CHARITY'S GOLD RUSH (A Strike It Rich in Montana novel) (36 page)

“I’ve given the young’uns chores to do after breakfast,
” he whispered. “S
o you and I can sit and have a serious conversation.”

             
“Oh?” Her spine tingled. She knew they needed to talk. Had needed to for some time, but why now? Why today?

             
He grinned and tugged at a curl. “Don’t worry. You didn’t do anything wrong.
I love your hair down.
”

             
Mercy. The man could make her legs go weak.

             
Her appetite fled. He was right, of course, but the thought of sitting across the table with just Gabriel staring back at her was enough to make her ill. “I’ve a list of chores of me own to do.”

             
“They can wait.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “This
talk
is way over due, Charity.”

             
She nodded and removed the pan from the stove. “You’re right, of course.” What had h
e
and Hiram talked about in front of the fire yesterday while she and Mabel cleaned up after Thanksgiving supper?
Had Hiram given him pointers on dealing with a strong-willed woman or had he shown Gabriel how to turn Charity into a submissive wife, like Mabel?

             
She forced herself to eat, knowing she would need the energy for the conversation and chores afterwards, but the motion was mechanical. The children chattered, excited about the snowfall. Obviously the cold in the barn wouldn’t bother them
overly
much.

             
By the time everyone finished, the dishes were cleared away, and the children outside, Charity’s hands trembled. She smoothed them down the front of her apron and took her seat beside Gabriel.

             
He smiled. “Don’t be so frightened. I won’t bite you, and you’ve done nothing wrong.
Am I so fearsome?
”

             
She
shook her head and
exhaled forcibly. She had worried a mite that she had angered him. “What’s on your mind, Gabriel?”

###

Gabe fiddled with the floppy brim of his hat, working the fabric between his fingers.
Why should a conversation with a little bit of a woman make him so nervous?

Hiram
had
mentioned the day before that Charity had a problem with gambling because of her father losing everything they owned. Gabe wasn’t a gambler. Not really. He made one stupid wager, but was indeed in danger of losing everything he owned
, j
ust like Charity’s father. Must he pay the price for the rest of his life?
He was doing the best he could do with a bad situation.
Regardless, Charity deserved an explanation
that should have been given
to her
months ago
.

             
He took a deep breath and stared into
her
green eyes. “As you know, Sam and Meg are not my biological children.” She nodded. “Maggie’s husband died in the War Between the States. After his death, Maggie came to Montana with Amos Jenkins.”

             
Charity’s eyes widened. “
He’s h
er cousin, correct?”

             
“Distant cousin. Anyway, Amos has loved Maggie for years,
ever since we were kids,
so of course he wouldn’t allow her to travel to Montana alone.” He didn’t want to dwell on the ramifications of those actions. Maggie’s reputation had suffered for quite a while.
Folks didn’t relent on their suspicions until Maggie
married
Gabe.
Even Gabe wasn’t totally convinced about nothing improper going on during their trip across country, but had chosen not to dwell on what he couldn’t change.

             
“Why did she come?” Charity stood and fetched the pot of coffee and refilled their mugs. “A widow with two children? Couldn’t have been an easy task.”

             
“Most likely not.
Maggie’s first husband was her soul mate. She said she couldn’t bear staying in the place they had lived together.”

             
“She didn’t love you?” Charity frowned.

             
“Sure, she did. But I knew I wasn’t the one she would have chosen had John still been alive. Anyway,
Once they got here, Maggie needed a co-signer for the land. Her husband left her money, and she got more from the sale of their place in Missouri, but it wasn’t enough. Amos proposed, telling her that if they married, he would purchase the land for her. Maggie refused. She cared for Amos, just not as a husband.” Gabe took a drink. Amazing how dry one’s throat got while talking. Or maybe it was nerves about how Charity would react to his story.

             
“So, he cosigned. Then when Maggie married me, he got a bit angry.” An understatement for sure. The man was madder than a rabid wolf. “Said I stole Maggie from him.”

             
“Did you know Maggie before she moved here?”

             
“Sure, I did. We grew up together. Attended the same school. I didn’t intentionally follow her out here, but was pretty pleased when I discovered she was widowed and
living
in Montana. I came out here
after the war
with hopes of being a rancher and found a wife with ample land
to make that dream a reality
.
Having that woman be s
omeone I’d cared about most of my life
was an added bonus
.” Gabe studied Charity’s face. She gazed at him with the utmost attention. Encouraged, he continued.

             
“Amos wanted to go back on his word about the land when Maggie refused to marry him. This was before I got here. So, she made an addendum that she would have a “real” house built by the end of five years.
One with wood walls and a roof.
Amos said a soddy wasn’t a real house.

