. She wouldn't let anything happen to the rest of her family. She had to keep them safe and together. "I need some supplies." "Having customers?" "Every night. I had six last night. The word's getting round. Those men who are tired of their own cooking and have found some gold are coming to spend some of it on their stomachs. I go through a lot of flour and since Andy's stopped trapping rabbits, I'm having to make something else." "You could take the candy as a reward if he helps you by catching rabbits." Amanda reached into the jar and pulled out several pieces. "Don't give the hard ones to Christina. She might choke on them." "I still don't like the idea of rewarding him for doing what he's suppose to." Amanda picked up Melanie's list. "Quite a bit here. What are you going to be fixing besides rabbit stew?" "I got bacon and flapjacks. The men seem to like them. One day Andy did bring me some fish and those

were gone with the men wanting more. They really don't seem to care what I put in front of them as long as they don't have to fix it." "How are the chickens doing?" Amanda piled things on the counter. "I've gotten a few eggs. I fixed a cake yesterday and the men devoured it." Melanie smiled. She worked hard and fell into bed every night dead tired, but a tired different from before. She'd been tired taking care of Pa and the children, but now the tired didn't ache with hopelessness. "Oh, good. Saturday, the girls and I will be over for tea. You promised us a cake." Amanda put up a can of peaches. "This is for you and the children, not for the men. If they want peaches, they can come here and buy them." "I can't afford those." "Didn't say anything about affording. I can give you a present like I do the children." Amanda tallied up the cost of the supplies. "Are you going to put this on your account?" "No, I have gold to pay for it." Melanie reached into her pocket and pulled out her gold bag. She poured the contents onto the scale. Amanda smiled. "You're doing right well, I see. It's more than I need." She scooped off part of the gold. "No, keep it against what I owe you." The nuggets she'd hoarded had nearly covered the cost of starting up her restaurant. Amanda had put the rest on account, but Melanie didn't want to owe the store. Owing hung over a body's head like an ax. Something might go wrong and she wouldn't be able to pay. Having her accounts settled added to the feeling of her security. "I'm not in a hurry." Amanda pulled a stick of candy out and handed it to Melanie and took another for herself. "I know. But where else am I going to spend money but your store. I might as well pay up my account." Melanie smiled. "Then when I don't have the gold, I won't have a bill so high you don't want to put it on my account." "That would never happen." "Worse things have. Friends owing friends money can bring trouble." Melanie turned and looked at the cloth goods. If the customers kept coming, in a week or so she could have herself a new dress. One that didn't look ready for the rag bag. "I could put a dress length on account." Amanda walked over to the material counter. "When's Cal due back? It'd be right nice to have a new dress for him." Melanie shook her head. "When I have the money. Besides, I don't need a new dress working in the kitchen most of the day." She turned away and looked at the pile on the counter. "Cal's due back in about five days. He said he'd try and bring a deer so we could have something besides rabbit meat." "He's getting tired of your rabbit stew?" "Nope."

"I'll bet he's missing you as much as you're missing him?" "I don't miss him." Melanie did have to admit, but only to herself, she did miss his company at supper. Not that she had much time to talk with him while she served her customers, but he stayed after and helped in the kitchen. It had been lonely with just the children to put to bed and dishes to wash. "Now I don't believe you. You do realize he's smitten with you." Melanie studied Amanda's face for a moment. "He's concerned something will happen to me. I'm more of a bother than anything else." "That's utter nonsense. Last time I saw a man so smitten 'twas Cyrus." Melanie laughed. "And he still is." "I know and I like it fine that way. But Cal's as smitten with you." "Even if he were, I still have the children to tend and he's not ready to take on a family." "You best take stock in him again. I've known Cal since he came to these parts. While there haven't been many single women of marrying age, you're the first one he's ever looked at once, let alone twice." Melanie remembered the first time she'd seen Cal and how often she'd dreamed of him since. She enjoyed his company and laying in his arms was heaven. But she felt more of a burden than anything else. "I see no reason to fret about it. I'm quite content with things the way they are." The door to the store opened and Melanie turned to see a tall, nice looking man enter. Amanda wiped her hands on her apron and went to meet him. "May I help you?" Amanda smiled as she always did when customers entered her store. "I hope so." The man removed his hat and smoothed back his brown hair. His blue eyes had a hard look, almost cruel. "I'm looking for my brother." "This has been the month for lost relatives." Amanda smoothed her apron. "First Aunt Myrtle and now you." "Melly, Melly." Christina nearly knocked Melanie over as she raced from the back room and threw herself at Melanie's legs. "Hush, child. Amanda's waiting on a customer." "Look, Melly. Look, Grandma." Christina held up a small porcelain doll dressed in a blue dress that matched the one Melanie had made. "Look what Grandpa gived me." "That's beautiful." Melanie turned to Cyrus. "You shouldn't have." "'Tweren't my idea." The smile in his eyes belied his statement. "Amanda thought the child ought to have a doll."

Amanda walked back to Melanie and looked at Christina's doll. "Oh, look, she has a dress to match yours." Christina hugged the doll and rocked her back and forth. "Beautiful dolly." Melanie hugged Amanda. "You dressed her." "Of course. Figured the child and the doll should be dressed the same." "She doesn't wear that dress often. It's the only good one she has." "Well, then you best let her afore she outgrows it." "Christina have dolly. Andy have Gold." Christina reached up to Amanda who lifted her and propped her on her hip. "Tell Amanda thank you." This place was home. Not since Ma had died had any place been home. But Amanda and Cyrus made this little nothing town a home for her and hers. Christina kissed Amanda on the cheek. "Thank you, Grandma." She put the doll up to kiss Amanda. "Dolly needs hair ribbon." "That might be a bit difficult," Melanie said. "The doll's hair is loose like yours." She looked at the painted hair on the porcelain head. "I'm sure we can fix that." Amanda set Christina down and cut a length of ribbon, tying it around the doll's head. "See, Melly." Christina held the doll up for her inspection. "Hair ribbon like mine." Christina plopped down on the floor and began talking to her doll. The stranger cleared his throat. Melanie turned to look at him. He looked like a city dude and not a gold miner. Not many like him came through here. He looked to be maybe thirty or a bit younger. He held a bowler hat in his hand. "Oh, my." Amanda turned back to the man. "How rude of me. I didn't mean to ignore you. Cyrus, this man is looking for his brother." "And who might that be." Cyrus walked around the counter to stand next to the women. "I'm Rance Calhoun and I'm looking for my brother John."

Chapter Fourteen Melanie sucked in her breath. Everyone had thought Calhoun had left Gold Strike never to be seen again. Both Cyrus and Amanda stood with their mouths hanging open. "This is Calhoun Junction, isn't it?"

Cyrus cleared his throat before he spoke. "No, this here's Gold Strike." "That's what folks here abouts call it, but the proper name is Calhoun Junction." The man reached into his pocket and pulled out several letters. "No one had heard of my brother and with people changing the name, I had the devil's own time figuring exactly where he'd settled." "He ain't around here." Cyrus put his arms around Melanie and Amanda. Rance looked at them. "I have several letters and from the best I can tell, he has to be here." "And when did you last hear from him?" Cyrus glared at the man. "It's been near five years since the last letter came." "And it's taken you this long to come looking for him? Can't be as you were too close." Cyrus' hands rested on Melanie's arm. "He's quite a bit older than me, so he left home when I was still a boy." Rance unfolded one of the letters. "And I've been otherwise occupied. I took the first chance I got to come find him. When the letters stopped coming, I worried something had happened, but I couldn't come then." So why did he have to come now. Melanie suppressed the trembling threatening to overwhelm her. If he really had a claim to the Calhoun house, what would she do? She loved that house and didn't want to give it up. And she'd only taken it because she thought it abandoned. "No one named Calhoun has lived in these parts as long as we've been here." Cyrus tucked the two women to him. "How long has that been?" Rance brushed at his bowler. "Longer than most." Amanda hugged Christina. "This has to be the place. John wrote in this last letter that Sarah was expecting a baby." He unfolded the letter and read. "'We're both very excited. The baby is due just after the spring thaw. A new family moved into town and started a general store. That will make it more appealing for others to come and stay. I know you've been having some problems, but we want you to come to Colorado and live with us. We have plenty of room in our house and you could stay until you could build your own.' The letter goes on but the rest isn't important." Cyrus stared at Rance. "Maybe you should have shown up a bit earlier." "Like I said, I couldn't." Rance folded the paper and slipped it back into the envelope. "You're sure you haven't heard of my brother?" Melanie watched Rance. Amanda and Cyrus were trying to protect her, but if this man owned the house, then that was the way of it. She couldn't imagine not knowing what happened to kin. At least she knew where Pa was buried. But still... To arrive when everything was going so well. "Your brother did try to start a town here, from what I hear. However, no one here abouts ever met him. As far as anyone knows, he left more than five years ago." Cyrus gave her a hard look. "And he ain't been heard of since. If you're wanting to find your brother,

you'll need to move along." "He must have left something telling where he went." Rance placed the letters back in his coat pocket. Amanda shifted Christina on her hip. "No one around here would know." "That house at the edge of town must be the one he talked about in his letters. He described it as a big house with a large yard. No other in the area comes close." "I wouldn't..." said Cyrus. "That would be the Calhoun house." Melanie had lied to feed the children when Pa had gambled or drank away all the money, but she wouldn't lie to steal someone else's property no matter how much she wanted to keep it. A heaviness settled in her stomach. It had been a good thing she'd paid her bill to Amanda. Without the Calhoun house, she'd most likely have to move away. "I noticed the sign hanging out front." Rance tucked the letters back in his coat pocket. "But no one was about and the doors were locked." "You shouldn't be going in a place without an invitation," snapped Cyrus. "It seems a strange way to run a hotel and restaurant." "Not much call for a hotel in these parts and the restaurant doesn't open until supper." Amanda smoothed back Christina's curls. Rance took a step forward, glaring. "Who runs the place. I need to talk with him. After all, he's using my brother's house." "No. It was your brother's house and no one has come around to use it for as long as anyone can remember." Cyrus stepped in front of the women. "Round these parts, once something's been abandoned, folks have a right to use it." "My brother didn't abandon it." Rance folded his arms across his chest. "We've been here neigh on five years and ain't a soul one been in that house." Cyrus widened his stance and put his fists at his waist. "If that ain't abandoned, I don't know what is." "My brother asked me here to live and I'm sure he'd want me to take care of the place until he returns." Rance smiled at them, a smile that turned up the edge of his mouth but didn't light his eyes. "If you could point me to the proprietor of the hotel, I'll discuss the matter with him." Melanie looked at him for a long moment. None of them knew who this man was or if he had any claim to the house. In these parts, not much law existed and squatters had as much right as anyone. She could fight him. Fight him to keep her family together. She stepped forward. "I'm the proprietor." As Rance looked her up and down, a shiver traveled through her. "You?" "Yes. What's wrong with a woman running a place?" "It doesn't seem proper."

Melanie lifted her head and looked down her nose. She wanted to laugh. Aunt Myrtle did the same thing every time she tried to intimidate someone. "Running a business involves nothing improper." "What does your husband think of you running such a business?" A slight sneer crossed Rance's face. "He should be taking care of his family." Melanie squared her shoulders. She didn't like this man and she wouldn't let him back her down. "I take care of my family without the aid of a husband." "A widow. I offer you my condolences." Rance inclined his head toward her. Melanie opened her mouth to speak, but Amanda put a hand on her arm. Melanie nodded to Rance. "I planned to stay with my brother and his wife while I settled in this area." Rance leaned against the counter. "Since they aren't about, I'll be using their home." Amanda set Christina down. "It's being used at the moment." "I don't see where you have a claim. The place has been abandoned over five years." Cyrus folded his arms over his stomach. "It's my brother's house." Rance shoved his hands in his trouser pockets. "I have every intention of staying there." "We'll have to see to your claim." Cyrus took a step closer. "Melanie and the children won't be thrown out into the street because you saunter in here and say the place is yours. John Calhoun is gone. Where, no one knows. But just as gone as Mrs. Calhoun." "Then we'll have to consult the law in these parts. You do have law, don't you?" Again a smile flickered at the edges of Rance's mouth. "Of course we do." Amanda stepped in front of Christina playing on the floor. "Then I wish to speak with him. I know you want to protect your daughter. Or is it your daughter-in-law?" Rance looked her up and down again. "I'm not...," started Melanie. "She's our daughter and we watch out for her safety and the children's." Cyrus seemed to puff up like a toad. "Then tell me where the law is and I'll take my case to him." "He's...busy. It'll have to wait and you'll have to find somewhere else to stay until he can speak with you." Amanda balled the edge of her apron in her fist. "Grandma." Christina held up the doll's ribbon. "Fix, Grandma." Amanda tied the ribbon back in place.

"When can I speak with the..." Rance raised one eyebrow. "Marshal." Melanie slipped her hands into her pockets. She hated the lying and wouldn't do it. "He'll be back in a few days." She didn't care what charade the O'Neils played. Cal was gone and something had to be done with the man in the meantime. She didn't feel right about putting him out of what was probably his house. No matter what she felt about him nor how much she wanted his claim to be false. "So he's out of town. I can wait. I'll move into the house until he returns." Rance laid his hat next to Melanie's supplies. "You'll pitch a tent like everyone else here abouts." Cyrus picked up the hat and handed it back to Rance. "Wait." Melanie put her hand on Cyrus' arm. "Now, I opened a restaurant and hotel. That does mean I have rooms for rent and the man has no place to stay. From the looks of him, he doesn't own a tent." It might be good to make friends with Rance Calhoun. Then maybe she could work out a deal so she and the children wouldn't be homeless again. "Just a horse and a bedroll, ma'am." Rance smiled at her and Melanie shivered. "Melanie, you need to think this over." Amanda laid her hand on Melanie's arm. "It'll be fine." At least Melanie hoped it would. Cal didn't much cotton to her feeding strange men. Renting a room to one with him gone wouldn't set well with him at all. But then, she operated a business and she couldn't worry about how Cal felt every time she did something. She had children to care for and she needed time to figure out what to do next. "Mr. Calhoun may stay in one of the hotel rooms." He stared at her. "I have no intention of paying to stay in my own house. In fact, if I decide to let you continue your enterprise, then I expect a percentage of the profits." Melanie raised her head again. "At the moment, your percentage doesn't amount to a flake of gold. And the house belongs to your brother, not you." "If you're not making any money, then why are you continuing to run the establishment. I bet if you sold drinks, the money would roll in." Her chin moved up a bit more. "I have no intentions of competing with Red. Nor do I have any desire to run a saloon and put up with a lot of drunken men. I am quite content with my restaurant." "We'll discuss the arrangement." Rance nodded his head. "The miners'll be more than glad to buy drinks along with the food. Much more money in drinks." "I won't discuss the matter." Melanie picked up Christina. "Now, if you wish a room, you may come with me. Since you may have some claim to the house, I'll allow you to stay without paying. However, you'll confine yourself to your room and the restaurant rooms below. You won't enter any of the other bedrooms." She should ask Cyrus to put a lock on her bedroom door. She'd never thought about what it would be like to actually rent a room. No one ever wanted a room in Gold Strike. No one except Aunt Myrtle. And now Rance Calhoun.

"However, you will pay for the meals you eat and at the same rate as the others." "Why should I pay for anything in my house?" "Because you don't own the house and your claim to it hasn't been established. And, because food comes dear in these parts and I've enough mouths to feed. I have no intentions of taking on another." Melanie stomped out of the store. *** Melanie collected the last of the plates from the dining table and looked at Rance sitting in Cal's normal spot. She nearly dropped the top plate as she turned. Things had been slipping through her fingers since the man had come into the house. The sun had set and Andy still hadn't returned. She kept glancing at the door, waiting for him to come bouncing through it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rance put a cigar in his mouth and light a match. "I don't allow cigar smoke inside. If you wish to smoke, go outside with the other men." "It's my house. I've been pretty accommodating not to throw you in the street, so I'll smoke if I wish." He put the match to the cigar. Melanie set the plates down. Walking to where he sat, she plucked the cigar from his mouth and stubbed it out in the gravy on his plate. She turned and went into the kitchen. A familiar bark sounded from the dining room and a sigh rushed from Melanie. Andy raced into the kitchen. "Where have you been?" She dished up some food for him. He scowled at her. "Panning for gold." He held out his small amount to her. She sat at the table next to him. "Andy, the gold helps. It really does. But you're so late. It has been dark nearly an hour. I worry when you don't come home." "I'm old enough to take care of myself." "You are only six, hardly a grown man. I'd prefer if you stayed around here. But, if you must play away from the house, at least be home by dark." She reached over and brushed back his hair. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." "Do you miss Pa, Melly?" Andy played with his fork. "Of course I do." "It's my fault." He wouldn't look up at her. She raised his chin. "What's your fault?" "Pa being dead."

Melanie scooped him up and hugged him. "That's nonsense. Pa's drinking killed him. If he hadn't been drinking, he would have come out when Cal asked him to." "Why couldn't it have been Cal instead of Pa?" A shiver of dread ran through Melanie as she remembered Cal's feet sticking out of the mine as the mountain groaned and began to crumble. "It just wasn't." "I hate him." "Why do you hate Cal?" Andy looked at her and hugged her tight. "No, Pa. I hate him for dying and leaving us alone." "Pa didn't mean to get himself killed. He wanted to get gold so he could provide for us." "He didn't care about us." "Yes, he did." In his own way. "He did his best." Andy crawled out of her lap and sat down to eat. "I'll come home earlier tomorrow." "I was hoping you could go fishing or catch some rabbits for me. The men are asking for rabbit stew and I can't make it without your help." The boy looked at her. A smile touched the sides of his mouth. "Do you really need my help?" "Very much. I'd really like you to stay near by for the next couple of days until the marshal returns from Denver." "Aw, Melly. I'm not a baby." "I didn't say you were. But a Mr. Calhoun came into town today and he's staying here." Surprise registered on Andy's face. "The Mr. Calhoun who owns this house? Will he throw us out? What will we do, Melly?" "You let me worry about what to do. This Mr. Calhoun says he's the brother of the man who built this house. We can't check on who he is until Cal gets back." She rose to wash the dishes. "But as long as he's staying here, I'd feel safer if you and Gold stayed close by." Andy nodded, chewing slowly. "I'll stay and protect you. I can go fishing and leave Gold here. I won't be far away." "Thank you." Melanie smiled. Maybe he'd get over the idea of finding gold to support them if she kept him close to home. Besides, she really did want Gold near. "Mrs. O'Neil sent you some candy. You can have it when you finish your supper, then up to bed. Where's Gold?" "In the other room with the man smoking the cigar."

"What?" Melanie wiped her hands on her apron as she stormed back into the other room. Gold lay by Rance's feet. An empty plate lay on the floor, licked clean. She grabbed the cigar and dropped it into Rance's half filled coffee cup. It would take her days to air the place out. "I said no smoking and I meant it. And do not give the puppy plates to lick. I don't allow that either." *** The floor outside Melanie's bedroom creaked. She sat bolt upright and grabbed for her derringer. Someone stood outside the door. She listened. The doorknob started to turn. Gold snarled. Melanie pulled on her wrapper and crept to the door. She stood with her back to the wall, waiting for the door to open. "Get back," hissed a man's voice. Gold growled again and the doorknob clicked back in place. No sounds came from the outside of the door. But someone stood there and she couldn't be certain of who the voice belonged to because it had been so low. Gold wasn't big enough to fend off anyone, only warn her. Taking a big breath, she opened the door. The soft moonlight illuminated Rance's figure, bent down offering Gold something to eat. The puppy stood back, crouched, his teeth bared. "What are you doing by my door?" Melanie pointed the derringer at him. "There's no need of a weapon." Rance smiled and stood up straight. Melanie looked at the piece of bacon laying on the floor. Gold still had his teeth bared and didn't pick up the bit of food. "I'll decide on that. What're you doing in the hallway by my door?" "Passing by. I had to go...outside." He smiled again. "And is that why the doorknob turned?" She held the gun steady. Her insides trembled, but she refused to let the trembles find their way to the outside. She certainly was thankful Cal had brought her Gold. She'd never thought of what it would be like to rent rooms to strange men, and strange men would probably be her customers. Families came with their own lodgings. "I stumbled and bumped against it." "Why were you feeding Gold? He doesn't eat upstairs." Rance leaned lazily against her doorway. "Trying to make friends so he doesn't attack me if I decide to go to the kitchen for a drink or out back." "You'd best find your own room and stay there until light." Melanie started to close the door to her room. Rance reached out and held the door open. Gold came closer, a growl rippling from his throat. "It's all right, boy. I'm just talking with her." He bent down to pet the dog and Gold moved out of his reach. "Now is not the time for talking." Melanie tried to push the door shut, but Rance blocked it.

