Chapter 14 – An Engagement

Peeta could scarcely believe all the changes occurring in the mining camp. It was beginning to resemble a small town in size with nearly one hundred people settling there. It already had a larger population than the town of District 12. Even more miners were expected to arrive shortly, once it was possible for them to cross the Sierra Nevada's on foot.

After the quiet of winter, the atmosphere of Dirty District 12 was lively, noisy, and energetic. Most of the Oregonians who'd left for the winter did not return. They took their gold home to the their farms and restarted their lives. For the old-timers like Peeta, who had lived there at least six months now, the camp seemed like an altogether different place. The sea of tents expanded much farther in all directions.

Peeta had been elected as one of twelve people who sat on a council that governed the camp.

As the only merchant in the group, he represented the views of the few individuals in camp who weren't there to find gold, but were there to make a living by providing services to the miners. Besides himself, this included the few women in the camp, who were providing food, laundry and tailoring assistance to the miners – all the domestic skills formerly provided by the mothers or wives of the men who were now alone and searching for gold.

Unlike Sae, his business was prospering. Previously he and Sae had combined their food items to make a complete meal, for example stew and biscuits. Now, however, miners were seeking him out directly to purchase a loaf of bread, or a dozen biscuits, or a pie to supplement the meals they cooked for themselves.

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The mud was nearly gone. He, Katniss, and Vick had already taken the horse and cart out a second time to look for the cave. Unfortunately they still hadn't been able to find it. Sometimes Peeta wondered if he had imagined the entire episode, but he still had that piece of gold he'd dug out from the limestone wall. He kept it in his pocket and ran his fingers over it nearly every day, remembering that snowy interlude with Katniss.

When they had gone to look for the cave, they had also tried to visit Jaime and his family. But the Mexican miner had moved on. His tent was gone and the only evidence that he'd even been there was the charred remains of his campfire.

Ever since the Undersees had arrived, he'd been able to spend more time alone with Katniss. Every Sunday, the reverend held a church service. Peeta and several of the other miners began attending. It seemed like a piece of home to take the time to read some scripture, pray, and listen to the reverend lecture about the temptations of greed. Not that the miners took it very seriously. They sang hymns too, and of course Katniss' voice enticed many to attend.

Afterwards, the women would cook a large meal and invite everyone to stay. They'd play games later, cards, and even held a few running races, although he couldn't participate in that. But much later, when most of the others had returned to their tents, Peeta and Katniss, and Gale and Madge would take a walk.

They rarely stayed together. He steered Katniss away from the other couple as quickly as he could. It was the only time they had alone together without Vick within earshot.

Even though Katniss was affectionate when they were alone, he could sense her inner struggle. With the influx of more men in the camp – more competition - he wondered if she'd realized that she could do better than a man with a crippled leg. He knew that once they located the cave and extricated the gold out of it, she might end their courtship. Some days he wished they would never find it again.

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"Do you think you could help me with my baking? I'm falling behind," Peeta asked Katniss one day when they were returning from a hunt. "I can pay you for your time."

He wasn't quite sure how she'd react to his question. But she surprised him. "Of course." Then she frowned. "But you don't have to pay me. You go hunting ...well, I owe you for the time you've spent with me."

"You don't owe me anything Katniss. I wouldn't go hunting with you if I didn't want to…" his voice trailed off.

Vick who had overheard the conversation interrupted. "You can pay me Peeta."

Peeta laughed. He'd hoped that Vick wouldn't need to tag along if they were working in the camp. But clearly Vick had other ideas. He guessed he could probably find something for the boy to do.

As easily as that, Katniss reduced her hunting forays to a couple of times a week and began helping Peeta. He soon realized that he needed to expand his operation, so he invested in a second cooking stove and several more baking pans. This led to the reconfiguration of his outdoor kitchen.

He'd always been able to leave his supplies unguarded in the past, but one evening a sack of flour was stolen while he slept in the tent he and his brother shared at the other end of the camp. As a result, he convinced Rye to relocate their tent next to the outdoor kitchen. He filled it with sacks of flour, sugar, and other supplies.

Rye complained bitterly about it. "We're sleeping in a storeroom Peeta. You need to get a second tent."

Peeta agreed. He did need another place to store the supplies. But he wasn't thinking of a tent. He wanted a building. Thom had told him months ago that he should open a bakeshop in town. Peeta didn't think that location was the best. Except for visitors to the general store, most of the business in town took place after dark, when men were looking to relax at the saloon or brothel.

But the daily expansion of miners to Dirty District 12 meant customers, a lot of them. The smell of fresh baking bread was already luring many of them to his outdoor kitchen.

It was a big investment for him to purchase wood and hire a couple of men to build a small structure that he could use to both house supplies and as sleeping quarters. But when it was completed, he was pleased with the results. It was the only permanent structure in the camp.

"Are you getting married?" Rye asked him. "You have a place to live now."

Peeta shook his head. He wished he was confident enough to bring up the subject with Katniss, but he feared her rejection. If she refused him, he didn't know how what he would do - his feelings for her were so strong.

