If she wanted to condemn those who condemned Nugget’s mother for being what she was, then she also had to look at her own judgments of people. Like Joseph. Like being upset at miners for vainly pursuing silver at the expense of all else.
Her father had once told her that he wanted to share real treasure with the miners, and that it was his duty to love them where they were at. That there was nothing wrong with pursuing a dream as long as you didn’t forget the highest prize.
Annabelle sighed. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Joseph or even miners. But it was the only defense she had against the pain of what would be the inevitable loss.
Nugget giggled at something Joseph said to her. The little girl, and yes, even her brother, had already wormed their way into her heart. But if she could leave soon, surely the pain would be bearable. It would certainly be more tolerable than prolonging the acquaintance. The longer she was with them, the more the parting would tear at her.
Chapter Nine
Joseph stuffed the paper-wrapped fish in his pocket. True to her word, Annabelle had made their dinner a feast. He hated leaving so late, but Annabelle had refused to let him leave without food in his belly.
Annabelle handed him the shotgun they’d found buried under one of the floorboards. “I think you should take this.”
“I’ve never been much of a shot.” He stared at the gun, knowing that if he had to come up against the kidnapper, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Joseph closed his eyes and offered a silent prayer. He had to keep Annabelle and Nugget safe.
“What are you going to do when you meet up with whoever’s out there? Invite them to church? Even my father doesn’t venture out of town unarmed. When I agreed to the plan of you investigating, I assumed you at least knew how to protect yourself.”
Which was the nice way of her saying he was the biggest fool ever. “What do we do about what we saw on the cliff?”
She inclined her head over to Nugget, who was bent over one of Pa’s books. “We can’t do much of anything. We have Nugget to keep safe. At least, with the way the cabin is positioned, we’ll know they’re coming before they get here.”
Annabelle held up the gun and said, “I’m pretty good with targets, but it’s not as though I’ve ever shot a person before.”
If only Mary could see him now. She’d probably love the fact that he had a whole list of things a girl could do better than he. No, not a girl. Annabelle.
“We do have the strength of the Lord. Why don’t you pray for us?”
Except Annabelle didn’t rise up to his challenge. Instead, her face fell, and she started to turn away. “Sorry, I can’t.”
He reached for her shoulder. “Please. Annabelle. Stop turning away from me, and just face it.”
Her shoulders fell, and she slowly turned back to face him. A single tear ran down her cheek.
This Annabelle, this Annabelle he knew. It was the sad girl he’d seen try to hide at her father’s house.
“Please don’t tell anyone,” she whispered.
“Tell anyone what?”
Another tear trickled down her cheek. He wanted to reach out to wipe it away, but feared that if he did, it would give her reason to run away again.
“I can’t pray, Joseph. God doesn’t hear my prayers.” She closed her eyes, then her shoulders rose and fell again before she opened them and looked at him. “I’m a preacher’s daughter, and God doesn’t listen to my prayers. If anyone knew...”
The expression skittering across her face reminded him of one of the rabbits they caught in traps. She truly believed that people learning of her lack of faith would be the end of everything.
“Have you talked to your father about this?”
“No!” Annabelle took a step back. “And you can’t tell him, either. It would kill him to know that after all he’s done to save others, his own daughter doesn’t believe.”
His heart broke at the way her face twisted in pain. From his own faith journey, and how his family battled against Christian do-gooders, even if he did tell her father, it wouldn’t make a difference in what Annabelle believed. She had to learn to believe on her own.
“Then I’ll pray for us,” he said quietly. “And I’ll pray for you.”
“Please don’t waste your words on my account,” she said, then turned to clean up the remains of dinner.
This time, he gave her the space she required. He’d seen farther into Annabelle’s heart than she’d even allowed her father to see. With that, he had to believe that there was hope for Annabelle. Maybe even for him and Annabelle to be friends.
If there was silver, and the threat against them seemed to indicate there must be, then maybe he’d move his family out here. It would be good for Mary to have a woman friend her own age.
He smiled at the thought of Annabelle and Mary becoming friends. They both shared the same deep convictions and inner strength he so admired.
He glanced over at Nugget, engrossed in one of their pa’s books. “What are you reading?”
“Papa’s words.” A sad look crossed Nugget’s face. “I miss Papa. He would’ve made the bad men on the cliff go away.”
So much for trying to keep Nugget out of this. “What do you know about the bad men on the cliff?”
Nugget shrugged, then hugged the book closer to her.
“They want Papa’s silver.”
He wished the little girl was old enough to tell him about more than just that their father had silver.
“Can you tell me anything about Papa’s silver?” Joseph sat next to her on the bed, but she scooted away.
“No.” Nugget hugged the book closer to her. “It’s a secret.”
Joseph sighed. She was just a child. She probably didn’t know much anyway.
“It’s all right. You don’t have to tell your secret. Come here, and I’ll read to
