Read CHARITY'S GOLD RUSH (A Strike It Rich in Montana novel) for Free Online Page B

sorry.” He handed her the stick. “If you want to take over here, I’ll head to the neighbors and set up a time for Mrs. Stoltz to help you. I’ll be back by supper. ”
                  “Thank you.” Charity dropped her ‘gold’ back in her pocket . H er heart thudded to her stomach same as the rock did in her pocket. She’d keep it as a reminder not to give up. There was a reason she was here , a nd the reason was gold. She knew it.
                  Sam and Meg stared at her with puppy dog eyes, leaving her feeling more foolish than the misbegotten excitement over striking it rich. She watched Gabriel disappear around the mound that was home. She needed a plan, and while she worked on one in her mind, she’d work on improving their living conditions. If not for herself, then for the children. No one should live on dirt floors with nothing over their heads but grass. Even back home, she’d had the luxury of a stone floor.
    She glanced to the area north of the house where Gabriel had ropes strung, signifying the placement of rooms in the new place he wanted to build. A place that required time, money, and a temporary wife. All because of a bet!
                  Charity jammed the pointed end of the stick in the ground , burying a splinter in the palm of her hand . She hissed against the pain and stabbed the pole in the ground again. If no gold resided in the creek, then it lay somewhere else. Her gaze drifted across the plain. Were there caves hidden among the hills? Caves with veins of riches beyond her wildest dream?
    She eyed Sam. Boys roamed the land, right? “Sam, do you know of any caves around here? Ones that run deep?”
                  He dropped seeds into a hole. “Sure I do, but Pa won’t let me play in them. He says they’re too dangerous.”
                  “As I’m sure they are.” What Charity needed was an excuse to explore one of these dangerous caves. Without the children, of course. She couldn’t live with herself if something happened to one of them because of her negligence , and she was their mother, for now . Mothers did not put their children in danger.
                  A fine layer of grit covered her skin by the time they finished planting. Charity sighed and thought of the laundry she’d left beside the creek. With the children’s help, she should be able to lug the tub back and hang the clothes to dry. Bread still waited to be made. Oh. Didn’t bread have to rise? She slapped her forehead. She should’ve started that first thing in the morning. That’s what she got for being a lazy goose and sleeping in. Charity O’Connell was never lazy. At least not until she got married and lost all ability to plan and schedule her day .
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                  Gabe saddled Rogue, his horse , and headed toward the Stoltz farm . He smil ed . Gold in the creek. Silly woman. If nothing else, his new bride provided entertainment. He had to admit she was pleasant to look at, too , e specially with that fiery hair spilling over her shoulders after her romp in the creek. Her soft snores from the other side of the hung blanket last night kept him from slee p , serving as a reminder that a desirable woman, his wife , at that , lay on the other side .
    He wasn’t lost to the fact that Meg didn’t play like his sisters did when they were little. She had no dolls or play dishes. No friends her age. Best Gabe could figure, if Charity taught his daughter to be a little girl, if even for a short while, she’d be worth the time he spent teaching her to be a proper Montana wife. For another man.
    Shoulders slumping, he spurred Rogue into a trot. After only one day, Gabe knew the homestead would be a lonely place without Charity’s sparkle. He was a fool to broach the subject of a yearlong marriage. Neither of them had other prospects waiting and Charity had jumped at the offer of wedding him fast enough. In addition , she