first time that Pa left us. He couldn't help it none, but he was kind of a wanderer. Just couldn't stay still for very long. He'd go up and down the coast, be gone for months at a time, but he always came back. Except for the last time, about a year ago, when he fell from his horse and got snake-bit. It wasn't his fault, though."
"What did your uncle and your mother do when he was gone?"
"They started making plans to work the mine. First, they had to get some money for supplies. My ma would go to town and take in laundry, and Dermott would muck stalls for the livery. I swear they worked day and night for a while. Ma said that we didn't have no choice about it. She and Dermott tried working the mine on their own. When spring came last year and Pa didn't come home, she decided to try and find him on her own. Me an Uncle Dermott stayed here and waited for her. When she came back two weeks later, she was sick. I thought she breathed in too much dust or something. When Doc Evans came out, he told us that she'd got consumption when she was in the city. When she couldn't find Pa, she was heartbroken."
"I don't blame her."
" Naw , me neither. A few weeks later, Uncle Dermott found him out on the trail. He must have been riding home when his horse threw him. Uncle Derm said there was a bunch of rattler bites on him."
"I'm sorry. It must have been pretty hard for you."
"Ma just got sicker and sicker. It was kind of a relief when she passed. At least she didn't have to suffer no more." She sighed. "Since then, it's just been me and Dermott."
"And then you came to my trial and bought yourself a whole new set of problems."
"I just thought that if I got a fella up here, and we started digging again, we could find that silver. I don't much care about the fancy dresses and all. I want to prove my Ma and Pa was right. That they weren't fools for stickin ' out this claim."
"Are you really sure that's what you want to do?" he asked.
"I ain't no fool. But, I always felt that if we dug deep enough, it'd be there. Like it was just out of our reach."
"Sometimes, Natalie, things are out of your reach for a reason. Maybe you're not finding the silver means it's time to move on."
Shaking her head, Natty jumped to her feet. "You're wrong! That silver is here, and I'm gonna find it. You're just like everybody else!"
She backed away from him, but he stood and moved in close. He had a sense that maybe this was his purpose for staying alive just a little longer. Maybe he was meant to protect her from her own stubborn nature. Maybe his 'hanging' bride was the one who really needed saving. Or maybe the blows to his hands somehow muddled up his brains. He wasn't entirely sure which was which.
"All right. Whether I am or not, isn't the point here. Let's you and I make a deal. I will stay until next fall. I'll dig every day that I can hold a pick and a shovel. If at the end of that year there's no silver, then I go back to town, and you get yourself a real life. That means we get the marriage annulled, and you start thinking about getting a husband, or becoming a schoolteacher, or something. Your parents wasted their lives on foolish things. That was their choice. Here's the thing, everybody has a choice, Natalie. Don't throw yours away."
She blinked at him through teary eyes. "Like you did?" He felt her sting, but he wouldn't let it hurt. "Like I did."
Miriam woke with a start. They had been traveling through the night, when she had let slip her uneasiness and dozed off. It wasn't the
"What did your uncle and your mother do when he was gone?"
"They started making plans to work the mine. First, they had to get some money for supplies. My ma would go to town and take in laundry, and Dermott would muck stalls for the livery. I swear they worked day and night for a while. Ma said that we didn't have no choice about it. She and Dermott tried working the mine on their own. When spring came last year and Pa didn't come home, she decided to try and find him on her own. Me an Uncle Dermott stayed here and waited for her. When she came back two weeks later, she was sick. I thought she breathed in too much dust or something. When Doc Evans came out, he told us that she'd got consumption when she was in the city. When she couldn't find Pa, she was heartbroken."
"I don't blame her."
" Naw , me neither. A few weeks later, Uncle Dermott found him out on the trail. He must have been riding home when his horse threw him. Uncle Derm said there was a bunch of rattler bites on him."
"I'm sorry. It must have been pretty hard for you."
"Ma just got sicker and sicker. It was kind of a relief when she passed. At least she didn't have to suffer no more." She sighed. "Since then, it's just been me and Dermott."
"And then you came to my trial and bought yourself a whole new set of problems."
"I just thought that if I got a fella up here, and we started digging again, we could find that silver. I don't much care about the fancy dresses and all. I want to prove my Ma and Pa was right. That they weren't fools for stickin ' out this claim."
"Are you really sure that's what you want to do?" he asked.
"I ain't no fool. But, I always felt that if we dug deep enough, it'd be there. Like it was just out of our reach."
"Sometimes, Natalie, things are out of your reach for a reason. Maybe you're not finding the silver means it's time to move on."
Shaking her head, Natty jumped to her feet. "You're wrong! That silver is here, and I'm gonna find it. You're just like everybody else!"
She backed away from him, but he stood and moved in close. He had a sense that maybe this was his purpose for staying alive just a little longer. Maybe he was meant to protect her from her own stubborn nature. Maybe his 'hanging' bride was the one who really needed saving. Or maybe the blows to his hands somehow muddled up his brains. He wasn't entirely sure which was which.
"All right. Whether I am or not, isn't the point here. Let's you and I make a deal. I will stay until next fall. I'll dig every day that I can hold a pick and a shovel. If at the end of that year there's no silver, then I go back to town, and you get yourself a real life. That means we get the marriage annulled, and you start thinking about getting a husband, or becoming a schoolteacher, or something. Your parents wasted their lives on foolish things. That was their choice. Here's the thing, everybody has a choice, Natalie. Don't throw yours away."
She blinked at him through teary eyes. "Like you did?" He felt her sting, but he wouldn't let it hurt. "Like I did."
Miriam woke with a start. They had been traveling through the night, when she had let slip her uneasiness and dozed off. It wasn't the
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