the indecision on Smitty’s face. He wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but the evidence—and her own admission—didn’t give him any choice.
Jake stepped in front of her, pushing her behind him. “Smitty, Miss O’Brien has been an upstanding citizen since she came to Chestnut.”
Tears filled Livy’s eyes, spilling over to plop in the mud at her feet. Jake believed in her. He believed in her goodness. Even if Smitty took her back to Chicago, she’d tuck that belief into her heart.
“If it hadn’t been for her, we wouldn’t have caught Gibbons and Sharp here and those goons of his.” Sam McIver scratched his head. “Isn’t there some way to pardon her since she’s done so much for Chestnut?”
Miss Janie sidled up to Livy and tucked an arm around her waist.
Smitty glanced at Mr. McIver, then at Jake, a calculating look on his face. “I’ll see what I can do. Snagging Sharp and Gibbons is a pretty good trade-off for giving Livy O’Brien her walking papers.” His gaze caught Livy’s, and she thought he winked. “You’re free to go, Miss O’Brien. Just don’t leave town, you hear. It wouldn’t look too good, you know.”
Livy nodded, giddy with relief. “I wouldn’t dream of it, Smitty.”
* * *
Jake tapped on Mr. Stillman’s open door. The banker looked up from the papers strewn over his desk. He stood and reached out a hand. “Jake. Good to see you.”
“Mr. Stillman.”
“How you feeling?”
“Better.” Jake rested a hand against his chest. “As long as I don’t breathe, I make it fine.”
“Glad you’re on the mend. It’s hard to believe Gibbons pulled off such a thing in Chestnut.” Stillman shook his head. “And I was one of the ones who went out of my way to get him to open up a factory here.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Mr. Stillman. You couldn’t have known he planned to use child labor.”
“Maybe not, but I do feel partly responsible for those poor kids. You can rest assured they’ll be taken care of.” He folded his hands on his desk and peered at Jake over his spectacles. “Now, what can I do for you today?”
“I’ve decided to keep my shares in the mine.”
“What about that explosion? It destroyed the entrance.”
“The entrance behind Gus’s cabin is at a lower point. It’ll actually work better than the original entrance. And while I was down there, I realized that most of the mine is still stable.”
Stillman gave him a shrewd look. “Is that the only reason you changed your mind?”
Jake leaned forward. “MacPherson is going to reopen that mine. And until I know what kind of man we’re dealing with, I plan to be right there to make sure it’s the safest mine this side of Chicago.”
Stillman grinned. “Being stuck in that mine again must have addled your brain. You sure you want to go through with this?”
“As sure as I’ve ever been.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The orphanage blazed with light on Christmas Eve. The girls were thrilled with their corn-husk dolls, and the boys galloped their wooden horses around the parlor, filling the room with joy and laughter. Livy kept an eye on the children they’d rescued from the mines. They weren’t as rambunctious as Seth and Georgie, but she figured it would only be a matter of time before they whooped and hollered with the rest of the children.
A knock sounded at the door, and she wove through the crowded room to answer it. Who could that be? It seemed the entire town had already been by to offer them Christmas cheer. She shifted a platter of cookies to her left hand and opened the door to find Smitty and Lavinia MacKinnion. The shock of seeing the two of them together almost made her drop the cookies.
Miss MacKinnion smiled. “Good evening, Miss O’Brien. Detective Schmidt graciously offered to escort me over so I could bring the children some sweets for Christmas.” Her smile faltered and uncertainty clouded her eyes. “That is, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” Livy took the bag of candy Lavinia held out and glanced at Smitty. “I thought you’d gone back to Chicago.”
His gaze flickered toward Lavinia, and a flush stole over his long, thin face. “I decided to come back for a few days until Sheriff Carter gets back on his feet.”
“That’s wonderful. Jake sure could use a hand.”
Livy held the door wide and ushered them into the front room, unable to keep from staring as the two made their way to Mrs. Brooks’s side. She shook her head