Chapter 11
That night, as she lay in her bed, Julie thought about the house that Andrew was talking about building. If they had a nice wide porch then they could sit on it and watch the world go by. It would be wonderful. They could raise their children there.
The thought of children brought her back to the kiss.
A wave of love and longing and hope had washed over her, and before she had formed a cohesive thought, she’d found her lips touching Andrew’s.
And his arms had wound themselves around her and she had held him tight …
Oh, it was magical. If she closed her eyes, she could still feel a faint echo of his touch. And that echo longed for more.
Was this love or merely attraction?
No, it had to be love because attraction didn’t run this deep. Andrew was right inside her heart. No matter what she was busy with, be it tending to a laceration, dealing with a sprain or a muscle injury, or cooking a meal, she was always thinking about him. He never left her mind.
Was she being prudish by still insisting they slept in separate houses?
No, being that close with someone was a huge step, one which she had never taken before. She would rather wait until there was no question in her mind whether it was right or not.
Still, her heart thudded in her chest and her mind relived the kiss over and over, making sleep almost impossible to find. It lurked blissfully on the edges of her mind.
Something jingled.
Julie sat up in bed. What was that?
The jingling sounded again.
Could it be the wind?
After listening for a while, Julie realized there was no wind that night. Only a light breeze that would have to work very hard to move a can and make the noise.
Her heart suddenly began to beat faster, not with excited pleasure this time but with fear. Her palms began to sweat. Should she go and see? Should she wake someone?
Yes, she would wake Andrew. That would be best.
Donning her boots and a jacket over her nightdress, she crept out of her house and walked next door to where Andrew and Jeff stayed. There was only the cloth flap for a door, so she stood beside it and called out.
“Andrew!”
“Yes?”
“I think something is after the chickens!”
Andrew appeared a moment later in his trousers and boots. His nightshirt was tucked into his waistband. He ran a hand through his hair and then reached for Julie’s hand.
The jingling came again.
It was a bright night, a full moon, and the world was bathed in blue light. They could see easily to make their way around to the chicken coop. It wasn’t far and they were there quickly.
Julie expected to surprise a fox or a coyote. She hoped to get a look at it at least, but by the time they arrived, they could see it was too late. The door to the coop was open, and the cans were jingling on and off as the device thumped against the wall of the henhouse.
“How many are gone?”
Looking like an apparition, the sight almost scared Julie to death. She screamed and clutched at Andrew, trying to back away from what looked like a ghost.
And then the figure resolved itself into Walter. Julie suddenly felt awfully foolish.
“Walter!” she cried. “You nearly scared me to death!”
“Sorry,” he said, pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose. “Did you see what it was?”
“No, did you?” Andrew asked, extricating himself from Julie’s grasp and taking a quick walk around the henhouse.
The fence she and Walter had made had done nothing to dissuade whatever was after their chickens.
More figures appeared in the darkness, some with lanterns in their hands.
“What’s happening?” Kevin asked. “We heard a scream.”
“Is everything all right?” Michael asked.
It took some time to explain, and by then everyone was awake.
The chickens were in an uproar in the henhouse, and it took Kyle and Walter several minutes to find out if any were missing.
The others went to the campfire, built it up, and as it was still early, Julie made chamomile tea to get them all back to sleep.
“There are two chickens missing,” Walter said. By his tone, you would have thought he was telling them someone had dared to rob a bank he was in charge of.
“Two?” Andrew asked, looking thoughtful. “Two chickens are gone and there’s no blood?”
“No, no blood,” Kyle said. “You’re thinking what I’m thinking, aren’t you?”
“If you’re thinking that our thief is a person and not an animal, then yes,” Andrew said. “I am.”
Julie passed mugs of tea around. “But who could be stealing them? Aren’t we the only people for miles?”
“People move around,” Andrew teased.
“Clearly I left my thinking brain in my bed,” she said, her cheeks heating up.
Andrew smiled as he took his mug of tea. “Don’t worry, I think none of us are too bright when we’re pulled from sleep.”
