gold fever and Lucky wasn’t like that. Those men had been dangerous, full of desperation and more often than not, full of whiskey.
Lucky was so quiet she couldn’t even hear him breathing, leaving her to wonder if he was still mad and wasn’t about to share anything with her. Then, gazing over the water, he started, “It’s an amazing place. Alaska. Last year we sailed up the Yukon River to Dabbler. There’s only a few months out of the year that can happen, but when the waterway is open, a sailor can make a fortune. That’s what Uncle Trig is counting on. The hull, the part not full of women, is stuffed with cargo the miners need. Mainly foodstuff they can’t get. Raisins and—”
“Raisins?”
“Yes. Miners claim raisins are all they need to survive. It’s not true, of course. No one can live off just raisins, but they are easy to haul and they’re paying top dollar a pound.”
“Is a boat the only way to get to Dabbler?” she asked, not overly interested in the cargo—raisins or women.
“No, there are trails, but they’re long and dangerous. Sailing in is the rich man’s way. Trig could have made a lot of money taking on passengers, but he doesn’t like hauling people. They’re more work than cargo, and the Mary Jane isn’t equipped for it.”
She’d heard that much. Trig wasn’t impressed with Robbie for agreeing to haul the women, and she’d learned the large woman in the hull had paid a small fortune for herself and her girls to sail on the Mary Jane.
“I plan on going northeast of Dabbler,” Lucky said, “farther into the Klondike. That’s where the gold is.”
Maddie’s heart leaped inside her chest. “How do you know? Have you seen it?”
“Yes. Last year we hauled gold back to Seattle,” he answered. “The purest, richest gold Trig had ever seen. An old friend of his, Whiskey Jack, brought it in, knowing he could trust Trig to get the best price. Knew he could trust me, too, and gave me a map.”
Her heart hammered so hard she could barely breathe.
“It’s not in my cabin,” he said, turning back to gaze over the water.
Slightly flustered, yet not enough to quell her excitement, she said, “I wouldn’t steal your map.”
“How do I know? You sneaked on board.”
“Yes, I did, but I had to. I couldn’t stay in Seattle.”
“Not the kind of gal that can be penned up, are you?”
A flutter happened inside, and she determined it was because he was teasing her, not mean like the outlaws used to do, but in a fun way. Grinning, she shook her head.
“Even that cabin’s driving you crazy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is,” she admitted.
“How you gonna survive living in a tent for months on end, then?”
“That’ll be different,” she said. “You know it will.”
He nodded. “I guess I do.”
“How much gold did that man Whiskey Jack find?” she asked.
“Plenty, and he said there’s lots more to be found.”
Maddie’s entire being hummed with excitement.
“Settle down, darling,” Lucky said as if he knew exactly what was happening inside her. “We still have a long way to sail.”
“I know,” she admitted. A warmth filled her then, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the moon shining down on her, or because of the sparkles in Lucky’s eyes. Either way, she’d never experienced anything like it. Not as a child or an adult. She knew one thing, though—with Smitty guiding her and Lucky as her partner, she’d soon have the life she’d always wanted.
* * *
Each night thereafter, when she’d join Lucky on the deck, they would talk about Alaska, gold and a few other things. Some nights, they’d stand by the rail of the boat with the moon shining down on them as they gazed north, talking of all the gold just waiting to be found. When the wind grew chilly, he’d take off his coat and fold it around her shoulders, and Maddie had never felt so protected, so shielded from the elements.
Part of it might have been because she had no worries of Mad Dog finding her, but other parts of it came from inside, a place she’d never really been happy before.
Standing in the dark, whispering, she told Lucky about living with Smitty, how he’d taught her to find gold. What to look for. Lucky told her things, too, about growing up in New Orleans and all the places he’d sailed. She never asked if she could go with him into the Klondike, and he never offered, but Maddie had no doubt it would happen.
Her late-night excursions meant she slept during the day, often curled up on Captain Trig’s bunk, but sometimes, if she was sleeping when Lucky entered their cabin, he wouldn’t wake her, just go into the captain’s cabin himself. Guilt rolled in her stomach on those days, and she tried to make sure it didn’t happen often.
It was a long trip, and one particular day, Captain Trig entered his cabin and sat down in the chair. “So you’ve mined gold before?”
“Most of my life.” She’d already told him about mining with Smitty, and figured he was going to try to talk her into sailing south with him again, probably back to Mrs. Smother.
Scratching his chin, he said, “Well, then, I’ve got a proposition for you.”
Maddie’s mind raced with excitement. “What’s that?”
“Well,” he started, “seeing how you’re so dead set on staying in Alaska, and Lucky needs to find gold...”
* * *
Cole had listened to Maddie talk about searching the ground, looking for different shades of dirt, and other things he’d never heard or read about, and all the while a battle formed inside him. He had to find a way to tell her that she wasn’t staying in Alaska. As the Mary Jane floated closer to Dabbler, his thoughts became more twisted. That was how it had been lately. He found himself thinking about her more and more. Which had to stop.
Now.
He was still furious at how she’d sneaked on board and had all those soiled doves thinking the two of them were married. That was how women did things. Sneakily. She was sneaking into other places, too, inside him, and he didn’t like that. Not at all.
Rachel had done that, sneaked inside him, and at one point, had almost made him change his mind. Had she said she’d wait for him, let him try sailing, he might have married her.
That would not happen again.
Yet as he gazed toward the shore, he couldn’t help but admit he was partially to blame for Maddie’s behavior. She’d been so skittish at first, like a lone kitten found in a barn, and he’d used little tidbits to entice her out just as he would have offered little treats to a stray. So in a way, he’d led her to believe there might be a chance he’d let her follow him into the goldfields.
