Read Online Indigo Blue by Catherine Anderson - Free Book Online Page B

think Jake Rand would like saying “I do” with a gun barrel poked up one nostril.
    “Would you like to see the sluices?” she asked.
    “A sluice is a sluice. I’d rather see the collapsed shafts.”
    Indigo hid her exasperation. Did he plan to run this mine or give it a eulogy?
    When they reached the main entrance, she lit two lanterns, handed him one, and then led the way into the bowels of the mine. Forgoing the use of the skips, the small rail cars used to transport miners and equipment, she picked her way on foot alongside the rails so he could get a better look at everything. The cloying smell of cold, damp earth pressed in around them. Their voices echoed back at them. Indigo noticed that his shadow stretched longer than hers. Her uneasiness mounted. In the surrounding blackness, it was impossible to tell how quickly the daylight was running out, and he didn’t seem in any hurry.
    “You can only see two of the collapsed shafts down here,” she explained.
    “Is the air foul farther in?”
    “We haven’t tunneled that deeply yet,” she called back. “And there are plenty of ventilation shafts.”
    “Where did the third collapse occur?”
    “In the other mine.”
    “Where’s it located?”
    “Over the hill from here, five, maybe six miles. Father had Chase stake a claim there, just in case this location played out. We’re obligated to do a certain amount of mining over there to hold the claim, but we haven’t the men to work it full-time.”
    When they reached the accident site, he took his time examining the rubble that hadn’t as yet been hauled to ground level. In an attempt to ward off the cold, Indigo shifted her weight from one foot to the other. His interest in the debris bewildered her. She might have understood it if he’d seemed interested in how extensive the repairs were going to be. Instead, he was far more concerned with the fallen timbers and the general layout of the mine before the two cave-ins.
    “Where did you plan to do the blasting?”
    “Farther in. That part of the mine is collapsed now.”
    He straightened. “I guess I’ve seen enough.”
    He hadn’t seen anything thus far, anything that mattered, at any rate. How did he hope to be foreman for a crew when he didn’t know squat about the work in progress? She bit down on the question.
    “I’d like to see that other tunnel,” he said.
    “It’s too far to go there tonight. I have to get home.”
    He held his lantern high and settled his gaze on her. With the light thrown across his chest and face, he seemed large and forbidding. And she felt exposed. The endless blackness behind her had icy fingers that curled around the nape of her neck.
    “I’m sorry for taking so long.” His gaze shifted to her lips. “You must be freezing in that wet leather.”
    A denial crawled up her throat, but she was too unsettled to voice it. Touching a hand to her shoulder, he walked by her and led the way out.
    “Can we go over to the other site tomorrow afternoon?” His voice echoed back at her, each syllable overlapping, which made it sound as if he said each word three times.
    “We aren’t working over there right now.”
    “I’d still like to see it.”
    “I can take you. But since we’re not digging there, it’ll be a waste of time.”
    He swung around. The lantern light arced across her, then bounced onto the earthen walls. “I guess I’m not making much sense to you, am I? The reason I’m so curious about the cave-ins is that I want to know how they were caused. Forewarned is forearmed. I can’t stop further vandalism if I don’t know what to watch for. I think that takes precedence over all else.”
    Blinded by the light, she squinted and averted her face. “We can’t afford a night watchman, if that’s your idea.”
    He moved the lantern so it didn’t play in her eyes. “Neither can you afford to spend days doing repairs only to have another collapse shut you down.”
    Indigo didn’t need him to tell her