“You can let go now,” the woman said. “Thank you.”
Whew. Thank goodness. He released the babe’s ankles and stepped back. Once more, he turned his head for a clean breath, but that gust of smell must have singed his nose hairs. He couldn’t get shed of the odor.
“That’s my girl. All better.” The woman murmured quiet words as she lifted the babe up to her shoulder, tucking the blanket around her.
He could no longer see the infant, but her cries turned to shuddering whimpers. The sound twisted something inside him. Such a fragile, helpless little thing.
The woman swayed and bounced, whispering something he couldn’t hear. Then she lifted her eyes to him, a hint of embarrassment tinging them. “Thank you for your help.”
He nodded, then shuffled back a step and glanced around. “Your man gone somewhere?” He’d not thought of that before. Why were these two here alone? And so close to Mick’s mine? Surely her husband didn’t work for Samson’s employer.
Mick didn’t take on families. Only single men who could live in the bunk room and work in the caves.
She lifted her chin, but it did little to raise her stature. She must be a head and a half shorter than he was. Not even five foot if he had to guess. “I’m looking for my father. He works near here.”
His body tensed, but he kept his face casual. “What’s his name?” She had to be talking about Mick’s operation. Was her father Cornwall, the new fellow who came a fortnight ago? He didn’t seem old enough to have a grown daughter, though this woman didn’t look much older than a girl herself.
She was scrutinizing him. Wondering what kind of men her father worked with? “Jedidiah Hampton.”
He blinked, the reaction slipping out before he could stop it.
Jedidiah…Hampton?
Surely, she didn’t mean the tyrant whom McPharland depended on to do his dirty work. Had he ever heard Jedidiah’s surname? Apparently not, as Hampton wasn’t familiar at all.
JustJedidiah, like the first man had only been named Adam. Except Adam had been breathed to life by the Almighty, and Jedidiah had probably been created directly by Satan himself. He delighted in evil more than any person Sampson had ever met.
The woman studied him, so he tried to clear any remnants of shock from his expression and raised his brows. “What does he look like exactly?”
She frowned and gave a half-shrug. “I don’t know. Taller than me but…” She glanced above Sampson’s eyes. “Not near as tall as you. Hair darker than mine but with gray mixed in.”
That wasn’t a very detailed description. It described Jedidiah though. How many men by that name could there be in this area? But… “You say you’re his daughter?”
Jedidiah always seemed more demon than human. How could he possibly have a child? Or rather…how could he have sired a young woman as pretty as this one?
But if she truly was her father’s daughter, she must be wily. Devious. Innocent in appearance but capable of great evil. He’d best be on guard.
And he should also make certain they were speaking of the same man.
Once more, he worked for a casual tone. “I know a man named Jedidiah, but I don’t know his surname. Do you know whose mine your father works in?”
McPharland possessed the only mine in this area, as far as he knew, but this woman might have gotten off track in her search.
She squinted. “A man named Mick?” It came out as a question, as though she needed him to say for sure.
His middle churned. Her words confirmed all he needed.
He let his gaze roam her face. She did have the same small, condensed features as Jedidiah. On her, they looked delicate and lovely, though on her father, they only made him blend in with a crowd. Like an old miner who’s outlived his prime.
Her eyes were different than her father’s though, wide and clear blue. Jedidiah’s were dark and narrowed. Or maybe that was simply from the constant glare he gave everyone he deigned to speak to.
The babe on her shoulder fussed again, and the woman resumed swaying. “Can you tell me where I can find my father?”
Sampson sent a glance toward the mountain. No one had come out, and they were mostly hidden from view, but that didn’t mean a guard wasn’t watching. If this truly was Jedidiah’s daughter, he might be using her to prove Sampson’s loyalty. He’d need to do as she asked, as much as he thought Jedidiah would want anyway. Certainly, he couldn’t allow her to interfere with his orders, but letting her ride along behind him wouldn’t slow him down.
“I just left your father in Missoula Mills. He sent me back for supplies. It will take me about a half hour to hitch the team and load up, then you can follow me back to him if you’d like. It’s a full day’s ride, and since we’re starting at midday, we’ll need to stay the night on the road. There’s a little trapper’s cabin I usually bed down in. It’s a bit drafty, but we can start a fire and keep warm.”
As he spoke, the reality of what he was suggesting settled in. She had a newborn baby. It couldn’t be healthy for the child to spend so many hours in the cold, then sleep in a shack that barely kept out the wind. And the woman… How long since she’d given birth? Could she even drive a team?
