Sourdough Creek (27 page)

“He said maybe in the mornin’ he’d feel like getting cleaned up. But not tonight. Said he was tired now, and that as soon as he’d eaten he was going to sleep. I sure don’t know how one person can sleep so much, but then, I’m not the one with a hurt back.”

Another strip of bacon disappeared into Sam’s mouth and he continued chewing vigorously.

Cassie broke off a piece of her biscuit and put it in her mouth. It was dry, and without much flavor. She sipped her coffee and swallowed. “What’s our plan?”

Sam wiped his mouth with his palm and took a sip from his cup. “Well, in the morning, I’ll skin and butcher the deer and smoke most of the meat. I’ll keep back a few steaks for the next two days or so, but not much more. Then, after some breakfast, we’ll pan for gold a few hours before breaking for the noontime meal. After that, I’ll take the carcass out into the woods and bury it so it won’t attract any unwanted visitors. Then mine some more, then supper.”

He looked over at her. “That pretty much covers it. Sound good?”

She nodded.

Sam stood, placed his plate in the dishpan, and drained his coffee cup. He opened one of the bags, rummaging around. A smile creased his face as he pulled out a jug of something and poured a small amount into his cup. “Would you like a little?” He took a sip. “It’s mighty good.”

“What is it?”

“Apple brandy.”

She just looked at him, trying to decide. “I’ve never tasted it before.”

“Don’t have to if you don’t want,” he said.

Cassie handed him her now empty cup, and Sam poured in a little splash. She brought it up to her nose, taking a whiff. It smelled spicy and warm. Her mouth watered, prompting her to try it. “It does taste like apples. It’s good.”

“Anyone still out there?” Arvid yelled from his tent. “Or have you run off and left me here to die? These dishes need picking up. And I need to use the facilities.”

Cassie set her cup down, intending to go to his aid.

“I’ll go,” Sam said slowly. Cassie watched as a slight tic moved his strong jaw. “He’s too heavy for you to help, Cassie. I don’t mind—much.”

Cassie settled in. A week came and went with the same routine. Uncle Arvid’s unwillingness to even try to get up weighed unfavorably on her troubled heart.

Sam had helped her at every turn. Thank goodness his knowledge of camping far exceeded hers. He cared for the horses as well as hunted and kept watch. Cassie searched out a secluded spot on the river to bathe. A quick splash in, suds up, three dips for a rinse and out again in the moonlight. Even though it was breathtakingly cold, it was one of her favorite things to do each evening after chores were done.

The gold they’d found was minimal, but enough to buoy their spirits. The competition was close. Cassie could never really bring herself to talk about what would happen at the end of the month. Who would stay and who would leave. These days with Sam were proving to be wonderful, and she knew him now on a much deeper level. Every day it got a little harder to conjure up the blinding hurt she’d felt the night they’d married—and then had her heart ripped in two.

She remembered the day Arvid let her and Sam help him out into the sunshine to sit for a couple of hours where he could soak up the warmth. Cassie took the opportunity to pull out his rumpled bedding and let it air in the sunshine, too. Keeping him clean had been the most perplexing problem, but she washed his clothes and helped him shave as often as he’d let her.

“I was thinking we should make a sluice box,” Sam said, his legs stretched out and back against a log. Supper dishes were washed and put away. The night sounds closed in around them. “It’s a good way to get through a lot more earth without breaking our backs so much, like we’ve been doing. What do you think?”

“How would that work? With the competition, I mean? Would we each need our own?”

“I don’t think we’d have enough wood for two from the broken down shack I found upstream, so we’d have to share. Switch off.” He ran his hand over his whiskered face, swatted at a mosquito that had landed on his arm and looked at her.

“Cass?”

She looked up, surprised.

“Did you hear what I said? What’re you thinking about?”

“Josephine. Just wondering how she is. What she’s doing. If she’s well and happy…”

Without warning, Cassie’s voice caught. She looked away from Sam’s face, up through the trees to the full strawberry moon that hung amid the enormous white clouds. Twinkling stars added to the beauty and mystery of the heavens. Golden rays beamed down, softly lighting their campsite.

