Читать книгу Instant Frontier Family - Regina Scott - Страница 14

Chapter Six

Maddie could only be glad for her sister’s interruption. For a moment, with her hand on Michael’s burly arm, she had felt as if the earth had tilted, pushing her toward him. Why? It was all well and good to talk about true loves and lost hearts, but in the end she’d only be disappointed. She had too much evidence to think otherwise.

So, broad-shouldered or not, charming smile or not, Michael Haggerty would get no further in her affections. She knew her plans, and they did not include forming an attachment to any fellow, no matter how helpful and well-meaning.

Standing at the foot of the stairs now, Ciara scrunched her face. “More work, more noise? What sort of place is this?”

Her sister’s complaints were like touching a hot stove with her bare hand—sharp and painful. She’d worked so hard to make a home for Ciara and Aiden. Could her sister not appreciate the effort?

“This is a home with plenty of food to eat,” Maddie told her. “That’s a blessing.”

Ciara shrugged. “The rolls were good. But I’m not going to sit in my room all day while you have all the fun.”

“Fun, is it?” Maddie said, temper rising. “Perhaps I ought to wake you at three in the morning to help knead tomorrow’s dough.”

Her sister scowled at her.

Michael leaned his hip against the counter. “You seemed awfully pleased with that room yesterday,” he reminded Ciara.

The girl eyed him. “It’s nice too, I suppose.”

What crumbs of affection she offered! Had her sister no understanding? Maddie tightened her lips to hold back a scold.

Michael merely smiled at Ciara. “But you have the urge to wander, is that it?” he teased with a look to Maddie.

Maddie blinked. Of course! That must be the source of today’s animosity. Ciara and Aiden had been cooped up aboard ship for months. It was only natural that they’d want to get out, explore their new home. And that was one yearning she could satisfy.

“Let’s go see Seattle,” Maddie told Ciara. “Make sure you and Aiden are ready for the day. Do your chores as I asked. I’ll mix up the next batch of dough. We can take a walk while it rises and I can make a delivery.”

“All right,” Ciara agreed. “But don’t expect me to hold your hand while we walk. I’m not a child, you know.” She turned and flounced up the stairs.

“Nicely done,” Michael said, straightening away from the counter.

“Thank you,” Maddie replied. “But I was only following your lead.”

He smiled. “Glad to help. I’ll join you on your walk, if I may, so I’ll know where to start looking for work.”

“Of course,” Maddie said. “But perhaps you should be putting on shoes first.”

He glanced down at his stockinged feet, the thick gray yarn darkened with grime after he’d traipsed across the floorboards so many times, then rubbed the dark stubble speckling his chin. “And I should shave as well,” he said before he pounded up the stairs.

A short while later, the four of them left the front of the bakery. Maddie was careful to lock the door behind her. Seattle was remarkably free from crime, especially compared with Five Points, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her livelihood. She could only hope today Michael might find an opportunity for a livelihood of his own.

“What sort of work are you seeking?” she asked, Mr. Porter’s shirts tucked under one arm as they strolled down the boardwalk. The bakery was the last shop on the street, but she knew Seattle would only grow from there. Already someone else was building a new store down the block.

Michael eyed her over Ciara’s head. “I’ll take whatever I can get for the moment. I just want to pay my way.”

“Well, you ought to find something here,” she said, lifting her skirts to navigate a gap in the boardwalk. Ciara hopped from hump to hump, but Aiden slogged merrily through the puddles. A breeze came in off the water, moist and briny, setting the clapboard signs above them to creaking as she climbed onto the next stretch of boardwalk.

Ahead of them, the door of a mercantile opened and three natives exited, murmuring in husky voices. Hair slicked down and smelling of aromatic oils, colorful blankets draping their sturdy frames, they moved past Maddie and the children with dignity born of sorrows. Maddie nodded respectfully to them. Aiden stopped and stared.