“
She was living in her wagon
with the children
when I arrived, but I’m rambling.” He leaned back in his chair, concentrating on his line of thought.  “Let me backtrack a minute. Maggie’s husband died in 1864. She moved out here almost immediately. The following spring I arrived, and she was busy digging out this place
and not making a lot of progress
.

             
“I offered her marriage, she accepted, and I finished the soddy. Then Maggie got bit by a snake, and Amos showed up one day, even angrier than before, claiming I didn’t know how to care for a woman. I told him the house he claimed should be here would be built by spring of 1869 or he could have everything. The land, the creek, the barn.
I was foolish enough to put the terms to paper.
I was suffering grief and guilt on my own without him spouting nonsense.
That was a big mistake, and I should never have said it. But, I did.
Well,
s
pring is fast approaching, and I’m in danger of losing everything but the horse I rode in on.”

             
Charity gnawed her bottom lip while Gabe waited nervously for her to say something. He didn’t think she would leave him. Not this close to winter. She had known a little of the circumstances that led him to marry her, but it was way past time for her to know it all.

             
“So, you see, I’m not really a gambling man, you can rest assured in that area.”

             
She stared at him for a moment before answering. “Yet, you not being a gambling man
as you say
, wagered all that you have, in a weak moment, with your enemy. That’s a pretty big gamble, don’t you think?
For a non-gambling man, of course.
”

###

Charity moved away from the table and began measuring coffee for a fresh pot. Anything to
keep
Gabriel
from
staring
into
her
face
. He was right. They needed the conversation. She just didn’t know how to respond
to what he told her
.

             
She understood the reason behind what Gabriel did, but couldn’t give her approval. He stood to lose everything. Even, possibly, his children, since Amos was a blood relation. She bowed her head. What could she possibly do to help that she ha
d
n’t
already done? She could not control the weather or circumstances
that arose
. She turned to face her husband.

             
“What do you want me to do?” She held the coffee
-
pot like a shield.

             
“Understand.”

             
“I do, but I can’t condone it. Not after what me
d
a put me and Ma through.” She set the pot back on the stove. “We had a good life in Ireland, or so we thought. We had no idea Da was making most of his money gambling. We thought his employer
overly
generous
and blessed our good fortune
.
We had a fine stone cottage.
Then, we came to America. Ma took sick with a fever and died. Da gambled even more and lost everything. Then, he decided to mine for gold and was killed when a cave collapsed. I took to doing laundry, and you know the rest.”

             
She poured a pan of hot water into the washbasin and swished her hand to make suds. She loved him, she could admit that to herself now, and that pained her, too. Loving a gambling man was dangerous. Sure, he said he had only bet the once, but how could she be certain? No, it was best she guard her heart against the type of betrayal her Ma suffered through.

             
“Has life with me and the children been so bad?”
The sad tone in his voice caused her to look back.
The vulnerable look on his face was almost her undoing.

             
“No, it’s a fine life.” One that contained memories she would cherish forever.

             
“But you will allow one mistake to keep us from pursuing something … more?”

             
What was he saying?

             
“Pa!” Sam burst through the door. “That man
you don’t like i
s here
, and he’s got guns.
”

             
“Wait.” Charity held up a hand to stop Gabriel from charging outside. “Amos Jenkins came by the day you went hunting. Said he wanted to settle things. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

             
Gabriel gave her a stern look and grabbed his rifle. “
You should have told me.
We’ll settle things for sure
alright
.
I won’t have him bothering my family.
”

             
Charity grabbed her coat and raced after him. “Don’t do anything foolish, Gabriel Williams.”

             
“Stay in the house.” Gabriel glared. “The children, too.”

             
Charity wrapped her arms around Meg and Sam and stood in the doorway. Amos Jenkins sat on his chestnut
m
ustang, his lips stretched into a thin line under his moustache.
His
two pistols were
holstered
on his hips.

             
“Did your woman tell you I was here asking for you
a while back
?”

             
Gabriel stepped
forward
, his rifle cradled in his arms. Charity left the children in the house and stood beside him. She wouldn’t let him face his nemesis alone.

“She told me
,
”
Gabe said.

             
Amos
nodded
toward the new house. “Not finished
,
and the snow is falling. Looks like I’m going to win, unless you want to make another wager. Winner take
s
all?”

             
“I don’t care to
wager again
.” A muscle ticked in Gabriel’s jaw.
“We’ll leave things as they stand. The house will be finished.”

             
“We’ll see. If not, I get everything you have. Including your family. Did your wife tell you I asked her to wed me if you fail?”

29

             
“Let’s cut down a tree!” Gabriel called from outside.

             
Charity put down the scarf she knitted and grabbed her coat. Already the children raced to join their father. When she had mentioned getting a tree the day before, Gabriel had seemed to shrug it off
, calling it a silly waste of time
. Now, here they were, heading into the woods. She motioned for the dogs to follow.