Free A Treasure Concealed by Tracie Peterson

hat and coat. I knew you wouldn’t want anyone to see you without them.”
    For a minute he wasn’t sure she’d heard him, but finally she looked up and gave a nod. “Thank . . . thank you.” She quickly pulled on the coat and hat. Then a sob broke from her, and once again Emily buried her face.
    Caeden had comforted his mother and sisters on more than one occasion when his father had been particularly ugly. He knew very well how to offer gentle support and reassuring words. But Emily wasn’t a family member. She was a beautiful young woman. She might misinterpret his actions for taking liberties.
    â€œEmily.” He spoke her name soft and low. “I want to help.”
    She shook her head without looking up. “You can’t.” Her words were muffled against her skirt.
    â€œIt’s not good to bear this alone. Maybe you’d feel better if you talked about it.”
    For some reason this set her off. Without warning she jumped to her feet and looked down at him as if he were crazy. “Nothing will make me feel better. My mother is dying a little each day, and I cannot stop it. My father insists that he’ll find a fortune each day, and he never does. Talking to you won’t make this madness stop.”
    Caeden got to his feet. “I didn’t mean to suggest it would. I only thought you might need a shoulder . . . or rather a sympathetic ear.”
    She shook her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, but they stared out at him with all the emotions a heart could contain. Caeden found that he very much wanted to hold her and assure her that everything would be all right. But, of course, he knew firsthand that often things were never made right. He wouldn’t further her pain by lying.
    â€œI have sympathy enough to last a lifetime,” she said.
    He could barely hear her words. She stared at him a moment longer, then sank once more to the ground.
    â€œSympathy has never done me a lick of good. Pity is even worse. So I don’t want either from you.”
    Caeden made a bold move, moving in and sitting down right beside her again. When she didn’t move away, he decided to share a bit of his heart.
    â€œMy mother wasted away much like yours. My father was a heavy drinker, and his business dealings were far more important than his family. My mother used to say that he was really married to liquor and kept his business as a mistress. It broke her heart. She knew he didn’t love her or care that she was dying. She knew he would never give her a second thought once she was gone. But she kept hoping anyway.”
    Emily turned her face to his. “How terrible! At least Mama knows that she’s loved and that she’ll be missed.”
    Caeden nodded. “And that is worth more than all the gold in the world. Love is something you cannot buy or discover hidden in the ground. You can’t find it in liquor or business dealings either.” He tried to keep the bitterness from his tone, but he couldn’t hide it when it came to memories of his father’s abuse.
    For several minutes neither said another word. Emily looked away to stare out at the river, while Caeden found it impossible to watch anything but her. Why was it she so captivated him? Was it because of their first encounter? Or because he had come to see how hard she worked to hide her identity and her heart, all while laboring to ease her mother’s final days?
    â€œAll I’ve ever wanted was a home.” Emily sighed and shook her head. “A home where we could stay and not have to leave for the next gold strike or mining camp. A home where I could plant flowers and a real garden and have a nice little fence around it all.”
    She surprised him by giving a small laugh. “I suppose that sounds childish, but I’ve never had it. Whenever Mama andI walked to town, I used to pretend we were actually going home—that one of the houses in