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“Maddie?”
She dropped the dress and wrung her shaky hands together as she walked to the flap to stick her head out.
“Here.” Lucky handed her a bucket. “It’s warm water.”
Her cheeks grew hot. He certainly knew her habits. “Thank you.”
With her heart fluttering, Maddie carried the bucket across the tent, where she removed her dirty clothes and washed thoroughly before donning her clean outfit, right down to her socks and pantaloons. She folded the dirty ones—which she’d take the time to wash tomorrow—before replacing everything in her bag. After brushing out her hair, she carried the water outside, dumped it behind the tent and went farther into the brush to take care of business before she brought the empty bucket back to where the men sat.
They were quietly conversing, but stopped as she neared. “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she said as they turned her way. Unsure what to say when they both remained silent, staring at her attentively, she said, “Thank you again, Jack, for the fish. They were delicious.”
“My pleasure,” he answered.
Still not sure why they looked at her so, Maddie glanced down at her dress. Having left her coat inside the tent, she ran a hand over the buttons, assuring they were fastened. Finding nothing out of the ordinary for them to be curious about, she nodded. “Good night, then.”
Once in the tent, she removed her boots again, and her socks, stuffing them inside the boots before climbing beneath the covers. Rubbing her cold toes together, she curled onto her side, wondering when Lucky would retire. She’d grown used to his warmth, and after her cleansing, felt chilled to the bone by the night air.
A fleeting thought entered her mind, and she glanced toward the tent flap. Perhaps Lucky wouldn’t join her. He might have told Jack they weren’t married. That could have been why they were both staring at her so. A great wave of disappointment rose inside her. Pretending to be Lucky’s wife had given her a sense of security she’d never known. She’d felt contented last night when he’d explained that he’d continued the ruse for her protection. Which was about as confusing as his kisses.
Maddie rolled over onto her other side and tugged the covers over her shoulder while trying to make her mind center on gold. And finding it. Soon.
* * *
Though he tried, Cole couldn’t keep from glancing at the tent every few minutes. Figuring there was no sense putting it off, he stretched and rousted up a yawn. “I think it’s time for me to turn in.”
“Can’t blame you,” Whiskey Jack said. “If I had that warming my bed, I’d probably never leave it.”
Pin prickles shot up his spine, and Cole considered admitting he and Maddie weren’t married, or anything close to that, but in truth he didn’t mind letting the tale continue. At least for a bit longer. It was safer for others to believe they were married—for her—and he didn’t mind being the one offering the protection. “See you in the morning.”
Whiskey Jack laughed, Homer squawked and a hint of guilt rolled inside Cole as he walked to the tent. He certainly didn’t mind people believing she was his. That he was that lucky. She’d unbraided her hair, leaving the long black tresses hanging down her back, and when the light of the fire had caught in the glistening strands, they’d sparkled as if sprinkled with gold. Her cheeks had glowed, too, and her eyes looked so blue they’d practically mesmerized him.
He’d noticed her attractiveness the night he’d pulled her onto that horse, but as time went by, he’d come to realize few women, if any, matched her beauty. Maybe that was what was growing on him. Though he’d lived a sailor’s life the past few years, he’d grown up surrounded by fine and beautiful things and hadn’t noticed he missed them until Maddie.
That was exactly where his mind should be. Home, and finding the gold his family needed. He hadn’t wanted a wife when he’d left and still didn’t. Especially not once he found his gold. His mother would prosecute him if he came home with one after walking out on Rachel.
Lucky entered the tent and quietly removed his coat and then his boots. Though he was trying not to, he couldn’t help but think how lying next to Maddie each night had become a refuge he’d never encountered and an adventure he’d come to look forward to, even though it spiked his desires insurmountably.
She rolled when he lifted the blanket, glancing up at him with those remarkable eyes, now glossy from sleep. A smile touched her lips, too, and everything inside him listed like a ship hitting ten-foot swells.
