She had hoped to prove the kind gentleman wrong. He’d warned her that in a mining town like Fairplay, a single woman wouldn’t have other options besides becoming a dance girl. She supposed that’s why he’d offered to give her shelter in his home.

She’d wanted to remain optimistic that one of the hotels would hire her to do their cooking or that one of the stores might need help, but he’d been right. No one was willing to pay others to do the work he could do for himself.

“God,” she whispered as she lifted her face heavenward. “What am I to do now?”

She breathed in the clean air laden with the scent of campfire smoke and roasting game. Her stomach gurgled, reminding her that she and Astrid hadn’t eaten anything all day except for the biscuits, dried venison, and milk she’d purchased before leaving the stagecoach station hours ago. And now, without any money, she had no way to buy them an evening meal.

Of course, along with giving her a room in his house, Mr. Steele had been kind enough to suggest taking Astrid and her to supper tonight. He’d emphasized that he was happily married and didn’t have any ulterior motives for his kindness.

Nevertheless, she was hesitant to accept his assistance. Maybe he was as noble as he appeared. Maybe he was simply a Good Samaritan. Maybe she was worrying for nothing. But the fact was, Mr. Steele lived alone. And staying with him would only cause problems.

Lowering her head, she blinked back swift tears. She was always a burden and had been for as far back as she could remember. She’d been a burden on Pappa as he labored to take care of Mamma when she’d been bedbound. Of course, he’d loved Greta the best he could, but with managing his farm all by himself, he’d been stretched too thin, even though many within their Swedish immigrant community had reached out to help him.

After Mamma had died, Pappa quickly remarried so he wouldn’t have to watch over a six-year-old in addition to everything else he had to worry about. Her stepmother, a newly arrived Swedish immigrant widow, had two boys, and Greta had felt as though she was adding to the woman’s heavy workload, especially after Astrid and Liam were born.

Over the past few years, as her older stepbrothers had gotten married and the number of people living in the farmhouse grew, Greta sensed she was wanted even less. If not for her role in taking care of Astrid after her stepmother and Liam died, Greta guessed her stepbrothers would have married her off long ago. But no one else had the energy or desire to oversee the sick little girl.