Faith (Goldwater Creek Mail-Order Brides 1) by Leighann Dobbs

know. If only a letter from one of her sisters would arrive, she might have a better idea of what was going on back home.
    One part of her knew she should try to find the mine entrance right away, but the other part of her was angling for a way to be able to satisfy Lefty that wouldn’t involve betraying Jax.
    She made her way to the kitchen, distracted by the problem at hand. If only there was some way to make it work. She didn’t dare give Lefty a fake location, but maybe she could stall him somehow.
    If her assumptions about Jax needing to appear respectable so he could get money and approval to stake his claim were true, then maybe Lefty would leave her alone once that happened. She could only wish.
    “What’s got your face all puckered up like that?” Maisie asked as Faith sauntered into the kitchen.
    “What?” Faith had been so deep in thought she hadn’t even realized where she’d been going. She’d just been following the delicious smells. “Oh, sorry, Maisie. What are you cooking that smells so wonderful?”
    “I got some sausage, some flapjacks and a new maple syrup recipe.” Maisie slipped a plate stacked full on the table. “Now you eat up. You gonna need your appetite for this afternoon.”
    Faith’s brows drew together. “I am?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Mr. Jax is gonna come and take you on a surprise. He said you be ready to go out.”
    Faith’s spirits lifted. “He is?”
    The thought of going out with Jax excited her, but then she worried he might be taking her to show her the mine. And if he did, she would know the location, then she would have to decide whether to be loyal to her husband or her sisters. She didn’t want have to make that decision just yet.
    “Yes ma’am. He’s gone out now, but he said he left you a little something in the library and he’ll be back later.”
    Faith raced through her flapjacks, stopping only long enough to assure Maisie that the syrup was indeed her best yet. She couldn’t wait to see what Jax had left in the library for her.
    When she was done, she offered to help Maisie clean up, but the woman would have none of it, so she put her dishes in the sink and practically skipped to the library.
    She stood in the doorway, her eyes scanning the room for something that looked out of place. They fell on the table beside the chair and she recognized the tattered cover of the poetry book.
    She crossed slowly, trepidation running through her. Did Jax know about her quest to find the mine? Was this some kind of trick? Maybe he had known she was after the map in the book all along.
    But when she saw the note on top, she realized that wasn’t the case at all. Her suspicions were due to her own guilty feelings.
    She read the letter in disbelief, her fingertips tracing the writing. The letters were blocky, not scrolly or frilly. Manly.
    He thought she was beautiful?
    Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. Charles had never said she was beautiful.
    She picked the book up gently. It was clear the book was important to Jax. She wasn’t sure why he’d snatched it out of her hands like that. Perhaps it did have the map in it and he didn’t want her to find it. If that were the case, she was sure he would’ve removed it by now.
    She opened the book and thumbed through the pages carefully. As she expected, no map was inside. No loose piece of paper fell out and all the pages were text.
    Why did he leave it for her?
    Was it possible that he felt bad about his earlier behavior and left the book here as an apology? Her heart melted at the thought and his sweet note.
    The book was in rough shape. Maybe she could do something to repair it. As she inspected the cover, the book fell open to the front page and she noticed a name written in faded blue ink. Mary.
    Who was Mary?
    She could see the fabric cover had been sewn over the original leather cover of the book. The leather was disintegrating and the fabric had been carefully attached with small stitches.
    But the fabric was