Instant Frontier Family

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“All right,” Ciara agreed. “But don’t expect me to hold your hand while we walk. I’m not a child, you know.” She turned and flounced up the stairs.

“Nicely done,” Michael said, straightening away from the counter.

“Thank you,” Maddie replied. “But I was only following your lead.”

He smiled. “Glad to help. I’ll join you on your walk, if I may, so I’ll know where to start looking for work.”

“Of course,” Maddie said. “But perhaps you should be putting on shoes first.”

He glanced down at his stockinged feet, the thick gray yarn darkened with grime after he’d traipsed across the floorboards so many times, then rubbed the dark stubble speckling his chin. “And I should shave as well,” he said before he pounded up the stairs.

A short while later, the four of them left the front of the bakery. Maddie was careful to lock the door behind her. Seattle was remarkably free from crime, especially compared with Five Points, but she wasn’t taking any chances with her livelihood. She could only hope today Michael might find an opportunity for a livelihood of his own.

“What sort of work are you seeking?” she asked, Mr. Porter’s shirts tucked under one arm as they strolled down the boardwalk. The bakery was the last shop on the street, but she knew Seattle would only grow from there. Already someone else was building a new store down the block.

Michael eyed her over Ciara’s head. “I’ll take whatever I can get for the moment. I just want to pay my way.”

“Well, you ought to find something here,” she said, lifting her skirts to navigate a gap in the boardwalk. Ciara hopped from hump to hump, but Aiden slogged merrily through the puddles. A breeze came in off the water, moist and briny, setting the clapboard signs above them to creaking as she climbed onto the next stretch of boardwalk.

Ahead of them, the door of a mercantile opened and three natives exited, murmuring in husky voices. Hair slicked down and smelling of aromatic oils, colorful blankets draping their sturdy frames, they moved past Maddie and the children with dignity born of sorrows. Maddie nodded respectfully to them. Aiden stopped and stared.