Sourdough Creek (32 page)

Warmth came up in her face and she was thankful Sam couldn’t know what she was thinking about him.

He held out his hand to her. His eyes were dark, mysterious. “Trust me.”

She looked down at his hand for a long moment, thinking. Her heart and her head were battling for her attention, demanding she listen. Her mind screamed out every warning her mother had ever told her, accentuating all the examples she’d given her. But, her heart was full of Sam: his smiles; his hurts; all the things he’d done here to help make her days easier, better; all the times he’d taken her side. He’d thought of her every inch of the way. He’d been her advocate more times than she could count. She thought of the kiss.

For one instant she closed out the world and shut her eyes.
What should I do
? She held her breath, hoping for a reply.

Trust in him as you trust in Me
.

The voice. The one that had told her to open her eyes to the mountain lion and to hide from the outlaws. She looked up into Sam’s face and reached for his hand.

“You can trust me, Cassie,” he said, as his fingers closed over hers. “I’m not trying to cheat you.”

“I know.” They were the only two words she could muster. She stepped closer when he gave a gentle tug, and he wrapped her in his arms.

***

Something, something was going on between those two
, Arvid thought as he peeked out from the confines of his tent. They were cooking up a plan down there on the trail and he’d give his first born and then all the rest, if he’d had any, to know what it was. The competition would be over and done within a week and he was glad. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay cooped up in this stinkin’ tent. Thank goodness Cassie was the scrapper he’d always thought she was. She was beating that stupid cowboy by a country mile. Who’d have ever thought it would be so easy when that busybody old man suggested this contest?

One more week. He could make it. Arvid patted his stomach, thinking how soft he’d gotten while lying around. The food offerings had been monotonous, with a few exceptions, but soon he’d be plenty rich to enjoy eating at any restaurant, in any town he wanted. After the trip to measure the gold at the assayer’s office, and get the claim papers notarized in his name, he’d take a couple of days off to enjoy the comforts of town, and sample all the things he’d missed most. Then he and Cassie would head back out here to get down to some real work—knowing that every last flake of gold from this claim would forever be his.

He wiped his hand over the beard that had grown during the past three weeks. There was a possibility Cassie might decide she didn’t want to come back out to the claim with him. If she’d had enough of the cold and mud she might try to run off. He’d have to come up with some way to threaten her with Josephine. At this point, leaving Josephine with that woman in Rosenthal had been a boon. Probably, after some time, she would want to keep her and raise her as her own. He’d let her think that. When Josephine was a few years older and capable of work, he’d make the trip out and collect her. Two more hands would just mean all the more gold pulled from this river.

Arvid snickered and laid back on his blankets. This was working out much better than he’d ever dreamed it could.

Sam could hardly wait to see Arvid’s face tonight when he asked about the gold. Oh, it was going to be worth all the aggravation the old man had caused him over the past few months. He glanced up the path where Cassie was bringing Arvid slowly from his tent.

He hunkered down by the fire and poked the burning logs with a stick. It gave several loud pops and sparks floated into the air. He snapped the stick in two, adding it to the flames, and then stirred the venison soup that bubbled softly. He watched the little explosions with amusement, imagining each was a pop of surprise on Arvid’s face. Satisfaction spread throughout his core. He stood when he heard them coming into the clearing.

“Arvid,” he offered in greeting, a smug happiness spreading in his chest.

“Ridgeway.”

Sam glanced at Cassie’s steady expression as her uncle clung to her arm. Arvid

dragged his right foot a little too noticeably for Sam not to sneer inwardly. The man was insufferable.

“This is hot, Cassie. Shall I dish it up?”

“Thank you, Sam. That’d be a help.”

“Thank you, Sam,” Arvid mimicked with a snicker. “You two are just so damn refined. Blue-blooded thoroughbreds, the both of you. Ha!” His face twisted in scorn.

Sam reined in his temper with effort as he ladled up the soup. Cassie pretended not to hear the slur, but Sam knew differently. He handed her a steaming bowl and she passed it on to her uncle, whom she’d helped to sit on the log. Then she accepted one for herself. Dishing a third, Sam took a seat.