"We're both awake. I could come in and we could get better acquainted." He reached out to touch her. Gold snarled and bit him on the back of the leg. "Damn dog." Rance turned to hit the dog, but Gold stayed far enough away that Rance had to choose between the dog and Melanie. "Good, Gold." Melanie looked at Rance and pointed the gun straight at his chest. "Return to your room. I'm tired and don't wish to entertain, nor do I ever entertain gentlemen in my bedroom." Rance peeked around her. "You have the biggest room. Since my brother owns this house, I should have this room." He took a step inside. "I'll look around a bit." Gold jumped for Rance's leg. "Stay, Gold." Melanie pulled back the hammer on the derringer. "The last man who tried to break into my house in the middle of the night is buried up in the meadow. I'm sure room for one more can be found." Rance looked her straight in the eyes. His face blanched. "You don't have to be so unneighborly." He turned and kicked at the dog. Melanie hunched down and patted Gold's head as they watched Rance walk down the hallway to his room. As the door shut, she sighed. "Thanks, boy. You may have the bacon." She scooped him up and ruffled his fur, burying her face against him. She wished Cal was back. Four days could turn into an eternity. *** Cal lay on his bedroll and stared at the stars. Three days more and he'd be back in Gold Strike. Amanda and Cyrus would take care of Melanie, but an uneasiness had sat upon him all day as he rode. Going before the circuit judge in Denver had been quick and the two men would spend the next five years in prison. The judge didn't take kindly to their attacking a woman, or the lawlessness they created in an area where little enough law existed. He'd started back the same day he'd arrived, which cut half a day off of his travel time. Still, something drew him to thinking about Gold Strike. He missed eating with Melanie, seeing her, talking with her. He couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so comfortable around a woman. She could cook and care for children, but she could also clean a gun and shoot better than most men. When he touched her or even stood near her, his blood raced and he could hardly form a thought. He wanted to lay with her again and again. The softness of her skin made him want to touch her and feel it against his own. He'd never wanted a woman the way he wanted Melanie. Even when he'd been about to marry Alicia, the excitement and the contentment hadn't existed. After what Alicia had done to him, he'd never thought he'd ever trust another woman or want one in his life. The betrayal had cut deep and the wound had festered, refusing to heal. But now. Now it didn't hurt so much. The hair on Cal's neck prickled. He listened. A coyote howled into the night. An owl called to its mate. No man sounds came to him and the horses stood content on their lines.

The worry came from somewhere else. Nothing threatened him here. He rolled to his side and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come. He jerked awake, a film of sweat covering him. Sleep mixed with the sounds of night and he tried to sort out what had startled him. He still heard no untoward noises. Melanie. He'd been dreaming of Melanie. She was in trouble. He tried to roll over and go back to sleep. It had been nothing but a dream and his concern mixed together. Or was it. He broke camp. The moonlight would provide enough light to ride. And with three horses, he could ride through the night. He'd make it home in two days. *** Melanie refilled her customers' coffee cups and began cleaning up the plates. She tried to smile, but the bone weariness caused by laying awake for the last two nights listening for Rance's footsteps weighed on her. The children were at the table in the kitchen, finishing their supper. She'd be glad when the men left. She hoped she'd be able to sleep tonight. One of the men slid his chair back. "Mighty fine meal, Miss. How much do I owe ya?" Melanie took the scales from the corner and set them on the table. She placed the weight on one side and waited for him to pour the gold onto the other side. The second man, one Melanie had seen often in the camp, pushed back his chair and drained his coffee cup. A jagged scar ran across the back of his hand and he limped. "Don't see why we have to pay her. The marshal ain't around to do anything about it if'n we don't." He strolled toward the door. Gold immediately stood between the man and the door, growling, teeth bared. "It's all right, Gold." Melanie slipped her hand into her pocket, thankful for the familiar weight of her derringer. "Get that animal away from me or I'll shoot it," the man growled. "Now, Ben, that's what you should expect while trying to leave without paying up. After all, this here's Whittaker's daughter. How'd you feel if someone tried to chisel your daughter?" The first man weighed out his gold and Melanie scooped it off the scales. "I don't got me a daughter. Sides, I never liked Whittaker much. He never shared his bottle with me." The other two men at the table nodded their heads. Melanie squared her shoulders. She had to be able to handle her customers without having Cal to back her up all the time. "You eat here, you pay." Her voice was soft, but firm, the tone she used on the children when she wanted them to obey her. She hoped it worked better on the men than Andy. Rance's hand was on her shoulder. Gold growled louder. Melanie stepped to the side. "Miss Melanie

asked you to pay what you owe." "Who are you to interfere?" Ben twisted the brim of his hat. "Part owner in this establishment. And no one cheats me." He moved closer to Melanie. His arm brushed against hers and she wanted to back away, but if she did, the men would walk out without paying. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. "This is the brother of the man who built the house. However, he is not my partner." She drew in a deep breath. "Now, three of you owe me for supper and you're going to pay." "How you gonna make us?" Ben glowered at her. Melanie smiled, a wry smile. "First, I'll remember who you are and swear out a complaint with the marshal the moment he returns." "I'm thinking of moving on anyways. Haven't found but enough gold to buy a meal all week." Ben crossed his arms in front of him. Melanie withdrew her pistol from her pocket. "I don't take kindly to being robbed or cheated. You should all remember the last man who tried that is buried not far from here. Would any of the rest of you care to join him?" Melanie knew she couldn't shoot any of them for walking out without paying. They weren't threatening her or the children. But they didn't know that. Ben grumbled and weighed out his gold. "Don't even have enough to buy a bottle at Red's." The other two followed him. Melanie sank into a chair and leaned against the table. Rance pulled up the chair next to her. "You should have let me handle those men. You could have gotten into trouble." She shook her head. "They're more afraid of the marshal than they let on." "That one said you were Whittaker's daughter. I thought the storekeeps were your parents." Melanie looked at him for a moment, then rose and carried dishes into the kitchen. Christina laid her head on the table. "Andy, could you please help and take Christina up to bed." Andy scowled, then climbed down from his chair. "Yes, Melly. I'll help." "Thank you. There's another piece of candy in the cupboard you may have after she's abed." Melanie started to pump water. "Candy." Christina's eyes fluttered open. "I'll save you some for the morning." Andy pulled her down from the chair. "You're too sleepy now. Come on, Gold." Gold yipped, but settled on the floor by the table. "Come on, boy." Andy patted his leg. Melanie smiled at the little boy. "He's hoping for a scrap or two. You may play with him when you come

back down." Andy glared at the puppy, but took Christina by the hand and led her to the front of the house. Melanie lifted dishes into the sink and washed them. If she could get through this task and climb into bed, everything would look better. "So, they aren't your children." Rance stood next to the sink. She didn't look up from her task. "I'm not fittin' for company right now. Why don't you go out on the porch and enjoy your cigar?" "I wonder why the storekeeps led me to believe you were their daughter and a widow with children. Can't figure why'd they'd right out lie to me." He reached over and took her arm, turning her to face him. "I have no way to fathom what the O'Neils think or the whys of what they say. 'Tisn't my worry." She moved away from him. Gold stood next to her leg, his teeth bared. "I figure they didn't want me to know an eligible young woman would be sharing the house with me. I find that most interesting." Rance kicked Gold aside. Melanie tried to bend down to grab up the puppy, but Rance grabbed her by the arms, pinning them to her sides. He pressed her back against the sink and kissed her hard.

Chapter Fifteen Cal opened the back door of Melanie's house and stopped dead in his tracks. She stood by the sink, kissing another man. Flashes of the night he'd walked in on Alicia with Hamilton, his best friend, rushed into his mind. Alicia had been kissing Hamilton. When she'd heard Cal enter, she'd wrapped both arms around him and had smiled at Cal over Hamilton's shoulder. That wicked smile still cut to the bone. That smiled had said, "And you thought I belonged to you." He started to shut the door, not wanting to be noticed. Then Gold growled and Cal looked again. The puppy was held firmly between the man's boots, but tried to bite him anyway. Melanie didn't have her arms wrapped around the man, but pinned to her sides and she struggled. Cal grabbed the man by the collar and threw him to the floor. "What the hell's going on here?" Melanie collapsed and Cal caught her before she hit the floor. With one arm he held her to him. In his other hand he pointed his Colt at the man on the floor. Gold jumped for the man's throat, growling. "Down, Gold," Cal ordered, and the dog stopped, sitting on the man's chest. The man pushed the puppy away. He shook his head and looked up, anger flashing from his eyes. "Who the hell are you and what do you think you're about?" Cal placed Melanie behind him. "I'm the marshal and I ask the questions."

"We were sharing a friendly little kiss. I don't see why that should concern you." The man stood up and brushed off his trousers. Cal could read the fury in the man. He'd seen it before and knew if it became unleashed, someone would die. And that someone would be the man who put his hands on Melanie. "Is that true, Melanie?" His heart knew the man lied. She wouldn't give herself to another man. She just wouldn't. She wasn't Alicia. "Most certainly not." Melanie leaned her head against Cal's back. She bumped him as she rubbed her arms. "Who is he?" "Rance Calhoun." She moved to sit at the table, careful not to walk between the two men. Cal watched the man. Calhoun as in the Calhoun house. "The owner of this house?" "His brother." "That doesn't give him the right to force himself on you." His anger swirled within him, barely staying contained. "No man forces himself on a woman in this town." "Excuse me, but I didn't force myself on her. She acted quite friendly until you arrived." Rance started to move to the chair opposite Melanie. "Don't move. Don't even blink" Cal cocked his Colt. "Nothing would suit me better than to put a bullet through you." Rance stood stock still, watching Cal. "In my home I won't stand for being ordered about. As far as I'm concerned, my agreement with the young lady is invalid. I expect her and those children out of here now." "The only person going anywhere is you." Cal inclined his head toward the back door. "I'll lock him in the jail. It has a real empty feel since I took those other two up to Denver." "I seem to be keeping your jail cells full." Melanie continued to rub her arms. Gold stretched up and put his paws on her lap. She gathered him up and laid her cheek against his fur. "That's why it's crazy for men to bring their daughters with them while they search for gold. Nothing good comes of it." Cal reached over and smoothed her hair back from her face. He could fault Whittaker for bringing the children to this place that no person should inhabit, but he couldn't be sorry he had. However, keeping her out of trouble was becoming a full time occupation. "If you put on a pot of coffee, I'll be back as soon as I lock him up." She looked at him for a moment, hesitant, then she nodded. Andy came racing into the kitchen and stopped short. "What's goin' on?" He glared at Cal then at Rance. "Everything's all right, sweetheart." Melanie reached out to him. "Come here and after the marshal's gone, I'll get you your candy." "Melly..." "Shush and do as I say."

Cal indicated with his Colt that Rance should move toward the door. "I have no intentions of leaving my house." Rance crossed his arms in front of him. "One way or the other. I don't much care." Cal put a bullet through the floor before raising his gun and pointing it at Rance's chest. Rance jumped and glared at him. "I'll have the law on you for this." "I am the law." *** Cal took Melanie's hand as they sat at the kitchen table. "Where did this Rance Calhoun come from?" "He said he's been looking for his brother and traced him here." Melanie played with the handle of her coffee cup. "I want to know why he waited five years." Cal stood and paced back and forth across the kitchen. "It doesn't make sense. If my brother had stopped writing to me, I wouldn't have waited five years." "He said he couldn't come before." Melanie saw the concern in Cal's face. "Do you plan to keep him locked up?" "For attacking you, yes." He stopped behind her chair and laid his hands on her shoulders. "No man has the right to attack a woman." She leaned her head against him. "He seems to see things a might different. Being his brother's house, he assumes he has a right to whatever is in it." "He'd best get that idea out of him. We don't even know for certain he is John Calhoun's brother." He rubbed her shoulders, easing the tension from them. "He has letters from John." She let her head fall forward and enjoy his hands against her. She wouldn't tell him of the night Rance had been outside her bedroom door. Cal would surely lock him up permanently if she did. Cal bent and kissed her on the back of the neck. She lifted her shoulders, a delicious shudder running through her. "I'm going to do some checking on him. Tomorrow I'll ride over to Larkspur and send some telegrams. Someone has to know where he came from and where he's been." "But how will you know where to send the telegrams." Melanie rolled her head back and forth as Cal's thumbs pressed into her flesh, letting the tightness dissipate. When Rance had held her pinned to the sink, she'd realized how vulnerable to attack being alone made her. She didn't wish to move away from Gold Strike and the restaurant was the only honorable way she could provide for the children. But she also needed protection and she didn't like knowing that. Somehow she needed to be able to provide for her own without the constant fear that someone would hurt them. "I'll get a look at the address on those letters. I'm sure someone in those parts will remember Rance and tell me why he couldn't come looking for his brother sooner. At least, for the moment, you're safe from

him." He lifted her from her chair. "Did he hurt you badly?" She shook her head. "He bruised my arms a little, but that's all." Cal tucked her into him, holding her tightly. He always seemed to come to her rescue. She raised her head. "Thank you." "I'm glad I got back quicker than expected." He bent his head and kissed her. Melanie wrapped her arms around his neck. When Cal was about, everything seemed manageable. Her self-doubts fled. She returned his kiss. She wanted him to hold her. When he held her, the sorrow of the past flew away and no longer weighed on her. She only knew the joy of being in his arms. He pressed her to him and she could feel he wanted her. She ran her fingers through his hair, clinging to him. Cal lifted his head and looked into her eyes. "When I saw that man with his hands on you, I wanted to kill him." "I'm sorry, but I would have if I could have gotten my hand in my pocket." She leaned her head against his chest. He lifted her chin. "Don't ever apologize for defending yourself. A young woman alone is subject to being preyed upon by all sorts of wild beasts. Unless they fear you, they won't show respect." "I don't wish to live that way." "When you choose to live in a place like Gold Strike, that's the way things are. If I could, I would be here always to protect you. But I can't." "I realize that." She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him. "But you do a fair job." He pulled her hair free so it flowed down her back. He crushed her to him, rubbed her back and across her hips with his hands. He nibbled at her mouth, then her ear, and around her throat. She clung to him, a whimper escaping her lips. He smelled of the trail with a fine coating of dust, but she didn't care. She wanted nothing more than to lay with him. Cal swept her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. Gold padded along behind, laying down at the top of the stairs, his head on his paws. He watched them until the bedroom door closed. Cal laid Melanie on the bed and removed his shirt and boots. Laying beside her, he rolled up on one elbow and looked into her eyes. He stroked the side of her face and down her neck to the top button of her dress. He kissed her eyes and her cheeks. Then he stroked the side of her face and down her neck. He pulled her to him and buried his head in her hair. "I thought I'd lost you." She wrapped her arms around him. A tremble ran through her. A tremble caused by remembering the fear. "I thought I was lost." Melanie sat up and shed her dress, tossing it to the floor. Cal lifted her camisole over her head, letting

the material caress her nipples and harden them. He captured one in his mouth, sucking. Melanie sucked in her breath. Her insides roiled and melted. Gripping his shoulders, she tried to pull him on top of her. She needed him. Needed him to make the lonely spot within her full. She needed him to make her alive and to chase away the fear that gripped her. She wanted him. "Slowly, sweetheart," he whispered. She shook her head back and forth. "No." Cal pulled at the string holding her petticoat and then her pantalets. He pushed the fabric down and she kicked it away from her. She yanked at his belt, pulling it loose. He stood and dropped his trousers on the floor. Laying back on the bed, he pulled Melanie to him. He lifted her on top of him and set her down on himself. His breath sucked in as she took him within her. She braced her hands against his chest, her hair falling over her shoulders, hiding her breasts. Cal reached up and worked her nipples while her hair caressed his hands. She rose away from him and settled back down. She liked having him beneath her, feeling all of him buried inside of her. She lifted herself again and took him. He groaned and his eyes half closed. She raised herself again and lowered herself, watching his face and the shadows cast by the flickering lamp. As she raised herself again, he grabbed her hips and pulled her down on him. Then he lifted her and rose to meet her. Over and over he plunged into her, until all she could do was hold onto his shoulders. She flung her head back and cried out, raking her nails along his chest. He growled, a deep, rumbling growl, and pulled her to him. She clung to him, gasping for breath. The world spun around in a flurry of sparks and nothing but the feel of him held any reality. For several minutes, he held her, before he started to rub her back in a lazy, long stroke. "I need you with me, Melanie." She rolled to the side to cuddle against him, running her fingers through the hair on his chest. She lay one leg across him, wanting contact with his flesh. She needed him. Needed him to make the lonely spot within her full. She needed him to make her alive and to chase away the fear that gripped her. He brushed her hair back from her face and bussed her. "I want you with me always. Please, say..." She put her finger against his mouth. "Don't ask what cannot be answered." "Why not? What reason can you have for not saying yes?" "Christina and Andy. They need a home filled with love, not a house made for the moment." She needed him and wanted him. But she wouldn't trade her own needs for those of the children. "It wouldn't be a thing of the moment. I truly want to be with you." "But you would not be with only me, but also the children." "But I'll take care of your brother and sister because it'll make you happy."

Melanie remembered the years her step-mother had ruled her father's home. Melanie had always been an outsider. Her step-mother had let her know she only put up with her because Pa wished it, but she couldn't wait until Melanie reached the age to marry. No one had shown Melanie love since her mother died. "You can't do so because it'll make me happy. You must do it because you care for the children. Otherwise, they'll know and be unhappy." "What of your happiness?" Cal tucked her against him. "I'm happy with things the way they are." Melanie wanted to be next to Cal always, but only if she could be sure he would love Andy and Christina. Of that she couldn't be sure, especially with Andy and all of the anger that came from the child. Cal lifted her chin. "I won't give up. What can I do to convince you it's for the best?" "Maybe when it isn't because it's for the best, I'll be convinced." She kissed him. *** Cal could think of no better way to prove to Melanie he was sincere about wanting to make them a family then to spend time with her and the children. He'd thought it quite a marvelous idea to take them all on a picnic on Sunday afternoon. Most times after the men had been on a binge on Saturday nights at Red's, the town was quiet on Sundays, so Cal could enjoy a free afternoon. He supposed Melanie was correct and he should know the children better. If he were to truly make a family, then it would include the children as well. He watched Melanie as she sat on the edge of the blanket, tying the ribbon around Christina's doll's head for the hundredth time. She never lost her temper with the child, but just fixed the doll and handed it back to her. Christina rewarded her with a big smile and a hug before she toddled off after Gold or Andy. "Your brother and sister are very lucky to have you." He sprawled across the blanket and reached for Melanie's hand. She smiled at him. "Why do you say that?" Her smile wrapped around him like a shield from all the sorrow in the world. "Because you love them and tend to them. Not many would do so." "They're my kin. I could never abandon them." "But still, not many would do what you do." She looked into his eyes. He wondered what she saw there. The unhappiness in his life? The ghosts who had haunted him the last ten years and chased him from place to place? The ghosts who had started to fade since the day he'd met her, since the first time he'd held her in his arms? Melanie shrugged her shoulders. "I love them even though at times they can be trying, especially Andy." "He's a handful." Cal kissed the back of her hand. Even after all the dishes she washed, her skin still felt soft pressed against his lips. If the children weren't present, he would pull her to him and show her how

much he needed her. "He's filled with great sorrow. First his ma ran off and left him. He couldn't understand she left, not because she didn't love him, but because she couldn't stand being with Pa anymore. Then Pa died. He's angry with both of them. Only time can heal such wounds." She reached over and caressed the side of Cal's face. He pushed his cheek against her hand, savoring her touch. She gave so freely to all those important to her. His heart sang because she included him in that group. But he wanted more. He wanted all of her. He wanted her to be his. "Didn't your family give you love?" He shook his head. He never remembered his mother gathering him in her arms when he had a bad dream at night or a noise frightened him. He'd hid beneath the covers of his bed, trembling, afraid to admit to anyone he was scared. His father would see it as a weakness. His mother. Would she have cared? "My family was never close. My mother came to the nursery every day before supper and spent a few minutes with me and my brother. She'd look at a new toy or a picture we'd drawn, then she'd kiss us on the forehead and leave to dine with my father." "I didn't know you had a brother. You've never spoken of him." Melanie reached over and patted Gold on the head. He licked her hand, then ran after the children. "He's three years younger than I and we haven't spoken in years." "It must be sad to not be close to your brother." "We were never really close. He left home when he was but fifteen, not wanting anything to do with the family business. I lost track of him." "But someone must have given you love as a child." Sorrow for him shone from her eyes. He shrugged. "I didn't miss what I didn't know. Nanny always took care of us, but she never showed us any affection. She made sure we ate and were put to bed on time. When I got older, she scolded me when I didn't tend to my lessons, but she never praised me when I'd done an exceptional job on them. My tutor was a sour old man, withered and bent, and ever so exacting." "They sound a great deal like my step-mother." "They weren't bad people. They treated us the best they knew how. We never lacked for anything." "You lacked for love. I understand that because after my mother died, no one was about to love me. My step-mother resented having to tend a ten-year-old. Pa brought her home from a saloon one night and married her so someone would be there to care for me because he couldn't. After she left, I took care of all of us. I didn't want Pa bringing home another woman who wanted none of us." Cal laid his head in her lap and reached up, taking an escaped tendril of hair between his fingers. "My parents always wanted me. They just didn't show it the way you show it with Andy and Christina. After my thirteenth birthday, my father took more of an interest in me. Often I accompanied him to supervise the gun making, learning the business so I could take over the reins when he decided the time to retire had come. At twenty, I went to work and took on much of my father's responsibility. I understood that

soon the business would be mine." Melanie cradled his head much the way she cradled the children. "So how did you end up in Gold Strike as the marshal. It seems a far cry from running the family business and less profitable than running a gun making business." Laying in her lap made the past seem less ominous. "The time came when the money didn't matter." "That seems strange. Everyone ends up in Gold Strike because they're pursuing the promise of wealth and what it can buy." "You didn't come here for that reason." "Yes, but I had no choice in the coming. Pa decided to bring us here and we had no choice but to go with him." "You could have gone to Aunt Myrtle." Melanie raised her head and the mirthless laugh floated away on the wind. "Even with the hardship, following Pa was a sight better than being with Aunt Myrtle. Besides, she never offered to take me when I most needed it. She does it now out of obligation. I don't wish to be taken care of because I'm thought of as an obligation." "But isn't that why you take care of your brother and sister." She looked at him, her eyes wide. "Heavens no. I love them. They're my kin and I couldn't imagine not being with them. I've tended them as though they were my own since their births." She did act as if they were her children, not her little brother and sister. He'd seen many mothers who did not take such care of their own. But Melanie should have a baby of her own, not just tend other's babies. "You still haven't told me how you came to be here or why you became a marshal." "That is a long and ugly story. Not one to brighten your day." "Please tell me. Besides, what're we to do but talk while we watch the children?" She smoothed the hair back from his face. "Of course, if you don't wish to share the story with me, I'll understand." Would sharing it with her finally put the ghosts to rest? He didn't know, but he wanted her to know. "My mother decided the time for me to marry had come. My father arranged for my marriage to Alicia Stanton, the daughter of a wealthy merchant. I, as a good son should, courted her. She was a beauty and our parents hoped to combine the two fortunes, since Alicia was an only child and the only heir to her father's fortune." "It doesn't sound like a bad match, but one of convenience. They could have picked a wife not comely to look upon." Cal laughed. "I was taken by Alicia. I was but twenty-three and unaware of a woman's wiles. I have to admit I was smitten and could think of nothing but our marriage and a chance to have Alicia to myself."

