Page 46 of The Prospector's Only Prospect
“I’m going to propose to Virgil that we pay you a dollar to leave a batch of rolls in the office when you’re baking. Yours are miles more tasty than Gristle’s. Is that something you could manage?” Emmett asked.
“I think so. On the topic of Virgil… Nettie, love, will you take this biscuit over to Yeller, please? Oh, Levi, fetch Harley before he gets under the fence.” As the older children ran out of earshot, she asked Emmett, “Should I be worried?”
“About?”
“The fact he’s not back yet.”
“Virgil? No.” His face went blank as if it didn’t occur to him to worry about his friend. “Well…” Emmett pulled at his earlobe. “What’s it been? Five days?”
“A week,” she said, voice edging toward strident.
“No wonder it’s felt so much brighter around here.” The glimmer of amusement in his eyes faded when she failed to laugh with him. She saw a glint of speculation grow in its place.
She folded her arms defensively and looked down at the muddy hem of her bloomers. “Three children in the wilderness may not seem daunting to you, but it is for me.”
Humor lingered in his voice, but he said very sincerely, “I hope you know we’ll look after his children one way or another—including the woman who’s looking after them?”
Marigold relaxed a smidge, since that was reassuring, but it wasn’t as though she wanted to live here, raising a man’s children without him.
“He said he would only be gone three nights. It’s been more than twice that.” She chewed the corner of her mouth.
“Understood. But it could be a washout on the trail. It could be any number of delays that don’t mean a thing. Virgil can take care of himself. He also knows we’re short-handed and need supplies. He won’t dawdle without good reason. He’ll be back—well, I’d say any minute now.” Emmett smirked and nodded beyond her.
Marigold turned and saw the wagon appearing on the hillock at the top of the track that wound down to the floor of the valley.
“Oh!” Her heart leaped so high, she put her hand over it to keep it in her chest. It wasn’t just relief. It was delight. Excitement at seeing him again. Reunion. “Now I feel silly, worrying for nothing.”
She caught Emmett watching her with an expression that was a little too insightful for her comfort. She realized he could read her growing feelings for Virgil plain as day. It made her feel obvious and vulnerable to teasing or exposure.
A sting of anxiety climbed through her.Please don’t tell him, she silently begged.
Emmett blinked and looked toward Virgil, expression mild, almost making her think she’d imagined that strange moment.
Still, it made her careful to keep a sense of decorum and not leap about the way the children did, waving and shouting, even though she wanted to smile so hard her cheeks ached at resisting it.
She picked up Harley so he wouldn’t run with the older ones, asking the baby, “Who’s that?”
Harley looked to where Virgil stopped the wagon long enough for Levi and Nettie to climb aboard for the short ride the rest of the way to the storehouse.
“Papa,” Harley said, kicking his legs in excitement.
“Oh!” A sharp sting hit the backs of her eyes at little Harley using that word for the first time. She hugged him closer, ever so proud of him.
Yeller went into the storehouse, muttering about a busy afternoon of unloading.
“We were starting to think you’d gone to Washington to plead our case, you were gone so long,” Emmett said as Virgil halted the wagon.
“If that convention was a taste of politics, I’d rather take a kick in the face from one of these mules.” Virgil’s gaze hit Marigold’s hard enough to send a fresh jolt of thrill through her. He nodded once in a greeting that made her cheeks sting with a blush, then stepped down from the wagon, holding out his arms for Nettie.
She leaped into them, making him stagger and say, “Oof.” Her small arms squeezed briefly around his neck before he set her on the ground. His face turned pink with self-consciousness, as though he was pleased by her affection, but he didn’t know what to do about it.
Levi came down from the wagon in a leap to the ground before his father. Both children hovered near Virgil, waiting with expectant expressions until he pushed his hand into his pocket.
Harley nearly went wild in her arms, so she put him on the ground. He scrambled across for his taste of a lemon drop. Virgil gave him his sliver, and the older children took theirs before Virgil held out his hand to her and Emmett. “Got a few extras this time.”
Marigold went forward with all the shyness of a virgin on her wedding night.
“Thank you.” Her voice held no substance. Her heart was battering inside her chest like a trapped bird, making it impossible for her to meet his gaze.
