They’d already had breakfast, and not having to cook two more times today would give her more time to pan gold. Hiding it from the Fenstermacher brothers no longer mattered.
While the two brothers, Albert and Tim, rowed the little boat across the river, Abe, the third one, helped Jack carry more boards from the side of the cabin, and Maddie turned back to Lucky.
“I’m going to finish panning the dirt in my shovel,” she said.
He grinned slightly, and the way he winked made her feel a bit sheepish for changing her mind so quickly.
“Do you need help?” he asked.
“No.”
“All right,” he said, picking up his saw. “Shout if you do.”
She didn’t shout, but did end up with a goodly sum of gold, which she carried into the tent. There she spooned the black sand and gold into a frying pan and left it on the table while she went outside to build the fire.
Lucky walked over a short time later, while she was using a stick to stir down the flames. Crouching down next to her, he asked, “You plan on cooking anyway?”
“Just my gold,” she answered. “Gotta get the moisture out of the dirt so I can separate it.”
Cole rocked back on his heels, sending up a silent petition of thanks. Not even on his deathbed would he admit he’d never tasted anything as horrible as some of Maddie’s cooking. She tried and was doing her best, therefore he’d held his silence about that, just as much as he had with other things.
“How’s the Long Tom coming?” she asked.
He might have had a hard time concentrating on it, but nothing much kept her focus off gold. “Good,” he said. “With four of us working on it, the sluice should be finished this afternoon. We’ll start assembling it as soon as Tim and Abe get the rest of the wedged riffles cut. I’ll need a blanket then, to line the bottom.”
“I’ll get one for you,” she said. “And some of the furs you got from Jack. Put those down beneath the blanket and we’ll catch more gold. No doubt about it.”
There were several things he didn’t doubt, and Maddie’s knowledge about gold mining was one of them. “Will do,” he said and rose before the desire to kiss her again become so strong he’d have to act on it.
He was in a particular position. If Jack and Homer hadn’t shown up when they had, he might have convinced Maddie to do a bit more than kissing. That couldn’t happen. They’d found gold, and gathering as much as possible should have been his focus. Yet the faster they gathered it, the sooner they’d leave, and he wasn’t ready to think about that.
A celebration with the Fenstermacher brothers didn’t just suggest edible food, it promised more time to figure out his next steps.
Less than an hour later, Cole entered the tent to gather the blanket and furs needed for the box.
“Got those ready for you,” Maddie said, pointing to a pile on the floor as he entered.
She was sitting at the table, holding a tin can over her frying pan. “What are you doing now?” he asked.
“Separating out the gold,” she answered without looking up.
He moved closer. “How?”
“Watch.” She skimmed the bottom of the can over the gold-speckled sand and then carefully moved it over another pan that held nothing but gold. Almost magically, gold dust fell from the bottom of her can into the pan.
Amazed, he asked, “How are you doing that?”
She giggled happily and tilted the can so he could see inside it. “With this.” Pulling on a string, she lifted a good-size magnet out of the can.
“I’ve read a lot of books, but never heard about that trick.”
“Smitty taught me how to do it,” she said. “I tied a string to the magnet, and when I drop it to the bottom of the can and hold the can over the pan, the magnet draws out the gold and holds it there.” She demonstrated each action as she spoke. “Then when I move it to my other pan and lift out the magnet, the gold falls into that pan.”
“That’s pretty ingenious,” he said, astonished at how well it did work.
“Works every time.” A serene smile covered her face. “A new can was like a new pair of boots to Smitty.” Lowering the can over the sand, she added, “I never saw him get a new pair of boots, but that’s what he always said.”
“He’d be proud of you, Maddie,” Cole said. He certainly was. “Coming all the way up to Alaska.”
“I know,” she answered, focusing again on her gold. “And he’d be happier than ever with all the canned food you hauled with us.” She released another splattering of gold into her second pan before saying, “When I’m done with this, I’ll start gathering rocks so we can build a dam to channel water through the Long Tom.”
Chapter Eight
The Fenstermacher brothers were in no hurry to leave. After everyone, including Maddie, Cole noted, ate until they couldn’t take another bite that afternoon, they let their food settle with a hearty round of conversation that included the brothers sharing they were from North Dakota, where four more brothers and seven sisters lived. Then, with everyone working together, they’d built a dam out of the rocks Maddie had gathered as well as several more, and set the sluice box into the stream.
With Maddie directing exactly where to dig, Cole, along with Whiskey Jack and the brothers, carried shovelful after shovelful over and dumped them into the Long Tom. Cole was amazed, as were the other men, that Maddie knew what to do. She kept a watchful eye on the sluice box, making sure the riffles weren’t clogging or the material building up on the edges, as she judged the flow of water by slightly adjusting the box or the rocks that created the dam.
When she announced they’d run enough dirt, Abe helped Cole lift the box out of the water and remove the riffles. Maddie had insisted she’d roll up the blanket and furs, since she knew how, but did let him help her set them into the tub of water she’d made ready.