They ate in silence for a good ten minutes. Sam was the first to finish. He placed his bowl in the wash bucket and went over to where they kept the jug of apple brandy.

“Almost gone,” he said, pouring a little into his cup. “Want some?” Cassie shook her head. Arvid didn’t respond.

Sam took a little sip and settled onto the far end of the log. Taking his gold vial from his pocket, he held it up to look at it.

Arvid belched and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “How bad she beating you now?”

Sam took a sip, savoring the tangy richness, and held it in his mouth. His eyes met Cassie’s as he swallowed. “The tide has turned,” he said evenly. “I’m in the lead.”

The older man sat up so fast Sam knew he couldn’t be in any pain. Arvid practically spit the coffee from his mouth when he said, “What’re you talking about? Yesterday, and every other day before, Cassie has beaten the pants off you. Now all of a sudden you’re winnin’?” Cassie’s eyes narrowed as she looked at her uncle, intently.

Sam took another sip, making Arvid wait on his answer. This was too good to rush. “Found a little pocket today. Had so much color my eyes were sparkling.” Sam laughed with gusto, putting on the best show he could. It did feel good after all this time.

“Lemme see,” Arvid demanded.

“You have your vial handy, Cassie?” Sam asked.

“I’ll get it.” Cassie headed toward her tent. Sam hoped she could play along enough not to give his plan away. Most times, she wore her heart on her sleeve, her emotions transparent and readable as those of a puppy. A lie like this might be hard for her to pull off.

Cassie returned and handed her gold to her uncle. He looked at it closely, and then held his hand out to Sam. “ Now lemme see yours, Ridgeway.”

Sam shook his head. “I don’t think I want to let you hold my findings. It just might slip from your fingers. You know how fragile this glass can be.”

He walked over and held the vial in his hand up next to the one Arvid thought was Cassie’s so the man could see the quarter-inch difference in the golden flakes. Sam almost laughed as Arvid’s eyes bugged out hideously from his face.

Chapter Fifty-Three

“W
hat were you doing today, girl! Napping? I knew you had a lazy bone.”

Sam stepped closer to Arvid, his hand closing tightly around the vial he held in his hand to form a white-knuckled fist. “Don’t talk that way to Cassie. She’s working harder than five grown men put together. If you want to win this claim you better get your own backside up, and get to work.”

Arvid slumped down quickly. “You know I can’t!”

“Well, maybe not. But that only means in a week this place will be mine.” He glanced again at Cassie, winking surreptitiously as he turned his attention to the fire. He held up his vial and gazed at it lovingly in the amber glow of the flames.

After a moment, he stole a glance at Arvid. The man’s jaw clenched and Sam knew he wanted to give Cassie a tongue lashing to end all others, but was too afraid of what Sam would do to him if he did. The older man’s face was pasty white and he looked about to lose his supper.

“There’s still time. You two may beat me yet,” Sam said, wanting to keep the conversation going. Rubbing salt into the wound was a temptation just too appealing. “It’s possible, you know. Maybe there’s another pocket where Cassie is working.”

“I’m feeling weak again, Cassie girl. Help me back to my tent?” Arvid gazed at the ground where his bare feet made prints in the dirt. A little sigh escaped his lips.

Sam stepped over and grasped his arm. “She’s just on her way to switch out the horses for the night, Arvid. But, I’ll be happy to give you a hand.”

Three days came and went without incident. Sam’s odd request pertaining to the gold—and her uncle—weighed heavy on Cassie. Her uncle still hadn’t gotten up to help her, and that was what Sam was trying to show her, she was sure. He remained sullenly in his tent, now not even coming out for meals. She would be glad when this whole affair was over and she was back with Josephine. Gold claim or not, she had enough money now, even if it was split with her uncle, to start her and Josephine’s bakery and become self-sufficient.

She glanced over at Sam, who was using the sluice box. His expression indicated he was deep in thought. He dropped handfuls of dirt into the water from the bucket he’d hauled over from the bank. They’d been working for hours and he was getting quite a bit of color.

