Miranda felt the tears wanting to come. How could this be? Her father, her mother, her husband, now her brother. And Jake. Did she even still have Jake? She looked at him, felt his hand come over hers again. This time she did not pull away. “Do you believe her?” she asked. “You…you know women like her better than I do.”
“I believe her. She even started crying when I showed her the picture. And don’t be rude to her, Randy. She didn’t have to come here.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m damn sorry about Wes. If I could change things, I would. I’d even take his place, if that would make you happier.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “Don’t say that.”
He put a hand to her face and wiped at the tear with his thumb. “Is there anything you want to ask Mellie?”
She sniffed, pulling a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress and wiping at her eyes more. She looked up at Mellie. “I’m sorry to act so rude. There are other reasons I was upset when you walked in with my husband.”
Mellie felt a little embarrassed at witnessing a tender scene between a husband and wife. “It’s all right. Women like me are pretty tough-skinned.”
Just like Jake, Miranda thought. “Was Wes happy?” she asked aloud. “Did he ever talk about our father? About me?”
Mellie smiled. “Sure he did, but he mostly referred to both of you as just ‘Pa’ and ‘my sister.’ I wasn’t even sure what your name was, or I might have tried to write and let you know what happened. Besides that, I didn’t know if you’d appreciate hearing about him from somebody like me. He was happy, because he was doing something he really wanted to do. He told me he had gotten bored with farming, but he felt a little guilty about leaving you and your pa.” She shrugged. “Hell, he was young and wanted some adventure, that’s all. Lots of men that age get the yen to strike out on their own. He had big dreams about finding his own claim, but he ended up working at one of the mines instead. He made good money, but I’m afraid he gambled most of it away every week. He only had about twenty dollars on him when he died. I used that for his burial and grave marker. I hope that was all right.”
Miranda rose and walked closer. “If you don’t mind, I’d like you to take us tomorrow to show us his grave.”
“Sure. I don’t mind.”
Miranda studied her, guessed her to be perhaps thirty. It was hard to tell. The woman had a hard look to her, had obviously had a rough time. What made women choose this life? She thought of Jake’s remark back when she first met him, about how some women like this did what they did because they’d been abused as he had. Who was she to judge? “I hope you were good to him.”
Mellie almost laughed at the innocent remark. She glanced at Jake and knew he was thinking the same thing, but she kept a sober look. The sadness of the occasion far outweighed the humor the remark would otherwise have evoked. “As good as I could be,” she answered. “We didn’t always…well, you know.” She reddened a little. “Sometimes he just wanted to talk, so I listened. That happens a lot here. These men get lonely, miss their family, get their expectations dashed to the ground. It’s not as easy to come to a place like this and get rich as one might think.”
Miranda swallowed back a lump in her throat. “Did he…suffer?”
Mellie shook her head. “They told me he was killed instantly. They use lots of dynamite in those mines. Accidents like that are pretty frequent.”
Miranda nodded. She reached out and surprised Mellie by hugging her. “Thank you for being his friend, and for coming here to tell me. Can you be here tomorrow morning around ten?”
Mellie glanced at Jake again. She had a feeling he knew that women like her seldom got up before one o’clock in the afternoon. There was something about the man that told her he was familiar with saloons and whores. How had he ended up with this lovely woman who was obviously a proper lady? He was so big and dark and dangerous-looking, and she was so small and refined.
“Why don’t we make it around two, Randy?” Jake suggested, to Mellie’s relief. “It will be warmer midday. I don’t want you getting chilled in your condition.”
“Fine. I’ll see you at two then.”
Mellie nodded.
“You want me to walk you back? It’s dark out there,” Jake spoke up.
Mellie laughed lightly. “You don’t really think that matters, do you?”
“Sure it matters.”
“I’m all right. Just about every man in this town knows me. I’m safe.” She smiled rather sadly. “Besides, there isn’t much a man can do to me that hasn’t already been done now, is there? You stay here and comfort your wife, Mr. Turner. I’ll be by tomorrow.”