She then rinsed out the blanket and fur like a washwoman well versed in her duties and scooped the water out of the tub, until little more than an inch covered the sand and grit in the bottom.
Even Homer went silent at the amount of gold glittering in the tub.
Cole wasn’t sure if he was the first one to let out a whoop, but he was the one who gathered Maddie into his arms and swung her around like a kid in a play yard. He kissed her, too, smack on the lips not caring they were surrounded by others.
“We gotta build us one of those,” Tim shouted, his loud voice roaring above everyone’s laughter and shouts of glee.
Whiskey Jack broke out a bottle then—which was how he’d gotten his name years before—and passed it around.
“Should we put that box back in the water?” one of the brothers asked.
Cole was too busy holding Maddie to know which one, other than he knew it hadn’t been Tim. He’d even forgone a chug on Whiskey Jack’s bottle, not willing to let Maddie loose. “No,” he answered when she opened her mouth. “It’s getting late.”
Disappointment flashed in her eyes even as she said, “I have to process what we found.”
“Well, then, I’ll warm up the food. So we can eat again,” Albert said.
With everyone else in agreement, Cole chose not to argue, and other than setting the camp in order for the night, he sat near the fire talking with the other men.
“How’d you fare, girl?” Whiskey Jack asked when Maddie finally exited the tent.
“It’s good gold” was all she said.
“Good gold,” Homer squawked, and Cole used the bird’s diversion—the Germans were quite smitten with the macaw—to move next to Maddie and drop an arm around her shoulders.
“Well, I’m ready to call it a day,” he said. “How about the rest of you?”
Summer was about at its peak, with the sun not setting at all, and Maddie glanced toward the sky as she said, “We could run one mor—
”
“No,” he interrupted, “we can’t. Or won’t. It’ll be here tomorrow.” Though he knew it would be dangerous to be alone with her, he wanted just that. “It’s late and it’s been a long day.”
She agreed with a nod, though somewhat solemnly.
“There’s a kettle of warm water on the fire,” he said. “I’ll get it for you.”
“I’ll get it,” she answered. Before doing so, she bid the others good-night and thanked them for the meal and their help. Incredibly, she seemed sincere, too, as if being neighborly wasn’t as horrifying as she’d expected.
When she entered the tent, Cole said goodbye to Whiskey Jack and Homer and then assisted the Germans in loading their boat with the array of pots, kettles and tools they’d carted over and gave them a shove, setting the boat across the river.
He stirred down the fire and wasted a few more minutes washing up at the edge of the river, all the while questioning how miserable the cravings inside him had become due to the fact he knew he couldn’t act upon them.
Lucky’s resignation flared inside him as he flung his towel down on the tree branch. Maddie was worse than any woman he’d ever known, the way she’d weaseled her way right into his life. They had to come to some sort of understanding. One they both could agree upon. Living with her and not touching her couldn’t keep happening. It was blocking his focus. He wasn’t convinced a real marriage was what he wanted, but there had to be a happy medium.
Cole entered the tent with brisk determination, but his feet stuck to the floor as the door closed behind him. Maddie was sitting on the bed, brushing her hair, and the smile on her face was so adorable, he forgot all else.
“Can you believe it?” she said, setting the brush down. “All that gold?”
Shaking his head for clarity, he asked, “Did you think we wouldn’t find any?”
“I knew we would.” She stood and crossed the room. “I just didn’t think it would be that easy.”
“Easy?” he asked, resting his hands on her hips. “You think all this has been easy?”
She looped her hands behind his head. “Well, it certainly could have been harder.”
“I suspect it could have been.” He highly doubted it could have been harder on him.
Giggling, she turned her face toward the table. “I put it in two pouches. One for you and one for me. I figure we’ll split it fifty-fifty, no matter who finds it.” Turning back to him, she asked, “Does that sound fair to you?”
“That sounds fine to me,” he answered, though at this moment he didn’t give a hoot about the gold. It was her—them—he wanted to discuss. “Maddie, today, when you found the gold—”
“I know,” she said. “I was being silly. The Fenstermacher brothers are nice men, and trustworthy, I suspect, just like you said.”
“What made you change your mind so quickly?” Her hands were still on the backside of his neck. Her fingertips, gently massaging the area, felt heavenly as they teased his thinking.
“You,” she answered. “Them, too, I guess, the way they set right in with helping you build the sluice box. And I’ve never tasted anything like that venison Albert made. It was so tender I barely had to chew.”
He grinned and tugged on her hips, forcing her to step even closer. “So that’s all it takes, a good meal, to make you change your mind?”
“I’m a terrible cook, aren’t I?”
Cole wasn’t about to go there. “You’re good at finding gold,” he said instead.
She laughed, but as the sound faded, her face grew serious. “Will you do me a favor?”
“Of course,” he answered without thought. “What is it?”
“Kiss me.” The heat that rushed into Maddie’s face didn’t stop there. It rushed around until every inch of her was warm and tingling. All day her mind had been on Lucky and kissing him again.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I want you to.” A moment later, she explained, “This has been the best day of my life. I don’t want it to end.”