"I should be most upset with this story. I don't know if I really want to hear about a past love." Her eyes twinkled as she pursed her lips together. He touched the side of her face. "It was the love of youth and nothing more. I was but a besotted fool." "I don't see you in that role." He laughed roughly. "If you had known me then, you would have thought differently." Melanie's tone became serious. "She left you at the altar and broke your heart." "Close. We never made it to the altar. Hamilton, my best friend from my school days, came for a visit. He was to stand up for me at the wedding. His family was a sight richer than mine and Alicia decided she'd rather be his wife than mine." "Then you were best shed of her." "I didn't think so at the time." "That still doesn't answer the question as to why you became a marshal." "She was the reason. I went to visit her one afternoon. Her butler didn't want to let me in. He insisted Alicia was indisposed, but I pushed past him anyway. We had an engagement to take a ride in the park." Cal sighed. "When I opened the drawing room door, Alicia stood in Hamilton's arms. She smiled at me over his shoulder. I, being nothing but a young fool, made a scene and called him out." "Oh, gracious. She wasn't worth that." "You're probably right. But my pride had been injured. The following day, I met Hamilton. He was grievously wounded." The picture of his best friend laying in the grass, bleeding still haunted his sleep. "I left town that night and kept going. Marshal's were needed out west so I moved from territory to territory." "Until you came to Gold Strike." Cal nodded. "Gold Strike is just another small town. After awhile they all look alike." "You never contacted your family again?" "No reason to. I disgraced the family name." Cal sat up and looked at her. Would she feel differently about him now that she knew his story? He'd given her reason to force him from her life forever. Melanie wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. "I'm sure your parents didn't feel that way. You should've given them a chance." "I've no desire to go back to that life." "But you can't wander forever. At some point you have to stop and face yourself." "No reason to do so has arisen until now." Having her close to him made all the rest seem of no import.

She put her head against his shoulder. "Pa took to drinking because he couldn't face Ma's death. Your running 'tis not different." Cal held her for a long time. He'd spent so long running from his past, he didn't know if he could stop. But to be near her, he wanted to try. If only he could convince her of that. "Hopefully a person can change his behavior." She looked up at him. "Only if he finds a reason strong enough. Pa never did." Andy and Christina ran up to them. Gold jumped into Melanie's lap, knocking Cal away from her. Christina threw herself on top of the dog, squealing. Melanie hugged them both. "Look at you. You have dirt all over your dress." Christina looked at the front of her. "Doggie jump on me." "She was making mud pies by the river." Andy plopped down next to Melanie. "You want I should catch some fish for supper." "That would be an excellent idea." Melanie reached over and brushed back the boy's hair. "I need a mess of them if I am to serve all the men who'll want dinner. Sunday's our busiest day." Andy picked up his fishing pole. "You'll have to tend to Christina. I can't take care of the fishing and her too." Melanie nodded at the somber expression on the lad's face. "I believe you're correct. She can stay with me and help pack up the picnic lunch." "You'd best keep Gold here to help watch her." Andy laid the pole across his shoulder. "Besides, he barks and scares the fish." "I'll hold onto Gold." Melanie slipped a rope around the puppy's neck. "He doesn't mean to bother you while you fish." Andy nodded. "I know. He's a baby and doesn't know any better. Like Christina." Christina looked up from hugging Gold. "I not a baby." Andy rolled his eyes back in his head and Cal wanted to laugh. The trials of putting up with a little sister obviously seemed insurmountable to the boy. "Mind if I help you fish?" Andy looked at Cal as though he were sizing him up. "Do you know how?" "It's been awhile, but I used to do it regular." "I suppose. I could use the help. It's gettin' kinda late and Melly does need a passel of fish to feed those hungry miners." Andy paused, his head cocked to the side. "I'll show you where the best bait is. I got some extra string in my pocket and a hook, but you'll have to cut yourself a pole." "I believe I can manage to do that." Cal stood and ruffled the boy's hair. "I'm glad I can be of help." ***

They'd been sitting on the bank for an hour and it amazed Cal how good at fishing Andy was. The boy had caught three fish to every one of Cal's. He was a strange lad. He'd hardly spoken a word the entire time, but concentrated on his fishing. "I'm sorry about your pa." Cal watched the boy as he spoke. Andy shrugged and kept looking into the river. "Do you think we have enough fish?" "'Bout. The miners eat a bunch when Melly cooks." "Your sister is a good cook." "You should know. You eat in her restaurant every night." Andy glanced over at him. Cal laughed. "That's 'cuz I can't stand my own cooking." "Don't know how the marshal can afford to eat in a restaurant." The boy pulled in another fish, put fresh bait on his hook, and dropped it back in the water. "Don't get paid much." "For being so small, you seem to know a lot about other people's business." "I listen to the men in the mining camp. The prices here are so much higher than other places. That's why Melly has to charge so much. She still doesn't make much, even with me catching fish and rabbits so she doesn't have to pay for everything she fixes." Cal looked at the boy, studying him. He couldn't be over six, if he remembered right, but he seemed as knowledgeable as an old man. He'd probably had to learn quick. He'd never had a real ma or pa to look out for him, only an older sister. "Your sister does the best she can." Andy gave him a look that made Cal feel as though he'd said something stupid. "Of course she does, but she's only a girl. If I didn't bring gold and hunt and fish, she couldn't survive. She needs someone to take care of her." Cal wanted to laugh, but Andy was deadly serious. "And you're the one who's going to take care of her." "She's my sister. I'm all she's got." "I thought you might like some help taking care of your sisters. It has to be a mighty big burden for such small shoulders." "They're big enough." Andy stared straight ahead, his back rigid. "I don't need no help." "Everyone needs help sometimes." Andy looked at him, then stood and picked up the string of fish. "Melly needs to clean these for supper." "Andy, I meant I'd like to help you take care of your sisters."

"I don't need no help." Anger flashed in Andy's eyes. "You stay away from my sister. You ain't gonna take her away. She's all I have." Andy stomped across the meadow. "You eat somewheres else. You hear me. You're not welcome."

Chapter Sixteen Cal watched the child run back toward Melanie, his shoulder's shaking. He sighed and pulled his line from the water. He'd best let Melanie handle the boy. He'd visit Amanda and Cyrus. Amanda would be glad for his company and feed him supper. Melanie stood and looked over Andy's head toward Cal. He started to walk toward the little group, then stopped. Melanie lowered her head and concentrated on what Andy said. She nodded several times, then she reached out and gave him a hug, brushing at his face. An emptiness swept over Cal. He wanted to be part of that little group. He hadn't meant to frighten Andy. He'd only meant to help. With the Whittakers, it seemed every time he tried, it blew up in his face like a bad bullet. He let the pole slip from his hand and watched Melanie pick up the picnic basket and blanket. She turned and waved to him. Cal waved back. He should catch up to her and explain. But he didn't want to make Andy any angrier. He watched them walk toward the house. He'd stop by tomorrow and talk with Melanie. He could explain then, when Andy had gone off to play. It would be best for everyone. So why did he feel like such a coward. *** "You want to join me outside for a cigar?" Cyrus plucked one from his pocket. "You know I don't smoke, but I'll keep you company." Cal rose. "It was a right fine meal, Mrs. O'Neil." "When are you going to call me Amanda?" Cal smiled at her. "I don't know what you're doing here with us when you should be over at the restaurant with Melanie." She picked up dishes from the table. "I told you. Melanie has enough work to do without feeding me every night." "It's what she does. Feed men tired of their own cooking and she'll miss your being there." "She won't rightly mind if I choose to eat elsewhere." "Men. Don't have a brain in their heads." Amanda walked out of the room.

"I don't know if she's talking about us or not, but now seems like a good time to get outside for that smoke." Cyrus headed for the door. "When she's in a mood, it's better to be out of sight." Cal grabbed his hat. "I reckon you know best." "I have to agree with the missus, though. I don't rightly know why you'd want to have supper with us on a Sunday night instead of Melanie." Cyrus lit his cigar as soon as they got to the street. "I don't really have supper with her. I sit in the restaurant and eat while she waits on the rest who come in. It's mostly men and she gets mighty busy on Sunday nights." "All those suffering hangovers from the previous evening revelries at Red's." Cyrus laughed. "But I'm sure she likes knowing you're sitting there." "What does she care?" Cal looked down the street toward Melanie's home. A home of which he didn't figure he'd ever be a part. "I've been thinking of moving on. Not much for a marshal to do in these parts. Ain't enough gold for claim jumpers or highway men, excepting yourself." Cyrus laughed. "I only steal from those I look straight in the face." "I know that." "You won't be going nowheres." Cyrus puffed on his cigar. "Why do you say that?" Cal leaned against the hitching post. Maybe he'd wander down by Melanie's and make sure no trouble erupted. Rance had been more than happy to let him know about the men who'd only paid because she drew her pistol on them. He didn't want that to happen again because he'd decided not to take supper there tonight. "You could no more leave Gold Strike behind while Melanie's in it than I could leave Amanda here and strike out without her." Cal looked at Cyrus for a long moment. Was his desire that clear? "She doesn't need me." "There's needing and then there's needing, boy. I don't need Amanda. Not to make a living. Not to just survive." He twirled his cigar butt between his thumb and one finger. "I need her to bring joy into my day. I need her to really live. I couldn't imagine being without her. She's my life. She's my happiness." "Melanie has the children. They make her happy." "Of course they do. But it ain't the same and you're a fool if you think it is. You need her as much as you need air." Cyrus looked at him for a moment. "And you can't go around locking up every young swain who tries to steal a kiss from her." "He more than tried to steal a kiss." Cal's blood churned as he remembered Melanie pinned to the sink while Rance tried to take liberties with her. "I don't want to think what he might have done if I hadn't walked in." "Still, you can't hold him in that jail forever. Either you take him to Denver or you let him loose. With him claiming the Calhoun house as his, taking him to the judge in Denver will probably only cause Melanie more trouble. The judge might look at it as a way to get Rance Calhoun out of the way so she can keep

the place. I'd mull it over and make a decision right soon. Every day you hold him, is another day for his anger to build. He'll unleash it at Melanie." Cyrus put the end of his cigar back in his mouth and chewed it. "I'd be thinkin' on it if I were you." "I've been hoping I'd get replies to my telegrams before I had to make that choice." Cal didn't want to turn Rance loose. With him in jail, he didn't worry so much about Melanie. But Cyrus had only pointed out what he already knew. A decision had to be made. "Might be no one remembers either of the Calhoun brothers." "John Calhoun had to have money to build that house. Bringing all that fancy furniture and such out here cost him dearly. Rich men aren't forgotten." "Can't never tell. He could have made his money after he left home." He could have. But something in the back of Cal's mind didn't think so. There'd be a reply to his telegram soon. Maybe he'd ride over tomorrow and check. He could wait another day to talk with Melanie. He shook his head. First thing in the morning he'd go to Melanie and explain what happened with Andy. He wouldn't let one small boy keep him away from her. *** Amanda settled into the tea room and picked up her cup of tea. "Now this is right nice, just the two of us sitting and chatting." Melanie smiled. "I can't chat for long. I have baking to do." "You're working too hard. You need to rest a bit more." Amanda reached for a slice of bread and jam. "Umm. This was a right fine batch of jam I made last year. I need to be putting up some more before long. Maybe we can go berry picking together. I can show you where the berries are." "That would be nice. I'm sure Christina would enjoy going." "She'll probably eat more than she'll pick." Amanda smiled at Melanie. "How are the children?" "As fine as can be expected." Melanie set her cup down. "You're not here just to chat, are you?" "Of course I am. I haven't seen you in days. Did you know a new family moved into the camps. Seem real nice. Rebecca's her name. She's got two young 'uns. One's about Christina's age. I'll have to bring her over. The two girls could play together." "That would be nice, Amanda." Melanie rose. "Since it's only the two of us, why don't we talk in the kitchen while I get the baking started. Those men eat bread and cake as though they'd never seen them before." "I guess. It isn't as nice as in there." Amanda sighed. "I'll have to bring the women over so we can enjoy this room. There must be someone we can make a quilt for." Melanie remembered the first time she'd visited Amanda's and how wonderful it had been to be in a real

home again. She reached over and hugged Amanda. "Now what's that for." Amanda's face flushed red. "For being such a fine friend. Not only to me, but to all the women. You make this place a bit more bearable." "I'm really very selfish. I love Cyrus and all, but having female company is such a treat I think up any excuse to do so. And now with your lovely tea room, I don't have to think so hard. We can stop by for tea and cookies and have a fine chat." "I'm afraid it hasn't been used since the first night." "Oh, people will forget. And new people will come. Then it'll be used a great deal and you can give the women a touch of home that they miss so much." Amanda followed Melanie into the kitchen. "Where are the children?" "Christina's taking a nap." Melanie set bowls on the table and began to measure flour. "And I'm not sure where Andy's gone off." "He's such a little tyke, you should be keeping better track of him or he'll be getting into trouble." Amanda broke the eggs for Melanie and whipped them. "I try, but the moment my back's turned, he's out the door. Gold usually goes with him." "That puppy's not going to protect him." Amanda measured out lard. Melanie reached for the spoon. "I didn't ask you in here to do my cooking for me." Amanda moved the spoon out of Melanie's reach. "I love to cook and don't do that much of it. Besides, I believe Cyrus and I'll come to supper tonight. It'll be a right nice change." "What, to pay for your own cooking?" Amanda laughed, then looked at Melanie, her face serious. "You really need to keep a leash on that young 'un before he gets himself into trouble." "How much trouble can a six-year-old get into?" "You'd be mighty surprised. As I said before, that dog ain't big enough to protect him from much." "Gold's a very good watch dog and he's growing by leaps and bounds. I don't rightly know what kind of a dog he is, but I'm beginning to think he's part mule. He's as stubborn as Andy and he's getting big enough to pull a wagon." "How can you afford to feed that animal?" Amanda added sugar to the mixture and Melanie watched her. "Andy traps rabbits and catches fish. Gold gets part of what Andy brings in." Melanie sat down at the kitchen table. "You really have to teach me how you make those fine confections. Mine aren't nearly as nice."

"I'll do that, dear." Amanda added a pinch of salt and some baking powder. "I'll bring you more baking powder when I come to supper tonight. You're running low." "Thank you. I could go to the store and get it myself." "No sense when I'm coming this way." Amanda poured the batter into a baking pan and shoved it into the oven. Sitting across from Melanie, she took her hands. "Now, tell me what the problem is between you and Cal." Melanie looked Amanda straight in the eye. "There's no problem between the two of us." "Oh, yes, my dear, there is. You certainly can't be so blind as to not see it." "I don't know what you're speaking of." Melanie looked away. She still wasn't sure why Cal hadn't walked them back from the picnic, except that Andy was so upset. He kept yelling about how he wouldn't let Cal take her away and they didn't need the marshal to take care of them because he could. She'd tried to calm him down, but he worked himself up into such a state, he'd made himself sick. Not only had she had to wait on customers last evening, she'd had to tend to Andy. She'd been going to ask Cal what had happened, but he hadn't shown up for supper. And she'd sorely missed his sitting at the corner table, watching her while she went about her work. And the kitchen had been empty again without him under foot while she cleaned. Amanda shook her head. "Then you'd best think about it. When a man spends his evening with a married couple instead of the beautiful woman he's smitten with, something is the matter." Melanie looked away and back again. Amanda was the only real friend she had. She needed to talk with someone. Carrying all the burdens weighed her down so much, sometimes she didn't think she could rise from her bed and face the day. "Andy and Cal went fishing. Cal said something that upset Andy. He kept ranting about my leaving him. I tried to assure him I would never leave him, but he was so distraught last night he was sick. Then this morning, he was gone again before breakfast. I don't know what to do with him." "You can't let the child run your life." "He's so angry and frightened. Angry that his ma and pa left him. Frightened I'll leave and he'll be alone. I've had those feelings but I was a bit older. Still, many nights I cried myself to sleep. I don't want either of them to have to feel that way." "Melanie, because you have a brother and sister to tend doesn't mean you can't marry and have your own brood. It'll take time, but Andy'll come around and see you have no intentions of leaving him. You can't live your life for them." "I'm all they have." "You don't need to be. Cal will make a fine husband and take care of the children." "But he doesn't love them. They need someone who loves them." She'd needed someone to love her. When Ma had died, Pa had stopped loving her. Her step-mother had wished her gone. No one had loved her when she needed someone so desperately.

"They have you. You love them enough. And give Cal time. Once he gets to know them, he'll love them too and not just because they're important to you. He'll love them because they're part of his family." Amanda squeezed Melanie's hands. "I have to be sure." "Nobody can ever be sure." *** Melanie bent down by the vegetable patch, pulling weeds. She hated the job, but the weeds threatened to squeeze out the vegetables. The feathery tops of the carrots had peeked above the surface of the ground. The peas and beans were as tiny, but soon would provide her with something else to serve at her meals for which she didn't have to pay Amanda. Christina loved to sit by her and watch. She'd be glad when the children were a little older and could help more. Of course, without Andy, she'd be barely able to survive. His little bits of gold and his hunting and fishing made the difference. She tried to make him realize his help to her was invaluable, but she wasn't sure he understood. She yanked at yet another weed. So many of them grew. She tossed the greenery aside and reached for another. The baking was done and she still had a few hours before she had to start cooking. Melanie looked over at Christina. She was such a happy little girl. She didn't miss Pa, nor did she miss her ma. She'd never really known her ma, and Pa had spent almost no time with her. To Christina, life was glorious. She had Melanie and her big brother, and now a doggie and a dolly with which to play. Life couldn't get any better. Melanie sighed. Life wasn't bad. She worked hard, but she had a lot for which to be thankful. They had a real roof over their heads and real beds in which to sleep. She no longer had to worry about Pa drinking or gambling away everything. Yet, she still missed him. And so did Andy. He was so filled with anger and pain and Melanie didn't know how to make it leave him. She remembered the pain when Ma had died. But she'd spent most of her time with Ma. Andy had hardly spent any time with Pa. Yet he'd wanted to, he'd wanted Pa to be proud of him. He was a little boy and not old enough to understand. She had to do something. It might be the time to get Ma's books out and teach Andy to read. He was old enough and because this town didn't have a school, didn't mean he shouldn't learn his letters and numbers. Tomorrow she would start. It would keep him home for a bit and give him something to think about besides Pa dying. "Here, Melly." Melanie jumped and turned around to face Andy. "Good gracious, you scared me. I didn't hear you or Gold." She smiled at him. "Here." Andy held his hand out to her. "What have you got there?" She reached out to him.

