Page 16 of The Gold Rush Bride

Barnaby put his arms around her waist and smiled. “You certainly did.”

Still filled with excitement, Sadie widened her eyes as she instantly remembered where she was. Her pulse raced and her breathing quickened. She unwound her arms from around his neck and moved back. “I’m sorry. I completely lost my head.”

He slowly lowered his arms and stepped back. “No harm done.”

She couldn’t meet his gaze right away, but then looked at him. “Well, shall I try again? I don’t want that to be a fluke. I need to make sure I can hit what I aim at with this gun, and then we can move on to the rifle.”

Barnaby nodded. “You’re right, of course. Let’s get some more practice in, then we’ll switch weapons.”

For the next hour, Sadie practiced with the Colt. She got to where she could pull it from the holster and check the cylinder in one smooth move and then shoot.

“If a man is intent on either having you or the claim, you won’t be able to check the cylinder. You need to just shoot, and shoot to kill.”

A shiver went up her spine. “I understand. I won’t let anyone do me or our claim harm, just as I know you won’t. Look at me, Barnaby, really look at me. I’m not some simpering woman here to take advantage of your benevolence. I’m here to work. I’m strong, and I’ll take my father’s place—just as soon as you teach me to mine gold.” She grinned.

He gazed at her, but his eyes remained intense, with no humor in them. “I intend to teach you all about placer mining.”

“What is that? I saw some drawings in a book. It’s done with a large, strange-looking pie tin.”

Barnaby laughed. “I suppose, if you don’t know what it’s for, it would look just like that. Maybe I’ll have you bake a pie in one, sometime.”

“Probably not, since I didn’t see an oven, or even a Dutch oven. Do you have either?”

“Actually, we have both. I should have told you, but I’ll show you when we get back.”

They spent the next two hours shooting the rifle, first Barnaby and then Sadie. Once she remembered to keep the firearm tight against her shoulder, she was fairly consistent and hit most of what she aimed at.

He pointed toward their camp. “Let’s head back now. I have some more things to teach you today.”

She didn’t mind going back. Her arms and legs were aching with all the walking they’d done yesterday and the shooting practice today. She hoped she could rest when they got back.

They packed up the cans and the spent shells.

“Why do you pack up the shells?”

“Because we can reuse them. I have everything to load our shells, and it’s cheaper than buying new.”

“You’re very resourceful.”

Sadie walked behind Barnaby on the way back to camp. She wanted to know more about this man she married, but she wasn’t sure what she should ask.

When they reached the claim, she started to put the guns in the tent.

“Don’t leave them in there except at night or if you are inside during the day. They won’t do you any good if you can’t reach them quickly.”

He led the way to the other side of the tarp with the supplies. There, in the hillside, was a fireplace, for lack of a better description, dug into the permafrost. It was back away from the river and the campsite. She’d been so tired she hadn’t noticed many details when they’d arrived yesterday.

Sadie looked at the area, the way they set it up. She smiled and knew her father had done it.

The area was in between two small mounds of dirt. Little hills, she called them. Into one of them a fire pit had been dug. A work table stood across from the fire pit. On the table, or under it, were what could be called fireplace tools...a small garden spade and a broom. Also under the table was a small pile of wood for the fire. A large pile was nearby covered with a tarp to keep it dry and usable.

“Oh, my God. How did you do that? The ground has to be frozen. We don’t have the mud around here like in Dawson City.”

“We dug it our first summer here. Did you know your father liked to bake? Things other than bread, I mean.”

Her eyes widened. “My father? You’re kidding, right? I thought he just did the bread and the biscuits out of necessity.”

With a sparkle in his eyes, he chuckled. “Not at all. He’s the one who baked all our desserts, too, cobblers mostly. I was happy he did so, as my skills leave a lot to be desired.”