Cole's Redemption (Love Amongst the Pines) (12 page)

             
She felt a twinge in her chest. "Even if it wasn't all his fault? What if he's not the only one who's to blame? Should he suffer alone?"

             
"Ma'am, I don't know what you think he's done, but he's the one who pulled the trigger on those men, not you. He needs to hang for it. He will hang for it."

             
Miriam's eyes misted over. "Not if I can help it, sir."

             
"Is that man bothering you, Mrs.
Remmington
,"
Melly
whispered beside her.

             
Miriam gave him her coldest stare then looked away. "Not really," She took a deep breath and struggled to hold back her tears.

             
"Don't worry. We'll find your son in time. You'll see."

             
"Yes we will," Miriam said quietly, willing herself to believe it.

             
Judge stirred up the early morning campfire. It had been a coon's age since he'd camped out. It reminded him of being a young man again, before the comforts of a wife and home had trapped him. He'd been a restless sort, and that's probably why he'd been
understanding
of Natalie's father's penchant for wandering. It seemed in all the years he'd known
them,
Denton was always leaving for one reason or another.

             
Still, it didn't excuse him leaving a woman with a child and his simple-minded brother to fend for themselves. Judge remembered the first time he'd ridden out to try and convince them to come into town. Madeline had refused him at rifle point. Told him to clear off her property, or she'd fill him full of lead. He laughed out loud when he remembered the sight of her, thin beyond reason and still wearing a dancehall dress.

             
He remembered Natalie, too.
A skinny girl, hanging on her mother's skirts and not a bit afraid of him.
He'd liked them both instantly, but there'd been nothing he could have done to convince them to come with him. He'd settled for striking up a friendship with Dermott and helping them out when ever he could.
Maddie
was a proud woman and didn't take to charity. After all, they were just a silver strike away from heaven, right?

             
"What
ya
laughing' about, Judge?" Dermott asked as he sat up, groggily rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

             
"Oh, just remembering about the first time I rode out here. I remember
Maddie
pulling that single shot rifle on me."

             
"Aw, she was a picture back then, wasn't she? You
shoulda
' seen her when she worked up at Jack's place. She danced so pretty. She could kick her legs up clear over her head." He smiled broadly at the memory.

             
"
Maddie
was a looker, that's for sure. Natalie can dance as well as her mother. Too bad she don't have much to dance about these days." Judge put the coffeepot on to boil.

             
"
Naw
, she don't, does she."

             
They sat quietly for a moment, the sounds of the forest awakening around them. Judge
sighed,
remembering patches of his own life these last few years after
Tildy's
death. He'd felt pain for
Natty's
mother then. Both of them had been lost in their grief.

             
"He's
gonna
take her outta here,
ain't
he, Judge? That boy's
gonna
take my Natty and give her a home somewhere far away. Further away than San Francisco, I think."

             
"What makes you say that,
Derm
?"

             
"Cause I know the way they look at each other. It's just the way
Maddie
used to look at Dent. She's
gonna
fall for him, just like her Ma fell for my brother. When he leaves, she's
gonna
follow him just the same."

             
"Is that a bad thing, Dermott? You know as well as I do there isn't any silver in this hillside."

             
Dermott nodded. "I know it as well as I know my own name."

             
"Why did you stay all this time? Why keep digging in the ground if you knew that nothing would ever come of it? It was a damn waste, that's what it was."

             
"I stayed because of
Maddie
," Dermott whispered.

             
Judge studied the other man carefully. "You loved her, didn't you?"

             
Dermott smiled, "Yeah, I did. But she was Dent's girl. He didn't deserve her, and she loved him to all ends. It didn't matter. I was just happy to be with her."

             
"Did you tell her, I mean after Denton died?"

             
"I meant to. But she was so heart sick, and then when her health got poorly, I couldn't tell her. She
woulda
' likely laughed. I can't blame her
none.
My brain
ain't
never worked right, so what's that to give a woman? I forget things, or get them all mixed up.
Naw
. I was just happy
lovin
' her the way it was. I was really the lucky one. How many men can say they ever really loved a woman?"

             
Judge smiled. "You're right about that. I hope that young renegade in
there
wakes up and realizes what a treasure Natalie is. She's worth every bit of silver and gold there is, and more."

             
"Aw, now that's where we agree, Judge. I've been
thinkin
'."

             
"A pretty dangerous thing to do, if you ask me, Dermott."

             
Dermott laughed again. "Yeah, I know it. But, I was
wonderin
' if there might be something that we can do to help it along a little. You know, help them fall in love?"

             
"I sure would like to,
Derm
. But, I think we ought to just let them be awhile, you know, let nature take its course."

