No expression crossed the preacher’s face; at least none Joseph could discern. “I’ve got five sisters and a brother staying with an aunt in Ohio. We’ve got no place to go. Aunt Ina is threatening to send them all to an orphanage. I’ve been working hard to make up for what Pa used to send, but it’s not enough. When Ma got sick, the doctor was so expensive. I couldn’t afford it all and we lost the farm.”
Joseph’s gut ached at having to share so much of his personal business with this man.
He looked the preacher in the eye, straightening in his chair. “I’m not asking for me. I know how to make it on my own. I’ve been doing it since I was a boy. But I’ve got to do better for my brother and sisters. I need to find my pa and get the money he’s been denying us so I can keep them out of an orphanage.”
The last word squeaked out of him—a painful reality he didn’t want to face. Especially now that he had another sister to consider. How could he be responsible for sending seven kids to an orphanage?
“The boardinghouse wouldn’t let me keep Nugget there with me. Called it improper. I can’t afford the hotel. We’ve been staying in a tent outside of camp, but it’s no place for a little girl. I’ve been working in the mines to send money to my aunt so she’ll keep the others a little longer.”
And, from the letter he’d just received, probably not much longer if Daniel didn’t stop his antics. It wasn’t Daniel’s fault, not really. But living with all those girls, and not having a man’s guidance...
Joseph let out a deep breath. “Sir, I know you get all sorts of people on your doorstep, but I need to find my father. You’re my last hope of finding him. People say there isn’t a miner in these parts you don’t know.”
The preacher rubbed his stubbled jaw. “What’d you say his name was?”
“William Earl Stone.” He exhaled, then said, “The lady at Miss Betty’s called him Bad Billy.” He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the reason for his pa’s moniker, not with the way the woman had winked when she’d called him that. One more reason to hate the man.
The preacher closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. “I didn’t recognize the full name, but at mention of Bad Billy, I know who you’re talking about.”
What kind of man had his pa become, that even the preacher had that disgusted look in his eyes?
Joseph swallowed. “Can you tell me where to find him?”
“I’m sorry, son. Your father died nearly six months ago.”
Dead. So Joseph had spent everything he had on a fool’s errand. He should be comforted to know that the reason the money had stopped was that his pa had died. But comfort wouldn’t feed his family or keep them out of the orphanage.
Chapter Two
Joseph stood and extended his hand. “Thank you, sir, for your time. I appreciate your assistance.”
The preacher didn’t take it. He looked up at him with cornflower-blue eyes that inappropriately reminded Joseph of Annabelle.
“Sit back down, young man. You have a problem, and informing you of the sad news of your father’s passing doesn’t solve it. I can’t in good conscience let you leave until we’ve got a better solution for your family.”
A man who’d spent years caring for a family in place of an absent father didn’t weep. But in the face of the past few weeks, combined with the news that it had all been for nothing, this man’s kindness made him want to do so.
Preacher Lassiter stood. “It seems to me that as your father’s son, you’d be next of kin. Therefore, I think it fitting that I give you some papers your father entrusted me with. I recognize you from a picture he showed me.”
Hopefully those papers would lead to the source of the money his pa had been sending. It hadn’t been much, but maybe, just maybe, it would be a start. One of the men he’d sat next to on the train had talked about places out West that still needed settling. He could take advantage of the Homestead Act. Sure, it wouldn’t be the farm they’d lost, but it would be enough. Farming was good, honest work, and certainly more rewarding than all the time Joseph had spent in the mines.
For the first time since coming out here, Joseph felt hopeful that maybe things would finally be all right.
“I appreciate that, Preacher. Anything you can do is a blessing.”
The preacher smiled at him. “Call me Frank.” He pulled a key out of his pocket and walked past him. “I’ve got his things in a safe I keep in the other room, so I’ll be right back.”
It had to be a good sign that his pa’s papers were important enough to be kept in a safe. Maybe his snake of a father had done right by his family after all.
Joseph looked up to see a portrait of Jesus staring him down. He gave a long sigh. It had been wrong of him to be so disrespectful of his pa. Someday, he’d be able to ask forgiveness for it. Right now, though, he couldn’t be sorry. Not with all the mouths he had to provide for. And the fact that his pa was the very reason they were in this predicament.
Was it wrong to reserve his forgiveness and apologies until after he knew his family was safe?
Probably so. But it had been a long time since Joseph had been to church. Not since his pa left and one of the women in their old church had said something to his ma about her husband