“Maddie—”
An inkling of fear crashed through all her warm and tender sensations. She stopped it, though, with an inner willpower she hadn’t known about. “I’ve been thinking about you all day. About us. About kissing and...” She bit her lips together, knowing she didn’t need to say exactly what she’d been thinking.
He shook his head, but smiled. “You’ve been mining gold all day.”
She shot a glance toward the bed. “But I was still thinking about you. About us.”
He lifted a hand and slowly, idly, twirled a lock of her hair around his index finger. “What if it’s not what you want? If later you change your mind?”
Her skin turned overly sensitive, especially on the side of her face, where his finger continued to tangle itself into her hair, and her mouth grew dry. Tugging her tongue off the roof of her mouth, she asked, “Did you?” Swallowing a lump that formed, she continued, “Did you change your mind?”
“No,” he whispered near the top of her forehead.
His breath tingled her scalp through her hair and it made her want to shiver, even though she wasn’t cold in the least. “I won’t change my mind,” she said. “I know I won’t.”
His hands roamed up and down her back. “We aren’t married.”
“So?” She tilted her head back to look at him. “I don’t want to get married, Lucky, ever, just like you, but we don’t have to be married to have adventures, do we?”
He grinned. “You’re about the most adventurous woman I’ve ever met, darling.”
The words, the way he said it, floated through her perfectly, as his hand caressed the small of her back. Newfound boldness, which she’d only known during anger or grief, swelled inside her. It was unique, this strength growing inside her, and with it came another memory of the months she’d spent with one of her father’s mistresses. The owner of that house had often said, Men don’t know what women need. We have to show them. Don’t ever be afraid to do that.
She knew what she needed, and what she wanted, and wasn’t about to wait any longer for it. Maddie undid the tie holding back Lucky’s hair and combed her fingers through the silky strands, rubbing his scalp. “Are you going to kiss me or not?”
“Yes, I am.”
Though she craved it, wanted it beyond all else, she was stunned by the soft warmth, the perfection of his lips gliding over hers. She closed her eyes in order to concentrate on the wonderful, astonishing pleasure. Playfully, his tongue teased her lips apart and darted into her mouth.
His hands were both caressing her back now, and the heat penetrating her dress was cruelly devastating, in a sweet, exciting way. When he slowed the kiss, it was to say, “I want to do more than kiss you, darling.”
“That’s what I want, too,” she replied, and then squealed, caught off guard by the way he swept her off her feet and into his arms. It was amazing—being held by him—and anticipating what was yet to come made her giddy.
Lucky crossed the room, set her on the bed and then forced her to lie down by leaning over her, all the while stealing the smile off her face by kissing her breathless. Maddie didn’t open her eyes when the kiss ended, but giggled when she heard two thuds, knowing he’d just kicked off his boots.
His hands settled on her sides and then moved, rubbing from her hips to her rib cage and down again. She had to open her eyes. The caress was so fascinating. Each pass of his hands had her body responding, her nipples tightening and a need inside her that she now understood.
“I want you, Lucky,” she said, having no idea how else to explain the fierce yearning she felt.
“I want you, too, darling.”
When he started to unbutton her dress, she watched in awe. It was a simple act, one she performed daily, but the way he undid each button inched up the
excitement building within her. After the last button, when she pondered briefly about sitting up to remove her dress, he grasped her waist again. A moan formed in the back of her throat, and her nipples started to throb. His hands, big and gentle, and so wonderful, spread across her stomach and slowly made their way to her breasts.
The moan in her throat broke loose. His teasing strokes continued, and her desires turned more primitive. Lucky leaned forward, kissing her again and again while he slipped the dress over her shoulders, down her arms until her weight, pressed deeply into the soft comfort of their bed, prevented the material from moving any farther.
The boldness she’d found earlier was back, and she pushed at him, forcing him to sit up so she could wiggle her way out of the top half of her dress. Lucky untied her camisole and ran his fingers beneath the straps, pushing them over her shoulders all the way down to her elbows while kissing her chin and her neck. The thought of exposing herself to him sent a shiver of delight up her spine.
His smile said he was pleased by what he saw, and Maddie couldn’t speak. What she’d heard in the past, what she knew, had left her with nothing but hints of what to expect. This, all this, she couldn’t quite comprehend.
Lucky held her breasts, one in each hand, and twirled his tongue around each of her nipples, one by one. Maddie had to remind herself to breathe and wondered if she might go mad from pleasure as his lips closed around one nipple, suckling.
Gasping for air, she grasped his head, held him at her breast, certain she might very well die if he stopped right then.
Lucky’s chuckle made her growl. “Good heavens,” she said between short snippets of air. “I had no idea, I—” She stopped shy of saying she’d never imagined her breasts were capable of hosting such tremendous sensations.
“I did,” he said, moving to the other breast. Before taking that one into his mouth, he added, “I knew you were perfect the moment I saw you.”
“No one’s perfect,” she said, by habit only. Things were muddling in her mind, making no sense. She didn’t mind, though, thinking straight was impossible.
A Fortune for the Outlaw's Daughter Page 12