             
Dermott's expression fell; disappointed, he sighed deeply. "If you say so. She's just as likely to shoot him if
they's
left alone for too long. I know
Natty's
temper when she gets riled up."

             
"We'll just have to take a chance that they won't kill each other." Judge laughed as he poured them both a cup of steaming coffee.

             
"Here leads a pathway into hell," Cole quoted some long lost text he'd been forced to read in school.

             
"Aw, it
ain't
that bad, Cole." Natty kicked the dirt off her shoes and began walking down the length of the mine. The shaft, about half as high as a man standing, left her slightly bent as she headed down the gentle slope. In a few moments, she'd almost disappeared entirely into the darkness.

             
Taking a deep breath and pushing back a new uneasiness, Cole followed her in. Once inside, he saw Natty light an oil lamp. She looked like some scruffy apparition, her shadow thrown carelessly about.

             
"Come on, Cole. You were in such a hurry to see it." She turned and began making her way down the uneven surface of the shaft.

             
Cole clumsily followed her along the path, but his discomfort increased with every step. He was afraid of stumbling and falling on his hands. He had no wish to do anything that might prevent his full recovery nor bring on the excruciating pain of a new injury. As they walked about ten minutes down, he saw a small, wooden wagon turned on one side, missing the right front wheel.

             
He paused, squinting down farther into the mine. Of course, set into the side of a mountain, this could go on forever. He had the uneasy feeling of being trapped in this place. A chill ran over him when he looked up at the rickety wooden frame that held the roof in place. It looked as though a good wind might blow it all down.

             
"It took us a year to get this far,"
Natty's
voice said up ahead of him. "No body knows just how much hard work is involved with mining," she told him.

             
Another fifteen feet down, an ax and a shovel lay discarded against the wall. Cole walked over to them, and picked up the ax with his bandaged hands, thinking it was fortunate that they hadn't broken either one of his thumbs. He sighed. It would be a few weeks before he could actually hold an ax properly, let alone use one.

             
"Natalie, it's not safe down here. You're lucky that none of you got trapped by a cave-in."

             
She turned and peered up at him, making her way back. "What do you mean?"

             
"I mean
,
these supports aren't in very good condition. Whoever did this didn't think on it much before he threw those slats up. It's a miracle nobody's been hurt."

             
Natty's
expression fell. "But my Pa said it was all right."

             
"Your Pa was a card player, not an engineer. Come on, let's get out of here." He turned, making his way back towards the surface, his anxieties lessening with every step.

             
"But you haven't seen the whole thing yet!"

             
"I don't need to Natalie. It's just a hole in the ground," he called back to her.

             
She stomped after him. "You just don't want to help me, is
all.
I've got your papers, and you promised me that you'd dig my mine!"

             
Once outside the mine, he stopped, turning abruptly to face her. She was still walking, shaking her fist at him. In truth, he felt like a disgruntled parent scolding a child.

             
"Natalie, stop. I never said I wouldn't dig your damn mine. It's just not safe this way. While I don't mind a dignified death in a hanging, I don't care to die suffocating in a black hole."

             
She stopped; her head tilted back staring up at him. "What are you
gonna
do?"

             
"I'm going to see if your friend the judge will send off for a book on mining, and we can see how it's supposed to be done. In the weeks that it'll take to get the information we need, it'll give my hands a chance to heal properly. We can start working after that."

             
Her expression changed, seconds passed while she considered his words. "All right, that sounds reasonable enough. One thing though," she asked, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest and standing back on her heels.

             
"What's that?"

             
"You do know how to read, don't you?" He stopped a moment, studying her face. Her determination

was
set as solid a stone.

             
"Yes, I can."

             
"Good." She stated crossly, and stepping around him stormed up out of the mind. Curious, he followed her back. He could tell by the stiffness of her back that something was bothering her and, for the life of him, he just had to figure it out.

             
When Natty went back into the cabin, she meant to slam the heavy door in his face. Being angry at her own stupidity didn't make her any less upset at him. But his tall form blocked the door, and he followed her in. She could feel his eyes on her as she pulled out the large pot and began to ladle up some beans for their lunch. In her carelessness, the hot liquid sloshed over the side. She jumped back when the soup hit her hand.

             
"Here," he stepped up and placed his arms on her shoulders. "You're going to hurt yourself if you don't settle down."

             
"Leave me alone!" Natty wanted to run away from him, to close herself in a room and lock the door. She thought about going out to the root cellar and just hiding there until spring. She knew he'd likely come after her and pound on the door driving her crazy until she opened it.

             
"Natalie. Tell me what's wrong."