attention was needed, anchored as they were.
She followed, as he knew she would. “I’m so excited, I could swim to shore.”
“I wouldn’t advise that,” he cautioned. “You’d freeze to death before you got ten feet from the boat.”
“I’m not going to do it,” she said somewhat saucily. “I’m not stupid.”
Air snagged in Cole’s chest as he dragged in a breath. “I know you’re not stupid, Maddie.” Gesturing toward the queue of ships, he said, “Most of these are passenger vessels. Hundreds of people, thousands actually, will debark here.”
“All hoping to find gold,” she answered while nodding.
He nodded in return before he said, “It’s going to be dangerous, Maddie. No place for a woman.”
Her face fell. So did his insides.
“I’m not going south with Trig,” she said. Folding her arms, her gaze was expectant when she looked up at him. “I’ve suspected you were going to suggest that.”
“Alaska’s no place for you, Maddie. Go south with Trig. He’ll find you—”
“Lucky...”
When she said his name like she did—all soft and wistfully—it almost took his breath away, and irritated him to no end.
She grabbed hold of his coat sleeve. “Haven’t you learned anything about me in all this time we’ve been traveling?”
He pulled from her hold to grab her arms. “Yes, I have. That you’re a pain in my backside.” It was true. He thought of her all the time, and that was painful. The other truth was, if she’d been a man, he’d have already asked her to pair up with him.
Her mouth gaped, and his insides stung. He did know her, and simply telling her she couldn’t go with him wouldn’t work. She was far too stubborn for that. He had to show her she wasn’t wanted. “That’s right. A royal pain in the butt. I’m going to be busy, Maddie. I won’t have time to worry about you.” He didn’t want to worry about her. Not now. Not ever. With one hand he gestured to the mountain ridge beyond the town. “You see those mountains? I’ve got to cross them. You’d be like a weight around my neck, making the trek that much harder, that much longer.”
She wobbled and he let her go, and told himself not to catch her as she stumbled backward. Any other woman would be shedding tears, but Maddie wasn’t prone to crying, or letting her emotions show. She wasn’t whiny or constantly complaining, either, and for a moment he wished she was. All this would be a lot easier, then. Walking away from Rachel sure had been.
Maddie’s eyes grew cold, bitter, and her chin came up. “I’ll never be a weight someone has to carry. Not for you or anyone else.”
He had one stab left, and he had to seal the deal. “What do you think you’ve been all this time?” he asked. “A paying passenger? No, you’ve been a lie I’ve had to cover up since the first night we set sail. A burden I don’t need or want.”
Her lips puckered and her nostrils flared, yet her chin never quivered as she spun around and stomped across the deck.
Sickened, for he didn’t like hurting her, Cole sent his gaze back to the line of ships ahead of them. He couldn’t say he liked who he was lately. Maddie had changed something inside him, and it wasn’t any good. Just as he’d known it wouldn’t be. When a man lets a woman into his life, everything changes. He’d sworn that would never happen to him, and it wouldn’t. Yet, it left him feeling as if he’d eaten a bucket of crab apples.
* * *
“So you told Maddie she can’t go with you, did you?”
Cole didn’t glance at his uncle, who’d appeared at his side. “The Klondike’s no place for a woman.”
“And that is?” Trig asked, obviously talking about Dabbler.
They were close enough to see how misshapen tents and crudely slapped-together buildings covered acres upon acres of land along the shoreline. “No, it’s not,” Cole said. “That’s why she needs to sail out with you.”
“She won’t,” Trig insisted gruffly. “I asked, but even then I knew the answer. That girl wants gold worse than you do. That’s why I said I’d finance her.”
A shiver shot up Cole’s spine. “What?”
Trig’s grin looked crustier than ever, as if he was as pleased as a pauper sitting in a king’s chair. “I know a good investment when I see it.”
“You’re a fool,” Cole said.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so.”
“You can’t leave her here,” Cole insisted.
“I have to. I’ve financed her expedition—for a ten-percent profit.” Trig’s laughter chased a flock of floating gulls into the air. “That girl has gumption and guts. And knows what she’s talking about. She knows more about gold mining than ninety percent of the people attempting to strike it rich up here right now, maybe ninety-nine percent. You want money to rebuild DuMont Shipping, and so do I. So I hired her to find it.”
“You what?”
“I figure your idea is a good one. I make good money sailing, but it’ll take years to earn enough to build the warehouses back to their glory. Gold, though, a good solid find, could have things back to what they were in no time.”
Fury flared inside Cole. “Traitor.” Finding gold was his plan, his way of making things right with the family and his mother.
“I’m not telling you to partner up with her,” Trig said. “I’m sure I’ll find someone else. Probably have plenty of takers.”
“No, you won’t,” Cole snapped. The thought of Maddie pairing up with someone else was worse than that of having her by his side. And the idea of not being the one to find the money his family needed sparked flames in his guts.
Trig laughed as if Cole hadn’t spoken. “She drove a hard bargain. I was lucky she finally settled on ten percent. Almost had me over the barrel at eight.”
Anger had Cole at a loss for words. “You can’t do this,” he muttered.
“Yes, I can,” Trig said. “And I did.”
* * *
Less than a week later, when the Mary Jane headed downriver to the Bering Sea and, ultimately, to the Pacific Ocean, Cole left Dabbler, taking a well-worn path heading northeast and leading two pack mules.
Behind him, Maddie led two others.
Maddie would never, ever, let Lucky know just how badly he’d hurt her. For one, it didn’t make sense. No one, other than Smitty, had ever wanted her, and she didn’t expect people to start now. For two, if she did admit he’d
