The Cowboy Who Saved Christmas - Jodi Thomas Page 0,80
He didn’t want to think about the future now. It might take a few weeks, a few months or a few years to find Amelia. After that, maybe he would be in a frame of mind to plan his future.
He rode at a slower pace because his horses hadn’t had time to recuperate from the grueling ride on the way home. Riding always helped him sort things out in his mind, but it also gave him too much time to think. He wished he’d asked the man at the Wakeland ranch more questions. Grief had taken hold of his every thought, and he hadn’t been thinking straight at the time. He realized he didn’t have much information to go on. He wondered why that man had stayed behind at the Wakeland ranch when the place looked to be abandoned. He’d have to focus on what he did know. Amelia Wakeland was alive two weeks ago, and she was headed to the Llano River. He decided to ride to Honey Creek to find Whitt and the boys. The odds of finding Amelia in the same location were not in his favor. Although Whitt had told him several families from La Grange were headed to Honey Creek, so it was as good a place as any to start looking for Amelia.
* * *
Days later, Clint arrived in Honey Creek at dusk. It didn’t take him long to find Whitt Newcombe once he described the boys to a family he’d passed camping on the river.
Whitt saw Clint as soon as he reined in at their campsite. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I left the day after I arrived in La Grange,” Clint said as he dismounted.
Whitt understood what Clint was saying. He gripped Clint’s shoulder. “I’m sorry the news wasn’t better.”
“Me too.” Clint looked around for the boys. “Where’s Bo and Boone?”
“Over by the stream where we’re panning. They think looking for gold is fun.” Whitt laughed. “I hope after a month they still enjoy it.” Whitt poured Clint some coffee. “I just came to grab some grub and coffee.”
“Any luck yet?”
Whitt reached in his shirt pocket, pulled out a small pouch that held gold flakes along with several tiny nuggets and held them out for Clint to see. “I remember my pa always told me gold will follow a certain path in a streambed, from inside bend to inside bend, so I looked for slow-moving water that ran in that direction. He also told me when I found black sand, that was a good sign. I searched all day for what I thought would be the best spot. When I saw the logjams and idle pools of water here, I thought it was the perfect place to start.”
Clint inspected Whitt’s findings. “It does look like you found a promising location.”
Whitt tucked the pouch back in his pocket. “You’re more than welcome to join us here if you’re interested. Come on; the boys will be excited to see you.”
As soon as Clint and Whitt reached the streambed, Bo and Boone dropped their pans and came running to Clint. He picked up both boys and swung them around. “I hear you men are working hard.”
Bo nodded. “Yeah, this is a lot of fun. Did Pa show you the gold?”
“Pa said if you came here, you could pan with us,” Boone told him.
“Please stay with us,” Bo pleaded.
It touched Clint’s heart that the boys wanted him to stay with them. “If your pa is sure he doesn’t mind me joining you.”
“I think more and more people will be coming, so it’ll be safer as a team. We can take turns sleeping,” Whitt replied. He didn’t want to scare the boys by saying their safety could become an issue if word got around about finding gold.
Clint nodded his understanding of what was on Whitt’s mind. He agreed with Whitt about safety in numbers. He’d heard stories about greed overruling common sense when men had gold fever. With two boys to protect, it made sense that Whitt preferred to have another man around. Clint placed the boys on the ground and shook Whitt’s hand. “I’ll stay, but I have one thing I need to do before I start working. I need to find Amelia Wakeland.”
“Is she the woman who cared for your mother?” Whitt asked.
“Yes. My mother left me a note asking that I find her. I think she must have been worried that Amelia might become ill. I need to see her and make sure she’s well.”