“All right then. Get your coat.” Thomas helped Megan into hers. “We’ll have to go outside and around the front of the building to the telegraph office.”
Jessalyn grabbed her own coat off the peg. “Since when do you have keys to the telegraph office?”
He smiled. “Since Mrs. Runkle decided to be kind and let me store your present downstairs.”
Olivia stayed on the couch while the rest of them headed outside. Snow had fallen all night long and still cascaded from the sky in flakes of fluffy white, though the beauty of the morning didn’t stop the frigid air from working its icy fingers around her calves. She trudged around the side of the building to North Street and the entrance to the telegraph office. A moment later Thomas pulled the keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door.
Even in the shadows of the dark office, she could make out the silhouette of the large, familiar object sitting in the middle of the floor.
“How did you manage this?” She rushed toward the sewing machine while Thomas fumbled with a lamp.
“I, uh, paid to have it brought up from Calumet by sleigh.” The lantern flared to life, casting its orange glow over the room.
“Now Ma can make me a dress.” Claire ran her hand over the smooth table that extended from the machine.
“It’s prettier than the other one.” Megan touched the shiny metal that formed the head.
“You paid for it to be brought all the way up from Calumet through the snow?” She looked over her shoulder at him. “That must have cost a fortune.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned down to her ear. “A fortune well worth it to see the smile on your face.”
“I don’t suppose you ordered some green satin from Calumet so I can finish those dresses for the Hanover wedding?”
“No, but I did bring some pink.” He released her and headed around the counter toward where the telegraph machine sat. A bolt of pale pink fabric landed on the counter a moment later.
“Yeah!” Claire clapped, a smile lighting her face. “I can get my dress now, right Ma?”
“And I got some of that dark red color so you can make yourself a new coat.” He set a length of wool on the counter beside the pink cloth.
The rich fabric instantly drew her, and she tilted her head to the side. “You’re telling me you like my cranberry-colored coat? Mrs. Ranulfson says it’s too bright for a respectable woman to wear.”
“Cranberry, is it? Who knew colors could have such fancy names.” He came around the counter toward her. “But yes, the color looks nice on you.”
“Look. It’s Jane and Gracie.” Claire flew toward the door, Megan scampering behind her. “I wonder what they got for Christmas.”
“You can say hello, but stay…”In sight of the building.The girls were out the door before she could finish her sentence. She watched through the window as they raced across the empty street toward the Oakton family, then turned back to Thomas.
He’d had a sewing machine brought up from Calumet through the snow. How could she not give him her final present after that? She reached down and clasped the item inside her pocket.
“I… I have something more for you. You’ll probably think it’s silly, but… well, here.” She pulled out the chunk of stone wrapped in a small bit of linen, then held it out for him.
He opened it and frowned. “Charred rock?”
Her cheeks heated, and this time it had nothing to do with the warmth of the fire upstairs. “It’s foundation, from my building next door. Tressa said I needed to clear away the ashesof our relationship and see if there was any foundation left to build a new life with you. When I first looked, all I saw was burned wood. But after a little shoveling, I found stone too.”
She lifted her shoulders and let them fall, the familiar gesture suddenly tense and awkward. “I chipped a bit of stone off with an ax. I’ve been carrying it around in my pocket ever since, telling myself that the two of us have a foundation, and we can build a life on it, and…”
Her throat squeezed shut, and tears burned behind her eyes. “Oh, I told you it was silly.”
She reached to take the rock back, but he caught her hand with his empty one instead.
“It’s not silly, Jess. It’s…” His hand closed into a fist around the chunk of stone, and he tugged on her arm, bringing them chest to chest. “…The best present you could give me.”
I want to go to Deadwood with you.
Was it too soon to tell him? Her jaw trembled as she stared into his handsome, work-roughened face. It was time she made a sacrifice for their marriage. She sucked in a breath of air, then let the words out in a rush. “I want to go to Deadwood in the spring.”
“You…” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he gripped her shoulders. “Say it again.”
