by Regina Scott
All that did make it sound as if he hated the gang as much as Maddie did. “Perhaps it was a mistake, then,” she said, trying to take heart in the thought. “Perhaps we were right that the trousers hold some other meaning.”
“Perhaps,” he allowed, but his hesitation told her he thought otherwise.
They had little opportunity to continue the conversation for the next while. When they arrived at the bakery, they found that Ciara had set the table and laid out the blackberry preserves to go with the meat pie. Hoping the gesture was a peace offering, Maddie made sure to compliment her on her work.
Though Michael seemed too pensive to eat, Aiden tucked in.
“Isn’t it nice to have all the food we want?” Ciara said.
Maddie tried not to bridle at her sister’s smug smile. The girl seemed all too pleased to have gotten her way about the food and supplies.
“You should be thanking Mr. Haggerty for our dinner,” Maddie told her sister and brother. “He’ll be breaking his back to pay for it, starting tomorrow night.”
Michael chuckled, but Aiden frowned.
Ciara cocked her head. “Why are you breaking your back?” she asked.
“My back will be fine,” Michael assured her. “What your sister means is that I promised Mr. Kellogg I’d work in his store to pay for the supplies he brought today.”
Ciara’s look darkened as it swung to Maddie. “So you wouldn’t even let go of a penny to help Michael. I know what Da would say about that.”
Heat flushed up Maddie. “So do I. He’d say good on Michael for taking the initiative.” She nodded to him.
Michael, however, turned his look on Ciara. “I never met your da, but I know what mine would say. He’d say every member of a family needs to contribute, and those who choose otherwise don’t get to complain.”
Now Ciara reddened, dropping her gaze. She leaned slightly to one side, and Maddie was pretty sure she was reaching down to take comfort in Amelia Batterby’s soft fur as the cat strolled beneath the table. Maddie knew she shouldn’t take equal comfort from Michael’s support, but she couldn’t help the swell of thanks inside her.
“Dessert?” Aiden asked as if that would make everything better.
Maddie patted his shoulder. “Not tonight, me darling boy. I’ve not had time to bake today. But soon I’ll be testing some of my recipes for the wedding. I’ll need you to taste every one and tell me what you think.”
Aiden’s eyes lit. “Yes, ma’am! Can I help bake them too?”
“And make a mess?” Ciara scoffed. “You’d fall in the cake batter and poison it.”
Could she never be kind? “I imagine I can find work for a fine young man like yourself,” Maddie said with a smile to her brother. “But you’ll have to get up early.”
“I will! I promise.” He hopped off his chair. “Michael can wake me.”
“If your sister wakes me first,” Michael said with a glance at Maddie. “After all, you’d have to get up anyway. School starts tomorrow, doesn’t it?”
Maddie nodded.
Ciara dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter. “Tomorrow! I forgot. I have so much to do!” She pushed back her chair, ran for her room and slammed shut the door.
Aiden frowned after her. “What do you have to do to be ready? Don’t you just walk up the hill and sit down at a table?”
Maddie shared a wink with Michael. “Indeed you do, me darling boy. But I’m guessing Ciara wants her clothes and shoes to be just right.”
Aiden glanced down at his shirt and shorts. “Aren’t my clothes all right?”
“They’re fine,” Maddie promised him. “But if I were you, I’d leave your sister alone this evening.”
Aiden agreed. He even went so far as to request a rag from Maddie to shine his shoes. Michael moved closer to Maddie as she watched the boy rub the worn leather, his tongue poking out of one corner of his mouth.
“They’re coming to realize they can rely on you,” Michael murmured. “I’ll watch the shop in the morning if you want to walk them to school.”
“And scare off me best customers?” Maddie asked, giving him a nudge with her shoulder. “No. I’ll handle the morning rush, then we’ll shut things up and both walk them to school.”
“Does that mean you’re not kicking me out tonight?” he asked.
His question brought her harsh words from earlier rushing back at her. “You can stay,” she told him. “Sure-n but you’re a part of this family, Michael Haggerty. Just see that you find work for yourself. I think we’ll all set better with that resolved.”
She turned for the table to gather up the dishes only to find Michael’s hands blocking hers.
“Let me clear this away,” he said with a smile. “You’ve done enough today.”
There he went helping again, but so charmingly she didn’t have the heart to tell him no. And perhaps this too was a way to apologize for any differences between them. She nodded, and he stacked the plates and set the cups teetering on top, winking when he caught her watching.
“Why don’t you ask Aiden what he learned aboard ship?” he suggested.
“Are you trying to keep me from seeing how poorly you wash, Michael Haggerty?” she challenged.
He chuckled. “I wash well enough.” He nodded toward Aiden’s open door. “You saw how excited he was to help you. Now his sister has him wondering about school. You can ease his mind by making him realize he knows something you don’t.”
Maddie stared at him. “How do you understand them so well? I’ve known them their whole lives and still I struggle. I’m just thankful I’ve seen no sign of the crying at night like you did aboard ship.”
“How old were you when Ciara was born?” he asked, pouring some of the water from the bucket by the stove into the washtub.