Cassie shivered. Moments before, the sun had disappeared behind one of the black clouds filling the sky, making the water feel even colder today than normal. Sam looked up, his face handsome in its contemplation.

“Will it rain?” she called to him, pressing two gold flakes onto her little finger and slipping them into her vial.

He looked over and smiled. He was about five feet away and the rushing of the river made it hard to hear. “It may. Those clouds look pretty heavy, and the wind is picking up. Storms in the high county aren’t unusual this time of year. Spring showers bring May flowers, or some such thing I heard said.”

She smiled back. What was Sam up to—really? What if her uncle didn’t ever get up and help her? What if he were crippled for life? That must be what Sam was trying to prove to her. They’d have to make a travois and drag him all the way back to town. That would be hard on her uncle, no doubt.

A gigantic raindrop plopped down on the side of Cassie’s gold pan and splashed her face as she was peering into the black dirt at the bottom. Two more hit her hat and she looked up from her work. Sam stepped toward her.

He touched her elbow. “I think we should quit for the day. It’s almost evening, anyway.” His pant legs were rolled to mid-calf and his boots were soaked. “It’ll give us a little extra time for supper. If it starts to rain in earnest we won’t have a fire tonight. I don’t know about you but I want something hot to fill my belly. Sound good?”

She turned with him and started for camp. “Yes. I’m about frozen through today. Some days I can’t seem to shake the cold.”

“I know what you mean,” Sam agreed. “I’ll be glad to get back to civilization. As monetarily successful as this month has been, there’s a huge price to pay for it. I wouldn’t want to be a miner forever.”

Cassie tucked her gold pan under her arm and cupped her chapped red hands together. She put them to her mouth and blew into them in an attempt to gain back some feeling into her fingertips. When she could, she wore the gloves Sam had given her, but the thick leather made it impossible to fish out the gold flakes that had been abundant these last two weeks.

“Oh, I agree with you wholeheartedly,” she answered. “For me, mining is just a means to an end. A fast end,” she added with a laugh. “I can’t wait to get away from here.” She stopped and looked back to the river. “I won’t miss it, that’s for sure. Not like I miss—”

“Josephine,” Sam said quickly, finishing her sentence. “I know what you mean.” He was looking wistfully across the meadow to the rolling hills and beyond, to the mountains. “That little scrapper has been on my mind a lot lately too. It’ll be good to get back to Rosenthal.”

“Is that what you’ll do if Uncle Arvid and I win the claim? Go back to Rosenthal and become sheriff?” As they walked through the ankle-high grass, Cassie noticed the horses looked a little skittish. Instead of grazing they were restive, and her mare nickered when she saw Cassie approaching. Her mane lifted in the strong breeze.

“I’ll stop in Rosenthal and visit.”

Cassie was surprised, and saddened. It sounded as if Sam was planning to move on.

“Just visit?”

“I didn’t mention to you that in the letter Clemen sent was also a note about my brother Seth. He’s found some good horse property northwest of here. On the coast. Above the booming city they call San Francisco. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

She nodded, then grasped at her hat to keep the wind from whisking it off her head.

“It’s a couple weeks’ ride and the government is almost giving the land away to get people to settle the area. Seth wants me to meet him there. His money combined with mine should be enough to make our ranch a reality.” He glanced down into her face. “It’s exciting.”

Cassie almost missed a step.
He’s really going
! For some reason it just seemed he’d always be by her side. Protecting her. Making her laugh. Reaching inside her soul with but a glance.

“I’m happy for you, Sam,” she said, managing to keep her emotions in check. But her heart thudded in her chest. And she knew then, if she hadn’t before, that when Sam rode away it would be the worst moment of her life.

***

Sam reached up and poked the top of his tent, causing water to gush down both sides. He was restless. Unable to sleep. The rain had started a few hours ago and had been coming down steadily ever since. The trees swayed with the wind, moaning like a hurt animal.

A flash of light lit the sky. Though the lightning was miles away, the cramped interior of his tent brightened for an instant. A mighty
boom
followed a few moments later. So far the storm wasn’t too threatening. It wasn’t the storm itself, but the amount of rainfall that had Sam worried. He listened carefully.