He dumped a large gold nugget into her hand. She stared at it for several seconds, then folded her fingers around it, hiding it from sight. "Now you won't need him." Andy squared his shoulders. "What are you speaking of?" Melanie rose from the ground. "The marshal. Now you don't need him. I can take care of us. I can get more gold, then you won't have to work so hard." His bottom lip quivered. She reached out to wrap her arm around his shoulder, but he backed away from her. "Andy, what does your finding gold have to do with the marshal?" "You won't have to marry him and leave us." A defiant look flashed across his face. "Andy, I would never leave you and Christina. Not to marry the marshal or anyone else. If I did marry, it would only be to a man who would take care of all of us." She knelt down in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. "Do you understand that?" "You don't need to get married. I'll take care of you and Christina." "Andy, you're a little boy. You shouldn't have to take care of us." "But I can." Melanie nodded her head. "Yes, you can and you're a very big help to me." "So you don't have to marry the marshal." His eyes pleaded with her. "No, I don't have to marry him. But I might want to marry him or maybe someone else." "Not Mr. Calhoun." "Of course not Rance." She shook her head. Where Andy got these ideas was beyond her. "But that doesn't mean I won't marry. Nor does it mean I'll ever leave you." He studied her face for a moment, then shook his head. "Fine. Just so you understand." "I understand you don't wish me to get married because you're afraid I'll leave you. That's why I didn't go with Aunt Myrtle. I could never leave you. You're my brother and I love you." "I love you, too." Tears filled Andy's eyes. She pulled him to her. "It's all right, Andy. I miss Pa very much. Now all we have is each other, so we have to take care of each other." "That's right." He sniffled. The gold nugget cut into the palm of her hand. "Now, Andy, where did find this nugget." She unfolded her fingers so they both could see the nugget. Twice the size of any she'd found, she knew the miners

weren't pulling nuggets the likes of this one out of the river. A cold chill gripped her heart. "I found it." Andy clenched his hands by his sides. "I know you found it. Where?" He looked down at his feet. Melanie reached over and lifted his chin. "Andy, I must know where you found it." "In the mine." Her stomach flipped and a chill ran down her back even though the sun shone down warmly. "What were you doing in that place?" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "I don't ever want you in that place again. It's dangerous." He glared at her. "It's not his. It wasn't Pa's either. It's mine. I found it. No one else should be in it but me." "He who, Andy?" Melanie still gripped his shoulders. "Mr. Calhoun." "I thought he was still in jail." "No. The marshal let him loose. See. He doesn't care what happens to you or anyone else. Mr. Calhoun's stealing my gold." Rance out of jail? Would he come back to the house and expect to stay the night? Melanie sank to a sitting position. She didn't want him in her house. After what happened, he'd probably insist she and the children leave. She looked up at Andy and he backed away from her. "If Rance is mining, how did you get the nugget?" "I took it when he wasn't looking." "Andy, that's stealing." "He's the thief. It's my gold mine." Melanie had to make him understand he couldn't go near that place. Something dreadful would happen. "Andy, you stay away from that mine and from Mr. Calhoun. Do you understand me?" "I don't have to do what you say." "Yes, you do, Andy. I'm in charge now Pa's gone. Something bad will happen if you go in that mine. Or Mr. Calhoun might hurt you. Please, promise me you won't go near that place." Dread flooded over her. She saw Cal's feet sticking out of the mine as the rocks rumbled and fell. Pa had died because of that place and he hadn't been the first. Andy wouldn't be the next. "I forbid you to go there." "You're not my ma. I don't have to listen to you." He clenched his hands in fists at his sides.

"Andy, you will do what I say. And from now on, you'll stay close to home. No more panning. No more mining." "I hate you." Melanie grabbed for him. She'd had enough of his nonsense. He would obey her. He pulled away and ran toward the trees. "Andy, come back here." Gold barked at her once, then ran after him. She watched the two of them disappear. Andy was a little boy. He'd get over being mad and come home. By supper at the latest, when he got hungry.

Chapter Seventeen Melanie poured coffee for the miners as they finished eating. She glanced over at Amanda, Cyrus, and Cal sitting at Cal's regular table chatting together. They looked up and smiled at her. Rance sat by himself, glaring at Cal. The front door opened and she whirled around, sloshing coffee on one of her customers. "Hey, watch it," he growled. Melanie set the coffee pot down and mopped at his arm with her towel. A large man thumped across the room. She sighed. Nightfall had come, but Andy hadn't returned. "Is it too late to get some supper?" The man, dressed in buckskins, towered over her. He tugged at his bushy brown beard as he smiled at her with faded blue eyes. "It's rather late." Cal rose. "You let the customers answer for ya?" The man flashed Cal a frown. "I just rode into town and hoped you was still serving." Melanie nodded. "I have some left." She'd been saving the last of the stew for Andy and herself, but she couldn't eat a thing until Andy returned. The knot in her stomach left no room. She inclined her head toward an empty spot. The man plunked down in a chair and began talking about mining with the others. Melanie served him food, then took Christina up to bed. Returning to the dining room, she looked around. She picked up a few dishes and went into the kitchen. It was empty. No Andy. No Gold. Just silence. She put the dishes in the sink and took the coffee pot back to the dining room. "Come and sit with us a moment," invited Amanda. Melanie forced herself to smile and sat in the empty seat. Leaning close to Cal, she whispered, "When did you let him out?" She inclined her head toward Rance.

"This morning. We came to an understanding. He could come and go as he pleased during the day. He can even take supper here, 'cuz I didn't want to be cooking for him, but come night, he sleeps in one of the cells, not in this house." Cal reached over and took Melanie's hand. "Are you all right? You seem a might distracted." "No. I'm fine." She didn't want to let any of them know of her concern for Andy. She'd handled her family problems herself, as she always had. She rose to take money from several of the men and poured the late customer more coffee. Sitting back down, she said, "Did you know Rance was mining that...that place?" "Where your..." Cal's eyes widened. She nodded her head. "How do you know?" "Andy told me." "It's Calhoun's neck. Don't see where it's any of our concern." Cyrus took a gulp of coffee. "If greed has the better of him, let it have its way with him." Amanda patted Cyrus' hand. "We might ought to tell him a man's buried in that place." "Two," whispered Melanie. Amanda and Cyrus both gave her a hard look. "Two?" Melanie looked at the floor than back at Amanda. "Remember the nuggets I paid with the first day?" Amanda and Cyrus nodded in unison. "I found them in that place. But I also found a skeleton buried there." "That's why you were asking about gold mines?" Cyrus looked at Cal. "Trying to figure out who it might be. Didn't seem to be anyone we might know, so I let it lie." "It's not a safe place." Melanie twisted the rag in her hands. "He'll be killed." Had Andy gone back to the mine? Could he be trapped? Or worse? "It's not our place to tell the man he can't dig there." Cal reached over and took the towel away from her. "Who?" "Rance." "Oh, him." She didn't want him to be killed in another cave-in either, but her concern centered on Andy sneaking into the horrid place. "Who else were we speaking about?" Amanda reached for her coffee cup.

"Huh. Oh, him." Melanie looked toward the front door. Why didn't Gold and Andy come bouncing through it? "What's wrong, Melanie?" Cal laid his hand atop hers. "Nothing. I'm just tired." She smiled at him. "Can I have more coffee?" The latecomer spoke in a soft voice belying his size. Melanie poured him coffee, then stared at the door. Cal rose and put an arm around her. "You act like you're waiting for someone to come through that door. Something's not right." She laid her head against his shoulder. Being close to him gave her the hope everything would turn out all right. His strength flowed into her, reassuring her. She never wanted to move from his arms. "Everything's fine. I was thinking about everything that needed doing." "You're wearing yourself to a frazzle. You need some help. Why isn't Andy helping more? He's big enough." "He helps." The gold nugget tucked in her pocket told her how much, but not in the correct manner. "Where is he?" "Upstairs asleep." She glanced away, not wanting him to see the lie in her eyes. She couldn't admit she couldn't tend her own. It would give him more reason to insist she close the restaurant. Insist she needed someone to care for her and hers. "So early." "He hasn't been feeling just right." "Maybe Amanda should look at him. Or I could get Mrs. Schmitz. She's real good at doctoring." Cal hugged her. "He'll be fine." She stepped away from him afraid he would sense her untruth. Afraid the truth would slip from her mouth. "Will you collect the money from Rance and the other man while I start in the kitchen?" Tears formed in her eyes and she needed to escape before anyone saw them. "Amanda will play cashier. I'll help with the dishes." "No. That's fine. I'll manage." Melanie turned and fled back into the kitchen. Still no Andy. Where could he be? Was he all right? He couldn't stay out all night. She sank to the kitchen table and laid down her head. She couldn't lose him too. She just couldn't. The door from the dining room opened and she jumped. Spinning around, she saw Amanda in the doorway. "I've come to help. You're too tired to be doing all this alone. Trying to take care of those young 'uns and keep this restaurant going is too much for a body."

"Don't be silly. You helped me bake and now you're going to do dishes. I'll have to give you back what you paid." Melanie smiled though her heart ached. "We haven't paid yet." Amanda smiled and pumped water into the sink. She added boiling water from the pan on the stove. "Now, never refuse help." Melanie took Amanda's arm and led her away from the sink. "I have some more of the cake you made. Why don't we go and enjoy it with some coffee. The dishes will wait." Melanie carried the cake back to the dining room. Except for Cyrus and Cal, it stood empty. The men had finished and gone on their way. "That stranger asked about a room for the night." Cal rose and took the cake from Melanie. "What did you say?" "I told him to wait out front. He and Calhoun left together. You ought to remove the hotel sign and just serve meals." Cal reached for his coffee cup. "We do seem to suddenly have an abundance of people asking for rooms." Cyrus bit into the cake. "Mighty fine baking." "It ought to be. Your wife made it." Melanie smiled at him as he savored his bite. "Cyrus is correct. We do suddenly seem to have people asking for rooms when before we never had anyone." "Might be we're becoming a respectable town." Melanie sat and pushed the cake around on her plate. "Might be something else." Cal looked at her. "I don't cotton to strange men renting rooms from you." "Gold will protect me." "I haven't seen the pooch tonight." Cyrus glanced around the room. "He's upstairs with Andy. He always stays upstairs at night once the children are abed." Melanie blinked back the moisture on her eyelids. Where were Andy and Gold spending tonight? Had they found a safe place under the stars? "Gold's too young to be much protection. You should send the man packing." "I have the lock on my door now and I'll be fine. This is a hotel and I do have rooms to rent." Cal put down his fork. "Then I'm staying also." "Nonsense. You have a jail to look after." She smiled. "Now all of you go on. I'll be fine." Her knees trembled at the thought of a strange man in the house with Andy and Gold gone, but she ran a business and she would rent the room. For tonight. Surely the man would ride on or move to the camp tomorrow. "I'm going to make sure he knows you don't come with the room rent." Cal walked toward the porch.

Cyrus smiled. "I'd best go along and make sure the marshal don't shoot the man for wanting a place to lay his head." "Good idea. I'll help Melanie clean up in here. Then we can get on home. Morning does seem to come earlier and earlier." Amanda stood and picked up the desert plates. "Getting old, darling." Cyrus kissed Amanda on the cheek. "That's what comes of being a grandma." She gave him a big smile. "Now, Melanie, what can I do to help?" "Pile the dishes on the sink. I'll do them in a bit." Melanie picked up the rest. The stack in the kitchen resembled a mountain. A mountain she hadn't the faintest desire to climb. *** Sitting on the porch, Cal watched the moon inch across the night sky. He propped his chair against the wall and his feet on the porch railing. He tucked his hands under his arms and tried to doze off, but he couldn't get comfortable. He was being a fool, but he didn't like the idea of a strange man staying in the house with Melanie. Granted, she had a lock on her door. Cyrus had done a right fine job installing it, but the stranger was a big man and one tiny lock wasn't going to deter him. And, while Gold did stand guard over the sleeping household, he was merely a puppy. He could snarl and bite, but the man could snap his neck like a match stick. As long as he sat on Melanie's porch, the hair on the back of his neck didn't prickle and his stomach didn't do somersaults. He'd be close enough to hear any disturbance. Tomorrow, the man would leave. One way or another. For tonight, Cal would sit in the chair and watch the moon. He still needed to talk with Melanie about what had happened with Andy, but when he'd tried to go in the kitchen after Amanda and Cyrus left, she'd ushered him back out, saying she didn't have time to waste on talking. Her reply hadn't set right with him. Never before had it mattered how much work she had, she'd always seemed glad for his company while she did dishes. Nor had she complained when he'd dried and put them away for her. Something ate at her, but she wouldn't say what. He knew it had to do with Andy and what had happened at the picnic. Tomorrow he'd make her listen to him. Let him explain he hadn't meant to upset the boy. He wouldn't put off the conversation any longer. He didn't care what she said. He wanted her and he'd take the children too. After all, they were her family and without them she'd be unhappy. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy. *** Melanie jumped as the kitchen door opened. She raised her head from the table and a large shadow loomed in the doorway. It wasn't Andy. She sighed and put her head back down on the table. A large shadow. She jumped from the chair and reached into her pocket. Why hadn't Gold let her know someone prowled around the house? Gold. He was with Andy. A shiver ran down her back. They couldn't be at the mine. They just couldn't be. If they hadn't returned by morning, she'd tell Cal and they'd

go looking for them. "I'm sorry, miss. I didn't mean to startle you," the shadow said. "I wanted a drink of water." Melanie fumbled with a match to light the lamp. It sputtered and didn't light. She'd fallen asleep at the table and burned all the oil. She moved to the counter and found another lamp. The light chased the shadows away and the large stranger from dinner stood in front of her, dressed in his long johns and trousers. "That's fine. Let me get it for you." She brushed her hair back from her face. "I don't mean to be no trouble." "No trouble at all." She worked the pump and handed him a glass of water. "Do you plan to stay long?" "I'll be gone tomorrow. Going to try my hand at gold mining. Seems the thing to do in these parts." He drained the glass in one long swallow. "Thanks." "I serve breakfast for hotel guests at seven." She moved away from the sink. Chills ran up her back remembering Rance pinning her against it. Her hand rested on her pepperbox in her pocket. "I'll look forward to that. You're a mighty fine cook, miss." "Thank you." She edged toward the back door. "I won't be bothering you anymore. I didn't figure I'd find anyone in the kitchen at this hour." "Normally you wouldn't." She watched him go back to the dinning room. She picked up the lamp and stood in the doorway, listening to his heavy footsteps on the staircase. When she heard his door close, she ran up the stairs to Andy's room. The neatly made bed held no small body curled into it. Sitting on the side of the bed, she ran her hand over the quilt, panic building in her. If only he would return safely, she'd never lose her temper with him again. And she'd spend more time making sure he stayed close and was safe. She finally rose. Morning couldn't be far off now. She might as well do the pile of dishes left untouched last night when she'd fallen asleep at the table waiting for Andy. He'd return shortly after first light. He'd be wanting his breakfast. *** Cal stood and looked in the window through the crack in the drapes. He'd heard footsteps coming down the stairway. The large stranger went into the kitchen. A light appeared around the door. A few minutes later, the stranger returned to his room. Then Melanie had come running out with the lamp in her hand and up the stairs. Something was happening and Cal didn't like the feel of things. He heard no noises coming from the house. He waited, poised to break through the window if necessary. Melanie came down the steps, the lamplight making her look like an angel floating down the steps. Except, her feet dragged and her head hung. Cal watched her disappear into the kitchen. What had occurred? Did he let her know he kept watch all night on her porch or did he wait until first light and show up for breakfast? He moved back to his chair

and propped his feet back on the porch railing. She was angry enough with him because of Andy. Her coolness toward him tore at his heart. He needed to know she would always be there with him. And he surely didn't need to make matters worse and let her find out he'd been guarding her. She wouldn't cotton to the idea that he assumed she couldn't care for herself. He crossed his arms and watched the stars twinkling. The sun would soon rise. That would be soon enough to face Melanie and the problem that beset her. *** Melanie put the bacon and eggs on the plate and grabbed up the bread she'd sliced. Her hotel guest was sipping his coffee, waiting for his breakfast. And the man looked as though he could eat enough for six. The back door opened as she pushed through to the dining room. She stopped, holding her breath. Cal sauntered in. Her breath whooshed out and her heart fell. Sunup had been over an hour ago. Still Andy hadn't returned home. She nodded to Cal then served the stranger his breakfast. Returning to the kitchen, she smiled at him, though it took all of her energy to get a smile on her face. "Why are you about so early?" "Can we have a moment to talk before you start your day." He held his hat in his hand, curling the brim. "I don't know what could be so important to talk about before breakfast." She poured him a cup of coffee and set it on the table. "Something's been bothering you." He sat. Dark circles ringed his eyes as though he hadn't slept. She probably looked as bad. "I'm just tired." He took her hand and held it. "Are you sure you're not angry with me?" "Angry with you? Whatever for?" She gripped his hand. Even though the hour was early, she was more glad than words would say that he had come for a visit. "For what happened on the picnic." She studied his face. "The picnic was lovely." She hadn't the slightest idea what he meant. She'd had a wonderful afternoon. Andy had been upset, but Andy often became upset. His gibberish hadn't given her any idea why. She'd wondered why Cal hadn't walked them back to the house, but she'd figured he didn't wish to deal with Andy. "But Andy got so upset." Tears came to her eyes and she blinked. "I never could understand why? He said something about not needing you." Andy. Where was he? "I didn't mean to say the wrong thing." "With him you often can't tell what's wrong until after it's said. Don't concern yourself." Cal reached over and took her hand. "But I do."

She waved her other hand in dismissal. "I don't." She clung to his hand. "Cal, I don't know where Andy is." "What?" He looked at her. "He got so angry with me yesterday he ran off and he hasn't come back and I'm so scared something's happened to him." She drew in a long breath. "Oh, what if he's hurt?" Cal pulled him to her. "Why didn't you tell me last night? Cyrus and I could have gone looking for him." "I thought he'd come back. He gets angry often and runs off. But he always comes back by supper." She shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't come home all night." "That's why I haven't seen Gold. And why you were traipsing around the house in the middle of the night." He hugged her tighter. "Melanie, you should have told me. I'll get some of the men and we'll go looking for him." "He might be at the mine." "The one where your pa's buried?" Cal pushed her away and looked into her eyes. She nodded. "You should have told me last night. I would have gone and gotten him. What in hell is he doing there?" "Rance is mining there. Andy was furious. Said it was his mine, he'd found it and Rance was stealing from him." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the nugget. "He brought me this yesterday." Cal examined the nugget. "He had to go in pretty deep to get something that size. He shouldn't be in that place. He knows it's not safe." "I've tried to explain to him he must stay away. That's why he ran off." Cal kissed her. "You stay here in case he comes back." He put on his hat. "Try not to worry. I'll bring him back safely." A yip came from the back door. "Gold. He's back." Melanie threw open the door. The puppy stood on the porch and barked at her. As she stepped toward him, the puppy moved away, looking back at her. She scanned the yard. "Andy's not with him. I know something terrible has happened." Cal put his hand on Melanie's shoulder. "Seems Gold wants me to follow. I'll bring Andy back." Melanie looked at the puppy, quivering. "Oh, my gracious, he's hurt." Cal grabbed Gold. A gash ran across his back and his left ear was torn. "He tangled with a wild animal. The cuts aren't too deep. We'll tend to them after I find Andy. I need Gold to lead me to him." "Do you think he can do that?" She wanted to pray, but she couldn't. Her mind froze, refusing to think about Andy's fate.

"He came home for you. He'll take me to Andy. Keep the dog here while I get my horse and gun." Cal disappeared around the side of the house. Gold set to barking loudly. Melanie grabbed a towel and wet it. She sat on the porch and reached for the puppy, who snarled and moved away from her. "Come here, Gold. Let me see to you while we wait for Cal. He'll only be a minute. Then you can take him to Andy. I wish you could tell me if Andy was all right. Please, let him be all right." Gold laid his head in her lap and whined. Melanie examined the ear, then washed away the blood. "We'll have to stitch you up. I don't know if that ear will ever be the same. You're such a brave dog." She hugged him. "Excuse me, miss, but I was wondering if you had any more breakfast?" Melanie turned her head to look at the stranger. He held his empty plate in front of him, a polite smile on his face. She stared at him for a moment, then nodded her head. "In the pan. Help yourself." "Your puppy seems to have got himself into a scrape." "Un huh." "I could help tend to him if you'd like. I'm pretty good with animals." "Thank you, but that won't be necessary." "Melly, Melly." Christina came up behind her and threw her arms around her neck. "Doggie back." "Yes, sweetheart." "Where Andy?" "I don't know." She reached around and pulled Christina into her lap. "Doggie hurt." Christina cried. "Hush. You're not hurt and Gold's not crying so you don't need to," snapped Melanie. Christina stopped and looked at Melanie. She reached up and placed her hand against Melanie's cheek. "Andy be all right, Melly." She hugged the little girl. "Someone missing, miss?" "My six-year-old brother." She rocked back and forth, holding Gold and Christina. "I'll get some of the men from the mining camp and we'll go looking for him." "The puppy'll take the marshal. He's not going to wait for the men from the camp. It'll take too long."

