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Cole kissed the top of her head again. It was going to be hell, but it was what he had to do. Leave. He didn’t want to, but getting her to safety meant more to him than anything else. She’d changed that about him. Putting someone else’s needs before his.
Tilting her head back, she looked up at him with those star-filled eyes, and half-afraid she’d say something, he pressed his lips to hers. “Go to sleep, darling, and dream about that big houseful of servants you’re going to build.”
She stiffened slightly. Cole kissed her again and then pressed a finger to her lips, and kept it there until her body had relaxed enough to know that she was sleeping once again. He, on the other hand, lay awake for hours.
Chapter Fifteen
Maddie was torn again the following day when Lucky insisted they board a ship heading for Nome. She’d assumed they’d stay in Bittersweet, at least long enough for him to heal; yet at the same time, she wanted to get as far away from Mad Dog as possible.
After meeting with the banker and signing papers along with Albert, they returned to Truman’s, where she grew heavyhearted again while saying goodbye to the shopkeeper and Gunther. Albert helped transport their possessions on board a ship smaller than the Mary Jane, but equipped to haul passengers, which meant she and Lucky had a private cabin. So did Jack and Homer.
Maddie stood near the railing, waving goodbye to Albert as the boat set sail, and once again she questioned all that had changed inside her since arriving in Alaska. Mainly her perceptions. Not all men were untrustworthy.
Lucky, standing at her side, took her hand and led her toward their cabin as Bittersweet disappeared. There, he warmed her, inside and out, until she completely forgot about everything except him.
* * *
The weather turned colder, and the day they arrived in Nome, snowflakes danced in the wind. The town was larger than Bittersweet, but to her surprise, the buildings were similar, built of rough lumber and tents. Lucky insisted upon purchasing things for their ocean voyage. Maddie shook her head at the armloads of items he hauled onto the much larger ship they were now passengers on.
Their cabin was much larger, too. Thank goodness. “I certainly don’t need all these clothes,” she declared, running her hands over the softness of a remarkable blue velvet dress he’d bought for her.
“It’ll be a long voyage,” he said. “We won’t be able to wash clothes until we get to Seattle.”
He was right, of course, and Maddie had worn all of the half-dozen dresses he’d purchased as well as all the underthings by the time the boat docked in Seattle the first part of December.
All her life Christmases had come and gone with little notice, so seeing an entire town decorated from end to end for the approaching holiday was fascinating. Lucky learned the Mary Jane was due to arrive after the New Year and acquired accommodations in a fancy hotel in the heart of the city. Jack found separate lodging in a simple boardinghouse closer to the shoreline that welcomed Homer.
“We could have stayed at the boardinghouse, too,” Maddie said after they’d seen Jack settled and returned to their suite. It not only had a huge bed, but a separate bedroom, complete with an attached bathing room, and a sitting room with two sofas.
“Yes, we could have,” Lucky answered, removing his tie. He’d purchased himself several suits, which he looked extraordinarily handsome in. “But I like this place better.” He caught her waist and pulled her up against him. “We have a lot more privacy.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I like that, but the prices here are outrageous.”
“You are worth every dime,” he insisted, kissing her.
Ever since that night back in Bittersweet, the only disruptions in their lovemaking had been due to her monthlies. Sometimes he loved her slowly, sweetly, and other times it was so swift and wild she was left in a dizzy, spiraling world. His kiss right now said this would be one of those encounters, and her heart leaped into her throat, ready for the adventure to sweep her away.
Maddie was swept away, and enjoyed every caress, every moment they spent in the big fancy bed. It was afterward that hurt. When another part of her heart broke off, knowing as soon as Trig arrived she and Lucky would go their separate ways. He’d go south to New Orleans to help his grandmother. She’d been at the bank with him the first day they’d arrived, where he wired money and sent messages saying he’d be home as soon as possible. He hadn’t asked her to go with him, and she hoped he wouldn’t, for she didn’t know how she’d tell him no.
