Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range by Danica Favorite (summer beach reads txt) 📕

flowers, and Annabelle went to get a bucket. When she was gone, the man came from the trees and asked about Papa’s treasure. I told him it was a secret and to go away. Then he grabbed me. But Annabelle saved me.”

Dark, sparkling eyes stared up at her. “You won’t let the bad man get me again, will you?”

“Of course not.” Annabelle reached over and brushed a hand across the little cheek. “We’ll tell my father, and he’ll make sure we all stay safe.”

A bright smile lit up Nugget’s face, and she pulled a hand away from Joseph’s embrace. “I saved us some flowers.”

Her little fingers were stained from the mush that she’d been keeping in her tiny fist. Annabelle couldn’t help smile at the thought that in all of the danger they’d just faced, Nugget was determined to keep her flowers safe.

Joseph set Nugget down. “Why don’t you go look at your books while I talk to Annabelle?”

Nugget let out a long groan. “You guys want to talk about the bad man. Mama and Papa never let me hear about the bad man, either.”

“You know about the bad man?” The disbelief in Joseph’s voice made Annabelle’s heart sink. He probably had no idea what sort of skullduggery his father had been involved in. Annabelle didn’t, either, but from the whispered conversations she wasn’t supposed to hear when her father was talking with the sheriff, she knew enough.

Nugget nodded and looked at Annabelle.

Joseph whipped around. “You knew?”

“Once we were in the cabin, Nugget told me she recognized the bad man as someone she’d once seen arguing with her father. But that’s all I was able to find out. Were you able to find anything?”

“No.” A dark look crossed his face, and Annabelle could only imagine what poor Joseph must be feeling. “He got away.”

Annabelle had gathered that much on her own. “Maybe my father knows something that can be helpful. He’s good friends with the sheriff.”

His shoulders relaxed, and he glanced in the direction of Nugget, who had turned her attention to the books. “Why would someone want to take a child?”

Because there was a lot of meanness in this world, particularly in a mining town, where the lowest of the low hung around, hoping to find riches.

Unfortunately, most of the people seeking riches weren’t kindhearted souls wanting to do good for others. At least that had been Annabelle’s experience. What that had to do with taking an innocent child, she didn’t know, but she didn’t question things like that anymore.

“Because Papa knew where the silver was,” the little voice piped up.

Annabelle sighed. Especially when Joseph headed her way and asked, “And did he tell you where it was?”

She couldn’t bear to look at him, or to hear the rest of the conversation. Annabelle went outside for a breath of fresh air in hopes that her churning stomach would calm down. The man’s sister had nearly been kidnapped, and he wanted to ask about the silver. Maybe she and God weren’t on the best of terms right now, but surely the fastest way to ruin was greed. The kind of greed that had men stealing children, and others too worried about the silver to consider their safety.

Please, God. Help me escape this horrible place. Let Joseph and Nugget leave here before anything worse happens.

The futility of her prayers was not lost on Annabelle. She looked around the clearing, realizing for the first time that the horses were gone. What a way for God to answer. She wasn’t just stuck in Leadville, but in a ramshackle cabin so far from home that she wouldn’t be tasting Maddie’s cooking anytime soon.

She turned toward the cabin and saw Joseph standing in the doorway.

“The horses are gone,” she said, gesturing toward the empty area where they’d grazed.

“Yeah.” Joseph ran his fingers through his hair. “He took them.”

Annabelle glanced over the hill toward the low sun. “It’ll be dark soon. Too dangerous to leave the cabin now. We’ll have to spend the night here, then set off first thing in the morning.”

He nodded slowly. “You’re taking this better than I thought you would.”

“And what is it that you thought I’d do?” Annabelle’s face heated. “Have a fit of vapors?”

At his slow nod, the heat in her cheeks moved to the back of her neck.

“I’ll have you know that I have spent plenty of time in places worse than this, thanks to my father’s ministry. Why, I could even catch us a couple of fish in the stream, clean them, and then cook them up for supper.”

The look on his face screamed disbelief. Fine, then. She’d show him. Fortunately, she remembered seeing a fishing rod in the cabin. Without another word, she stomped past him, grabbed the fishing rod, then went back out the door.

“Annabelle! Wait.”

She spun around and shot him her best glare. “What? Any other condescension you’d like to send my way?”

“No.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was just going to say thanks, that’s all. And that I’m impressed. Back home, my sisters would have been horrified at spending the night in a place like this, and even more so at the thought of touching a worm, or cleaning a fish. There’s a lot more to you than meets the eye, Annabelle Lassiter. I see that once again, we’ve misjudged each other.”

She supposed she should have been grateful for his compliment. But his words about misjudging each other grated on her conscience like the squealing wheels of the train pulling in to the station.

Joseph knew nothing of Annabelle’s life, or her situation, least of all her capabilities. Yet here he was, admitting that. Trying to do what she supposed was the right thing. Which made her own thoughts on him even worse. She should be trying harder, but something in her fought it and wouldn’t let her.

So she let his comment pass and walked toward the creek, where hopefully enough fish would be biting that they could have a decent supper.