"I'll get some of them in case. What do I owe you for the meal?" "Nothing. It comes with the room." She turned and smiled at the giant of a man. "Thank you." *** Cal followed Gold through the trees and up into the hills away from the camp. For being injured, the puppy moved with a great deal of speed, never pausing. The puppy would grow into a great moose of a dog, but not a stupid one. He seemed to know where he was going. They went several miles and the trees became thicker. Gold stopped and snarled. Cal studied the ground. Fresh grizzly tracks. His body went cold. Sliding out his rifle, he laid it across his saddle. Lifting himself in his saddle, he looked around him. He couldn't see or hear the animal, but by Gold's reaction, he knew it was close. He edged his horse forward, but the horse reared and sidestepped. He too could smell the grizzly. Cal dismounted and hung the reins over a tree, untied. The horse would stay unless spooked. Then he would bolt for his life and Cal didn't want him left defenseless against a grizzly. Cal cursed the trees as he edged through them. Gold inched forward, his teeth bared and a deep snarl ushering from him. Cal grabbed Gold by the scruff and held him. "Hush, boy, you'll warn the bear. Stay." Cal pointed to the ground. Gold sat for a minute, then followed behind Cal. He admired Gold's loyalty to Andy. That quality was not easily found in man or beast. "Stupid dog. You're going to get yourself killed." Cal followed the bear tracks, trying not to make a sound. He didn't want to startle the creature. He came on a small clearing and stopped dead. High up in a tree on the far edge he could see a small boy hanging onto a limb. At the bottom of the tree, lay a nine-foot long grizzly, sniffing the air.

Chapter Eighteen The grizzly rose up, then stood on his hind feet. Cal couldn't breath. He'd seen grizzlies before, from a distance, and he'd been careful to stay out of their way. He'd seen what a grizzly could do to a man. "Marshal," screamed Andy. The grizzly bared his teeth and snarled at Andy. "Hold on, boy. I'll get you down. Don't move 'til I tell you. Then you shinny down that tree and run like the hounds of hell are after you." Which wasn't far from the truth. "Take Gold with you. My horse is outside the clearing. You get on it and ride for home. You understand me, Andy." "Yes, Marshal." A sob escaped from Andy. "I didn't think no one was gonna come and find me." "Shush, boy." The grizzly sniffed the air. Gold growled and the grizzly growled back, a deep growl that buffeted against Cal. "Gold, stay." Damn dog would get them all killed. Cal edged around the clearing, trying to draw the

grizzly's attention to him. The bear sniffed the air again and roared. Cal clutched his rifle and eased back the trigger. If he could hit the bear in the right spot, the beast would come down. If not... He'd best hit his mark. Gold snarled and charged the bear. Cal fired. The bear dropped onto all fours and turned toward the puppy. The bullet ripped off a piece of bark. The puppy stopped short and wheeled about, yipping loudly. The bear bared his teeth and swiped at Gold. Gold skittered into the underbrush, trying to lure the bear away from the base of the tree. Cal cursed, but he had to admire the dog. He could maneuver quickly and with the bear's poor eyesight, Gold could hide, though he'd obviously misjudged his distance once. The torn ear attested to that. "Get ready, Andy. When the bear comes toward me, get out of that tree." Cal waved his arms. The bear shook his head back and forth, spittle coming from his mouth, then rubbed against the tree. "Hey, grizzle bear." Cal inched forward so the bear could smell him and aimed his rifle. The grizzly rose on its hind legs and roared again. Cal aimed for his neck. As he squeezed the trigger, the bear dropped down and charged Cal. He fired again and again. He caught a flash of Andy sliding down the tree trunk and racing across the clearing. The bear knocked Cal off his feet and he rolled, trying to avoid the claws. A searing pain shot through his neck, shoulders, and back. Cal lay still, pretending to be dead. The wet nose sniffed at him and the bear's breath gagged him. He held his own breath until he thought his lungs would burst. The bear shook his head over Cal, spittle falling on him. His shoulder and neck were on fire. The grizzly poked at him with his nose. Teeth dug into his left arm. Cal gripped the handle of his colt and shoved it against the grizzly, pulling the trigger over and over even after the gun stopped firing. *** Melanie paced back and forth on the front porch, her arms crossed. Cal had been gone for several hours. A niggling feeling ran up and down her back. Something dreadful had happened. "Come and sit. You'll wear yourself out." Amanda patted the chair next to her. Melanie perched on the edge of the chair, staring toward the stand of trees. "He'll find him. Don't you fret none." Cyrus reached over and squeezed her hand. Melanie stood and walked to the end of the porch, willing Cal to come through the trees. "Why don't I make some tea." Amanda sat with her hands folded in her lap. Melanie rubbed her arms. Coldness had settled into her since Gold had shown up at the back door. A coldness of which she couldn't be shed. "Where is he?" "That young 'un could have got quite a distance in the time he was missing. Give the marshal a chance. He'll bring him back safe and sound. You'll see." Cyrus walked over and stood beside her. Melanie turned and stared at him. If only he could promise her he spoke the truth.

"Watching ain't going to make him show up any faster." Cyrus took her by the shoulders and moved her to the chair. "No sense in wearing yourself to a frazzle. They'll get here when they get here." Melanie wrung her hands and rocked back and forth. Christina came to stand beside her and laid her hand on Melanie's arm. "Andy all right, Melly. Andy all right." "Yes, sweetheart. Go and play." Melanie patted her on the head. "Play with dolly." Christina held her doll out to Melanie. "Not now." Christina tucked the doll into Melanie's lap. "Dolly make you happy. Dolly keep scary things away." Amanda took the doll and pulled Christina into her lap. "Your sister's worrying right now. Leave her be. I'll play dolly with you." "No. Dolly sit with Melly. Dolly make Melly not so sad." Christina struggled to free herself from Amanda. Melanie saw a movement at the edge of the trees. Cal's horse broke through the nearest stand. She jumped down from the porch, lifted her skirts, and flew toward the horse. Gold cleared the trees a moment behind the rider. It was Andy! Melanie stopped. Andy reined in the horse, tears flowing down his face. She reached up and pulled him down. Gold yapped at her skirts. She squeezed Andy, then looked back at the trees. "The marshal..." Andy started. "Where's Cal?" She stared at the trees. Andy was safe, but why hadn't Cal appeared? "The grizzle bear got him." Melanie looked at Andy. Her mind couldn't fathom what he said. "What?" "The bear," sobbed Andy. "The bear got him." Her heart didn't beat for several seconds. She took in a deep breath, trying to steady the world that spun around. "Where?" "Back up the mountain. In the clearing." Andy flung his arms around her and buried his face against her skirt. "It's my fault. I'm sorry, Melly. I didn't mean to get him killed too." "Shush." She held him at arms length. They had to find Cal. He needed tending. "Can you take us to where he is?" Andy nodded his head. "I'll get the wagon and the team." Cyrus ran back to the barn. "We'll go along to help," said one of the miners, who had come from the camp to offer assistance.

"I got my horse," said the stranger. "Put the lad up here. He looks ready to fall on his face. He can lead the way from here." Melanie handed Andy up to him. Cyrus hitched the team and drove it into the clearing. "I'll send for Mrs. Schmitz." Amanda picked up Christina and hugged her. "He'll be all right, Melanie. He knows better than to get close to a grizzly." Melanie climbed aboard the wagon. "Let's go." "The wagon won't go all the way." Andy leaned back against the stranger. "There's no path through the trees." Two of the miners tied their horses to the back of the wagon. "So you can get through," one of them said. "You'll find the marshal. He'll be fine. He's a tough man." Melanie clenched and unclenched her hands. Andy was safe, but she wanted Cal to be safe also. She loved him more than any other person in the world. She should have said yes when he asked her to marry him. Uncertainty had really been the only reason she'd refused to wed. Uncertainty and distrust in his ability to love the children. She never should have doubted him. The fear of losing him made her soul go cold. She wouldn't let go of him. She wouldn't lose the man she loved. She'd lost enough in her short life. He had to be safe. He just had to be. *** Cal couldn't breathe with the weight of the bear's head and front leg across him. The grizzly lay still. He had to be dead. He couldn't push off the heavy weight and get free. He tried to wiggle out from under the animal, but the pain of scraping his back against the ground shot through him with every movement, taking away his breath. The edges of the world were tinged with black. The strong smell of bear made the small breaths he could take burn his lungs. He'd killed the bear, but it looked as though the bear had killed him also. He'd suffocate under the animal and he hadn't the strength left to free himself. Andy and Gold had gotten to safety. He'd kept his promise to Melanie. He could picture her in her new blue dress the night of the dance. He wanted to hold her one more time. He wanted to tell her he loved her. But Cal had always known when he'd shot Hamilton, he would end up coming to an end like this. He didn't know how long he'd lain beneath the carcass of the bear, but it probably had been hours. As long as he didn't move, he couldn't feel the pain in his back. He struggled to breathe. He wouldn't be able to do that for long. "Melanie," Cal whispered. "I'm sorry I can't be there to take care of you anymore." He let the black edges close in around him. ***

Melanie jumped down from the wagon and pulled herself up on one of the horses. Clinging to the mane with one hand, she urged the horse forward after the stranger and Andy. They wove through trees, Gold racing ahead, then back, yapping at them. She didn't know how the puppy could keep going, injured as he was. But he seemed as set on finding Cal as she was. "Only a bit farther." Andy stared straight ahead. "Through those next trees." They came into a clearing. Melanie saw the grizzly bear lying on the grass. He was still. Deathly still. "Cal!" she screamed. Where was he? Had he been hurt and crawled away into the trees. She looked at the bear again and saw Cal's boots. Sliding from the horse, she ran over to him. His head stuck out from beneath the front leg of the bear. His eyes were closed and he lay deathly still. She bent down beside him and brushed his face. "Cal... Cal. Answer me." The stranger came up beside her. "Got to get him out, miss. That bear's crushing him." He took Melanie by the shoulders and moved her back. Andy threw his arms around her. "I didn't mean it, Melly. I didn't mean it." "It wasn't your fault." She held onto Andy and the life coming from him. She wished to share it with Cal. The stranger lifted the head and paw of the bear and Cyrus pulled Cal free. He bent down and put his ear to Cal's mouth. "There's life in him yet." Cyrus gave Melanie a smile. Melanie let out a rush of air and realized she'd been holding her breath. The stranger rolled Cal to his side and a soft moan came from him. Melanie rushed to him. She pressed her hand against her mouth to stifle the scream that started deep inside her. Mud covered the long, deep slashes across his back. Gold hunkered down next to Cal and licked his face, then laid his head on Cal's chest. "We got to get him back or the life'll leave him," said the stranger. "And we can't carry him. We'll have to make a travois to get him to the wagon." He moved to a sapling and broke off two long branches as though he broke kindling for a fire. "Unsaddle the horses. We can use the blankets." The stranger pulled twine from his pocket and began tying smaller branches to the larger ones in a crisscross fashion. Andy held out his small ball of twine to the man, who smiled at Andy. "Thank you, son. That'll help." Cyrus placed the blankets across when the man was finished. The two of them placed him on the travois amid his moans. "Need something to tie him down with." The stranger looked at Melanie. "I'm fresh out of twine. Besides, it'll cut into his flesh." Melanie reached through her pockets and untied her petticoat. She kicked it away. "Here. Tear this up." "Thank you, miss."

Melanie took Cal's hand and walked beside him. The stranger trudged along, pulling Cal slowly over the rough terrain. Once in awhile a moan escaped him. Melanie squeezed his hand, willing him to open his eyes and look at her, but Cal's eyes remained closed. *** "Take him up stairs," Mrs. Schmitz ordered. She lifted her skirts and trundled up after Cyrus and the stranger as they carried Cal. "Put him down right there on the bed." Melanie moved next to the bed and took Cal's hand. So little warmth came from him. How could anyone survive such injuries? "Roll him onto his front. One of you'd best stay close by, cause I'm going to be needing help moving him. Can't expect a woman of my years to be able to move a man of his size." Mrs. Schmitz put her hands on her back and leaned backwards, stretching. She took a pair of scissors and slit open his shirt, pulling it away from his wounds. The mud pulled free in spots and he bled again. Melanie chewed on her finger. His skin had a pasty look to it. "Will he be all right?" She wanted to scream to the heavens, please let him be all right, but she stood, silent, watching Mrs. Schmitz. "He's a strong man, child. Don't be fretting unnecessarily." Mrs. Schmitz dipped her rag into the warm water on the bedside table and began to scrub his back with soap. "Might be you should wait outside until I'm through. Amanda can come and help me." "No. I'm staying. Tell me what to do." She wouldn't leave him. Not 'til she knew if he would live or die. "Get the rest of that shirt off him. Then cut his pants away." Mrs. Schmitz rinsed his back and nodded. "One of you men need to go to the jail and get his nightshirt. He'll be wanting something covering him when he comes to." Cyrus left and Amanda entered the room with a tray of tea and bread. "Oh, bless you, Amanda. I could use a sip of tea." Mrs. Schmitz set her cloth down and picked up a cup. Melanie stared at her. How could she think of food when Cal needed tending? Mrs. Schmitz set down the cup and took a bite of bread, then went back to scrubbing Cal's back. "Hurry up, child. We need to get his pants off. That old bear got him clear down his backside." Melanie reached under Cal and tried to pull his gunbelt loose, but it wouldn't budge. She looked at Mrs. Schmitz who waved at the stranger. "Need some help here." The stranger lifted Cal and Melanie loosened his gunbelt and pants. "You can't be dragging those pants off. You'll do more damage. Use the scissors. He can get new pants. Besides, with the slashes in them, he won't be wanting to wear them. His long johns will be hanging through." Mrs. Schmitz smiled at Melanie. Between the three of them it didn't take long to get Cal undressed and his wounds cleaned. Mrs. Schmitz rubbed a salve across the ragged cuts, then nodded to the stranger to roll Cal over so she could

examine his arm and the teeth marks. "I'd say this arm's broke. I'll be needing a splint." Then she pressed against his chest. "He's breathing hard. Bet that bear broke a rib or two. I need some more bandages." "There's some linen we can tear up." Melanie still held Cal's hand. "Then get it, child." Melanie watched while Mrs. Schmitz finished bandaging Cal and got him settled in bed. She watched his eyes, waiting for them to open. Pulling a chair next to the bed, she sat, taking his hand in hers. She held it to her cheek. He still seemed so cold. Pulling up the comforter, she tucked it around him. "He's in shock now, but we'll have to watch for fever. If the bear didn't kill him, the fever might." Mrs. Schmitz sat in another chair and sipped her tea. "I could certainly do with some dinner. It's getting on in the day." Melanie sighed before she tucked Cal's hand beneath the covers. "I'll go and see to fixing some. I'm sure the men could use some also." "Nonsense, child. Amanda and I'll rustle up something if you don't mind us in your kitchen. You sit with him for awhile. If anything brings him back, it'll be you hanging on to him." Mrs. Schmitz pushed herself from the chair. "Come along, Amanda. The men are going to be as grumpy as that old grizzly." Melanie took up Cal's hand again and watched the women move toward the door. "Come along, sir," Mrs. Schmitz said to the stranger. "We'll feed you too. You've more than earned your keep for the day." "Yes, he has." Melanie tightened her grip on Cal's hand. "I want to thank you for all your help. We could never have gotten him home without you." "You're most welcome, miss. Any man ready to take on a grizzly to save a boy's life is worth trying to save." He tipped his head to Melanie. "I don't even know your name." "It's Stewart Howard." "Thank you again, Mr. Howard. You're more than welcome to stay at the hotel as long as you want. No charge." She turned back to Cal and watched his face. His breathing seemed a bit easier, but shallow. She brushed his hair from his face. After the door closed behind Stewart, she crawled under the covers and wrapped herself around him. Maybe her warmth and her will for him to live would reach out to him and bring him back to her. *** Melanie awoke with a start. For a moment she could not remember why she lay in bed during the middle of the day. Then it rushed back to her. She'd hoped it had only been a nightmare, but Cal lay on the bed next to her, barely breathing. She looked up to see what had awakened her.

Amanda crept across the room. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I thought you might like something to eat. I know you didn't eat last night and probably haven't eaten all day." She set a tray down on the bedside table. "How is he?" "The same." Melanie crawled out of bed and straightened her dress. Pressing her hand against his forehead, she gave thanks he felt warmer. She looked at the tray. "I'm not hungry. Will you sit with him for awhile. I need to fix supper. The men will be expecting me to serve in a couple of hours." "Mrs. Schmitz and I have it started. You rest. But if you'd like to take a break, I'll sit with him. Mrs. Schmitz really doesn't seem to need my help. She's quite good in a kitchen." Amanda touched Cal's forehead. "He does seem to be a bit warmer, but not feverish. That's good. Has he awakened yet?" Melanie shook her head. "I'll stay with him. Let me know when people arrive for supper. I'll come and help. Where are the children?" "Christina's out on the porch playing dolls with Cyrus. He's fed her candy all afternoon, so she'll not be wanting supper. I've already told him if she gets a stomach ache, he'll be sitting with her tonight." Amanda pulled up a chair and sat. "Andy and Gold are sitting on the back steps. Andy keeps hugging Gold and staring into the woods." "Oh, my. I forgot about Gold. He got wounded defending Andy. I'd best go and tend to him." "No reason. Mr. Howard and Mrs. Schmitz fixed him right up. You should've seen the two of them. Each telling the other what they were doing wrong. Mrs. Schmitz had her hands on her hips and Mr. Howard had his arms crossed, glaring to beat the band. But, Gold survived and seems to be fine." Melanie looked at Cal. "I need to go and talk to Andy." She kissed Cal on the forehead. "Don't you stop breathing while I'm gone," she whispered. "You hear me." "I'll sit here for a minute. For all the complaining Mrs. Schmitz does about her rheumatiz, that woman can wear out a body. She ain't stopped moving since they brought Cal in. She's scrubbed your kitchen and started supper. That was after cooking dinner and feeding the lot of us. I just stood around and watched." Amanda smiled. "And she charged each one of those men for the food. Said you couldn't be feeding them for free no matter how much you appreciated their help. Not a one of them balked, either. I do believe they were afraid she'd cuff them up side the head." "I don't know how to thank either of you." Melanie gave Amanda a hug. "Friends helping friends. You'd best tend to that brother of yours. He's carrying a heap of guilt on those little shoulders." Melanie gave Cal a last glance before going down to Andy. She sat next to him and put her arm around him. "Is he gonna make it?" Andy's voice came in a small whisper. "Only time will let us know that. He seems better at the moment, but he hasn't opened his eyes yet." She crushed Andy to her. "If I hadn't run off, he wouldn't be hurt." He leaned into his sister.

"What's happened has happened. You didn't plan on running into a grizzly bear." "He was so big, Melly. I knew he was gonna get me. Gold kept charging and running away. The bear hit him once and he flew through the air. I knew Gold had got killed. But the bear couldn't get up the tree. I sat there all night. I wished I was home and I knew no one would come looking for me 'cuz no one wanted me." Tears ran down Andy's face. Melanie wiped the tears away. "Nonsense. I love you and I want you." "Pa didn't. Why should you?" "Pa tried Andy. Pa was sick from a broken heart. He couldn't help it." "He got killed cuz I found that mine." "He died because he was drunk. That wasn't your fault." "But the marshal getting hurt is." "You mustn't blame yourself. He came to save you. He'd never let a bear get you." "But the marshal don't even like me." Melanie ruffled his hair. "Of course he likes you." Of course he did. He had to care for the children to put himself in such danger, didn't he? "Let's go in and have something to eat." "I'm not hungry." "Neither am I, but we have to keep up our strength. I'm going to need your help more than ever around here with Cal laid up. I'll need help so I can tend to him." "The ladies'll help. No one needs me." Melanie turned him to face her. "Now I don't see Mrs. Schmitz or Mrs. O'Neil trapping rabbits or catching fish. Do you?" He looked at her for a long time. Then a small twitch appeared at the corners of his mouth as he tried to control his tears. "No, Melly." He threw his arms around her neck. "I'm sorry, Melly. I'm sorry I ran away. I'm sorry Gold got hurt. I'm sorry the marshal got so bad hurt." "It's all right, Andy. Gold has already forgiven you and as soon as Cal wakes up, he'll tell you he's forgiven you also." "He has to wake up." "Yes, he does." Melanie had faced the world when Pa had died. She'd survived alone when Ma had died. But something in her threatened to shatter if Cal died. She wasn't sure she could face the world without him. "Let's go see if Mrs. O'Neil made one of her cakes. I bet we could swipe a piece before Mrs. Schmitz caught us." "With some milk?"

