Free Mary Connealy by Golden Days Page A

I am telling Ian about the baby tonight.”
    Meredith nodded, then sat and folded her hands in her lap like a prim and proper school girl. “I’ll behave, Mama. I promise.”
    Meredith dissolved into laughter, and Amy joined in.
    Amy finally went to the house and set about preparing dinner for the Rafferty clan.
    ❧
    Swirling the pan, letting the crystal clear water overflow the edges, and watching for bits of gold, Braden hadn’t seen a fleck of gold yet. He wished he’d catch gold fever because, unless he did, panning for gold was never going to be any fun. He didn’t see much sign of the gold madness resting on Ian or Tucker, either. The only time they got interested as they worked about twenty feet apart on the icy murmuring stream was when they talked about hunting.
    “I saw polar bear tracks a stone’s throw from my house.” Tucker worked the rocker with the steady swish of water against a sieve. Occasionally, he straightened and flicked at the bottom of his pan with a negligent finger, then tossed the contents away.
    “Are you sure it wasn’t a grizzly?” Ian sat on a rock, swishing away, staring into the pan. “I’ve never heard of a polar bear this far south.”
    The two men seemed to prefer working close enough to talk, showing none of the normal miner’s ferocious knowledge of his property line. Braden wasn’t even sure where the boundary of his claim lay. Of course, only the three of them were mining in the area, so who’d argue about property lines?
    “There were tufts of pure white fur. The old boy must be shedding his winter coat because the fur scraped off as if he were snowing.”
    Ian looked at Tucker. “It’ll be hungry and cranky. We’d better keep Merry close to the cabin.”
    “Amy, too.” Braden tossed the slushy sediment back into the water. He saw a silver fish flash past in the fast-moving stream. He thought their time could be better spent fishing than mining.
    “So, have you spoken for the little woman?” Tucker asked.
    Braden straightened and looked at Ian’s brother-in-law. “Of course not. I didn’t come up here hunting for a woman.”
    “Hmmm. . .” Tucker kept rocking.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Braden couldn’t hide his irritation. He wrestled his temper under control.
    “Doesn’t mean a thing.” The quiet scratch of rock against metal almost covered Tucker’s mild comment.
    “Her father just died. She’s not interested in any man right now.”
    “She tell you that?” Tucker, bent at the waist, working his rocker, turned his back to Braden.
    Braden’s eyes narrowed on Tucker. “Are you saying you’re interested in Amy?”
    “I’m not saying a thing. Asked a simple question is all. Just makin’ conversation.”
    Braden frowned at Tucker’s back. Then he glanced at Ian and saw Ian swirling his pan and watching Braden when he should be looking for gold dust.
    Braden decided to change the subject. “So, you’ve actually found some gold here?”
    Tucker laughed.
    Ian tossed the contents of his pan away and grinned at Braden. “We get some color out of here once in a while.”
    Tucker stood and tugged his suspenders. “I keep hoping I’ll catch gold fever, but so far, this is just plain boring.”
    Ian grunted in agreement, then shrugged. “It pays the bills.”
    “What bills? I thought you lived off the land.”
    “Good thing, because gold wouldn’t pay any. It’s almost supper time.” Ian packed his scanty supplies and gathered up his rifle. Braden and Tucker followed suit. “Let’s go down the trail in the direction you saw the bear, Tucker. Seein’ his tracks’d tell us what we’re up against.”
    Companionably, the three of them began the hike through the heavy woods.

Nine
    For the next two weeks, Amy did the lion’s share of the work, and Meredith got the credit.
    Amy neatly rolled the pallet she slept on in the main room as Meredith talked to her through the window. “I feel like a fraud sitting out here day after