Rivers of Gold (10 page)

Adrik beamed a smile. “Congratulations, little mother.”

Grace nodded. “Thank you. This is Andrew Michael Colton.” She held the sleeping baby up ever so slightly.

“He’s a beaut,” Adrik declared.

“Leah helped deliver him,” Karen told her husband. “Along with Crispin.”

Adrik frowned. “Crispin?”

“I found Crispin nearly passed out in the snow,” Leah said matter-of-factly. “I made him come back here with me.”

“I would have paid good money to see that,” Adrik said, laughing.

Jacob patted his sister on the shoulder. “She can be real pushy when she wants something.”

“Well, in this case, I’m glad she was,” Grace added. “She sobered him up and he helped with delivering the baby.”

“Where is he now?” Adrik asked, looking around the room.

“He wouldn’t stay,” Leah replied. She turned her attention back to the stove. “I tried to talk to him, but he was just too sad.”

“Sad?” Adrik questioned.

She nodded. “Yes. Sad about Miranda. He seems to have lost all hope and purpose.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you aren’t right on that matter,” Adrik said, looking to Karen. “I can well imagine how I’d feel if I lost Karen.”

Karen reached out to hold his hand. “I don’t even want to think of how things would be if you weren’t here. I worried about you the whole time you were gone. I’d pray and pray and then worry that I needed to pray some more.”

“Well, we do have good news,” Jacob said, seeming to suddenly remember. “Tell ’em, Adrik.”

Adrik looked at Karen. “Gump said he’d like to hire us on to work his claim. Even though there isn’t as much to do this time of the year, he’d like us to come just the same. Said he’d split whatever we found fifty-fifty. We aren’t going to get a better offer than that. His cabin is small, but it should be sufficient. We can add onto it when the weather warms up.” Adrik puffed out his chest as though quite pleased with himself. “I told him I’d come back here and pack everybody up and be there within the week.”

Karen’s mouth dropped open. “What? Just like that?”

“Just like what?” Adrik seemed genuinely surprised.

“We can’t just up and leave. Grace just had the baby. She can’t possibly travel.”

“We can arrange for her. She could stay here in town for a spell, and then we could come back and get her. Look, I borrowed Gump’s dogs and sled. I can’t keep him waiting longer than the week. It takes two days just to get to where his claim is on Hunker Creek.”

“But I thought you went to check out another claim. Didn’t Gump suggest some friend of his might need help?”

“Gump’s friend didn’t need the hands, but Gump did. We started talking on the trip out there, and Gump talked about how hard it is to work a claim by himself. He wants to give it one big go in the spring and then pack out by fall of next year. He figures if we help him with it, we might all come out on top. After all, most of the claims on Hunker Creek are netting good finds.”

“But Adrik, we can’t … I mean …” Karen’s voice trailed off. She tried to think of how to tell him about her job. She looked to the others in the room. Leah and Grace seemed to understand, but Jacob just looked on, as if confused by the entire encounter.

Grace nodded to Karen as if to bolster her courage. Karen looked to her husband and decided it was better to just get things out in the open. “I have a job. It pays good money. One hundred and fifty dollars a month, to be exact.”

“That
is
a lot of money!” Jacob exclaimed. “What do you have to do for it?”

Adrik took a step back and looked down at his wife. “Yes, what do you have to do?”

Karen felt her cheeks grow hot, but whether from embarrassment at the suggestive tone of her husband or her own anger, she couldn’t tell. “Nothing that would shame either one of us. I have a job cooking. It’s a good job. I figured we could use the money what with the baby and all. Grace and the baby need four walls and a roof, not a tent.”

“And that’s exactly what I propose to offer them,” Adrik replied.

Karen looked around the room, frustrated to have an audience. That was the biggest problem with their living in a tent. There was never any place for real privacy, and outside was far too cold to take a stroll for something so menial as an argument.

“Adrik, I took the job because I thought it might ease the burden for you and Jacob. The job isn’t hard, and I don’t mind doing it.”

“Well, I do. I don’t want my wife supporting me,” Adrik said sternly. “I’m the one who took it on to see to your welfare and that of everyone else in this room. I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think myself capable.”