“But you are,” she said.
“I wasn’t asleep yet,” he said.
Was he also thinking about their kiss and their plans for the future? It made Julie’s insides warm and fuzzy to think that might be the case.
“So, what do we do?” Troy asked, yawning. “We can’t stand guard over a bunch of fowls.”
“No, but maybe we can set a trap,” Michael said.
Everyone liked that idea, and while they sipped their tea they discussed the traps that could be set and how best to do it.
Julie listened and was glad when everyone agreed that a nonlethal trap would be best. In her experience, people who stole things like chickens were only doing it because they were hungry and had no other options.
“We’re sure it’s a person?” Kevin asked.
“Yes, Kevin,” Jeff said. “It has to be a person because the door was opened. He didn’t see the string to the cans until it was too late. But it was a person who opened that door. No animal could manage it.”
“So, in the morning, we will build the trap,” Andrew said. “And the next time he comes around, we will catch him.”
When morning came, Julie went about her business. Robert Hayes, who had once been a US Marshal, had told them that the culprit was most likely watching the camp.
“He’ll need to know when to strike and how best to get into camp and out of it,” Robert said. “With that in mind, we should go about our days as usual and set the trap out of sight of most places he could hide to keep an eye on us.”
Now, Julie felt eyes on her all the time. It was just her imagination, of course, but that didn’t seem to matter. She was uncomfortable and found it hard to behave as though nothing was going on. So, she spent most of the day in her clinic.
Mark Ellis, who was a lithe man and could fit down mine holes that others couldn’t, came in with a severely sprained ankle. It was swelling quickly. This took a lot of Julie’s attention and soon she forgot about the chickens and the trap.
“What were you doing?” she asked Mark as she doused the ankle in cold water.
It was the best she could do until winter, when she would have access to ice.
Now all she had was cold cloths and water to try and bring down the swelling.
That and comfrey leaves, which she packed around the afflicted ankle.
“I was exploring another cavern,” Mark said between gritted teeth as she worked. “I didn’t realize the shelf of rock that I was perched on ended so abruptly, but it did, and I fell about twenty feet to the ground. I’m lucky it’s not broken.”
“You’re lucky you weren’t going headfirst,” she said. “Next time, make them tie a rope around you. Honestly, what happened to safety?”
“This is mining,” Mark said. “There is no safety.”
“Well, there should be,” she said heatedly.
It took her a while to see to Mark’s ankle. When she was done, she told him to stay off it until it was healed.
“Sure,” Mark said. He might as well have said no. His face said it. She could see that he was the kind of person who would take her advice into consideration but might decide not to follow what he saw as a mere suggestion.
After that, Michael came in. He’d been lifting heavy things and tweaked a muscle. It was his lower back and he was in a lot of pain. She gave him a dose of laudanum and sent him to bed with cushions to prop his knees up so that he wouldn’t put more strain on his back.
Next was Kyle with a rash. It was all down his right arm and side.
“Perhaps you touched something or rubbed up against a plant that you’re allergic to?” she suggested. “It’s in a localized area, which tells me it’s not a disease but rather an external cause like a plant.”
“They can do this?” he asked.
“The science is very new,” Julie said. “But yes. Plants have chemicals in them that can cause rashes and headaches. Think of poison ivy as an example of a very aggressive plant. It really doesn’t want anyone to bother it.”
“That is true,” Kyle said, trying not to scratch the red blotches that had formed on his skin.
Julie decided to wash the affected area with lavender. It was soothing and should help. Her father had developed a salve for such cases, and Julie was happy to give Kyle a jar of the stuff. It was a wonder and usually worked quickly to ease the itch.
He left a slightly happier man.
“How are things going?” Andrew asked, poking his head into her clinic.
Julie sighed. “Busy. Today is the day for medical treatments, it seems.”
“Well, if it’s any consolation, since you gave me my tonic, I feel a lot better,” Andrew said. “Between that and the delight of your company, I can’t complain at all.” He smiled wryly at her.
“That is good to know,” she said, smiling back.
