“Thank you for your kindness to my sister,” Joseph told her softly. “I have never seen her so happy.”

Nugget broke free and skipped ahead. Annabelle didn’t have the heart to stop her.

“I’m glad to have given her something to be happy about.” She smiled. Joseph wasn’t too bad. Cleaned up the way he was, it was almost easy to pretend he was just a normal man.

Annabelle stumbled slightly. Joseph wasn’t a normal man. And it wouldn’t do for her to entertain feelings when she knew she couldn’t count on a miner to stick around. Not that she had any intention of entertaining feelings about any man.

At least not here in Leadville. The town was full of shiftless drifters, and the one time she’d let her guard down to trust in someone, he’d betrayed her. Something she’d do well to remember in the presence of this man.

Especially the way Joseph’s sparkling smile made her tingle all the way down to her toes.