He was spending even more time with her now than when they were hunting every day. She'd taken quickly to helping him with his baking business, had even suggested he make meat pies, which proved to be popular with the miners.

She'd even agreed to accept payment from him for her work because she needed a way to earn money and she couldn't count on Sae anymore since that business had slowed down considerably.

Although Peeta longed for more with Katniss, it was easier to let her determine the pace of their relationship, so he said nothing.

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It was on one of their Sunday walks, when Katniss brought up looking for the cave again. Their hands were laced together as they wandered along. They'd stopped to sit at the base of a large oak, its green leaves fluttering in the soft breeze. Katniss leaned into Peeta's side. He'd put his arm around her shoulder.

"When can we look for the cave again Peeta?"

"Probably this week," he murmured. "If we bake extra tomorrow, we could take Tuesday off to look for it."

"Do you think we'll ever find it?" He could hear the frustration in her voice.

"I don't know," he sighed, before adding, "would it be so bad if we didn't?"

She turned to him in amazement.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It would be foolish to simply give up. There could be a lot of gold in that cave."

"True, or it could be only a tiny pocket," he said. "I've heard some of the miners talking about such things. We might have gotten most of it out already."

She frowned. "We should find out though, before someone gets there first. They're so many more people out looking now."

Peeta frowned. He wanted to ask her what happens afterwards, when they had found the cave and worked the claim. What will become of them? He wished he wasn't such a coward. He wished he could tell her exactly how he felt about her, that he wanted a future with her.

Instead, he buried his face into the side of her neck and kissed her softly. As he pulled his head back, she turned to face him and gently captured his lips. It was a sweet kiss that she initiated. She broke away after a moment, smiling at him.

He couldn't help himself. In the moment, his voice dropped to a whisper. "I love you."

The surprise was apparent on her face. "I know," Katniss replied, a little too quickly. Her face rapidly turned pink. "And you…you know what you are to me." She was flustered, like she didn't know what to say.

Peeta swallowed his disappointment. He was a fool. It had been a mistake to say anything. "We should go back now."

He helped her up and they walked back to camp. Katniss reached for his hand but was silent. He wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what to say. Every time he took a step closer, Katniss pushed him back. Yes, he'd made some progress. She was holding his hand right now; she hadn't stormed off after he'd told her how he felt.

But still, he wondered how long he would have to wait for her feelings to match up with his. If it ever would happen. If she even had any feelings for him.

When they arrived back at the campsite, it was obvious something had occurred. Gale and Madge had already returned from their walk and the families were hugging Madge and slapping Gale on the back.

"Katniss," Prim's voice called out. "Gale and Madge are getting married. We're going to be related now."

Peeta saw the shock on Katniss' face. But she quickly regained his composure. Her hand slipped out of his and she ran toward her cousin to hug him. She said something, Peeta couldn't hear and Gale laughed. Then Katniss ran to Madge and hugged her tightly.

Peeta stood frozen in place. They've just met, he thought. I've known Katniss far longer. But he shook the thoughts from his mind as he went forward to congratulate the newly engaged couple.

Later, that evening he and his brother discussed the upcoming wedding while sitting in Peeta's new sleeping quarters in the bakeshop. Peeta had recently moved out of the tent he had shared with his brother and into his new building so that he could stand watch over his supplies. Meanwhile, a new miner to the camp, an Irishman named Finnick Odair, was bunking with Rye.

"They hardly know each other," Peeta fumed to his brother.

Rye laughed. "A bit jealous Peet. There's no reason you couldn't do the same."

Except that Katniss isn't interested in me like that, he thought.

"I have to say, I'm not that surprised about it," Rye said. "With that mother of Gale's, a minister's daughter is probably the only eligible girl in these parts she'd ever approve of. I tell you it would be awful to be living with Mom in this camp."

The thought of his mother living in the mining camp and telling him how to live his life seemed so absurd that Peeta burst out laughing. "I guess we do have something to be thankful for," he admitted.

"I think he's marrying her to get out from under his mother's thumb," Rye added. "She seems to call the shots. Madge is kind of quiet. I can't see her bossing Gale around."

"But do you think he has…well, feelings for her," Peeta asked. "They just met."

Rye hooted. "I'm sure he feels something for her."

Immediately Peeta thought back to Gale walking off to Effie's house, tickling the girl at his side. He guessed he knew what kind of feelings Rye thought Gale had for Madge.

"Why would she agree to such a hasty courtship?" Peeta wondered.

"You never know about women," Rye surmised. "They can fall in love at the drop of a hat."

Except for Katniss, Peeta thought. "Do you think Madge loves him?"

Rye snorted. "Not everyone is as big a sap as you."

Peeta glared at him.

"Wait, I take it back," Rye went on. "This Finnick fellow that I bunk with is a lot worse. He's spending all his money at Effie's place. He's sweet on one of the new girls there. It'd be funny really, if it wasn't so damn sad."

