CHARITY'S GOLD RUSH (A Strike It Rich in Montana novel) (22 page)

             
Hiram poked his head in the door, took a look around, and backed out. Smart man.
Now, he could return to his pleasant quiet home. Maybe Gabe could go with him. He chuckled and closed his eye again. Nope. He might complain, but he’d lived more in the couple of months since he’d married Charity then he had in all the years before.

             
The new house couldn’t get built fast enough. This little one was busting at the seams.
A laugh escaped him, then another. Soon, he wrapped his arms around his waist and howled. Charity gave him a perplexed look which only made him laugh harder. The house quieted, all its occupants staring as he lost himself in joy.

             
Thank you Lord, for the full life you’ve given me
.

17

             
A week later, Gabe loaded his family, minus the pets, into the wagon and headed
for
Virginia City. They’d spend the night in the same hotel in which he’d married Charity.
What had seemed like a spur of the moment, desperate action, turned out to be the best decision he’d ever made. He couldn’t imagine the homestead without her.

The afternoon and next morning would give them time to purchase winter supplies and Christmas gifts, although he knew Charity had been working on a few things in the rare moments she had the house to herself.
It had been fun to see her scamper every time he or one of the children walked in the door.

             
He wanted to get her something special and
w
racked his brain trying to decide what. He was a fair whittler, so something to that effect was an option.
Maybe a nativity?
Her trunk contained a few frilly thing
s like tablecloths and doilies, so maybe a nice mantel clock
other than the plain one that sat there now
? Something that would look nice in the new house?
He made a note to purchase yarn to occupy her hands during the winter months.

             
Sam and Meg said the dogs were all they wanted as presents but Gabe knew come Christmas morning, their tone would change. Every child wanted a present. Gabe didn’t have a lot of money, but he had enough to make this year’s holiday one Charity would never forget.
Come spring, leaving would be the last thing on her mind.

             
“You should’ve let us bring Prince, at least.” Sam leaned over the seat. “He’s just a pup. He’ll miss us.”

             
“He has his mother,” Gabe replied. “They’re fine in the barn for one night.”

             
“I bet he digs out and gets lost.”

             
“No betting, please.” Charity frowned. “Must everything be a bet between you two?”

             
“It’s harmless talk,” Gabe assured her.

             
“To some.” Charity stared at the road in front of them.
Her bottom lip quivered.
“To others, it’s a wasted life.”

             
They definitely needed to have a talk about Gabe’s wager. Charity deserved to know the circumstances that led to
hi
s moment of foolishness.
Winter would give them plenty of opportunity for long heart-to-heart talks
once the children were in bed
.
Maybe, then, she would tell him what plagued her so.

             
“Can I have a peppermint stick from the mercantile,
P
a?” Meg joined her brother at leaning over the seat. “It’s been such a long time.”

             
“You can have two.” Gabe flicked the reins to encourage Rogue and Ruby to move faster. Charity’s horse hadn’t like
d
the harness at first, but she’d adapted nicely.
             
“You’ll also have fabric for new clothes. Charity, there’s a list in the pocket of my jacket. Feel free to add to it anything you need.”

             
“Sugar, flour, salt, coffee?”

             
“All there.”

             
“Wicks for candles?”

             
“Whatever you need.”

             
She smiled and nodded.

             
“I’ll take care of feed for the animals while you take the children to the mercantile. Then we’ll meet at the diner for supper. If we place our orders today, we can pick them up in the morning after breakfast.” No need to rush the biannual trip to town. They wouldn’t be back
again
until the snows melted.

             
The children settled down until the first houses appeared
, then e
ven Charity sat straighter
at that point
. Gabe had always regretted the thought of more people settling the area, but maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. Women seemed to need folks around once in a while.
Charity sure was teaching him a lot
about women
.

Maybe if he’d known some of the things he knew now, Maggie would have been happier. Then, she wouldn’t have felt the need for long
solitary
walks in the afternoon and wouldn’t have stumbled across that snake.

             
He set the wagon br
ake
in front of the mercantile. “I’ll meet you back here in an hour for
supper
.” He jumped down and helped Charity out then reached for Meg. Sam wasted no time in leaping over the back. “You two young’uns stay close to your ma.
No wandering off.
”

             
Gabe set a fast pace straight for the Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Bill Spraggins, a man whos
e
lanky frame reminded Gabe of a crow, reclined behind a battered wood desk. The toes of his cowboy
boot
s, propped on the scarred surface, faced the door. A black Stetson
sat
low over his eyes. Gabe slammed the door.

             
Sheriff Spraggins grunted and let his chair fall back into place with a thud. “Gabe Williams. Didn’t see you come
in
.”