"There should be some if anyone remembered to milk the cow this morning." She grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen. *** A scream awakened Melanie. She trembled. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she listened. The house was silent. She leaned forward in the chair, letting the blanket slide to her feet. Who had screamed? She had. In her dream. She kept seeing Cal laying beneath the bear, knowing he was dead. The scream she had held in when they'd found Cal, escaped in her dream. A scream that echoed off the trees and came back to her over and over again. She wiped sweat from her forehead. She crossed her arms trying to keep her body from shaking. The darkness of the room pressed down on her. Kicking the blanket aside, she got up to light the lamp. The soft glow cast flickering shadows on the walls, giving the room an eerie feeling. She wished the sun would rise. Every day Cal lived gave him a better chance. But a full day hadn't passed yet. She went to the window and looked at the night. The moon had set and it was as dark as pitch. The blackness was dotted with a million twinkling stars. She laid her head against the coolness of the glass. The dream kept coming back to her. The sight of Cal under that bear would stay with her for the rest of her life. She should try and get some water down Cal. Mrs. Schmitz said they should try every hour to get him to swallow water or tea. He needed liquid. She'd made a chicken broth and said tomorrow they'd try to get him to swallow some of that. So far, no more than a spoonful at a time went down him. He still hadn't moved. She sighed as she looked up at the stars. A groan came from the bed behind her. She pivoted. He was awake! Moving the lamp closer to the bed, she looked down on him. His eyes remained closed but he moved his head from side to side. He kicked at the covers. "Shush, Cal," Melanie murmured. She put her hand on his forehead to smooth back his hair and calm him. He was burning up with fever.

Chapter Nineteen Melanie tapped at the door where Mrs. Schmitz slept. She didn't want to wake the entire house, but she needed Mrs. Schmitz. She got no answer. Carefully, she opened the door and peeked inside. The room was black. "Mrs. Schmitz," she whispered. A snort greeted her.

"Mrs. Schmitz," she said a little louder. Another snort answered. Melanie crept to the bed. She shook Mrs. Schmitz's shoulder. "Please, wake up." "Huh?" Mrs. Schmitz sat up straight in the bed. "Please, Mrs. Schmitz, you have to come. Cal's burning up with fever." Mrs. Schmitz swung her feet over the edge. "Hand me my wrapper, child." She pulled the wrapper over her nightdress and padded barefoot across the room. A white cap covered her gray hair. Entering Cal's room, she placed her hand on his forehead. He thrashed back and forth, trying to get the covers loose. Melanie pulled them up and tucked them under his chin. Mrs. Schmitz yanked them back and threw them off the end of the bed. "We need cool water. Lots of cool water and cloths. We need to bathe him down. Make some of my special tea and bring it up after you get the water." Mrs. Schmitz dipped a towel into the water basin on the bedside table. Melanie lugged fresh water and towels up from the kitchen then set about brewing the tea. She brought the pot upstairs and set it on the table. "What can I do to help?" "Help me bathe him down." Somehow Mrs. Schmitz had gotten Cal's nightshirt off him. The windows to the room stood open and a cool breeze blew across the room. Melanie washed Cal's chest and forehead. He seemed a bit quieter. "Now dry him well, or he'll catch a chill." Mrs. Schmitz picked up clean bandages. "I need help changing these and putting more salve on. Then he should rest easier." Melanie cringed as Mrs. Schmitz removed the bandages and threw them in a heap on the floor. The slashes looked an angry red. "Is he going to be all right?" "Can't rightly say. We'll do the best we can. The rest is up to him and God." Mrs. Schmitz smeared the evil smelling concoction she used and again bandaged Cal. "We need a clean sheet to put over him." She tightened the bandages around his ribs and those holding his broken arm. After she'd tucked him in, she took some of her tea on a spoon and dribbled it into his mouth. "At least three or four spoonfuls need to go down him an hour. Do you think you can do that, or do you wish me to stay?" She looked over at Melanie. "I can do it." Mrs. Schmitz handed Melanie the spoon. "Now, a few drops at a time or he'll choke. If he starts to shiver, call me. That means the fever's gotten worse." Mrs. Schmitz padded back out of the room.

Melanie sat on the edge of the bed and dribbled tea into Cal's mouth. For the moment he was quiet. Why didn't he wake up? *** For three days Melanie had hardly left Cal's bedside and still he hadn't wakened. The fever rampaged and he went from chills to kicking off the blankets. The wounds didn't look as red, but he didn't seem to be getting better. Why hadn't he awakened? Melanie walked into the kitchen to find Mrs. Schmitz at the table cleaning Andy's fish. "How's he doing?" "About the same." Melanie sank into a chair. "What can I do to help?" "Sit and have some tea. No sense in making yourself sick. Or you could go and tend to your brother. He's been feeling mighty low over what happened." Mrs. Schmitz strode to the oven and checked on her cake. "Where is he?" "The last I saw of him he was sitting in the back with the dog." Melanie rose and went into the backyard. She hadn't been outside in days. Her garden had probably wilted from lack of water. She looked around, but Andy wasn't there. "Are you sure he was out here?" she called to Mrs. Schmitz. "Last I knew. But Cyrus took Christina with him to the store just now when Amanda came to set with Cal a spell. Andy might have gone with them." Mrs. Schmitz threw the fish into a pan as she continued cleaning. Melanie sat back at the table and sipped the tea Mrs. Schmitz had made for her. She should go and check on Andy, but she felt bone weary. She hadn't slept in a bed in days. "I can finish supper. You've done so much." "Nonsense. I believe I'll make fish stew tonight." Mrs. Schmitz cut the fish into chunks and dropped it into the pot. "We've been right busy the last couple of nights." Melanie sighed. "I don't know what I would have done without your help. I'll serve tonight and clean up." She couldn't impose on her friends any longer. Amanda had a store to run and Mrs. Schmitz had a husband to tend. "Nonsense. Amanda and I have been doing a right fine job of tending to matters." She picked up the pot and put it on the stove. Bending, she threw more wood on the fire. "I've been thinking." Maybe she should close the restaurant until Cal got well. Her heart wasn't into it. After he was up and about, she could start again. The men had survived before without a restaurant. And with Andy's nugget, they'd survive for awhile. Maybe she'd move them. Another town had to have something she could do to keep her family together without all the memories in Gold Strike. "I realize I've been leaving all the hard work to you." Mrs. Schmitz pulled her cake from the oven. "Nonsense. Lots of people have been moving into the area

since word got out there was gold to mine." "What?" Mrs. Schmitz looked at her. "I said, gold mining" "Gold mining. Who's doing gold mining?" "That Mr. Calhoun has staked claim to the mine up on the hill. The one where your pa got hisself killed." "He can't do that. It's dangerous." Melanie could feel the dirt shifting around her again and the closeness of the air. "He'll get himself killed." "That's his worry, not ours. But others are coming in because of it." Mrs. Schmitz began to cut up the last of the potatoes. "That brings you more customers." "The mountain doesn't want to give up its gold." The place had already taken two lives. "Such fancifulness. Gold is gold and the mountain don't care one way or another." "But it does." Mrs. Schmitz patted Melanie on the shoulder. "Child, you need to get some rest. Cyrus has been bringing in lumber for Mr. Calhoun. He's shoring up the place so it don't cave in on him." "He has no right to the mine." "Says his brother found it first. Registered a claim with Cyrus hisself to keep his brother's claim. Lots of other folks been filing claims on bits and pieces. Course, so far, no one has found much. Not even Mr. Calhoun. He's only pulled out a bit, not at all what he expected." He shouldn't be there. Only trouble would come of it. Melanie knew that only too well. She sipped her tea. She shouldn't care what happened to the man after what he'd done, but she didn't want him dead. Enough death had visited their small town. "That brings me back to what I've been thinking." Mrs. Schmitz stirred the stew on the stove. "With all these people moving in here, you're going to need some help." "I can't afford help. I can barely take care of my own." Melanie looked at Mrs. Schmitz. She had to admit she hadn't thought about how much work it would be to run the place alone, but that was the way of things. "Sure you can, you just haven't thought about it. You'll kill yourself if you keep trying to do it all. Amanda and I get plum wore out keeping up with these men. I don't see how you do it all yourself." Melanie stared at Mrs. Schmitz. She couldn't remember the last time she's seen the woman sit, even if she did complain about her rheumatism. "I manage because I have no choice." Mrs. Schmitz took a sip of tea. "You surely do." "What was it you were thinking?" Melanie smiled at her. Somehow, she knew Mrs. Schmitz and

Amanda had already discussed this idea and she wasn't really being given a choice. "Now my Walter's plum tired of panning for gold, but we sorta got fond of this little town. We got family here now whereas we don't got family anywhere else. We didn't have no children, so it's always been only the two of us. I got a sister back in New York, but I don't reckon she's got a hankering to see me any more than I got a hankering to see her. Walter and I want to settle down and stay someplace and this here seems like a right nice place to stay." Mrs. Schmitz put the teapot back on the stove and added more wood. Stirring the stew, she looked at Melanie over her shoulder. "You want to work here?" "Why not? It's a right nice place. Don't remember ever seeing a kitchen so fine." "But I can't pay you much." "Oh, bother, that's no matter. As time goes on, you'll be bringing in more money. It'll all work out. Walter's a right good farmer. We used to have us a little farm." She stared into space for a moment, then shook her head. "He could plant you a real fine garden so you wouldn't have to buy everything from Amanda and Cyrus. Besides, they don't get in nice vegetables." She continued stirring the stew. "Not that I'm saying you didn't make a real fine garden, but Walter could make you a bigger one. That little bit of a thing ain't going to produce enough vegetables but for a couple of weeks. And he surely do like tending to growing things." The idea of help lifted Melanie's spirits. Trying to tend to the garden, the cooking, the serving, the cleaning, and the children didn't leave her enough time to breathe. Besides, she liked having Mrs. Schmitz near in case one of the children got sick. "I could offer you room and board to begin with. I still got the bill at the mercantile paid off." She had Andy's nugget, but she couldn't spend it. Not yet. "When I start making money, then I'll pay both of you as much as I can." "That'll be fine." Mrs. Schmitz gave Melanie a hug. "But, child, we don't want to stay here. You need the rooms to rent." "I don't get much call for that." Two customers didn't exactly make the hotel prosper. "But no telling when you might. Besides, there's a nice little house right across the way. It ain't nothing fancy like this one, but someone built it. We might as well use it. We talked it over with Amanda and Cyrus and they thought it a fine idea." "But what if Rance lays claim to it like he has everything else here abouts?" She didn't even know if she would have a hotel to run. "I could be out of business and you could be homeless." "We ain't going to let that happen. Mr. Calhoun has more to deal with than you." Mrs. Schmitz smiled. "Amanda and I been cleaning up the place across the way. It has a nice parlor, a kitchen, and two bedrooms. That way if need be, the children could stay with us. However, it ain't got much in the way of furniture. I was wondering if you'd mind letting us use some of what you got stored in the attic until you need it. I'd especially like the chair Suzy was so fond of." "Of course. You are most welcome to it. But you'd best get the men to move it while Rance is busy with his mine. Otherwise, he'll be putting a stop to it." "Then it's settled. I'll do the cooking and keep up the kitchen. Of course, you're welcome to help out

once in awhile." Mrs. Schmitz wiped her hands on her apron. "Walter'll do the growing and you can serve and take care of the hotel guests. I don't cotton to climbing up and down those stairs all day. My rheumatiz and all." Melanie smiled, a weight lifting from her shoulders. Now, if only Cal would get well. *** Melanie kept glancing up the stairs. She should be upstairs with Cal. He hadn't been left alone since the men had brought him home. "Stop fretting and eat your supper before the customers arrive." Mrs. Schmitz reached for a piece of bread. "You haven't been eating right and you'll make yourself sick." Melanie smiled at her and took a bite. Mrs. Schmitz's idea that they all sit around the table in the dining room and eat together rather than feeding the children while she ran back and forth to the kitchen did make sense. "Melly, look. Grandpa gaved me a new dolly." Christina held the doll up for Melanie's inspection. "That's very nice." She should run upstairs and make sure Cal rested easy. He'd been quiet all afternoon, but that didn't mean he wouldn't start thrashing around again. The fever seemed to be staying down, but the nights were always the worst. "She's to keep my other dolly company." Christina hugged her toy. "That's very nice." "Melanie." Amanda laid her hand on Melanie's arm. "You're not even listening to the child." "I'm sorry. What Christina? Oh, the doll is very pretty. I'm sure your other doll will like having company." She picked up Christina's spoon and popped a mouthful into the child's mouth. "Grandpa said he's going to get me a rifle and show me how to use it so I can catch bigger game." Andy smiled at her. "What?" Melanie looked from Andy to Cyrus. "He's too young for a rifle." Mrs. Schmitz poured herself some tea. "Nonsense. If he's taught proper, he'll be fine. And I'm sure Cyrus'll teach him fine." "I'll have to think about it." Melanie stirred her stew with her fork. Mrs. Schmitz was an excellent cook, but she couldn't eat. "Melly," whined Andy. The joy disappeared from his face. "Only if Grandpa is around when you use it. At least until you are a bit older." "I'm not a baby, Melly." "I know that, Andrew Whittaker." She started to rise.

Amanda put a hand on her shoulder. "Sit and eat. Cal's fine." "I really need to check on him." Melanie looked up the stairs again. Amanda handed Melanie a biscuit. "You've only been down here a moment. Now eat." The front door slammed open. Melanie stared. Rance walked into the room, a smile flitting across his face. "I'm glad to see all of you together." He sauntered across the room. "The restaurant's not open yet. Come back in about half an hour." Cyrus rose from his chair and moved toward Rance. Rance pushed him aside. "I don't care if it's open or not. I came to speak to the lot of you." He pulled out a chair and sat down. "I've come to a decision. I no longer want my home used as a hotel and restaurant. I'll give you to the end of the week to be moved out." He reached for a piece of bread. Amanda swatted his hand. "Your claim to this house has not been verified." "No matter. I've registered my claim to the mine. My brother isn't about, so I'll be looking after his holdings." Cyrus sat down, glaring at Rance. "Not unless you can prove your claim. The gold mine's different from the house. Anyone can stake a claim on an area not already claimed." "It's my mine." Andy glared at Rance. "I found it first." Rance looked at the child, then away. "I don't like sleeping out by the mine or in the jail. I want to sleep here in my house. I expect you out." He reached for a plate. "And I expect rent for the time you've been here." Melanie reached over and took the plate back. "This is a family dinner and you're not welcome. Please leave my house." He looked her up and down. "Of course, you're welcome to stay...without the brats. I'm sure I can find use for you and I'll need someone to take care of my needs." He leered at her. She picked up her cup of tea and flung it in his face. "Get out. Until the law decides otherwise, this is my home." He jumped up, grabbing a napkin to wipe the hot liquid from his face. "The law isn't available to say anything. I've changed my mind. I want you out tonight." "Who do you think will help you enforce such a decision?" Cyrus stood again and pulled back Rance's chair. "There're plenty of men about who'll do as I say for the gold I can pay them." Rance glared at Cyrus. "And, I expect rent from you for your store, shopkeep. My brother owns all of the buildings in this town."

Cyrus twisted Rance's arm behind his back and shoved him through the front door. "Don't think I'll forget this," Rance shouted. Cyrus slammed the door. "I'll be back! I'll have my house! I'll have the law on you!" he screamed through the door. Stewart appeared from the tea room. "I know it's a bit early for supper, but I heard the ruckus." He bowed his head to Melanie. "Don't you fret none about him. The other men won't take up sides with him. They like Mrs. Schmitz's cooking too much." He smiled. "I'll just keep a watch out, though." "Thank you, Mr. Howard." Melanie rose. "Please join us for supper." She started to move toward the stairs. Cyrus put a hand on Melanie's shoulder. "You sit right back down and eat. Cal would be most upset if he knew you weren't taking proper care of yourself." Melanie sank back into her chair. They weren't going to let her go back to Cal until she'd at least eaten something. She picked up a biscuit and took a bite. *** The heat was unbearable. He had to find a cool spot to rest. But something weighed him down and he couldn't move. The bear. The bear pinned him to the ground. The beast had to be dead because it hadn't moved in a very long time. But his face was wet. Was the bear licking him? Or was it blood. The pain seared through him. He wanted to go back to the black place. The black place offered a haven from the heat and the pain. He felt nothing there. He kept hearing Melanie's voice telling him to wake. But he was awake. He must have dreamed her soft touch on his head. He only came out of the black place because she wasn't there, just as the pain and heat weren't. Nothing was there. He wanted to tell her he was all right and not to worry. He didn't fear dying. The black place was peaceful. None of his ghosts could find him there. He just drifted. And he didn't want to come back from the place of peace. But Melanie was alone. All alone in the place where the pain and the heat existed. He had to get out from under the bear. He had to stay out of the black place. He had to stay and take care of Melanie. But he hadn't the strength. He was so tired. Tired right down to his soul. And when he tried to move, his arm and his back hurt. He couldn't fight the pain. He'd just go back to the black place for a little longer. Then he'd have the strength to move the bear and get the awful weight off his chest. Then he could breathe again without the pain. Then he'd be able to take care of Melanie. He let himself drift. The pain floated away from him. He was at peace for the first time in years. He let the blackness flow around him.

Way off in the distance he could hear Melanie. "Cal, wake up. Please, Cal, wake up." She kept calling to him. She wanted him to come back to her. She didn't understand. He'd found peace. He loved her, but he hadn't the strength to come back to her. Not yet. He let the darkness surround him. He couldn't hear Melanie anymore.

Chapter Twenty Melanie stood by the window, looking out at the stars. Rance's threat left a cold spot within her. Would he be able to evict them all from the only homes they had? If the buildings belonged to John Calhoun, then Rance did have a right to them. But where was John. He'd abandoned everything years ago. "Melanie." She jumped then shook her head. She'd been wishing so hard Cal would wake up, she was starting to hear him. After nearly a week, she'd given up hope. Even Mrs. Schmitz's tea and broth wouldn't keep him alive. He just wouldn't awaken. "Melanie." She turned slowly. The soft glow of the lamp shone across the bed. He stared at her. Cal's eyes were open. She rushed to the bed and took his hand. "Oh, Cal!" Melanie's heart leaped with relief. "I didn't think you'd ever come back to me." "It was so peaceful, but you kept calling to me." "Hush. Don't talk. You need to get your strength back." She brushed back his hair. She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for coming back." He squeezed her hand. She sat on the bed and held his, afraid if she let go, he'd close his eyes and never open them again. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?" "Water." His voice was raspy. She picked up the cup of tea Mrs. Schmitz had brewed for him. She lifted his head and held the cup to his mouth. He took a sip. He spit it at her. "What in tarnation is that?" "Mrs. Schmitz's special brew to make you healthy." "Some water. That's the vilest tasting stuff I've ever had." "You've been drinking it for near a week." She smiled and got a glass of water. "Here."

He took a few sips, then fell back against the pillows. She washed his forehead and tucked the sheet around him. Placing her hand against his forehead, she smiled. "The fever's gone." But he looked so pale and tired. "I'll have Mrs. Schmitz make you some chicken broth. That'll make you feel better." Cal tried to shift in the bed and groaned. "Let me help you sit up a bit." Melanie lifted him and propped pillows behind him. "Is that better?" "It hurts to breathe." "That's because the grizzly broke several of your ribs. Mrs. Schmitz has them bandaged very tightly. They'll get better with time." She sat on the bed next to him. Yes, they would get better in time. Cal would be all right. For the first time since they'd brought him home, she knew that. She kissed him again on the cheek. "I'll see to some broth. You need to get your strength back." *** Cal sat on the front porch in a rocker with his feet propped up on a small table. It had taken Stewart and Cyrus to help him down the stairs, but after a week of staring at the inside of the bedroom, he was glad to be in the open again. He'd never realized how helpless a person could be and he hated depending on others. He smiled to himself. Melanie would be back any second with some chicken stew for him. At least he'd graduated to food. For awhile he thought they'd planned on starving him to death. She'd hovered around him, never leaving him alone but for a few moments at a time to retrieve something for him. She'd slept in the chair next to him. She looked worn practically to nothing. Andy had come to the door of his room once, but had refused to enter. Melanie had told him the child blamed himself for Cal's injuries. If he thought he could get away without Melanie catching him, he'd try to go around back and find the lad. He didn't want the guilt in Andy to build until he couldn't escape it, as Cal had done. The boy was too little to carry so much. He leaned back against the pillows Melanie had tucked behind him. There still didn't seem to be many spots on his body that didn't ache from his encounter with the grizzly. He never wanted to face one again. Gold bounded up on the porch and wagged his tail. "Seems you made out better than I did. Maybe you got more sense than me." He reached down and petted the puppy who seemed to have grown since he'd last seen him. Gold laid down next to him and propped his head on his front paws. His tail thumped against the porch boards. Cal caught a movement at the side of the house. "Come here, boy," Cal called softly to Andy. The boy came around to the front, scuffing his bare feet in the dirt. Cal really needed to talk to Melanie about getting the boy a pair of shoes. Andy stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared at his toes. Carefully, Cal lowered his feet to the ground and rocked forward. He held out his hand to Andy. "Come and sit with me awhile. I got me a bad case of cabin fever. Being laid up isn't much fun." Andy shuffled up the steps. He bent and patted Gold's head. The puppy rewarded him with a face

washing. "We really need to break that dog of licking everyone he meets." "He only does it to people he likes." Andy's voice was so soft Cal could hardly hear him. "It wasn't your fault." Andy looked up at him searching his face. "Yes, it was. I shouldn't have run off." "No, you shouldn't have. You worried your sister." "She probably wishes I'd go away like Pa did. Then she'd be shed of me and wouldn't have to worry anymore." "Andrew Whittaker, I never heard such hog wash in all my days. Your sister loves you very much. She was beside herself with worry. She sat up all night waiting for you to come home." Cal leaned back to ease the pain in his ribs. "Really?" A small smile flickered at the edges of Andy's mouth. "Most certainly. She could never do without you." Andy took a step closer. "She don't need me. She needs you." "Is there some reason she can't need both of us?" "She don't need two men to take care of her." Andy looked away and down the street. "She seems to need a lot of taking care of. Since I've been laid up, Mrs. Schmitz and Mrs. O'Neil have been taking care of her. Seems you were slacking off on your job. I wasn't in any position to help, but you should have." Andy stared at him for a moment. "I never thought on it that way. They've been helping around here more than a bit. I could be helping Grandpa Schmitz with the garden. The one he's planted is a might bigger than Melanie's." He sat down on the small table next to Cal's feet. "But Melanie hasn't much cared if I were here or not." "Now how can you say that?" Cal remembered when he'd first left the nursery at about Andy's age. He'd slept alone in a big bedroom and he'd wanted Nanny or his ma to come in at night and check on him. He'd been so lonely and scared. Just like Andy. "She don't hardly come out of the room you're in. She just sits with you." He leaned his chin onto his hands, his elbows propped against his knees. "That's cuz that old bear tore me up pretty good. She's been worried. But that don't mean she doesn't love you. I know for a fact she checks on you every night. I've seen her sneak out of my room when she thinks I'm asleep and go down the hall." "But with you around, what does she need me for?" A sadness shown from Andy's eyes.

