Golden Colorado Read Online Free PDF Page B

least two days’ supply at a time to store in the barn to ensure that it stayed dry.
    One day, a week before Christmas, in the midst of a snowstorm that shows no signs of ending, James turned to Minnie.
    “I need to go into town. We’re running low on supplies. The weather is only going to get worse, and we need to have enough to get us at least through the New Year.”
    By this time Minnie had grown incredibly fond of James. “You’re not going alone,” she had replied.
    “Minnie, it’s too dangerous—”
    “You’re not going alone,” she stated emphatically, stamping her foot on the ground to make her point.
    James had learned not to argue with her when she literally put her foot down. He grinned down at her, affection shining in his eyes as she stared up at him, her chin jutting forward, her hands on her hips, as if daring him to refute her.
    He didn’t. With a sigh of acquiescence, he nodded. “Put on your heaviest dress, get my old coat, and grab the blankets off of our bed,” he ordered. As she gathered the necessary belongings, he put the horses into their harness, then ventured outside to hook them up to the wagon. In the brief moment that the doors were open to let the horses out, Minnie felt the bitter cold of the winter wind. For a second she almost changed her mind. Then, she decided against it.
    Making sure that only glowing embers remained in the wood stove, she double-checked to make sure that everything was secure and safe in the barn, then followed him outside with the blankets.
    James hitched up the horses as quickly as possible, helped her into the wagon, and then climbed up too, sitting close beside her. She relished his heat, quickly wrapping one blanket around their legs, tucking it in underneath their bottoms, and the other she draped around their shoulders. She didn’t have gloves, but James did, which was good because he had to keep his hands exposed to hold the reins. She kept her hands wrapped in the blanket she clasped tightly around their shoulders.
    Then knitted cap she wore over her head barely kept out the wind. She had wrapped a scarf around her face, leaving only her eyes exposed, and James had tied his hat down onto his head with a neckerchief, covering his ears. Nevertheless, they were nearly frozen solid by the time they reached the outskirts of town. It was fairly deserted and quiet, the way it always was when the snow fell, and the wind whistled in gusts.
    James directed the rig over to the Mercantile, and then pulled up alongside it in an effort to block the horses from the wind. He quickly climbed out of the wagon, groaning when his nearly frozen feet made contact with the ground. He hurried around to Minnie’s side, clasped her waist, and lifted her down, barely allowing her to put her feet on the ground until she reached the porch in front of the Mercantile. Together they walked inside, relishing the heat that immediately surrounded them.
    Allen, the owner of the Mercantile, and his wife Jennifer, both standing behind the counter, looked up in surprise.
    “Oh!” Jennifer gasped, rushing toward them.
    She grasped Minnie’s arm and guided her close to the cast-iron stove in the middle of the room, nearly glowing red with its heat, exclaiming, “You must be frozen solid!”
    After she had settled Minnie and James into two chairs they pulled up as close to the stove as they dared, she bustled behind the counter and through a door to their living quarters, promising them hot tea in just a few moments.
    His hand shaking with cold, James reached into his pocket and silently handed Allen a scrap of paper with a list of supplies they needed.
    “You couldn’t have picked a worse day to head into town,” Allen commented.
    Minnie held her breath, wondering how James was going to respond. To her surprise, her husband laughed in full agreement. “Don’t I know it! But there’s no telling how long the storm will last, or if it’ll let up all winter at all. I figured