Steadying his chisel, he took a long breath. It was best to focus on the work at hand.
But as soon as the hammer hit the chisel, he felt it. The rock beneath him cracked. He worked the chisel carefully around the bone and pulled it out.
Sure enough, the fossil had broken in two.
“What’s happened?” Martha’s quick footsteps sounded behind him. “I heard the crack.” Her voice held tension.
Jacob had to tell the truth. “When I chiseled”—he pointed to the exact fissure—“right here, the whole rock cracked. Including the bone.”
Her eyes closed as her lips pinched together.
Oh boy.
She’d be mad. That was completely understandable. Even though this kind of thing happened, they all took precautions tonotallow it to happen. His heart sank. “I’m so sorry, Martha.”
The time it took her to open her eyes and look at him seemed like an eternity. “Is the rest of the bone still in the rock?”
“I believe so.”
With a nod, she kept her gaze away. “I’ll take it from here.”
MONDAY, JUNE17, 1889•CASTLEROCK, COLORADO
She watched until the group of ladies left with their bolts of fabric. A quilting bee must be coming up.
Once everyone was out of the mercantile, she entered and went about completing her odd list. Sometimes it was an annoyance to travel such a distance to do business, but it kept her on her toes. Glancing down at the watch on her shirtwaist, she cringed. She was running out of time and needed to get back to Denver before tonight. And that was thirty miles.
She checked her list and pulled the rest of the items from the shelves.
Up at the front, the clerk smiled at her, his large mustache twitching. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
“Is this all you need?” He began to tally the items. Perfume. Lye soap. Ammunition. Needles. Thread. Rope. Knives. Chisels.
She kept an eye on the door as he continued with her odd assortment of tools.
“Yes, sir. I appreciate your fine business here.” She could pour on the charm when she wanted.
He scribbled for several minutes. Then let out a low whistle. “That’ll be seven dollars and fifty-two cents, miss.” He glanced over her worn dress and threadbare shawl, then up to her brown bonnet with orange flowers that had small holes in them. “I don’t think we’ve met before. Are you new in town?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I can’t offer you a line of credit if I don’t know your family. That’s a hefty sum.” His eyes seemed sympathetic.
She didn’t need his sympathy.
“It’s not a problem.” She reached into her drawstring purse and pulled out several coins. Handing one gold eagle over to the clerk, she flashed him a smile. “Here you are.”
His puzzled look as he took it didn’t bode well. He’d seen that she had more. The ten-dollar piece wasn’t normally carried around by common folk. “That’s a lot of gold coin to be walking around with—especially for a woman of your ... station.”
Nosy man. She repressed a frown. “God has been good to me.”
But his brow lowered. “Where did you say you were from?” He went to the cash register.
“I didn’t.” He was getting too intrusive.
He held the coin up to the light.
