Snow Angel by Jamie Carie Read Free Book Online Page B

your life and supplies in tact. It’s no place for a woman.”
    Elizabeth pressed her lips together. “I’ll have you know I’ve traveled from one end of the West to the other. I’ve crossed mountains, streams, and rivers, and I’m as capable as any man. You just watch me tackle that trail. Just … you … watch.”
    Noah held up his hands in surrender, “Now don’t go getting your feathers all ruffled. If you want to risk your fool neck, well then I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. But it seems to me you still have one big problem: What are you going to do until the spring thaw?”
    Elizabeth hadn’t quite figured that out yet, but she wasn’t about to let him know. “I’ll get a job in Juneau. Wait if I have to.” She shrugged. “It will just take a little longer than I originally planned.”
    Noah made a discouraging sound. “You’ll be lucky to find a job with so many others in the same situation. Do you have enough money to hold you over and buy all the supplies needed for the journey?”
    Elizabeth didn’t. She only had what little she had been able to take from Ross, the investigator who even now might be in Alaska looking for her. After the ship’s fare to Sitka, there wasn’t much left for precious supplies. She did need a job, and she would have to save every cent she made. But she really didn’t appreciate this line of questioning and attempted to change the subject, nodding toward the stove. “I may not be much of a cook, but doesn’t that smoke coming off the pan mean it’s done?” She raised her brows questioningly, as he had done earlier.
    Noah quickly saved the second batch of deer steak. Cutting off a small piece for her, he put it on her plate alongside some beans and leftover sourdough biscuits from breakfast. He seemed deep in concentration, so Elizabeth kept quiet. She watched him give her a plate with carefully small portions and sit down across from her.
    * * *
    NOAH SAID A prayer of thanks, lifted his head, and took a bite. He chewed thoughtfully and watched Elizabeth, her big brown eyes still downcast, looking at her plate. She was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen, and she seemed to get prettier every day. But what was he going to do with her?
    Elizabeth interrupted his musings by asking, “How much land do you own around here, Noah?”
    Noah shrugged and answered, “About 160 acres.”
    â€œSo you own some land close to this Juneau gold mine, then?”
    Noah nodded, “Yes, very close to it. My land starts at the head of Granite Creek and goes east and north up the slopes of Mount Juneau. I also own part of a big chunk of rock on Mount Olds. Why?”
    She toyed with her food a moment and looked at him thoughtfully. “Have you ever prospected on your land? I heard Juneau had its own gold rush a few years ago.”
    Noah nodded, chewing his food. “Yes, it did. Two fellows, Richard Harris and Joe Juneau, found gold on Gold Creek in 1880. But from what I heard, they really owed their success to a Tlingit chief named Kowee. I missed the rush that followed.But I don’t think it lasted long before all the placer mining was panned out and the lode mining began. Most of the gold around here was in hard rock. The big companies moved in with heavy equipment and set up mining camps like the Jumbo. It was destroyed by a snowslide in 1895. There’s talk of rebuilding it, but I don’t know that they will.” Noah shrugged. “Will wanted to start a trading post for the miners, and it didn’t take much for him to convince me to join him in that venture. But to answer your question, no, I didn’t prospect my land. Between lack of time and, I guess, lack of faith that any gold was there, I didn’t give it much thought.” He frowned and took another bite. “Though I’ll admit that with all the excitement of