             
“Maybe ‘cause you were sleeping.” Gabe grinned. The sheriff must have had a rough night.
The two didn’t always see eye-to-eye,
considering Gabe rarely came to town and often had a beef with Amos when he did,
but
h
e figured a positive attitude might help the
sheriff
be more willing to listen
to what he had to say
.

             
“What brings you in, Gabe?” The sheriff leaned his elbows on the desk. “Haven’t seen your face in months.”

             
Gabe pulled the tobacco tin from his pocket and tossed it in front of the sheriff. It clattered to a stop
on the desk
. “First of all, found this on my land right after a fire that almost destroyed everything I’ve worked for. On two separate occasions, someone lets my cows loose.
The last time, the
culprit
shot me.
”

             
“Loose? It’s free range out here.”

             
“Not for me. I keep them fenced in a pretty little valley not far from my house. I haven’t used free range since a year ago. Not since things started happening.” Gabe didn’t wait to be asked. He swung a cane bottom chair around and straddled
it
. “If I lose my house or my cattle, I’m done for.”

             
Sheriff Spraggins picked up the tin. “Any idea who this belongs to?”

             
“I’m guessing Amos Jenkins.”

             
“Guessing.” Spraggins dropped the tin into a desk drawer. “I’ll look into it Gabe, but without proof, there isn’t a lot I can do.
You can’t go around accusing
law-abiding
people without proof of some kind.
”

             
“I know it’s Amos
,
and so do you.” Gabe frowned, crossing his arms on the back of the chair. “He’s wanted my land ever since I married Maggie.”

             
“You mean he’s wanted Maggie’s land. He is co-signer.”

             
“Not if I meet the stipulations set in place.” Gabe stood forcibly enough to send the chair crashing to the floor. “And I intend to do just that.”

             
“What kind of stipulations?”

             
Gabe took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He still didn’t understand Maggie’s motivation.
“The land had to be developed in five years. If Maggie died while married, the same terms applied to her spouse. And by developed, the terms state a wood framed house.” He glared at the sheriff. “Seems silly to me
, but who knows why she made such a deal. Amos must have got her dander up good
. A house is a house, but if I want to keep what I’ve sweated over, I’m up against a wall.”

             
“Don’t step outside the law, Gabe.” Spraggins used his index finger to push his hat back. “Jenkins has a lot of stock in this town. Folks’ll side with him easy enough.”

             
“I noticed you didn’t comment on the fact I was shot, so it’s easy to see whos
e
side you
’
r
e
on.”

             
“A sheriff only takes sides
between
law-abiding and law
-
breaking.
‘Sides, you’re still breathing so no real harm done.
”

             
“I hope
you do choose the right side
.” Gabe spun and stormed outside before he said something that would get him into trouble
or locked behind bars
.
He didn’t care how much money Amos had or how many influential friends.
What he wanted was to be left alone to farm his homestead and raise his family.

             
He head
ed
to the feed store. As he turned the corner by the bank, Amos strolled from the saloon, his arm around a pretty gal. Gabe froze and locked gazes with his nemesis. “Jenkins.”

             
Amos’s eyes widened, then narrowed as his lips curved into a cold
,
thin smile. “Williams.” He ruffled the girl’s hair
, then let his hand trail down her bare arm
. “See you later, sweetheart.”

             
Gabe grimaced.
“Bet you’re surprised to see me, you back-shooting, cow stealing, scoundrel.”

             
“
Such words from a Christian man.
Having problems?” Amos took a
shiny
tobacco tin from his pocket and rolled a cigarette. “If it’s too much for you, I have a solution to your predicament.”

             
“Nothing you say will change my mind.” Gabe crossed his arms
, fairly certain the tin shoved back into Amos’s pocket was a new one to replace the one the sheriff now had
. “But shooting a man in the back? That’s low, even for you.”

             
Amos lit his cigarette and took a slow drag, then blew the smoke in Gabe’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

             
Gabe
squinted and
stepped closer
,
put
ting
his face inches from the other man. “Watch yourself, Amos. I won’t be so easily taken the next time.”

###

             
Charity st
rolled
into the mercantile
. A
bell tinkl
ed
over her head, and
she
breathed deeply of pickles, tobacco, and wood smoke. Immediately the children ran to the counter and perused the candy
, standing on tip toes to peer into jars
. Charity dug the
shopping
list from her reticule and approached the portly man behind the counter. He wore a spotless starched apron and a wide smile.

             
“Charity! Haven’t seen you in a month of Sunday
s
.”

             
“Mr. Harper.” She held out her hand. “It’s good to see you again, too.”

             
“Haven’t heard of anyone’s laundry business doing quite as well as yours
di
d
. I don’t sell as much soap, that’s for sure.
Of course, a Chinee man moved in with his wife. Heard tell they were starting up a laundry
, but they ain’t as pretty as  you
.
” He clapped his hands on the polished wood. “How may I help you?”