"Because you're her brother. Brother's fill a spot no one else can. No matter what happens in the future, Andy, Melanie'll always need you." "I don't know about that." Andy looked away again. He stared at the road coming into town. Cal followed his gaze. The dust rose. Riders were coming. Several of them by the size of the cloud. He tried to stand and his head spun. He sat back down, holding his side. "Quick, Andy. Go inside and get my rifle." "Do you think it's Mr. Calhoun to come and take the house?" "I don't know, boy. But hurry. And find Mr. Howard." Cal watched as the riders came into view. They were still too far away to see who they might be, but they seemed to be in a hurry. Andy stood watching the riders. "Go, boy, now." Cal grabbed Andy's shoulder and propelled him toward the house. He needed help to defend Melanie and the children. The grizzly hadn't killed him, but the riders would if Andy didn't get his rifle and Stewart. He couldn't do it himself and he hated the helplessness that washed over him. Cal eased himself out of the chair and leaned against the post at the edge of the steps. The hair on the back of his neck prickled. Trouble stirred and without his Colt, he stood naked facing it. If he hadn't been laid up, he'd have already dealt with Rance already. Stewart appeared beside him and helped him strap on his holster. Then he handed Cal a rifle. "Be a might easier to handle." Cal nodded. He watched the riders come closer. Hearing the front door open, he sensed Melanie behind him. "Go back inside." "No." He turned his head and saw her holding her derringer. "Mrs. Schmitz has taken the children upstairs and will stay with them. This is my home and I'll defend it with you." Cal turned back to face the approaching riders. He'd never convince her to move from the porch. Besides, he didn't know if he could defend her. Not here or inside the house. At least she knew how to use the weapon she held and she would defend the children. Of that he was certain. Walter joined the small group, a rifle held propped across one arm. "I been hearing talk that no accounts been stirring up trouble. He's got several of the men riled up, saying Miss Melanie hid the truth from them about gold being in the foothills instead of the river so as she could have it all for herself." "He just wants what he can take." Stewart leaned lazily against the porch post. "But what if it all does belong to him?" Melanie stepped up and stood next to Cal. "If it does, then he has a right to ask us to leave." "Don't like the man myself." Walter spread his feet as he stood in the middle of the porch. "Something about his eyes. Shifty like."

"That has nothing to do with his claim." Melanie stepped forward to stand beside Cal. Cal didn't much care if the man had a claim to the house. He could have the mine, but he'd be damned if some stranger rode in to his town and threw Melanie and the children out in the street. Their own pa had treated them badly enough. He wouldn't let some other man do the same. Cal glanced up the street to see Cyrus running toward them. He held a rifle in one hand and a paper in the other. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs, puffing. "George brought this in with the freight this morning. Didn't have a chance to bring it over before. Figured I'd bring it now, seeing as I was coming this way." "Glad to have you." Cal nodded. He held his rifle in his good hand and couldn't take the letter. "Where's Amanda?" Melanie looked up the street toward the store. "She's in the store with a rifle trained on the door." "She should've come with you." Melanie touched Cal's shoulder. "She weren't leaving her store to those ruffians." Cyrus climbed the stairs to stand with the rest. "Then you should be with her." Melanie's eyebrows knit together. "Hoping to keep the trouble here. Calhoun's more interested in the house, than the store anyway." Cyrus cocked his rifle. "Who's the letter from?" Cal turned to watch the progress of the riders. The closer they came, the more his stomach churned. He hoped he could fire the rifle if need be. "Someone named Calhoun." Cyrus held it out. "Melanie, you'll have to read it." Cal couldn't take the chance of setting his rifle down for even a moment. It took him too long to shift positions. Melanie ripped open the envelope as the riders pulled up their mounts in front of the house. Rance jumped down and swaggered toward the porch. Cal fired a shot into the dirt in front of him. "You can stop right there and state your business." Cal raised his rifle, aiming at Rance's chest. He wouldn't lose any sleep about putting a bullet in the man. Not after what he'd tried to do to Melanie. "I don't want any trouble." Rance moved his hand toward his side arm. Like hell. "Then ride on back." Cal sucked in a small breath trying to ignore the pain in his chest. "I won't be doing that. I'm tired of sleeping in the dirt when I have this beautiful house. I've brought these men to help me claim what's rightfully mine." A slow evil smile crept across Rance's face. "I let her stay 'til you were up to moving. That's as far as I'm willing to be graceful about this." The prickling at the back of Cal's neck increased. "You waited until you could buy enough men to help you out." Walter aimed his rifle at Rance. "I been

hearing what you been up to." "This is my house." Rance took a step forward. Stewart put a shot into the ground in front of Rance. Cal blinked his eyes to keep them in focus. Folding into a heap on the porch wouldn't help any of them right now. He was the law and he had to deal with the man. For Melanie's sake. "That's for the law to decide." "And you being the law, I don't stand a chance of getting a fair hearing." Rance's face turned red. Several of the men slid from their horses and swaggered up behind him. "Rance Calhoun was murdered six months ago after he was released from prison in Pennsylvania." Melanie stared at the paper she held. "What?" Cal couldn't have heard her correctly. His mind must be fogging over. "That's right." Stewart rested his rifle across his arm. "That's a lie." Rance gripped the hilt of his gun. "I'm Rance Calhoun. You're trying to cheat me." He started to slide his gun from its holster. Cal fired and the bullet kicked up dirt by Rance's foot. "You men go back to the camp. This man isn't worth dying for and that's what's going to happen." "If anyone's going to die, it'll be you." Rance didn't move his hand. "Melanie, repeat what you said, real loud." Cal didn't want to start a turkey shoot because they could all be dead before it came to an end. "This letter's from Elizabeth Calhoun, John's wife." Melanie held up the letter. "What? But she's dead." Cyrus's mouth fell open. "She disappeared with my brother John." "Guess not." Stewart uncrossed his ankles and rose to his full height. Melanie began to read. "I did not understand your questions regarding my brother-in-law, Rance Calhoun. Shortly after his release from prison, he was found murdered. He had been in much trouble when he was younger. The police have investigated, but it is believed that the murderer has fled this area. I hired the Pinkertons to see if they could find the man, but so far they have had no luck. Whoever this man is, he is not my brother-in-law, but an impostor. He probably is dangerous and presumably the murderer, so please take care in dealing with him." Stewart, who had cradled his rifle in his arms, swung it outward, pointed straight at Rance. "I believe it's time for you men to move along." The miners stood, transfixed. Then one of them said, "You're lying. You want to cheat him out of his

house. We got no intentions of letting that happen. We're partners with him." The group of men moved toward the porch. Cal had faced angry, drunken mobs before this. Sometimes they could be talked down, but this one seemed beyond that point. But most mobs feared bloodshed more than anything else, especially their own. He had three bullets left in his rifle and his Colt. Reloading wasn't going to be an option. But with Stewart's help, he could control the miners. He fired over the heads of the crowd and they paused. "We have no reason to lie." He pushed himself away from the post and ignored the pain in his side. "I sent telegrams to the address on this man's letters to find the truth. This letter holds the truth." He inclined his head toward Melanie. "How do we know you ain't making it up to cheat us." A rough-looking miner made no move toward the house. "Why should I? If I hadn't wanted the truth, I'd have kept this man locked in the jail and transported him to Denver for attacking Miss Whittaker." Cal steadied himself. He shouldn't have let Melanie keep him in bed for the last week. His knees wobbled and he felt as steady as a newborn colt. He couldn't let the men see his weakness. "He could have disappeared between here and Denver." One of the men in the crowd nodded his head. "Yep. Makes sense. The marshal could of disposed of him and no one would have known the difference." "You're not going to listen to this nonsense?" Rance shifted to look at the miners, his voice raising several octaves. "I am John Calhoun's brother. This is my house. And I've never been in prison." "If you're John Calhoun's brother, why didn't you know Elizabeth Calhoun was still alive?" Cyrus took a step forward. "Seems a might strange to me. A man ought to know his sister-in-law's living in Pennsylvania." "Cause he's not Rance Calhoun." Stewart spoke in his usual soft tones. "Been tracking this man for quite a bit, but I couldn't be sure he was the man I wanted." "I don't know what you're talking about. I am Rance Calhoun." "Why are you tracking him?" The wind rustled Melanie's skirt around her legs. "Mrs. Calhoun hired me to find her brother-in-law's killer." Stewart eased back the hammer on his rifle. "You're a Pinkerton man?" Cal stared at Stewart for a moment, then back at the crowd. He'd assumed Stewart was another drifter. "Yep." Cal wanted to lock Stewart away, except he needed him. He'd known about Rance and he was a lawman, but he'd left Cal ignorant and that could cause the death of all of them. "You don't check in with the local law?" Melanie looked at him with his eyes wide, anger flashing. "Why didn't you do something when you arrived two weeks ago?" "I was waiting for the other man to show. I'd have bet he was the ringleader. This one didn't seem smart

enough. Also, I figured with the marshal laid up, I'd hang around to take care of any trouble." Stewart eased back the hammer on his rifle. "Don't move." Rance's face blanched. "I didn't kill anyone." "That'll be for a court to decide." Stewart stepped down one step. "I still don't see what took you so long to make up your mind." Melanie clutched her derringer, her knuckles going white. "I've been tracking him a goodly way. The problem was, originally, he was with two other men. I don't know which one of them killed Calhoun. One of them got himself killed in a bar fight in another gold town. By the time I got through there, I'd lost the other two. Then when Cal sent the wires, I followed this one here. I don't rightly know what happened to the other one. He could be about somewhere, or dead. Hard to tell." "I am Rance Calhoun. That body they found was the man who tried to kill me to get the location of my brother's gold mine. I hired those other two as bodyguards. The second one ran off after the first got himself killed." "The body they found was identified as Rance Calhoun." Stewart stared a cold stare at Rance. "And the real Rance knew Elizabeth Calhoun lived in Pennsylvania." "The last I heard from my brother or his wife was five years ago. I had no idea she was in Pennsylvania." Rance's hand twitched above his gun. Stewart made a choking noise between a laugh and a grunt. "Rance went to see her right after he got out of prison." Cal fired, hitting Rance's hand as he drew his pistol. The pistol flew from his fingers and he cursed loudly, holding the hand to his chest. Stewart leapt down the steps and brought the butt of his rifle up under Rance's chin. The man crumpled to the ground. He turned the rifle on the other men. "Time to git." They paused and looked at him for a moment. Then they mounted their horses and rode toward the gold camp. "Tomorrow I'll ride out and send those men packing. You don't need any trouble makers hanging around." Stewart rested his rifle on his shoulder. Cal sagged against the post. Melanie put her arm around him. "Come and sit." "Gladly." He sagged into the chair, thankful for its solidness. "Thank you, Stewart." As much as he wished the man had been forthcoming sooner about who he was, he'd needed his help. Melanie and the children were safe. They would stay on and he still had a chance to be part of their lives. "Glad to be of help. You got yourself a real nice family here. I'd hate to see anything happen to them." Stewart reached down and threw Rance over his shoulder. "I need to use your jail for a bit."

"Go right ahead." Cal leaned back against the pillows trying to ease the pain in his chest. "I'll get you some tea." Melanie brushed back the hair from his forehead. "Not any of Mrs. Schmitz's special brew, please. I'm suffering enough." He smiled at her and took her hand. He did have a real nice family. And he intended to make it his permanently. "Is there any cake?" "Some of Mrs. Schmitz's special concoction." "I could use a piece of cake, also." Cyrus sat down next to Cal and rested the butt of his rifle against the porch, his face a pasty white. "I'll fix us all some. Then we can finish reading Mrs. Calhoun's letter." Melanie went into the house. "I'd best go get Amanda." Cyrus stood. "She'll have my hide if she misses the most exciting news this town has ever received." "I'll get Edna and the children." Walter moved toward the house. "I never knew Mrs. Schmitz's name was Edna." Cyrus walked down the porch steps. Cal leaned back in the rocker and put up his feet. His eyes closed. He tried to fight the fatigue, but it settled down on him like an early morning fog. He wanted nothing more than to be back upstairs in bed. The door behind him opened. "Shall I help you upstairs instead?" Melanie's voice caressed him. The voice that had drawn him from the darkness. "No. I want to hear the letter and I want a piece of cake." "You shouldn't be eating cake." Mrs. Schmitz hobbled out onto the porch. "I've got to sit. My rheumatiz is acting up something awful." She sat next to Cal and placed her hand against his forehead. She nodded her head as though satisfied and leaned back in the chair. "I hear you have a letter." Amanda climbed the stairs to the porch and picked up Christina. "I don't know why Cyrus didn't tell me when it arrived. I'd have brought it right over." "I didn't see any hurry. I knew we'd be here at suppertime and I figured it could wait." Cyrus put his arm around Amanda. "Men and their figuring." She placed her hand on his. "I'll take a piece of that cake." "Me, too, Grandma." Christina laid her head on Amanda's shoulder. "Bad men scared me." "Me, too, little one." Amanda hugged Christina, then sat with the child in her lap. "Go ahead, Melanie. Read the letter." "As soon as I serve the cake. Andy, will you please go get two glasses of milk?" Melanie set the cake on the porch table and began slicing it. She'd tucked the letter safely into her pocket. She wasn't quite ready

to pull it out and finish reading it. A sense of dread had fallen over her when Cyrus had handed it to her. "I want to hear the letter." Andy scuffed his foot. "I promise I won't read it until you're back. Now, please do as I ask without arguing." She knew she'd promised not to lose her temper with Andy if he came back safely, but he surely did try a body. He scowled as he walked into the house. When he returned with the milk, Melanie had served the cake. She settled on the top porch step and opened the letter. "I've already read the part about Rance being killed." "Killed. What are you talking about? I thought Mr. Howard had him locked up in the jail." Amanda held Christina's glass. "I'll tell you that part later, dear. Right now we want to hear what else she wrote." Cyrus picked up Andy and settled him in his lap. "Looks like I got back just in time." Stewart walked up the stairs and sliced himself a piece of cake. "I want to know what else she had to say, too." "Haven't you talked with Mrs. Calhoun before?" Cal set down his cake, half eaten. "Several times. But still I'm curious." Stewart leaned against the post. "We only talked about her brother-in-law, not her husband." "If all of you will be quiet, I can continue." Melanie smoothed out the sheets of paper, then began, "I did not realize anyone had finally settled in the town John tried so hard to start. He had a dream and I am sorry he never saw it. I'm sure wherever he is, it would please him a great deal to know his dream is now a reality." "Wherever he is?" Amanda held her fork in front of her mouth. "Doesn't she know where her own husband is?" "Nope." Stewart swallowed his cake. "He up and disappeared one day. Mrs. Calhoun figured he run off 'cause of the disappointment." "Let Melanie read." Cyrus stuffed a bite of cake in his mouth. "I do know that John staked a claim to a gold mine in the area. He went to Denver to register it at the land office," Melanie read. "Part of the gold paid for the building of the house and the other buildings in the town. I had some I took with me when I left. Fortunately, John had investments here and so John Jr. and I have survived." Mrs. Schmitz shifted on the chair and smoothed down her skirt. "Looks like she didn't die in childbirth after all." "You wonder how them stories get started." Walter reached for another piece of cake. "You'll be spoiling your appetite for supper." Mrs. Schmitz tapped him on the back of the hand. "Be quiet, woman. I'd rather eat your cake than anything else you make." Walter smiled at her.

Melanie let the letter fall into her lap. She looked out across the road and up the street. This town had been her home, the only home she'd known for a very long time. Most of them had come here looking for a dream. They hadn't found it in the gold, but in Gold Strike. But with a claim staked in John Calhoun's name, the gold mine and everything else belonged to his son. She picked up the letter and moved the last sheet to the front. "I always hoped John would return to his town or contact me through his mother. I could never understand why he had abandoned me and John Jr. I thought he loved us too much to do that. So I have kept his claim to the land and the mine for the past five years. However, with the expense of trying to find Rance's killer and the fact that John's investments have not done so well in the past couple of years, I find myself in a financial situation that can only be remedied by selling his claim. I have given up all hope of his ever returning. I am sending my solicitor out to discuss this matter with the people who are living in our town. He should arrive in about two weeks. I have thought it over carefully. I know that the town is rather isolated, but the gold mine, the buildings, and the furnishings are all worth quite a bit. I will be happy to sell my claim for $2,000."

Chapter Twenty-One Melanie let her shoulder's sag. Never in the world would she be able to raise that amount of money to keep her restaurant. She didn't care about the mine, but she didn't figure Elizabeth Calhoun would sell one without the other. She looked at the small group gathered on her porch. Two weeks. They had two weeks, then they'd all have to move. Her family would be broken apart. Cal could stay on as marshal, but the rest of them would be homeless. "Two thousand dollars. How are we to pay her that sum?" Cyrus set Andy on the ground. He sank into his chair. Cal put his feet to the ground and leaned forward. "We can probably negotiate with the solicitor." Melanie looked at him. The moment she'd dreaded since she'd first met him had arrived. She would have to say good-bye, take the children, and leave. But to where? "I haven't anything more than the nugget Andy gave me. Everything has gone back into the restaurant except a few flakes of gold." "I've got a bit of gold I panned." Walter put his arm around Edna. "But it ain't going to help much." "We've got about three hundred dollars." Amanda hugged Christina. "That's a sight short of what she's asking." "I'm sure Red'll be happy to add to our fund." Cyrus rubbed the side of his face, staring out across the street. "But I don't believe he's got much tucked away either." "The prices you charge, you ought to have more." Cal shifted in his chair. Melanie stood and adjusted the pillows behind him. He had come to mean so much. All of the people gathered on her porch had become family. The Schmitzs, Amanda, Cyrus. They were grandparents to Andy and Christina. Without them, the children would suffer another loss. They would never be able to find another place for all of them.

"We pay dearly for the goods shipped here. Everyone knows there's gold and wants their cut." Cyrus stood and looked up the street. "I've grown rather fond of this place." "Me, too." Mrs. Schmitz folded her hands in her lap. "Me, too. I'd planned on growing old here." "You are old." Walter grinned at her. She took his hand. "I'd planned on staying 'til I went to meet my maker." "I don't see we have any choice." Melanie picked up the dishes. Chores continued even as life caved in around her like the gold mine had around Pa. Chores and sadness seemed to be the only constant things in her life. "There's nothing we can do. We don't have the money. We'll have to leave." But she didn't want to leave. This was her home. "I can help." Andy hopped from one foot to the other. The adults all looked at the little boy. Melanie scowled. He wasn't going back to the gold mine. "How?" "I can get gold out of the mine to pay her." He crossed his arms in front of him, scowling back. "It's not your mine and the gold's not yours to take." Melanie trembled. He was obsessed with the mine. She did realize he tried so hard to take Pa's place even though he was hardly more than a baby. "I know you want to help, but you can't pay a person with her own money." "She ain't here to work the mine. They left it. After all this time the gold should belong to the one who mines it." Andy stared back at his sister. "But the law doesn't see it that way. Besides, I don't want you in that place. It's already taken two lives. I won't give you up to the greed of gold." An ache settled in Melanie's heart. How could she say good-bye to all who were dear to her? How could she bear to move away? "The boy makes sense." Stewart uncrossed his ankles and stepped away from the porch post. "Mrs. Calhoun isn't here to work the mine. Improvements have been made on it since John abandoned it. Only seems fair some of the gold go to pay for those improvements and the hard work that went into them." "But Rance or whoever he is, made the improvements and he's already taken out quite a bit of gold." Melanie leaned against the door. "We have to find another way to pay." She wouldn't steal from the woman. Too many years had she lied and cheated to keep body and soul together because of Pa. Now that he was gone, she wouldn't start again. "Maybe she'll take payments. We could earn the money and send her a little at a time. Once we buy the mine, then it would be ours and we could pay her with the gold." She didn't like the idea of anyone going in there, but somehow they had to find a way to keep Gold Strike. "Rance did a right fine job of shoring up the roof. I'll bet it'll be real safe to go in there now." Walter stood and walked to the edge of the porch. "I'll help." "Somehow we'll figure out how to save Gold Strike." Amanda set Christina down. Melanie reached into her pocket and pulled out Pa's ring. "Maybe this is worth something. It is gold."