“Do you feel like getting out of here for a little while?” he asked.
She nodded. “I would love to.”
Hooking her arm through his, they set off walking around the camp and out into the fields. They had a spot they liked in a patch of live oak, where the grass was soft and green. It was close to a pond, and they took their shoes off and stuck their feet in the water.
Julie was still too nervous to consider swimming.
Funny thing about almost drowning—she was less keen for water deeper than her knees now than she had been before.
However, visiting this spot quietly and calmly with Andrew was doing wonders for her.
Perhaps after a few years she might even manage to spend time at the creek again.
“I could stay here all day,” she said, leaning against Andrew. He was so solid and dependable. It was wonderful.
“Me too,” he said.
“Are things going better?” she asked. “You’ve been so worried lately.”
He looked thoughtful. “Yes. It’s a funny thing, but although the situation hasn’t changed, my outlook has, and that seems to have altered things.
I was quite surprised when I received the latest brash demand for results and found that it didn’t bother me as much.
This mine isn’t only about making money; it can’t be.
It has to be about doing things right from the start.
If we don’t make sure that the men working here are safe, they will never work well.
And we’ll never see the mine’s full potential.
You’re the one who got me to change my thinking, so thank you. ”
Andrew wrapped his arms around her and leaned in. “You’ve made my life so much better, Jules,” he whispered. Then he kissed her for a long time, wrapping her in joy and contentment. She had never been this free or this happy before in her life. It was the stuff dreams were made of.
They stayed a while longer and then went back to camp.
It was Julie’s turn to cook dinner, and she made pasta paired with a fresh salad that the miners devoured every single bite of. There wasn’t so much as a crumb left over. And the men, always boisterous, seemed jubilant tonight, randomly bursting into laughter and song throughout the meal.
“We start properly mining tomorrow,” Anderw said when Julie asked what had the men so happy.
“No more samples and tests,” Jeff said. “It’s about time we get down to brass tacks.”
“Yes, yes,” Andrew said, waving his brother’s words away.
“But what about the elevator?” she asked.
“Troy has rigged up something that will work until we can get the parts he needs,” Andrew said. “It’s good. It means we can start getting things moving around here. Start building some actual houses and living like people again.”
The men burst into loud cheers, thumping one another on the back.
Julie smiled and laughed, enjoying the feeling of being part of this endeavor.
Most of all, though, she enjoyed watching Andrew’s happiness.
He was so excited, bantering with his men and acting kind of like an adorable little boy.
So different from the usually responsible, stoic man who oversaw the mine and camp.
When it was time to go to bed, Andrew walked her to her door. He drew her to him and pressed his lips to hers, leaving her quite breathless. Then, while her head was spinning and her heart thumping happily in her chest, he wished her a good night and went into his hut.
Julie spent a moment outside, still breathing hard. What a kiss. Her knees were weak, and she didn’t trust herself to walk. Somehow she made it inside and collapsed on her bed. She lay there a long time, thinking of the kiss and how wonderful it was.
Automatically, she kept an ear cocked for the sound of the cans jingling. However, when she woke in the morning, she realized that nothing had happened. Either they had missed the thief, or he hadn’t come.
“There are no chickens missing,” Walter said. “Perhaps he’s moved on.”
“Or he’s had enough chicken for now,” Jeff said. “We should leave the trap where it is.”
“Agreed,” Robert said. “We don’t know anything about this person other than that he likes to steal other people’s things. So, let’s keep our eyes peeled.”
Over the next few days, Julie thought that perhaps there were a few things missing from the pantry when she went in there to get ingredients for meals, but she couldn’t be certain.
After all, anyone could go in there any time and take what they wanted.
There was no way of knowing. Still, she thought that things like eggs, some of the bread she baked in a Dutch oven in the fire, and some of the vegetables they had managed to grow were missing.
She didn’t say anything to Andrew. Someone stealing things like that was clearly hungry.
After a few more days, though, she decided she was imagining things and assumed the thief had moved on. That was until she woke in the night to the sound of clanging cans.