“And you are,” Karen replied, hoping to soothe his irritated spirit. “I just thought this would free you up to find what you were really searching for.”

“I’ve already found what I’m looking for,” Adrik answered. “Gump has been a good friend for a long time. He needs the help and we need what he can offer. It’s a good trade, and since there’s still plenty of winter left, I don’t intend to see you living it out here in a tent.”

“But—”

“No, Karen. We’re doing this my way. I’m the man of the family.” He looked to Grace and nodded. “In Peter Colton’s absence, I’m Grace’s protector, as well. I know what’s best. Grace, do you trust me to provide a place for you and your son?”

Grace looked to Karen and then back to Adrik. “I know you’ll do right by us.”

Adrik turned to Karen. “Will you trust me?”

Karen knew there was no reason to continue the argument. Adrik’s mind was made up, and she wasn’t going to change it. “All right,” she said reluctantly.

Adrik took hold of her shoulders. “Karen, I’ve prayed this through. I know God has provided for us and at the same time, He’s provided for Gump. This is all going to work out. You’ll see. Gump gave me some money for extra supplies and a bit to tide us over. I’ll use the money to secure Grace and the boy, then we’ll get whatever else we need and head out. When the weather improves, I’ll come back and get Grace and the baby.”

And so it was settled. Leah stirred more flapjack batter while Jacob and Adrik went to care for Gump’s dog team. Karen went to sit beside Grace, still not entirely certain this solution was for the best.

“I don’t want to leave you behind,” Karen said in a hushed tone.

Grace patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I know that God has this completely in His care. I know Andy and I will be just fine. You go ahead and we’ll join you as soon as we can. Just trust Adrik to know what’s best. He’s a good man.”

Karen smiled. “You sound like the teacher now rather than the student.”

Grace shook her head. “No, I sound like a lonely wife.”

Karen took hold of her hand. “I’m so sorry, dear friend. I know you would much rather be with Peter, safe and warm in some distant home. I should never have brought you north. I should have insisted on having you return to California. I should have bought the ticket myself and put you on the ship.”

“No,” Grace replied. “I believe God had a purpose in allowing all of this.”

“Yes, but if it hadn’t been for Mr. Paxton and his unyielding desire to force you into marriage, you might never have had these problems with Peter.”

“But for Mr. Paxton, I might never have met Peter. We must remember that, as well.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Karen said, feeling overcome by a sense of defeat. “Sometimes I think this is all a dream and other times, a nightmare.”

“At least we have each other,” Grace whispered.

“For now. But Adrik will separate us on the morrow.”

“I’m confident of our reunion. Andrew and I will join you before you know it. We’ll be safe and sound and you may fuss over us as much as you like.”

“I hope you’re right,” Karen replied, looking across the tent at all their worldly possessions. Things weren’t nearly as important as the people in her life. They never had been, but now more than ever, Karen sensed the emptiness of their humble dwelling. Would things ever return to normal?
At this point
, Karen thought,
I can’t even say that I know what normal is anymore
.

—[CHAPTER NINE]—

“WESLEY TELLS ME it’s possible to get as far north as Lake Lindeman, even in the dead of winter,” Peter Colton told his mother and father as they concluded breakfast. He’d waited for just the right moment to break the news that he’d soon be headed to Alaska.

“Does Captain Oakes tell you how to go about doing this?” Ephraim Colton asked his son.

Peter pushed back from the table and nodded. “Wes says he can take me as far as Skagway. From there I’ll take the train as far north as I can and hike out from there. The biggest problem will be the cost of supplies, but I’m working on that.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Ephraim stated. He pushed around the food on his plate before focusing on Peter. “I won’t rest as long as I know you’re in danger.”

“The danger should be minimal, Father. After all, there are far more settlements and conveniences now. The Mounties have worked hard to maintain law and order, so even the criminal problems have been reduced.”

“Still, it’s hard to know you’ll be so far away,” Ephraim murmured.

Peter knew that since his father had suffered a heart attack, he’d been far more concerned about Peter sticking close to home. It was as if the older man feared his death might yet come from the attack, leaving Amelia without someone at her side to help with the arrangements.

“I have to go,” Peter finally said. “If I leave right away, I can be there when the first thaw allows travel on the lakes.”

