bad cook
either, so I tolerated him, despite the fact that he didn’t consider bathing a
high priority.”
Despite herself, Josie
couldn’t help but smile.
“One day, I was sitting on
a boulder, alone, eating my lunch. My eye caught the glistening of what looked
like crystals in a nearby rock. Striking the stone with my pick, I
exposed the largest vein anybody had found in White Oaks, as far as I
knew. I worked like a dog for three long days and kept the discovery to
myself. I didn’t trust anyone, especially not Leroy. There was a look in
his eye that told me to be wary. He was a drinker, too. Put a few beers
in the man and he’d blab everything he knew. Turns out, my intuition not to
trust him was dead on, only he wasn’t the big, dumb fool I thought him to
be. One morning it was all gone—my money, my future, everything I’d
worked so hard for—and Leroy was gone with it.”
“How do you know it was my
pa who took your discovery?” she asked, unconvinced his story wasn’t more than
a yarn.
“Because another miner saw
him hightail it out of camp before the sun came up the next morning.
There was no one else it could have been. I figured Leroy followed me to the
vein that last day, saw where I hid my stash, and skedaddled with it under
cover of night when I was sleeping.”
Josie tilted her
head. “Guess you were pretty stupid to leave your discovery stashed where
anybody could have taken it,” she scolded. “If it’d been me, I would have
slept with it under my pillow.”
He balled his fists like
he wanted to punch something—or someone.
“You say he took your
money? How much?” she wanted to know.
He narrowed his eyes into
slits. “That lying, cheating pa of yours stole five thousand dollars from
me.”
Josie’s eyes
enlarged, and she slapped a hand over her heart. “I don’t believe you! Five
thousand, you say? Cash money?”
“No. Not
cash. Pure gold nuggets.” The man’s stare was defiant, daring her to say
more.
She felt like a
horse had just kicked her in the head. She blinked her eyes. “Gold,
you say?”
He nodded.
“Then why on earth
have you been following me? I don’t have any gold!” she exclaimed.
“My pa didn’t give me any nuggets.”
His lips drew
tight again. “No, but he gave you a map.” His head nodded firmly
toward the parchment. “It shows a trail, and at the end of that trail is my
gold. I’m sure of it.”
Josie shook her
head. Her mind spun like a top, and the beats of her heart skipped.
“I’m confused. What’s your name? How do I know you’re not trying to
steal my pa’s gold? Maybe he mined the gold and it
rightfully belongs to me ? How do you even know about the map if my
pa made it?”
The man drew a
deep breath into his lungs, and then silently turned and retreated from the
cave. Her gaze followed him as he stepped into the dark and sauntered past
Traveler. When he returned a moment later, his arm was full of tinder. He
tossed the sticks on the dying embers, knelt and softly blew on the ash,
bringing the heat back to flame. She didn’t realize how cold she’d gotten
until she felt the crackling fire warming up the toes inside her boots.
Tapping her foot on the ground, she waited impatiently, wanting some answers.
“Sit down,” he
ordered. He bent over and picked up his pistol from the ground and stuck
it in the holster on his hip. Her breath caught as she watched him flick her
derringer into the palm of his big hand, too. In all the confusion, she’d
totally forgotten about the guns on the ground.
“I’ll keep this for
now,” he told her. He slipped the small gun into the waistband of his
tight black pants and took a seat in the dirt.
Josie pursed her
lips and hesitantly sat crossed-legged near the fire, anxious for him to
explain further.
“My name is
Paladin. Grey Paladin. I’m not going to waste my breath trying to
convince you that gold is mine.
either, so I tolerated him, despite the fact that he didn’t consider bathing a
high priority.”
Despite herself, Josie
couldn’t help but smile.
“One day, I was sitting on
a boulder, alone, eating my lunch. My eye caught the glistening of what looked
like crystals in a nearby rock. Striking the stone with my pick, I
exposed the largest vein anybody had found in White Oaks, as far as I
knew. I worked like a dog for three long days and kept the discovery to
myself. I didn’t trust anyone, especially not Leroy. There was a look in
his eye that told me to be wary. He was a drinker, too. Put a few beers
in the man and he’d blab everything he knew. Turns out, my intuition not to
trust him was dead on, only he wasn’t the big, dumb fool I thought him to
be. One morning it was all gone—my money, my future, everything I’d
worked so hard for—and Leroy was gone with it.”
“How do you know it was my
pa who took your discovery?” she asked, unconvinced his story wasn’t more than
a yarn.
“Because another miner saw
him hightail it out of camp before the sun came up the next morning.
There was no one else it could have been. I figured Leroy followed me to the
vein that last day, saw where I hid my stash, and skedaddled with it under
cover of night when I was sleeping.”
Josie tilted her
head. “Guess you were pretty stupid to leave your discovery stashed where
anybody could have taken it,” she scolded. “If it’d been me, I would have
slept with it under my pillow.”
He balled his fists like
he wanted to punch something—or someone.
“You say he took your
money? How much?” she wanted to know.
He narrowed his eyes into
slits. “That lying, cheating pa of yours stole five thousand dollars from
me.”
Josie’s eyes
enlarged, and she slapped a hand over her heart. “I don’t believe you! Five
thousand, you say? Cash money?”
“No. Not
cash. Pure gold nuggets.” The man’s stare was defiant, daring her to say
more.
She felt like a
horse had just kicked her in the head. She blinked her eyes. “Gold,
you say?”
He nodded.
“Then why on earth
have you been following me? I don’t have any gold!” she exclaimed.
“My pa didn’t give me any nuggets.”
His lips drew
tight again. “No, but he gave you a map.” His head nodded firmly
toward the parchment. “It shows a trail, and at the end of that trail is my
gold. I’m sure of it.”
Josie shook her
head. Her mind spun like a top, and the beats of her heart skipped.
“I’m confused. What’s your name? How do I know you’re not trying to
steal my pa’s gold? Maybe he mined the gold and it
rightfully belongs to me ? How do you even know about the map if my
pa made it?”
The man drew a
deep breath into his lungs, and then silently turned and retreated from the
cave. Her gaze followed him as he stepped into the dark and sauntered past
Traveler. When he returned a moment later, his arm was full of tinder. He
tossed the sticks on the dying embers, knelt and softly blew on the ash,
bringing the heat back to flame. She didn’t realize how cold she’d gotten
until she felt the crackling fire warming up the toes inside her boots.
Tapping her foot on the ground, she waited impatiently, wanting some answers.
“Sit down,” he
ordered. He bent over and picked up his pistol from the ground and stuck
it in the holster on his hip. Her breath caught as she watched him flick her
derringer into the palm of his big hand, too. In all the confusion, she’d
totally forgotten about the guns on the ground.
“I’ll keep this for
now,” he told her. He slipped the small gun into the waistband of his
tight black pants and took a seat in the dirt.
Josie pursed her
lips and hesitantly sat crossed-legged near the fire, anxious for him to
explain further.
“My name is
Paladin. Grey Paladin. I’m not going to waste my breath trying to
convince you that gold is mine.
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