Read Lucky Penny for Free Online Page A

you right. What you do with what I taught you is your business. If you choose to burn those letters, I won’t hold it against you. I’m hard put to say I’d do differently. A woman and child, out of the blue? You have your life here in No Name. They aren’t a part of it. I guess what I’m saying is, do what your heart tells you to do, David. If you can live with it, I sure as hell can.”
    David’s headache suddenly eased. He pushed at theheap of letters, his fingertips sensitive to the rasp against grained paper. “I can’t live with fathering a child and leaving her to eat scraps from garbage drums. If I was once with that woman—if I got her pregnant—” David broke off and released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Well, if I did that, I have an obligation to the woman and the kid. Drunk or not when he makes a mistake, any man worth his salt takes responsibility for his actions. I can’t burn the letters and just let it go.”
    “I’d feel the same. But let’s not jump the gun. It’s possible there’s another man around Denver, or was a few years back, named David Paxton. I suggest you head up there and scour the area, not only Denver, but all the outlying mining communities, for any trace of a man of that name. If he exists, there should be some record, a signature when he checked into a hotel, a transaction in his name at the assayer’s office if he was a miner, a bill at a dry-goods store,
something
. And if you find evidence that another David Paxton exists, it’s my feeling that you have no obligation to hang your hat on this gal’s hook.”
    “And if there is no evidence of another David Paxton?” David didn’t know why he asked the question, because he already knew the answer, but for some reason, he needed to hear Ace say it. “Do I go find the woman? Will I know when I see the child if she’s mine? Look at little Dory, damn it. Except for your black hair, she looks nothing like you. What does a man do in a situation like this?”
    Ace shoved at the mail again, his dark face taut. “He does what his heart and conscience tell him to do. If you decide it’s possible this child is your daughter, can you live with ignoring that fact?”
    David shook his head. “I wouldn’t have much respect for myself as a man.”
    “Then you need to hop the train to Denver. Do some checking. Hit the saloons, talk to people, see if anyone remembers this fellow.”
    “That’ll take a spell, especially if I visit outlying towns,” David mused. He glanced toward the cell block. “It’s been pretty quiet around here lately, though. My deputies can handle everything if I’m gone for a few days, I reckon.”
    “It may take more than a few days if you find no evidence that another David Paxton ever stepped foot in Denver. In that event, you’ll have to put your foreman in charge of your ranch and let your deputies do the marshaling while you make another trip.”
    David nodded grimly. If he could find no trace of another man with his name, he’d be taking quite a long trip to a tiny little town named Glory Ridge.

Chapter One
     
    Glory Ridge, Colorado
    April 10, 1891
     
    T

he hum and clack of the Singer sewing machine sang as softly in Brianna’s ears as a lullaby, the sounds so familiar and soothing to her that she could lose herself to the rhythm for hours, barely aware of the ache in her ankles from constantly working the pedal. A window to her right offered the only brightness in her work cubicle, and that was precious little on an overcast day. Even so, Brianna squinted to see rather than fire up the lantern before sundown. Kerosene cost dearly, a fact the shop owner, Abigail Martin, pointed out when anyone but herself needed extra illumination. Providing sufficient light so her employee didn’t struggle to see came under the heading of wasteful. Brianna’s lips compressed. She was in no mood for another scold today.
    A lock of Brianna’s curly auburn hair escaped its