“Fourteen,” Maddie remembered.
He shrugged. “There you are, then—you were nearly grown before you were a sister, and out on your own a few years later. I can barely remember a time when I wasn’t someone’s big brother, bound by love, not blood.”
She didn’t think that was entirely the answer. His parents had died, just like hers, and when he was far younger than she’d been. He had to have been hurting. Perhaps helping the other children deal with their wounds had helped him deal with his own.
“Now,” he said, “ask Aiden.”
Maddie raised her brows at his insistence, but turned to eye her brother’s door. “Aiden!” she called. “I hear you learned something important aboard ship.”
Her brother rushed out of his room, and she heard the snick that indicated Ciara had turned the knob on her door as well as if to listen.
“The sailors taught me knots,” he said, chest puffed out in pride. “And how to find the North Star to steer the boat.”
“Ship,” Ciara corrected him, wandering out of her room. Amelia Batterby took the opportunity to dart around her and head for Michael. Even the cat knew who the protector was in this family.
“Ship,” Aiden acknowledged. “And they taught me how to whistle. Want to hear?”
Maddie nodded. “Please.”
She thought he’d merely purse his lips, but he ran back to his room and returned carrying a thin wooden barrel with holes in it.
Maddie grinned. “Ah, a penny whistle.”
“A feadóg,” Ciara insisted, using the Gaelic word for the little flute. She came to a stop near Aiden and waited expectantly.
Aiden began to play, the high notes dancing around the room even as he tapped his toe in time. Maddie clutched her skirts to clear them from the floor and swayed back and forth to the bright sounds. Michael set aside the dishes to join them, clapping along.
Ciara went one further. She brought her feet together, then gave a little skip. Soon she was hopping in circles around Mich
ael, the sound of her shoes against the boards beating time to the rhythm.
Michael bumped into Maddie, and she looked up at him, surprised.
He winked again. “Come along, me lass,” he said, voice heavy with the lilt of home. “Let’s be showing them how it’s done.”
Grinning, Maddie curtsied to him, and he bowed. Then they both began moving to the music, skipping and hopping together, Maddie following his lead. When he stopped, arms poised over his head, she took up the challenge, spinning around him, skipping back to her spot. Hands on her hips, she waited.
Michael stood tall, proud, hands dropping to his side. His legs moved, feet beating a mighty tattoo against the floor, nearly drowning Aiden’s piping. The strength and power of it made her breath catch.
Ciara darted in front of him. “Now me!” She wove her way between the pair, giggling as Michael reached out as if to catch her. “Now, Maddie!” she cried as she reached her sister’s side.
Maddie danced between Ciara and Michael, joy bubbling up as laughter. Then Michael reached out once more, and she found herself caught in his arms.
His gaze locked with hers, breath coming quickly. She couldn’t move, couldn’t think. Ciara’s call to Aiden seemed to come from a million miles away.
“Stop playing, you loon. They’re going to kiss.”
“Oooh,” Aiden taunted as he lowered the pipe. His voice was as singsong as his playing. “Maddie loves Michael. Maddie loves Michael.”
No, no she didn’t. Just the thought was enough to force her back from him, out of his embrace. She focused on her little brother, red-faced and beaming.
“That’s some fine whistling, me lad,” she assured him. “Sure-n but we’ll have to have you play for us more often.”
Aiden ducked his head, obviously pleased by the praise.
“And maybe we can dance more too,” Ciara said, glancing between Maddie and Michael.
“You’re the finer dancer, Ciara,” Maddie said. “I’ll leave the floor to you.”
To her surprise, Ciara looked disappointed. A similar look flitted across Michael’s handsome face, only to be replaced with a polite smile. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but she couldn’t afford these feelings for him any more than she could afford Mr. Kellogg’s supplies. In fact, caring for Michael could impact her future even more.
* * *
Michael’s pulse refused to return to normal as Aiden accepted Maddie’s praise for playing. For a moment there, he’d forgotten everything—his reason for coming to Seattle, the tensions between him and Maddie, his promise not to interfere. Once again, the world had narrowed to her smiling face, her bright eyes, the cinnamon scent of her as she swayed closer.
Hadn’t he learned the dangers of such feelings by now?
Yet something inside insisted that Maddie wasn’t Katie. She sincerely loved her brother and sister, was concerned for their welfare and future. Still, she’d dictated Michael’s role in the family and offered her approval only when he behaved according to her rules. Was that behavior so very much different from the relationship he’d had with his former fiancée?
The best thing he could do was find a job and somewhere else to stay. That’s what she’d said she wanted from him, and that certainly would keep a rein on these feelings that popped up whenever she was near. He thanked Aiden for playing, then turned to finish the dishes. He had a debt to work off, and he refused to incur a new one.
So, he rose when Maddie did in the morning and helped her bake bread and rolls with the supplies for which he’d indentured himself. He kept his promise to Aiden and woke the boy just after sunrise, but he made himself scarce before the customers arrived. The cacophony of voices told him when Maddie started selling. He used the time to shave and dust off his clothes. She and Aiden came to find him and Ciara a short time later.