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Peeta was concerned about how he and Katniss would interact the next day as they went about their baking together. But he didn't have to worry. Katniss acted as she always had, as if he'd never said anything about loving her at all. This irritated him. It was as if she was dismissing his feelings entirely.

They did extra baking that day so they could spend the next day looking for the cave. They set out early the following morning with the horse and cart. Katniss took her bow, arrows, and game bag along so she could do some hunting as well. They needed some excuse so Vick wouldn't get suspicious.

Peeta was determined to find the cave, even if he had to stay out until after dark. The gold claim was standing between Katniss and him. He needed it to be resolved one way or the other. Maybe then, he could figure out what to do. He was tired of playing games.

It didn't take long to get to the general area they'd been in when the snowstorm hit. They tried to retrace their steps as best they could.

"What do you think?" Katniss asked pointing toward a shadow on the hillside. "That might be it."

Peeta began walking toward it, with Katniss at his heels. She quickly caught up with him but stayed alongside him instead of sprinting ahead. There were some scattered rocks near one side of the opening. Maybe an animal had knocked them down.

As soon as they got within five feet of the entrance, Peeta knew this was their cave. He couldn't believe their luck. It looked so unassuming in the sunshine. This was the place where Katniss had finally opened up to him. Where he finally thought he might have a chance with the girl with the braid.

They stepped inside. Katniss gasped. Someone had clearly been here. Peeta's eyes flew to the wall where he and Katniss had dug out the two pieces of gold. It was smashed in. Clods of limestone lay on the ground. The hole was far larger than the one they'd dug out with his pocket knife.

Katniss stared at it in disbelief, her mouth hanging open.

"Someone beat us here," he said. "I'm sorry." There would be no happily ever after to this gold claim. It was a bust.

He turned and walked out of the cave. Katniss followed him, reaching for the pick he was holding.

"I want to see for myself," she said. She took it from him and rushed back into the cave, putting her hand into the hole and rubbing away the lose dirt. She swung the pick, trying to make the hole bigger. She worked at it for a half hour before giving up.

"You were right. It must have been a small pocket." She looked so sad and dejected that Peeta wanted to wrap his arms around her and tell her it didn't matter. But he didn't. Because it did matter. They had no reason to pretend to be courting any longer.

They slowly made their way back to the horse and cart. Vick was gone, probably scouting out more rocks. Katniss grabbed her bow, arrows, and gamebag. "I should probably hunt," she said, walking off.

Peeta sat on the back edge of the cart. He bent over and rested his head in his hands. He was so tired. He hadn't slept well for the past few nights, and his leg was already hurting. He wished he could go to sleep right now. He lay back in the cart and quickly dozed off. He woke to Vick's cries. He was disoriented for a moment. It was so bright when he opened his eyes. Where was he?

He stood up, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from when he heard Katniss yelling, as well. Despite the pain in his leg, he bolted off in the direction of their cries. He expected they were under attack of some kind and midway there he realized he didn't have a weapon of any sort. But he continued. He was nearly breathless when he reached them.

Vick was holding a large rock, which was flattened a bit on one side. Katniss had a smaller rock and was bashing it into Vick's rock.

"Peeta, I found gold." The boy was jubilant. His grin nearly split his face.

Katniss turned to Peeta. "I hit it with a rock and it flattened, just like you said it does."

Instantly his memory flashed to that day he'd showed Katniss the flattened piece of gold and she'd kissed his cheek. He put the remembrance from his mind as he turned to Vick.

The boy handed him the rock he'd found. It was a fair sized stone, much bigger than any gold nugget he'd ever seen. "How did you find it?" he asked Vick.

"I was trying to dig out these rocks, he pointed to the rocky ground they stood on, and this was the first one I got up. I brushed off the dirt and turned it over, and… well, it was gold-colored. I guess Jaime was right, there is gold in the ground," he added as an afterthought.

Peeta nodded. At least someone got rich today.

Everyone was quiet on the trip back to camp, lost in their thoughts. Even though his leg was throbbing, Peeta walked next the horse and led it back. He didn't want to ride behind Katniss on the horse. The thought of being that close to her was unbearable. He wasn't angry with her. She had the right to her feelings, but he was sad.

He didn't think he could ever return to simply being her friend. Now he understood his older brother's pain. It was not good. And worse was the fact that Katniss worked with him at his bakeshop. He'd still be spending so much time with her. What was he going to do?

When they arrived back at camp, he heard the commotion coming from the Hawthorne campsite. Instead of joining them he went into his bakeshop and closed the door. He opened his bottle of whiskey and took a few sips. Yes, his leg hurt but so did his heart. After a few more swigs from the bottle, he didn't feel anything.

Author's Notes: The Irish Potato famine, which occurred between 1845 -1852, was a period of mass starvation and disease in Ireland. It led to the emigration of many people from that country to the United States. Some of those Irishmen headed for the goldfields to seek their fortune.

Vick's discovery was based on the true story of a 12-year-old boy who found a stone worth $17,000 in 1849.