“And if she misses you as much as you miss her?” he finished for her. “There’s no doubt. I’d lay money she’s keeping track until you ride back into Rosenthal, ticking off the days of the month somewhere on Grace’s good dining room wall with a piece of charcoal.” He laughed and Cassie did, too. “Or somewhere else she isn’t supposed to be. I’m sure of it.”

“She is special, isn’t she, Sam?”

“Very. Just like her sister.”

“Sam,” Cassie responded, getting a glimpse of his smiling eyes in the soft light of the moon. He was feigning a look of innocence that made her face heat up. Without warning, her thoughts flew back to their kiss in Grace’s home. His proposal. Their wedding—or sham wedding—or whatever it was. She found her thoughts straying often in that direction these days. His nearness and the remembered sensation of his lips on hers, a feeling that had been unbearably good, made the thoughts persist. Her gazed dropped to his tempting mouth and she wondered if he ever thought about those times, too.

“What?”

Cassie didn’t answer.

He shrugged. Stretching out his legs, he crossed them at the ankle. He laced his fingers together behind his head, trying to get comfortable on the hard ground with his back against the fireside log. “Josephine told me once about your ma and pa. How kind and loving they were. It was good to hear, Cassie. I’m pleased your family was like that. It’s not always so, you know. Times can be difficult when people are strapped. They do and say things they don’t mean sometimes. And it’s the youngest ones that suffer the most.”

“Yes,” she said, her stomach knotting up like a neglected ball of yarn. An owl they’d grown used to hearing every night hooted from somewhere up on the ridge, bringing a feeling of normalcy, soothing her nerves. “I know what you mean.” She didn’t like to think of the years she’d shielded her sister from the truth.

“Until then, I’d wondered some about it. Because of Arvid. Brothers are usually cut from the same cloth. But that doesn’t seem to be the case at all with your father. I’m glad.”

Chapter Forty-Five

“C
ome on.” Sam stood and extended his hand to Cassie. “Let’s take a walk. It’s not often we get such a beautiful night. Besides, I’d like to stretch my legs before going to sleep on that blanket I call a bed. I think Arvid is sneaking out and putting rocks under it when I’m not looking. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be thankful to sleep on a real mattress again, when the time comes.”

Cassie hesitated only a moment before putting her hand in his. He thought he’d get a reaction to his remark about her uncle, but she didn’t take the bait. He pulled her up from where she sat on the log and started walking out into the meadow.

“Why so quiet?” he asked.

“Nothing, really,” she said.

“Come on. I know something’s bothering you. Out with it.”

Cassie shrugged.

The horses grazing in the moonlight raised their heads and looked at them as they slowly approached. It was Split Ear’s turn to be tied to the oak tree next to camp, and he was none too pleased about it. His nicker sounded a bit sad at being deserted now even by the humans. Blu and Meadowlark started walking their way.

Sam brushed his thumb back and forth across the top of Cassie’s warm hand. “They look pretty, don’t they?”

“They do. I wonder what happened to the stallion. Did he give up so easily?”

Sam chuckled. “He’s just biding his time, letting us get good and comfortable. Then, when we’re least expecting it, he’ll swoop in and make his move.”

She looked up at him, the light back in her eyes. “You think?” She edged closer to his side and hugged his arm. “You almost make him sound like he was a human.”

Sam wiggled his eyebrows up and down, getting her to giggle. “Are we really that much different? I’m just biding
my
time to swoo—”

“Sam! Be serious!”

“I don’t want to be serious. I don’t want to think about the claim, or what’s going to happen next. I don’t want to think about when one of us leaves, and the other stays. I only want to enjoy your company this evening. And, that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

They were in the middle of the meadow now with the horses gathered around them, looking for whatever treat they might have in their pockets. Arvid’s horse was the only one to hang back, watching them suspiciously. Sam let go of Cassie’s hand and ran it down Blu’s neck, stopping at her withers. He scratched the area firmly, causing a puff of white hairs to flutter down. The mare stretched her neck out as far as she could, her upper lip extended in pleasure.

He laughed again, feeling good inside. “How are you, girl?” he said, as he continued scratching. “You’ve had a nice holiday for the last few days. You’re getting fat and lazy.”

