and sliced meats on the table. My stomach growled as I dropped into a seat, and dammit if my bones didnât sink right into that soft leather.
Lang pushed a biscuit at me. âNow we may speak freely. And you may eat.â
âThank you. Sir.â I brought the flaky bread to my lips. The buttery smell alone could kill a man, and after a huge satisfying chomp, I stared expectantly at Lang.
But the young man wasnât finished surprising me. âCoffee, Mr. Sheridan?â
I almost choked. âUh,â I grunted through a full mouth, âsure. Thanks.â Then I watched in absolute awe as the heir to an enormous company and even more enormous fortune poured me coffee.
âHow long have you been a striker?â Lang asked once he had set the pot back down.
I wiped crumbs from my mouth. âUh, goinâ on a year now.â
His eyebrows arched high. âOnly a year? And yet youâre already more adept at working the engines than the Chief Engineer. And Miss Cochran says you cover more than your fair share of engine duties. Is that correct?â
I didnât answer, gulping back coffee instead. No, I didnât like Murry much, but it also didnât feel right to mud-sling. âWe all do more than our fair shares in the engine room,â I finally said. âEver since the other striker left.â
âYouâre too nice.â Lang smirked. âLet me be frank with you, Mr. Sheridan. Are you interested in getting your engineerâs license?â
Now I did choke. Getting my license would make me a full engineerâand that would mean higher pay plus a permanent position. âAre you jokinâ?â
He laughed. âNot in the least. And reallyâwhat a silly question. Of course you want your license.â He leaned back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head with the easy poise of a man with everything. âThe thing is, Mr. Sheridan, the Lang Company needs talented engineers like yourself. The steamship industry is having a difficult time competing with locomotives for business, but weâre having an even more difficult time competing for workers. As such, when we find an individual with skill, we like to keep him. Why, you could have your license and be a Second Engineer in under a week.â
A week. I mulled that over, chewing at my biscuit until it was all goneâuntil Lang pushed another my way. I stared at the golden top with unseeing eyes. . . .
I could be the one giving orders. Me, Daniel Sheridan, could be a Second Engineer in one week. I should be overjoyed at the prospect. Being a licensed engineer was a lot to offer a sixteen-year-old. It was certainly more than I had ever hoped for, and it was a million miles away from the prison cell Iâd left behind. . . .
So why did it feel like the biscuit was burning a hole through my stomach?
âWhat about Schultz?â I asked at last, glancing up at Kent. âHeâs the Second Engineer now.â
âAh, yes.â Langâs hands dropped to the armrests. âI can see why you might assume I meant youâd be Second Engineer on the Sadie Queen , but no. You will not be replacing anyone here. In fact, once the race is over, there will be no Queen upon which to engineer.â
âPardon?â I sat up taller. âI thought if the Queen won, then sheâd get to stay on the water.â
âNo.â His lips pursed and he shook his head sharply. âThat was never the plan.â
âBut then why have the race at all?â I leaned toward him, speaking faster and faster. âCassâI mean, Miss Cochran seems to think that if we can win the race, the Queen will stay on the Mississippi.â
âHmmm.â His forehead knit, and he looked genuinely concerned by this information. âI am not sure why she thinks this since I never saidââ
âCochran thinks the same.â
Lang winced. âThat is a
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