One Tiny Miracle: Branded with his Baby / The Baby Bump / An Accidental Family

“I wouldn’t like it,” she admitted. “What does Abe think?”

“Thank God he agrees with me on that issue. This little town is just like a grave site. It shouldn’t be trampled on by a bunch of strangers.”

Shaded by several tall cottonwood trees, the largest building of the lot had once been a company store and directly across from it, the swinging doors of an old saloon had long ago fallen from their hinges and landed on the planked porch. Down the street three more buildings were partially standing, one of which appeared to have been a blacksmith shop. Part of a forge was visible in the open doorway.

“We’ll come back in a few minutes for a closer look and have lunch,” he told her. “Right now let’s ride on to the mine. It’s just a short distance from here.”

“Fine,” she agreed.

After leaving the remnants of Chillicothe, they rode northwest for another quarter of a mile. Here the landscape changed to low mountains covered with short grass, a sprinkling of orange and purple wildflowers and a few pines.

When they reached a small creek trickling with crystal clear water, Quint said, “Back in the eighteen hundreds the miners first found gold panning this little creek. But it was a long time afterward before they began to dig for it.”

Bemused, Maura looked down at the stream. “I wonder if any nuggets are still around?”

“You’re welcome to pan,” he teased.

Laughing, she looked over at him. “No thanks. I might get the fever and then I’d have to set up camp out here.”

The grin slowly faded from his face. “That might not be a bad thing. Then I wouldn’t have to make excuses to see you.”

Since their stop at the arroyo, something had changed between them, Maura thought. She didn’t know exactly what it was or what had brought it about. But with every beat of her heart she could feel herself drawing closer and closer to this man. With every breath she took, the protective wall she’d built around her was crumbling away into useless rubble.

“You mean showing me Chillicothe and the mine was just an excuse to see me?” she asked.

His low chuckle was both sensual and suggestive and Maura’s cheeks burned with self-conscious heat. In her younger days, she’d never had trouble attracting the opposite sex and even since her divorce from Gilbert, she’d been asked on dates by a few men. But she could safely say none of them had been half as masculine or sexy as Quint. And just the idea that a man like this young rancher wanted her company rattled her senses.

“No. I honestly wanted you to see them,” he admitted with a grin. “Having your company is a nice addition.” He motioned for her to follow him across the creek. “Come on. The mine is just around this next hill.”

Maura was surprised when the entrance to the Golden Spur finally came into view. From all the talk that Abe had been doing about the mine, she’d expected something far more grand than a small hole in the side of the mountain.

Like the buildings in the nearby ghost town, the lumber used to frame the entrance had now weathered to little more than gray pieces of wood. In some places the nails had rusted completely away and the boards looked as though a strong puff of wind would cause them to collapse. But above the dark entrance, a large piece of tin with the name of the mine was still erect and dark enough to read.

After they dismounted and tethered their horses on an old broken wheel that someone had discarded, they walked near enough to the entrance to peer inside.

“So this is what has Abe all stirred up,” Maura said with amazement. “It doesn’t look like much from here.”

“It probably isn’t. As far as I know no one has been inside to do any type of work since back in the 1950s. At that time the miners weren’t pulling enough gold out to warrant keeping the thing open. But for some reason Gramps believes there are more veins of gold ore to be found here. Why, I don’t know,” Quint said wryly. “He just gets these hunches.”

“Well, from what he’s told me about his oil-drilling days, he’s had some good hunches.” Bracing her hand against one of the sturdier boards, Maura stuck her head inside and tried to peer into the dark cavern. “Can we go inside?”

“You mean you’d want to?” he asked with a bit of amazement.

“Sure. I’m not a scaredy cat.” As long as losing her heart to a man wasn’t involved, she thought. Though, she had to admit that the longer she hung around Quint, the more she was feeling the danger.

“Well, want to or not, it wouldn’t be safe. A few months ago, I went a short distance inside and from what I could see the timbers appeared to still be intact, but I’m sure the years have compromised their sturdiness. Since no one knew I was out here, I decided it would be foolish to explore any deeper.”