Meadowlark inched forward until Sam could reach her withers too. “Jealous?” he said, now scratching Cassie’s mare until her head bobbed as well. In the throes of her pleasure, Meadowlark reached over and started nibbling at Blu’s belly, who quickly pinned her ears and squealed. Meadowlark trotted away.

“Well, there you have it. I guess you can’t have the good without the bad. Just nature.” Without asking, Sam reached for Cassie’s hand again and started toward the river.

Once at its bank, he looked until he found a rock big enough to accommodate them both. He sat and pulled Cassie down beside him, and waited for her to get settled. She was being quiet tonight and he wondered at the reason. Was it Arvid? The man had been keeping himself scarce these past few days, even more than before. He’d either lie on his bedroll all day or sit on the log. There was something unusual about him that put Sam on edge, even more so now, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what. He’d been watching him closely.

“You never said if you thought the sluice box was a good idea. Anything sounds better than the way we’ve been doing it. What do you think?”

Cassie nodded. “I agree. I’m tired of the bending and shoveling too. I’m about broken in half and have little gold to show for it. Do you know how to make one? One that works?”

“Hey, hey, hey. What’s that supposed to mean?” He nudged her with his shoulder and she pushed back at him.

She smiled. “I’m just teasing you. But, do you?”

“Yes. Our last night in Hangtown I went over to the mining supply store, the one the Chinese man was running. He showed me several ideas and we talked at length. It doesn’t look like it would be too difficult of a job.”

“In that case, why not try? I think it’s a good idea. You said that there was a shack up river where we can get the boards. Can we do that tomorrow?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Sam said. “We’ll go first thing after breakfast after we have your uncle settled and comfortable. I’m surprised he isn’t better by now. Has he said anything else to you?”

“No. Not really. He pretty much wants me to leave him alone.”

“Mmmm.” Sam let that thought percolate. That old man was getting stranger by the day. Still, Sam couldn’t complain too much. Arvid’s seclusion meant he had Cassie all to himself.

For the next few minutes, they sat in silence, watching the river. Cassie enjoyed the feel of Sam so close by her side, his warmth seeping into her jacket and heating her skin. She was also getting great pleasure from his amicable mood and this nice turn of events. Without looking up, she could see his profile in the moonlight as he looked across the river and into the nearby mountains.

Holding hands was risky. She didn’t like to admit it to herself but it brought her great joy, along with a delicious feeling of closeness. Despite the fact that he’d lied to her from the beginning about the claim, her heart had already fallen for him, long and hard. She would miss him way too much when it was time to move on, but she wasn’t ready to be practical yet. There was always time for that later.

“Your brooch,” he said, bringing her out of her thoughts. “You don’t wear it much anymore. How come?”

Shame for the lie that still hung between them stung and she wished he hadn’t mentioned it. She liked this feeling she and Sam were sharing. It felt completely right. Another lie, on top of the last one she’d told about the brooch, was not a way to keep it alive. The truth will set you free, her mother had always told her. Lies keep you trapped, unable to go forward or back.

“I fibbed about the brooch, Sam. What I told you wasn’t even close to the truth.” She turned so she could see his face.

He was watching her intently. “How so?”

“I never had a beau named Charles. I made him up. I’ve never had a beau at all.”

Cassie withdrew her hand from the cocoon of Sam’s warm one and laced her fingers together. Night air, cooled by the water and light summer breeze, blanketed her, bringing a chill.

“Now, that surprises me.” The timber of his voice was deep and soft, more so than ever before. He took her hand back into his own.

Butterflies fluttered inside. “What? That I lied to you?”

“No. That you’ve never had a beau. A girl as pretty as you should have so many beaus she can’t remember the names of them all.”

He waited a moment, perhaps to give her a chance to respond. When she didn’t, he said, “You still haven’t answered the question. So, how come you’re not wearing it anymore?”

“I’m afraid it’ll fall off in the water. It was my mother’s and her mother’s before that. It’s the only thing I have, besides the Bible that was passed down. I feel close to my ma when I wear it. My mama said to touch it when I want my guardian angel’s help. I did when Josephine was on the cliff and when the outlaws were in Rosenthal. Also, the first day I met you, when Klem came to pay us a visit. I’m going to give it to Josephine when she’s older and responsible enough not to lose it.”