“If you leave now, when do you imagine you might find Miranda and bring her home?” Amelia questioned.

Peter looked to his mother and smiled. “I would guess late May at the earliest. If I can get to Dawson right away, say by early June, I can head home with Miranda by the end of the month. That should see us home by August at the latest.”

“My poor Miranda. I fear for her having to live these long cold months alone,” Peter’s mother sniffed.

Peter knew the separation had been hard on his parents. It had been only compounded by the knowledge that Grace was dead. They all mourned that loss and shared their sorrows daily. Peter knew it was impossible to wish or pray his wife back to life, but he couldn’t help but turn his eyes heavenward, hoping against hope that God might somehow reverse the order of the past. It seemed like only yesterday word had come from the Mountie station at Whitehorse. His wife was dead, one more victim of the Yukon gold rush. His sister was left alone, and it was his duty to bring her home safe and sound.

“We’ll soon have her home, Mother. I’ll see to it,” Peter promised.

“I had some good news from Mr. Hamilton,” Ephraim said, changing the subject.

“And what does our good lawyer tell us these days?”

Ephraim smiled. “He believes it will only be a short time before our assets are returned to us. With Martin’s death and the questionable legality of the contract between us, Hamilton feels confident Colton Shipping will soon be back in family hands.”

“That is good news,” Peter replied. He had missed being the captain of his own ship,
Merry Maid
. “Perhaps if the details are worked out soon enough I might sail myself to Skagway. Perhaps even take a load of goods and reap a profit.” But even as the thought crossed his mind, Peter couldn’t help but remember Wes’s prediction that the high-profit days of the Seattle-to-Skagway route were quickly coming to an end.

“It’s always possible,” Ephraim said thoughtfully. “You do realize the trade is slacking off.”

“I was just remembering that,” Peter said, smiling. “Funny that you should be on top of that, as well.”

“Not funny at all, considering it’s my business to know.” Ephraim then turned a loving look on his son. “I know I’ve not always been a wise businessman. I know my choices have often been made because of ease or even the liberty involved. That is in the past, however. In coming back to an understanding of what God would have of me as a man and provider, I realize that I must also be a good steward of that with which He has blessed me.”

Peter understood his father’s heart entirely. Following his own will had brought him nothing but misery. Turning his thoughts to God and leaning on His ways had brought about the only peace Peter had known since losing Grace.

Peter looked to his parents. “I thought I was doing a good thing when I took control of the family business. I figured it to be an act of love, but now I see it was a deception of selfishness. I wanted to be important—indispensable.”

“But, son, you already were,” Ephraim said, shaking his head. “You were all we could have hoped for in a child. As you grew into manhood, you were protective and loving with your sister, and you were astute and conscientious regarding the business. The fault is on my part, if there is any to be had. I tired of the burden. I’m tired even now, which is why I plan to sign the business over to you in full, once we resolve the legal circumstances, of course.”

Peter would have thrilled to hear those words only a year ago. But now they rang hollow. Grace was gone. So, too, was his chance for real happiness. He would never love another woman. Grace had made her way into his heart, and her memory refused to leave him in peace.

Peter tried hard to push aside the thoughts that Grace had died believing the worst of him. She had thought him to be a heartless cad—ruthless in his decisions and indifferent to her needs. At least, that’s what Peter imagined she thought. And that hurt him more than anything else, except her actual absence. It was difficult, if not impossible, to remember that he had purposefully caused her pain.

“ … that’s all I ask.”

Peter realized his father had been speaking, but he’d not heard a word. “I’m sorry. What did you just say? I’m afraid my mind was a million miles away.”

Ephraim reached over and gently touched his son’s shoulder. “I said, it is my desire that your mother and I be allowed to live here, comfortably with your sister. Otherwise, you may do as you choose with the business and its profits.”

“But of course you may live here. I would fight every court in the country to see to it that you remained in the home you love. Look, I don’t wish for us to discuss any more about the shipping business,” Peter said, getting to his feet. “I’m going to start putting together my plans for going north. I have a good understanding of what I need and how much money it will take. There’s one benefit that the north can offer, and that is the tired souls who are giving up their dreams of gold. They will have all the supplies and tools that I’ll need. And they’ll be willing to sell them at a much discounted price.”