They walked into the store, and Joseph noticed how Nugget still clung to Annabelle’s skirts.
“Are you all right?” He ruffled his sister’s hair with his free hand.
She looked up at him, wide-eyed. “Uh-huh. That lady was mean, but Annabelle showed her.” Then she looked at Annabelle, like she believed more in Annabelle than she did in him.
“What if they’re mean to us here?”
The already proper woman straightened even more. “Then we’ll find another store. And we’ll keep trying until we find someone who will treat us with respect.”
Annabelle’s conviction shamed Joseph. With all the places that had turned them away, he’d taken Nugget and slinked away with his tail between his legs. If they had refused Annabelle, she probably would have given them the what-for.
“Thank you.” He turned and looked at Annabelle.
She looked confused. “For what?”
Joseph nodded his head toward his sister. “You treat her with dignity.”
Her face colored, and she reached for Nugget’s hand. “Come on, Nugget. Let’s go look at some ribbons.”
So far, no one had noticed their presence in the store. Frank appeared to have already engaged in serious conversation with the proprietor.
As they walked toward the ribbons, a woman approached them. “Hello. I’m Mrs. Taylor. Your father said you needed help with your shopping.”
Joseph examined her face for any sign of the judgment he’d come to expect with Nugget. But she appeared pleasant and willing to do business with them.
“Thank you, yes.” Annabelle gave the woman the kind of smile Joseph wished she’d direct at him. “Our housekeeper, Maddie, provided me with a list of items. But I’d also like to look at some ribbons for Nugget.”
Annabelle pulled the little girl off her skirts and in front of her. “Nugget is my friend, and I hope you’ll be kind to her.”
“Of course.” Mrs. Taylor bent in front of Nugget. “Why don’t you go select a peppermint for yourself?”
“Thank you all the same, Mrs. Taylor, but my friend doesn’t care for peppermint.”
How did Annabelle know that Nugget didn’t like peppermints? He’d shoved dozens of them at the poor child before she’d finally told him that she didn’t like them.
The genuine affection in her face as she looked at Nugget tore at Joseph’s heart. And the smile Nugget gave her back was enough to make him melt.
“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
