“Well then, come along.” Mrs. Taylor’s voice was pleasant, accepting.
They wound their way through stacks of goods, neatly displayed. All the while, Mrs. Taylor spoke of the weather and treated them as she would any other customer.
With each step, Joseph felt more of the worry fall off his shoulders. By the time they arrived at the ribbon display, he felt as light as any other man shopping in a mercantile.
“Here are the ribbons. Are you looking for something to match that pretty dress of yours?”
Mrs. Taylor bent to Nugget, giving her a smile that spoke of understanding and kindness.
“Annabelle?” Frank’s voice called from the other side of the store. “Can you come here for a moment?”
She immediately looked at Nugget.
“It’s all right,” both Joseph and Mrs. Taylor said at once. He stopped himself, then looked at Mrs. Taylor.
“She’ll be fine, truly,” Mrs. Taylor said. “I have a little one myself, and I miss her dreadfully. She’s visiting my mother, and I can’t wait until she gets back next week.”
“I...” Annabelle looked at Joseph.
“We’ll be fine.”
She nodded slowly, then went to her father’s side.
“I promise I’m not like that awful Mrs. Jessup,” Mrs. Taylor told him. “Pastor Lassiter told us what happened in her store. I can’t say I’m surprised. She’s been spreading rumors about us ever since we opened.”
Mrs. Taylor put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shared gossip about her. I’m sure she means well. It just burns me sometimes...” She shook her head.
“Anyway, on to more pleasant things.” She held up a ribbon. “What do you think of this ribbon, Nugget? It would bring out the pink flowers in your dress nicely.”
Nugget looked at the floor.
“It’s all right. You can look at the ribbon,” Joseph told her.
As he watched the emotions play across his sister’s face, he realized how hard it must be to have grown up the way Nugget had. How many rejections had she faced because of who her mother was?
Nugget looked, but didn’t touch. She just stared at it, wide-eyed. “Sometimes the men would bring me ribbons.”
Mrs. Taylor knelt in front of her. “I’m not like those men. I’m your friend.”
Nugget looked up at him, and Joseph nodded. He was quickly learning how precious friendship was in this place, especially with a child like Nugget. She reached for the ribbon.
“May I put it in your hair? Annabelle is going to think you look so pretty.”
With deft fingers, Mrs. Taylor put the ribbon in Nugget’s hair. The shy little girl preened as Mrs. Taylor held up the mirror.
“See? You look very pretty. Why don’t you go show Annabelle?”
Nugget skipped all the way to Annabelle. Joseph watched her with a lightened heart. He’d been worried about his family accepting her, but surely with the acceptance she was finding here, his family would eventually warm to her.
“I knew her mother,” Mrs. Taylor said over his shoulder. “Lily was a kind woman. She came to town with a worthless husband. When he died, she didn’t have anyplace else to go. So she took up the life she did. She wasn’t a bad person.”
Her words were meant as a kindness, but they hurt. “Did she know my pa was married?”
“They’re always married, sugar. Sometimes, though, we’re fortunate, and we find someone who will take us away.”
He turned and looked at her. “You?”
Mrs. Taylor shrugged. “Things aren’t always what they seem. I didn’t know your father, but I’m sure that his relationship with Lily had nothing to do with your mother. Mining is lonely business.”
Hard to imagine this genteel lady in the place where he’d gotten Nugget. Also hard not to blame his father, despite Mrs. Taylor’s words.
“How do you know all of this?”
She smiled. “Because I’ve been there. And if you ever need anything for Nugget...”
He watched as Nugget giggled at something Annabelle said to her. “Thank you. It’s good to know that she’s got so many people who care about her.”
Something he hadn’t expected. But the longer he spent in Leadville, the more he was learning to expect the unexpected. Just then, Annabelle turned and looked at him, the smile in her eyes blinding.
He couldn’t help himself. Joseph smiled back. His growing affection for Annabelle was perhaps the most unexpected of all. And it was something he needed to avoid giving in to at all costs. With all he had to focus on, he couldn’t afford to divert his attentions.
Annabelle headed home with a little girl on one arm and a sedate man on the other. She glanced over at Joseph, who seemed to be focused on the girl who proudly showed off her new ribbons.
“Thank you for your kindness to my sister,” he told her softly. “I have never seen her so happy.”
Nugget broke free and skipped ahead. Annabelle didn’t have the heart to stop her.
“I’m glad to have given her something to be happy about.” She smiled. Joseph wasn’t too bad. Cleaned up the way he was, it was almost easy to pretend he was just a normal man.
Annabelle stumbled slightly. Joseph wasn’t a normal man. And it wouldn’t do for her to entertain feelings when she knew she couldn’t count on a miner to stick around. Not that she had any intention of entertaining feelings about any man.
At least not here in Leadville. The town was full of shiftless drifters, and the one time she’d let her guard down to trust in someone, he’d betrayed her. Something she’d do well to remember in the presence of this man.
Especially the way Joseph’s sparkling smile made her tingle all the way down to her toes. Despite the chilly breeze coming off the mountains, she suddenly felt warm. The lace at the top of her collar itched.
Annabelle quickened her pace. The faster she got home, the faster she could take off her gloves and adjust her collar. Surely the sudden warmth was due more to the clouds moving off the sun than the fact that Joseph had moved closer to her.
“Joseph! Annabelle! Watch!” Nugget spun around and around in a circle, nearly running into a group of ladies.
Joseph dashed forward to catch her before she fell. “Whoa, there, Nugget. This street’s too crowded for your antics.”
She fell into his arms, giggling. “I was being a dancer like Mama’s friends.”
Though Annabelle was briefly scandalized by the reference to Nugget’s mama’s friends, the thought stopped in her brain as she watched Joseph swing Nugget. He tickled her, then placed the still-giggling girl on his shoulders.
There weren’t many men in Annabelle’s acquaintance—well, there weren’t any, actually—who would be so loving toward a little girl. Especially one with Nugget’s background. Joseph’s gentility reminded her a lot of her father.
Something to keep in mind. Both men were impossible dreamers. Her father because he believed that his work with the miners would somehow make a difference. Joseph because as a miner, he was after the impossible dream of striking it rich. The difference was, Joseph’s dream would take him away as soon