She held it out. Amanda curled Melanie's fingers over the ring. "Keep it to remember him. We'll figure out a way to pay off John Calhoun's wife without giving away our memories." Memories were the only thing life couldn't take from her. Poor Elizabeth. Her memories of John had to be bitter-sweet. The fact she would never know what happened to the man she loved had to be the greatest sorrow of all. She didn't have to wonder if Pa was dead or if he had left because he'd stopped loving her. Melanie looked at Cal. Would he miss her when she left? Would his heart break as hers would? She looked down at the ring in her hand. She'd always hoped to wear such a ring, but that hope was vanishing with the town of Gold Strike and her new home. She stared at the ring. A symbol of love binding two people together. Pa's ring. The only thing of value he'd left them. Maybe he could once be of some help. "We need the money more than I need the memories." She clutched the ring in her hand. Amanda patted her arm. "If you're sure." Melanie nodded. She looked at the ring in her hand again. It had something inscribed inside. She studied it closer. What is this? How could she not have noticed before? She'd touched the ring a hundred times since Cal had handed it to her, but she'd never really looked at it. Only touched it to remind her of Pa. "John Calhoun's still here." "We don't know that. The rest of the story wasn't true." Cal reached for Melanie's hand. "The man probably just got defeated and wandered off somewhere." "No. He never left his town." Cal studied her for a moment, his eyes narrowing. "How do you know that, Melanie?" "He's buried up there with Pa." She held up the ring. "John, love Elizabeth. That's what's inscribed in the ring. We have to send it back to her." They had to put her doubts to rest so Elizabeth could remember the love and not the sadness. *** Cal watched Melanie serve coffee and cake to the small group huddled around one of the dining room tables. The room had been swept clean and the table cloths added a spot of color to the room with their cheery yellow checks. He remembered the first time they'd come into this room, filled with fancy furniture and dust. Had it really been less than two months ago? It seemed like a lifetime with everything that had happened. Stewart had taken the man posing as Rance and headed back to Pennsylvania. Cal wondered if they'd make it that far. The gold miners who had aided in the attempted takeover of the hotel had moved on to other places in their hope of finding gold. But during the past two weeks, many people had come to the area, still hoping to find gold by mining. The camp by the river had ceased to exist and a new one had formed farther up in the hills. Cal had to hire two men to stand guard over the gold mine to keep people out until the claim could be settled.

He looked at the small group sitting around the table, staring at the cake more than eating it. Mrs. Calhoun's solicitor was due in with the supply wagon this afternoon. "Surely she'll take payments. Two thousand dollars is a might of money." Mrs. Schmitz sipped at the tea she preferred to coffee. "We got half the money." Cyrus pushed back his chair and crossed his legs. "But I don't see how we'll ever get the rest. Even if I sold everything in the store, I couldn't raise enough." "We can't sell everything and give Mrs. Calhoun the money. Then we'd be out of business, so what would the sense of it be." Amanda put her hand on Cyrus' leg. Melanie opened the box holding their gold. She stared into it. "It seems that much gold should be worth more." She sighed. "Even with every bit Andy's found and the nugget, plus what the rest of you contributed, including Red, we just can't do it." She looked up at them. Sadness shone from her eyes. Cal took her hand and squeezed it. His fifty dollars had put them at an even one thousand. They hadn't wanted to take it, saying he didn't stand to buy any of the property, being the marshal, but he'd finally persuaded them. He had a stake in this town. If the rest of them moved on, all he'd have would be the camp and he'd be forced to move on too. His heart was here with Melanie. He'd tried to convince her they could go away together if it came to that, but she wouldn't even speak of it. He could tell her heart broke at the thought of leaving this place she now called home. The front door opened and they all turned to stare. A man dressed in a wrinkled and dusty gray wool suit holding a bowler hat in his hand walked into the entry. He set his satchel on the floor and brushed at his jacket with his hand. "I cannot believe the transportation in this neck of the woods." Melanie rose and went over to him. "May I help you, sir?" He glared at her, his eyebrows drawing together. "I certainly hope so. I'm looking for Marshal Reynolds." "That would be me." Cal stood and went to shake the man's hand. "And you would be...?" The man extended his hand. "Horace Slatter. I represent Mrs. Elizabeth Calhoun. Though if I'd known what a journey this undertaking was going to be, I'd never have come. Can't you at least get a stagecoach into here?" "Sorry. The town's too small. We're lucky to have George." Cal smiled. Maybe the man would be willing to agree to a lesser amount for Gold Strike. "Humph." The man picked up his case. "I understand he'll be leaving within two hours, so I need to settle this business. I have no intention of being stranded in this town for a fortnight. Are you the person who will be handling the deal?" "No, he is not." Melanie straightened her shoulders and moved in front of Horace. "Mr. and Mrs. O'Neil and I will be speaking with you. We're the business owners in town along with Red, but he has left it in our hands to settle."

Horace glared at Melanie. "I don't deal with young girls." He turned back to Cal. Cal contained his smile. Horace didn't realize what he'd done. Melanie's head jerked up and she peered down her nose at the man, who stood the same height as she did. "I am not a girl, but a grown woman. Now, if you would care to join us in the dining room, I can provide you with some refreshments if you'd like. Or I can allow you the use of a room if you'd like to wash off some of the trail dust." "Humph." Horace looked around then walked into the dining room. "Hardly seems worth while washing away the dust when I'm going to be back on that horrid wagon within a few hours. I will take a cup of coffee." Melanie got a cup and poured him some coffee at the long table. The rest moved to sit around it and stare at him. Cal joined them. "Would you care for a piece of cake?" Melanie sliced a piece and placed it in front of him. Horace pushed it aside. "I have the authority to sell Elizabeth Calhoun's rights in the mine and the town for twenty-five hundred dollars." He opened his case and extracted several pieces of paper. "Twenty-five hundred," gasped Melanie. "Her letter said two thousand." Horace turned to glare at her. "This is why I don't do business with girls. They don't understand the dealings." He looked at all of the people sitting. "Which of the other of you are interested in buying this claim?" Cal choked on a piece of cake he'd put in his mouth. Reaching for his coffee, he tried to swallow it. Melanie's hands were balled into fists in her lap, but a sweet smile played across her lips. "I own the mercantile." Cyrus extended his hand to Horace, who ignored him. "Then I guess you're the one I should be talking with." He looked around him. "Who is the proprietor of this hotel and restaurant?" "Why that would be me." Melanie continued to smile, but the edges were becoming strained. "The girl who doesn't understand business." Horace's face turned a bit pale, but he handed Cyrus several papers. "I have drawn up the deed of sale. All you have to do is sign it and pay me. Then I'll be on my way." "We need to discuss this." Cyrus took the papers. "We have nothing to discuss." Horace reached for his cup of coffee. Melanie placed her hand over the cup. "I believe we do. We don't mind paying a fair price for our town, and it is our town. We're the ones who have kept it alive. If it weren't for us, Mrs. Calhoun would have nothing of value to sell." He brushed her hand away.

She continued. "Now, Mrs. Calhoun offered to sell us the land for two thousand dollars, which we have discussed and agreed is a fair price as long as it includes the mine." Melanie laid her hands on the table. "However, we do need proof she owns the property and has the right to sell it. We have no intentions of paying her without such proof." "Humph." Horace reached into his satchel again and pulled out more papers. He handed them to Cyrus. "Here is the deed to the property, recorded in Denver. And here is the claim staked to the gold mine. I have discussed the price with Mrs. Calhoun. I feel she is selling far too cheaply at twenty-five hundred dollars, but she wants to be reasonable." Cyrus read the papers and handed them to Cal. Melanie reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter. "Do you recognize your client's handwriting?" "Of course. I handle all of Mrs. Calhoun's legal affairs." She handed part of the letter to Horace. "Then is this not a letter from Elizabeth Calhoun?" He examined the letter briefly and nodded. "So?" "Then, if you read the last line, you will see that Mrs. Calhoun has agreed to sell us all of this for two thousand dollars." She spread out the last page and laid it in front of him. Horace's face turned a little whiter and he mopped his forehead with his handkerchief. "I don't care what the letter says." He picked up the paper and started to stick it in his pocket. "I do." Melanie deftly plucked the paper from him. "I'm sure if we contacted Mrs. Calhoun and let her know you were trying to cheat us and quite likely, her also, she would be looking for another solicitor. And, I'm sure this will stand up in court if we take it to Denver." "Fine." Horace glared at Melanie. Cal smiled. No one could negotiate the way Melanie did. She'd shown that when she'd outmaneuvered Cyrus to get back her horses and wagon. And when it came to the welfare of her family, she'd negotiate the man all the way to hell and back. She looked over at Cal. Worry shone from her eyes, but the smile remained on her face. "Is the claim legal?" He took her hand and squeezed it. "Yes." "Then all we need to discuss is payment." She turned back to Horace. "We are prepared to pay you one thousand dollars today, mostly in gold." "I don't deal in gold. I'll need a bank draft for the full amount." Horace collected his papers. "The Calhouns neglected to build a bank in this town so we don't have access to bank drafts." Melanie slid her hands into her lap and folded them. Cal put his hand on top of hers, covering her white knuckles. "I suppose I can convert it to a bank draft before I catch the stage." Horace sipped his coffee. "Now, if you will give me the two thousand dollars, I'll be on my way."

"As I said, we are prepared to pay one thousand dollars today, and send Mrs. Calhoun the rest within...within six months." Melanie sat, her back rigid. Amanda and Mrs. Schmitz gasped. Cal wondered where she planned to get another thousand dollars in six months. It could take a sight longer than that to come up with that amount of money. Unless she planned on mining for gold as soon as they obtained the deed. "Sorry. I'm only authorized to take the full amount. Otherwise, I'm to see that you vacate the buildings." Horace stood. "Wait. No one else will want to buy the town." Melanie stood, blocking his way out of the dining room. "I'm sure if you wire Mrs. Calhoun, she'll see the reason of taking half now." "I think not. I have no intentions of wiring her or of waiting around here. I'll hire the Pinkertons to come in and make sure the mine is safe and all of you are gone. They should be here within the week." Horace pushed past Melanie. Melanie gripped Cal's arm as Horace marched out the front door. She sank into a chair and looked at the rest. "What are we to do?" Cyrus wrapped his arm around Amanda and pulled her close. "There'll be another town that'll need a mercantile. We'll all move along and find somewhere else." "I'll never find a place to open a restaurant and hotel. And I'll never be able to build one." Melanie leaned into Cal. He stroked her arm. "We'll find a new town. If Gold Strike becomes a ghost town, then I'll be sent somewhere else. You and the children will come with me." She looked at him, tears pooling in her eyes. She blinked them back. "Moving from town to town is no life for the children. They've already spent most on their life with no place to call home. I can't do that. I don't wish to be a nomad again. I want a home. This is our home." Mrs. Schmitz stood and picked up the dishes. "Not much we can do about it." She sighed, a sigh that came from her toes. "That's a mighty fine house across the street. I did so want to spend the rest of my days there." She raised her shoulders. "But, looks like the gold's played out. We'll just have to pack up and move on." The front door burst open. "So this is where you all are. I ain't unloadin' that freight wagon myself, Cyrus. You best come along and help me." George stood with his hands across his chest. "I got a schedule to keep and the sooner I'm shed of that whiny easterner, the happier I'll be. He makes me wish for Melanie's Aunt Myrtle back. At least she never whined, just issued orders." Cyrus rose. "Come along." George turned toward the door. "By the way, speaking of Aunt Myrtle, I got a letter here for Melanie from the battle ax." Melanie took the letter and stared at the address. She eased it open. Had Aunt Myrtle come to her senses and decided to take the children in also? Then Melanie wouldn't have to worry anymore about how she'd take care of them.

She sank into a chair at the table. She hadn't anything left in her to figure out what to do next. Nothing seemed to work. If she couldn't provide for the children, what would she do? She opened the letter and began reading. "How is your aunt?" Amanda settled in the chair across from Melanie. "Has she finally come to her senses regarding those two wonderful young 'uns?" Melanie kept reading. "Oh. Oh, my." She looked up at Amanda and Mrs. Schmitz. "I can't believe it." "I knew she'd come to her senses." Mrs. Schmitz looked at Amanda. "I told you she couldn't be that hard. She'd finally take in the lot of them. Now we won't have to worry about you, though I'll sorely miss you." Melanie tapped on the table with her hand. "Hush and listen." She clutched the paper in her hand, crinkling the sides. "As you know, your grandpa left you some money. My solicitor has informed me that you are now of age and the money must be given to you no matter what your circumstances or my feelings.So I'm having a bank draft sent to the closest bank. I'm sure the marshal will take you over to get it." Melanie looked up. Mrs. Schmitz and Amanda stared at her, their eyes wide. "How wonderful," Amanda finally gasped. "You won't be homeless and can take care of the children. You have money to make a fresh start." "It's a right fine thing your aunt's doing." Mrs. Schmitz nodded her head up and down. "That's not the best part." Melanie smiled at them. "The draft is for twelve hundred dollars. We can save the town." *** Melanie stood arm in arm with Cal looking up at the front of her home. The hotel and restaurant sign greeted her and she stared at it in wonderment. "It's really mine." He pulled her close. "Yours forever. You hold the deed to the place." She turned and slipped her arms around his neck, smiling at him. "Isn't it nice to have a place to call home. When Pa first brought us here, I wanted to be shed of the place. I wanted someone to rescue me from him and the eternal moving from one horrid spot to another. But deep in my heart, I knew that was but a dream. I'd never have a home, only a tent and a little brother and sister to tend." She extended her arms. "Now I have all of this." "I'm happy for you." She looked into Cal's eyes. A hint of sadness touched them. She wanted him to have the same joy she did, to share it with her. They could now build a future together. Nothing stood in the way of their happiness. "What's wrong?" "Nothing."

"I don't believe you." She touched the side of his face. He was still weak from the bear attack, but he was healthy now, and she wanted nothing more than to have him as part of her life. He would make everything perfect. "You have everything you ever wanted. Now you can be happy." She leaned her head against his shoulder, remembering her dream of the White Knight swooping down to save her. Cal was her White Knight. None of this meant anything without him. "Not quite." "What else is there?" She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. She wanted him, she needed him, and she wasn't going to let him slip from her grasp. She'd waited too long to find happiness to let it slip away again. No one knew what sadness tomorrow would bring. Today, she'd grab at the happiness and hold it tight to her to sustain her against the sorrow. Today, she'd hold Cal to her. Without him, she couldn't enjoy the happiness nor face the sorrow around the next corner. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. Then he drew her close to him again. "The children are over with Mrs. Schmitz and Amanda helpin' fix up the Schmitz's new home." "I know." Melanie leaned her head to the side and smiled. She wanted to lie with him again. She needed to be in his arms and know life was worth living. He took her hand and led her into the house and up to the bedroom. She fell backwards on the bed and stretched out. Her own bed in her own house. A luxury she could enjoy without the fear of it being whisked away. Cal stared at her, then lowered himself beside her. "I want you, Melanie." She reached up and caressed the side of his face, loving the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips. She wanted to lay in his arms, to be with him forever. He captured her hand in his and kissed her palm. "But I don't just want you for right now. I don't want to just lie with you. I want you to be my wife, but I haven't anything to offer you which you can't provide yourself." He turned away. She sat up and wrapped her arms around him, kissing the back of his neck. "Oh, but you do." Laying her cheek against his back, she hugged him. He stared across the room. "What? I don't make much as a marshal and now that this town is starting to build up, I'll be moving on. They'll replace me with a sheriff." Melanie pulled at the buttons on his shirt and slipped her hands beneath the material, caressing his chest. "We've all talked. We decided we all have our businesses; you should have the mine." "I can't take it. You paid for most of this." He made a sweeping gesture. Melanie turned Cal towards her. Taking his hand, she held it against her cheek. "I never wanted the mine. Andy did, but he's too little to own a mine himself. I'm sure he'd be glad to work with you and share in the profits."

"I didn't do anything to earn that mine. There could be a powerful lot of gold in it. It could make a man rich." "It could. Or, it could be a tiny vein all but played out. Who's to know." She leaned her head against his shoulder and nibbled at his ear. "We still want you to have it. We never could have owned this town without you." "Without your money, you mean." He put his arm around her. "I didn't do much." "More than you'll ever know. You stood up to Rance even though you were hurt. You brought Andy home safe. That is a debt I could never repay, not even with a gold mine filled with gold." "I didn't do it for payment." "I know." She pulled him down on the bed with her. He did it because he loved her and the children. That was all she cared about. "I'm not a miner." Melanie continued to nibble on his neck. "We'll still need law in this town." "But the town will hire a sheriff and that won't pay much. You have this house and your business. What do you need me for?" "If the gold plays out, the hotel and restaurant won't bring in as much, either." She pulled his shirt off his shoulders and nibbled down his neck until she nibbled at his flat nipples. He sucked in his breath. She glanced up at him as she continued to lick the nubs. Cal reached up and pulled her hair free, letting it spill across him. Melanie rolled to the side and pulled his belt free, unbuttoning his pants. She slid her hands beneath the material and stroked him. A gasp escaped him and he grabbed for her hand, pulling it to his lips. She pulled away from him and ran her fingernails down his stomach. "You have me at a disadvantage." He tangled his hands in her hair. "You still have all your clothes on." She laughed and nibbled at his stomach, her fingers wrapped around his shaft, stroking gently. With a groan, he grabbed her under the arms and lifted her toward him. He reached under her skirt and pulled her pantalets free. "I need you," he groaned and lifted her on top of him. She settled upon him, taking him deep inside of her. Cal lifted her, then plunged into her again. Melanie clung to his arms, as he lifted and plunged over and over again. She watched his face, his eyes shining with the need for her. The fire he stoked built within her until she knew she would burst into flames. She leaned her head backwards. She dug her nails into his arm as a tremble started deep within her and spread outward. She cried out. Cal let out a deep growl that built with the tremble within her. He lifted her and plunged into her one more time, then pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms about her, holding her in his warmth as she continued to tremble. After several minutes she looked up into his face and saw the sadness there again. She rolled to the side and snuggled against him.

"I shouldn't have done this." Cal stroked her arm. She looked at him. "Why?" If she didn't convince him she needed him, he would leave and an emptiness would invade her world she would never be shed of. "I have no right." He continued to rub her arm, making her insides swirl and want him again. "You brought me up here." Cal stared at the ceiling. "I know, but I had no right to do that either." Melanie pushed herself up on her elbow and looked him straight in the eye. "You are part of me, Cal. Part of my family. Part of my life. Why won't you believe me?" "You don't need a man to take care of you. You can have any man you want. You don't need one who has nothing but a past from which he hides." He looked at her and brushed the hair from her face. She leaned her cheek against his hand. "Then it's time to face that past and put it to rest. You have a family." "They have no use for me." "You don't know that. And you won't know until you contact them." She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand. "It's been so long I don't know if I can go back." "None of us have anywhere to go back to. You can choose to make peace with your family. You can choose to stay with us. Gold Strike is a place to start over. A place to build. And none of us would feel right if you weren't with us. Especially me." He studied her face. His expression wavered as if he wanted to believe her, but wasn't quite sure. "Besides, you might well be the richest man in the territory." She smiled at him and raised her eyebrows. "I won't find a better catch." A frown crossed his face. "I can't take the gold mine, Melanie. It belongs to you and the children." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Don't be silly. Of course you can. It's all been decided anyway. Cyrus sent the deed to Denver." She sat up holding his hand in hers. "Don't you realize, none of this means I don't need you with me. This would all mean nothing without you." He stared at her for a long time. "Do you really mean that?" She nodded, holding her breath, as she watched the changing expressions on his face as he tried to convince himself she spoke the truth. "Melanie, will you be my wife?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled next to him. "I thought you'd never ask."

He pushed her down on the bed and knelt over her. "Now I'm the richest man in the territory."

~The End~ To learn about other books Awe-Struck publishes, go to the Awe-Struck E-Books website at http://www.awe-struck.net/

eBook Info Identifier:CIWHEOUSES Title:Wild Honey Creator:Janet M. Quinn Date:5/30/2004