“Do you have any idea how far the mine goes back into the mountain? I’ll bet you could probably find old maps through county archives.”

“Gramps has a copy of one of the most recent maps made. There’s a network of shafts in there, but I don’t remember how deep they go. A fair distance, I think.”

She turned away from the dark cave to find Quint standing a few inches behind her and she wondered if he realized how tempting he was, how much she wanted to reach out and connect to him, even in the most simple ways.

Drawing in a breath, she asked, “Have you decided anything about bringing in the mining company to reopen the Golden Spur?”

His gaze narrowed keenly on her face. “I haven’t. Not yet. Why?”

She smiled gently. “Just curious. And if you’re thinking I’m going to take Abe’s side of things, you’re wrong. I’m not going to take yours or his. This old mine is between the two of you. The only thing I will say is that I can see pros and cons either way.”

He chuckled. “Very diplomatic, Maura. Maybe you should have been a politician instead of a nurse.”

She laughed along with him. “Well, my dad set me on a fence long before he put me on a horse. So I learned to straddle it first.”

His hand wrapped around her shoulder and she felt her breath catch in her throat as his fingers gently kneaded her flesh.

“Thank you, Maura. It feels good to be able to laugh and not take the mine issue so seriously.”

As she looked into his eyes, nerves fluttered in her stomach and unconsciously the tip of her tongue came out to moisten her lips. If he kissed her again, as he had in the arroyo, she didn’t know if she could hide the desire that was subtly simmering deep within her. “It feels good to me to be here and forget about a lot of things.”

Suddenly clearing his throat, he urged her away from the cave door. “Let’s go have our lunch. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

Yes, she was starving all right, Maura thought. And she’d not realized just how much until Quint had stepped into her lonely life.

By the time they rode back to Chillicothe, the clouds overhead were pulling together to form a gray, menacing sky. After leaving their horses in the shelter of the old blacksmith shop, they carried their saddlebags down to the mercantile building.

Maura was totally surprised when Quint opened the door and she stepped inside to see an old table and chairs in the middle of the large wooden floor.

“I know this hasn’t been here since the town was deserted,” she declared.

“No. Jake and I hauled it out here. This building is in the best condition of all of them, so we chose it to fix up for a line shack. You never know when an electrical storm or a blizzard might blow up and it’s good to have a place to shelter or even spend the night, if need be. We have candles, kerosene lanterns, firewood and some canned goods and bedding all stored in the back.”

“This is neat,” she said as she gazed around her at the rows of dusty shelves lining the walls and a long counter running across the back. “We can leave the door open for light and it will almost be like we’re eating outside.”

Quint slanted her a rueful glance. “Unfortunately we only have an outhouse for a bathroom. It’s behind this building just in case you need it. But there’s piped water from a nearby spring for washing. You’ll find it at the side of the building near a wooden water trough.”

“Thanks,” she told him. “I’ll be right back.”

When she returned he had sandwiches laid out on the tabletop, along with four cans of beverages. In the middle of the table, a fat candle held by a shallow jar lid was now lit and the glow of the flame helped chase away the gloom of the threatening rain clouds. She’d been present at a few candlelight dinners before, but none had been quite like this. And Maura realized the quaintness of their surroundings had only a small part to play in the specialness of the meal. It was Quint who was making it all so unique. Quint who was making her very aware of their isolated setting.

He helped her into one of the chairs and as she thanked him, he said, “I’d better warn you that the food is sorta sloppy. I’m not too good with kitchen duties.”

“I can eat most anything,” she told him. “And I brought a few things, too. Potato chips, candy bars and brownies.”

“That sort of bad stuff? From a nurse?” He chuckled as he took the chair across from her. “Where did you pick up such nasty habits?”

Laughing along with him, she said, “S-s-shh. Don’t tell anyone, but we nurses don’t always follow doctor’s orders.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Now I won’t feel guilty about stuffing myself.”