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“The mine’s half hers. Does she want to sell it?”
Cole glanced toward the tent. No, she wouldn’t want to sell it. She didn’t want to leave it, either. But she would. Even if it meant dragging her kicking and screaming all the way to Bittersweet. That he could do—drag her out of here—but selling the mine, he couldn’t. “Let’s make another deal,” he said. “A partnership.”
The brothers were more amicable about that, and Cole agreed to the changes they made to his offer. His mind was more on getting Maddie to safety than money. He wasn’t so sure he’d ever felt that way before, but didn’t waste time contemplating it. Convincing Maddie it was time to leave was not going to be easy, and that was what he kept his focus on.
He entered their tent with a gut full of determination and a head full of reasons to combat her refusal, only to be taken aback by the canvas sacks—packed full—sitting on the bed. She was stuffing things into another one.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m making sure Trig doesn’t get fifty percent of my gold,” she said, acting too busy to look up. “I’ve worked too hard to let you go chasing down Mad Dog and getting yourself killed.”
“I’m not—” Cole stopped. She’d made up her mind to leave, which was precisely what needed to happen. Yet he couldn’t discount the fact he was forcing her to leave—to do something she didn’t want to do. That she didn’t want a man telling her what to do. Stepping forward, he turned her around by her shoulders. The apprehension in her eyes snagged his heart harder than a grappling hook. He brushed her hair back from her face and tucked strands behind both ears. “Trig made me promise the same thing.”
“To give him fifty percent of your gold?”
Cole bit the inside of his lip. Shaking his head, he answered, “That I look after you. Make sure nothing happens to you.”
“I’m fully capable of looking after myself,” she said.
Fully resigned not to argue, Cole nodded. “I know, but Trig didn’t know you as well as I do.”
She nodded and diverted her gaze. “I’m sure you have enough gold to help your family. If not, I’ll give you some of mine.” Staring up at him again, she said, “Mad Dog will come back. I know he will. We need to leave.”
That snagged at him, too—the want to catch Ridge still had a hold on him. Electing to ignore that for a moment, he asked, “What about the Big Bonanza?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” she said. “I think we should sell it to the Fenstermacher brothers.”
Cole withheld a grin. “What if they don’t want to buy it?”
“Not want to buy it?” she asked. “They’d be fools not to. We’ve barely tapped into that vein. The Big Bonanza will be profitable for years to come.”
“Yes, it very well could be,” he answered. “Are you sure you want to sell it?”
She laid a hand against his cheek. “To save your life, yes.”
“So Trig doesn’t get fifty percent?” Cole had no idea why he asked that, other than he truly wanted to know if that was her only reason.
Shaking her head, she stretched upward and planted a tiny kiss on his chin. “I’d give him a hundred percent if it guaranteed your safety.”
He pulled her into a hug. “There’s no worries there, darling.”
“So we’re leaving?” she asked. “Going to Bittersweet? Now?”
“Yes,” he said. “We’re leaving.”
* * *
Maddie wanted to leave, but when it came right down to it, she was torn. Saying goodbye to the Fenstermacher brothers was much more difficult than she’d imagined, and though she kept her tears hidden, the big men didn’t. All three of them had moisture welling in their eyes as they hugged her goodbye. The fact they now owned a major portion of the mine could have been partial cause, but considering they hadn’t started sniffling until it came time to say farewell told her differently.
“You’ll come back?” Tim asked, his voice uncommonly soft and broken. “To see us?”
Maddie couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her tears would break loose if she did. Instead, she stretched onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
“You be sure to make arrangements with the bank,” Albert told Lucky while pulling her from Tim’s arms for another hug. “So we know where to send your share of the profits from the Big Bonanza.”