“Maddie’s the best baker in Seattle,” her brother bragged, climbing into a seat at the table. “Everyone came to buy her bread today.” He bit into one of the rolls she’d saved for them, honey dripping off his fingers.
“It was a good morning,” Maddie agreed. “Now let’s make it even better.”
Together they left the bakery. Michael had wedged a log of firewood against the back door to prevent further break-ins, and Maddie locked the front door behind them. Then they headed across town.
The day was once more bright; birds called from the wood, swooping low over the brown autumn grass that dotted the hillside. Ciara in her refitted dress of blue cloth walked with her head high, hand clasping Aiden’s.
From shops and homes, other children joined the trek up the hill until they all converged before the building. Michael had to own it was impressive—tall columns supported a white cupola, windows looking toward town like the eyes of wisdom. He noticed a girl about Ciara’s age smiling shyly at Maddie’s sister, and two boys, twins by the looks of them, thrust a pail at Aiden. By the way all three boys’ faces brightened as they gazed down into it, he thought it contained something significantly more interesting than bread and cheese. He’d have to pack lunches for Ciara and Aiden tomorrow. Perhaps he should bring them something later.
Michael grimaced. There he went interfering again!
A tall, slender woman, hair wound up tight in a bun, came out of the building, gray skirts brushing the wood of the entry.
“That’s Miss Reynolds,” Maddie whispered. “She traveled with me on the Continental.”
Another of Mercer’s Belles. This one certainly looked intrepid enough to brave the wilderness.
“Good morning,” she said, voice carrying in the cool air. “I see we have some new students today.” She smiled at Ciara and Aiden, and every eye turned their way. Ciara kept her head high even though her face was turning red. Aiden waved at them all.
“Come inside now,” Miss Reynolds said, and all the children streamed past her into the school.
Maddie heaved a sigh.
Michael put a hand on her shoulder. “They’ll be fine.”
“They will,” she said with conviction. By the height of her head, Michael thought one part of her burden had lifted. For some reason, so had his.
Thank You, Lord. The Good Word says You’ve a soft spot for widows and orphans. I know You’ll watch over Ciara and Aiden today, and Maddie too. Show me how I fit in this new picture You’re painting.
“I’ll keep looking for employment today,” he told Maddie as they walked back to the bakery. “And I’ll be working at Kelloggs’ tonight. With the robbery yesterday, I hate to ask you to leave the door unlocked.”
“I’ll likely be up anyway,” she said.
Most likely she would, because he had come to Seattle instead of the woman who was to help her. He still wondered how she could keep up this pace.
You could stay here, work beside her.
As soon as the thought entered his mind, he dismissed it. She’d made it plain she saw his help as interference. Besides, though Patrick might tease him about being a laundress, Michael felt as if he was meant for something more than hard, unthinking work. Maddie baked; the results of her work fed people, satisfied a need. She made a difference in people’s lives whether she knew it or not. That’s what he wanted for himself. There had to be work in Seattle that applied.
Yet something told him he’d already found the work most important to him—making Maddie, Ciara and Aiden his family.
Chapter Fourteen
For the next three days, Michael canvassed Seattle, determined to find a way to start over. The area boasted so much industry—from logging to mining to more shops than he had expected. Surely there was a place for him.
But as he moved from shop to shop, the story was always the same. No work was to be had, or a position had been promised to a friend or family member. One shop with a Help Wanted sign told him the sign was old, but he noticed the
clerk did not rush to remove it as Michael left.
He broadened his search, trying new businesses that might be more eager for workers. The recently built Occidental Hotel turned him away. Even the funeral parlor refused his offer to dig graves in the black mud. He was almost glad he saw so little of Maddie, so he didn’t have to tell her how dismally he fared. As it was, when he rose in the morning and when they ate dinner together with Ciara and Aiden, she always gave him a smile of encouragement.
He was about to leave the ironworks on Wednesday, having failed yet again to secure a position, when the door opened to admit Patrick. His friend’s smile widened as his gaze met Michael’s, and he came forward to clap Michael on the shoulder.
“Have you won the job before I could apply?” he joked.
“No position to be had here,” Michael said with a glance back into the cavernous building. The foreman ducked out of sight as if to avoid further conversation.
Patrick’s face fell. “No position to be had in all of Seattle, it seems. The land of opportunity, yet no opportunity for the Irish.”
Michael didn’t want to believe the old prejudice was alive here. He took Patrick’s arm and drew him outside. As if the sun had no answer for him either, it had disappeared to be replaced by a sharp drizzle. The icy drops pricked Michael’s skin. He started down the block.
“I’ve seen no sign of trouble here,” he told his friend as Patrick joined them. “People with names like Hennessy and O’Rourke seem to be doing all right.”
“For now,” Patrick said darkly. “But all that could change tomorrow, as we both know.”
Michael nodded. Motioning to his friend, he led Patrick to the end of the block, where the town petered out onto a clear-cut just waiting the next round of building. Stumps stuck up amid dusky ferns. Seed pods of wild flowers rattled in the breeze, their husks nearly gold. A shame there was no other gold to be had.