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Thinking of such things, she glanced over, and had to turn away to hide the flush of her cheeks when he winked, almost as if he’d known that was exactly what she’d been pondering.
Once the mules were seen to, Lucky took her by the elbow. “Let’s go see what this cabin of Whiskey Jack’s looks like. We may decide to sleep in our tent after all.”
“Why would we do that?” she asked.
He laughed. “You sure are different than every other woman on this earth, Maddie, girl. That’s for sure.”
“The world would be a dull place if we were all the same,” she declared, while trying not to think overly hard about what he might mean.
He laughed again and a few steps later they stopped in front of a tiny cabin made from huge logs. Lucky had to duck in order to walk through the door. She followed, blinking at the darkness. Light flickered. While he replaced the lamp chimney, she turned around to close the door. Not much larger than Captain Trig’s cabin back on the ship, there was a bed, a table and two chairs, and a stove.
“Looks fine to me,” Maddie said, although she tugged her coat tighter. Being closed up, the air inside the cabin was colder than that outdoors.
“I’ll get a fire started,” Lucky said. “Then we’ll go over to Truman’s. He said he has a pot of stew bubbling on the stove.”
She crossed the room and pushed a hand deep into the mattress. Though she’d never had a bed of her own, she had grown used to the one on the Mary Jane. “When I strike it rich, I am going to get the biggest bed money can buy.”
“Are you?”
Spinning around, she plopped onto the bed. Maybe that was why she liked Lucky. He let her talk about all her dreams, even encouraged it, as if he, too, believed they’d all come true. “Yes, I am. The softest, biggest bed ever, with lots of pillows.”
Lucky grinned, but didn’t say anything as he added more kindling to the flames. She leaned back to rest on her elbows. The other thing she was going to buy was a bathtub like Mrs. Smother had back in Seattle. At the time, she’d been too preoccupied with escaping to appreciate the luxury it provided. After the cold streams of Alaska, she found herself thinking about that big tub with its hot and cold water more and more.
Staring up at the crossbeams of the ceiling, she imagined she’d have no trouble falling asleep tonight. With only one little window above the headboard of the bed the daylight wouldn’t bother her at all.
Maddie scooted across the bed to get a better look out that one window. What she noticed had her jumping to her feet and digging in her coat pocket at the same time.
Out the door in a flash, gun in hand, she shouted, “You there, get away from that barn.”
Two men, looking about as rough as those who’d ridden with Bass, spun from the door. Lucky shouted her name and arrived at her side, yet she never took her eyes or the aim of the six-shooter off the men.
“Get away from the barn,” she repeated, slower and more meaningful.
The men, hands in the air, backed up, and then, like two whipped dogs, spun around and fled. Maddie would have fired shots over their heads, just so they’d know not to come back, but Lucky snatched the gun from her hand.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, lowering the hammer on the trigger.
“Protecting our belongings,” she said. “They were going to steal them.”
“How do you know that?”
“What else would they be doing?”
Lucky handed her back the gun. “That’s probably what they were thinking about doing, but you don’t go running out the door.”
“What do you do, then?” she asked. “Stay inside and let them steal you blind?”
“No.” His gaze was in the direction the men had skedaddled, and he frowned slightly. “Sometimes, Maddie, being a bit neighborly will get you further than running out with guns drawn.” He waved a hand in the general direction of the barn. “Those men could have had guns, too, and shot you.”
“That’s why I had to get the jump on them,” she said. “Everyone knows that.”
He smiled and scratched a brow. “Sometimes,” he said, as if he had to agree with her. “But sometimes a person’s better off to act kindly. You know, not upset anyone.”
She checked the chamber of her gun to make sure he’d properly uncocked it before putting it back in her pocket. “Tell me how that works for you, Lucky,” she said. “Right after some man shoots you full of holes.”
