Annabelle pulled out of his embrace and smoothed her skirts. “So what now? You won’t let me leave, and I can’t stay.”
Her father let out the exasperated sigh she’d grown too used to hearing. “Gertie has been asking us to come up for a while now. I’ve been making too many excuses. There are a number of parishioners I need to see and I haven’t been able to spend nearly the time I’d like up here caring for them.”
A familiar tightness closed around Annabelle’s lungs. “Please don’t ask me to—”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling.” Her father stood immovable. “This shouldn’t be a chore. You used to beg to spend more time here. No matter how many days you spent up here, you always wanted more. So for you to be so reluctant to stay up here—”
Her father looked her in the eyes, searching in a way that he hadn’t done before. “Annabelle, if there is some reason, other than you being upset over the loss in our family, then tell me. Otherwise, we’re staying. Long enough for me to finish my work, and, I pray, long enough for you to face the pain that has you so trapped.”
And what if she suffocated in the process? Already her lungs felt like they’d been filled with the dreaded slag from the mines. Her eyes burned. And her heart might shrivel up and die completely. That, she supposed, would be a mercy. Maybe then, the pain would stop.
“What will I do while I’m here?” In the past, she’d visited parishioners, helped with Polly’s chores, and then she and Polly would be on the lookout for—
Annabelle closed her eyes. Henry was gone, and who knew what had become of Polly’s Tom? Regardless, there would be no giggling over weddings and babies.
“Joseph needs your help. If he’s going to find his father’s silver, he can’t have a child underfoot. Mining is dangerous work as it is, and with the man who tried taking Nugget, he needs someone to take care of her.”
Meaning Annabelle. And it didn’t diminish the threat of the man who wanted to take Nugget.
“So we’re still in danger?”
Her father shook his head. “Slade found some good tracks and he’s confident that he’ll be able to locate the culprit. You and Nugget will be safe enough with Gertie.”
Leaving Joseph alone. “But what if the man comes after Joseph?”
“I’m glad to see you care about them. Now for you to start caring about the rest of the people in your life.”
Annabelle drew in a breath. “Of course I care about the people in my life. I just...”
The look on her father’s face told a different story. He didn’t need to say it. She already knew that wallowing in her grief had been selfish. But remembering the sadness on Gertie’s face as she reminded Annabelle of the people she’d been shutting out, Annabelle’s excuses seemed rather thin.
“You’re right. I should be more sociable toward Gertie and her family. I should talk to Polly.”
It wouldn’t be enough time to repair the breach, but she could make the effort. Maybe she’d even find the words to mend things with Polly. Of all things she regretted, it was that she’d said such harsh things the last time she’d spoken to the girl who’d once been her best friend.
It wasn’t Polly’s fault Henry had left. She’d merely been the bearer of bad news, and Annabelle had taken her heartbreak out on the other girl.
So many wrongs Annabelle had to make up for.
Her father followed her gaze to where Polly stood. “It would be a good start.”
Annabelle swallowed. Her father didn’t know the half of what had gone on. He’d been visiting a sick parishioner while Annabelle sobbed the whole story to her dying mother. None of them had realized how little time her mother had left, and sometime in the midst of Annabelle’s pain, her mother had died.
She’d already been grieving the losses of Susannah and Peter. But that day, Annabelle had lost the man she’d thought she was going to marry, her best friend, and her mother.
Maybe Gertie was right. Maybe Annabelle hadn’t had to lose everything. But as Nugget’s laughter rang out across the camp, Annabelle wasn’t sure she could risk opening her heart up again. What if she did everything right, and she still lost everything?
Chapter Twelve
Joseph swung the giggling girl in another wide circle.
“More!” Caitlin cried, the air full of her joy.
Nugget stamped her foot. “No! It’s my turn.”
He set Caitlin down and looked at the little girls. “You’ve both had turns, and now my arms are tired. Take a break and play with your dolls.”
They ran toward the stumps where they’d set the dolls for a nap, and Joseph took a seat on another old stump. He hadn’t remembered youngsters being so tiring. Of course his sisters were older, though Bess only by three years. Still, it had been a long time since he’d heard such laughter. Or maybe it only felt that way.
“Joseph!” Frank walked toward him, but Annabelle was nowhere in sight.
Joseph stood. “Is everything all right with Annabelle?” He wanted to kick himself for his impertinence. It wasn’t his place to be concerned for her. “I’m sorry, Frank, I had no right.”
“You care about my daughter. You have every right.” Frank frowned, then looked over at the girls playing before turning his attention back to Joseph.
But this wasn’t attention Joseph wanted. He didn’t have the right. Not when he wouldn’t be there for someone who clearly needed more stability than Joseph could provide.
“I’ve tried to be a friend to Annabelle.”
Frank nodded slowly. “What are your intentions toward my daughter?”
Joseph sighed. “Friendship is all I have to offer. Back home, I have five sisters and a brother to raise.” The giggling girls drew his attention. “And then there’s Nugget.”
A complication he hadn’t dealt with in terms of sharing with his family and figuring out how they were going to incorporate this sweet little
