needin’. There ain’t time to get all the way to the company store in Lynch, an’ she’s sure got me hankerin’ for a slice o’ her cake.”
Emmett watched his father shine up his old work boot. He couldn’t help staring at the coal dust ground under Paw’s fingernails and lining his cuticles. No matter how much he scrubbed, the black never came completely off. But Paw wasn’t bothered by dirty hands. He said working in the coal mine let him care for his family. There was no shame in honest work.
“Paw?”
Paw didn’t look up. “Huh?”
“Would you teach me everything you know about coal mining?”
Paw’s fingers stilled. He kept his head low but lifted his eyes. “Why?”
“I need to know. When I talked to an administrator about working in the mine, he said they didn’t have time to train me. I figure if you teach me, they’ll be able to take me on.”
Slowly Paw’s head raised, and he looked Emmett square in the face. “You wanna be a miner?”
He didn’t, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. He’d run out of options. “It’s honest work. It’s been a good job for you.”
Paw stared at Emmett for several seconds, expression blank. Then a smile twitched at the corners of his lips. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s been good for us. We ain’t never gone hungry or without clothes on our backs. It’d sure please your maw to have you stickin’ around close to home instead o’ settlin’ in a big city somewhere.”
“So, you’ll help me?”
Paw dropped the stained rag on the table and placed his hand over Emmett’s. “I’ll teach you everything I know.” He patted Emmett’s hand, then returned to polishing.
Emmett looked at his hand. Folks always said he looked more like Maw with his straw-colored hair and blue eyes, that he was tall and broad shouldered like her father and grandfather. They called him more a McCallister than a Tharp, unlike Dusty, whose dark hair, dark eyes, and wiry build branded him a Tharp. Emmett had always wondered if his looks added to the distance between him and Paw. But the polish from Paw’s fingers had left smears on his fingers. Black smears. The color of coal.
Finally, there was something about him that resembled his father.
Lexington
Addie
MRS. HUNT PLACED the pay envelope in Addie’s palm, then sandwiched Addie’s hand between hers. “Here you are, my dear. Pay for a job well done.”
Addie swallowed an unexpected knot of emotion. “Thank you, ma’am. I’ve enjoyed working here. I…” She swallowed again. “I’m going to miss all of you.”
“And we will miss you.” Mrs. Hunt squeezed Addie’s hand and then stepped back. “I trust you’ll drop Miss Collins or me a line now and then to let us know how you’re doing. We will want to know all about Boone’s Hollow.”
“I will.” Addie slipped the envelope into her purse.
The library director folded her arms over her chest. “When do you leave?”
“I leave for Boone’s Hollow on Sunday afternoon, but I’m taking a train to Georgetown tomorrow morning. I want to see my folks before I go.”
“And I’m sure they want to see you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Addie was already dreading the coming goodbye, but at the same time, she eagerly anticipated starting the job that would allow her to help her parents.
Mrs. Hunt leaned forward and wrapped Addie in a quick hug. “You take good care of yourself, Miss Adelaide Cowherd. I suspect you’re going to be a real blessing to the people of Boone’s Hollow.”
Addie blinked rapidly and hurried from the room. She hadn’t realized how fond she’d become of Mrs. Hunt and the other employees at the library until it was time to bid them farewell. She would miss them as much as she missed Felicity.
She stopped at the front desk and told Griselda Ann in a whisper that she planned to cash her check at the bank and then go to the house. “I’ll make supper tonight as a thank-you for hosting me.”
Griselda Ann shook her head so adamantly her short brown curls bounced. “No, I will make supper. Tuna-and-noodle casserole with potato chips on top. And sugar dumplings for dessert.”
Addie’s mouth watered. “You don’t need to go to so much trouble.”
“I owe you more than just a special supper for all the help you’ve given with the quilts for the downtrodden.”
Addie absently rubbed the callous on the inside of her thumb. “Cutting out fabric wasn’t so much. You did more for me than I did for you.”
“We don’t have time to argue.” Griselda