Faith (Goldwater Creek Mail-Order Brides 1) by Leighann Dobbs Page B

she didn’t know the disastrous effects of falling in love, she could fall for a man like Jax Blackburn. Lucky thing that had no chance of happening, because it would make her task all that more difficult.

Chapter 10
    F aith didn’t get a chance to thank Jax that day. He came home after she was in bed. She heard him come in, then shortly after, she heard something outside. Peeking out her window, the moonlight highlighted Jax’s figure walking off toward the woods. Was he going to the mine?
    The gift of the beautiful dress did not stop her from searching for a clue about the mine entrance or the book he'd snatched from her in the library, but her search had come up empty.
    She couldn’t do a lot of in-depth searching, though. Maisie and Robertson were always underfoot and she didn’t want them to get suspicious. So, she'd broken the search up into little tasks—searching desk drawers, nooks and crannies in the house in between letting Maisie feed her in the kitchen. The woman was an extraordinary cook, but any attempts on Faith’s part to get information out of her about Jax or the gold mine came up short. Especially when she hinted about Jax sneaking off in the middle of the night, which she'd seen him do almost every night since she'd been there.
    In the end, she satisfied herself with writing a letter to her sister, Mercy. She’d jotted off one on her first day at the ranch, but it was too soon to expect a reply. Still, she couldn’t help it. She was desperate to know that her sisters were doing okay. Lefty Brewster was not a patient man and, even though he had not given her a deadline on when she must pass on the information, she feared he might harm her sisters in order to get her to move faster.
    Maisie had been kind enough to fill the old copper tub with warm water and Faith had scrubbed with the lavender soap she'd brought from home. Then, once clean, she'd pinned her hair up in back, letting a few loose tendrils escape down the side of her face. Charles had always said her hair looked best that way and Faith wanted to make a good impression during her first meeting with the people of Goldwater Creek. It had nothing to do with looking attractive for her new husband.
    Faith only wanted a light supper before the party. She was too nervous to eat. Maisie had the perfect solution—her old standby, flapjacks.
    Sitting at the long pine kitchen table, Faith was amazed at how quickly she’d come to think of the kitchen as ‘home’. It was a comforting place, the smells of Maisie’s cooking brought back memories of her grandmother. But it was more than the cooking. Maisie’s easy style and friendly chatter soothed Faith and made her feel as if she wasn’t alone.
    “Now you try this syrup. This is a new recipe. Strawberry.” Maisie poured a thick puddle of deep red liquid on top of the stack of flapjacks on Faith’s plate. Faith carved off a slice of flapjack with her fork. Creamy butter oozed down the side as she dipped it into the syrup, pushing it around to let it soak in.
    Faith put the fork to her lips, the sweet strawberry flavor exploding on her tongue. She closed her eyes. “Yum. This is your best yet.”
    Maisie smiled proudly. “Why, I do like having you here, child. You’re like my own taste testing panel. And good company, too. Better hurry up now. We gotta get you changed into that dress before Mr. Jax comes home to take you to the party.
    Faith’s heart warmed at Maisie’s words. Since her arrival, she’d tested three flavors for her and had come to cherish her taste testing sessions as well as her other time spend in the kitchen with Maisie. She was flattered the other woman seemed to feel the same way. She had to admit, she was getting a bit lonely since she didn’t know anyone in town to talk to. Not yet, anyway. She’d probably meet plenty of them at the party. The thought made her stomach roil and she pushed the plate of food away.
    “You’re right, I better get