Read Online My Darling Melissa by Linda Lael Miller - Free Book Online

utter idiot, the family had, and in front of half the state, too.
    She thrust herself out of her chair and began to pace. She had to send a wire to Port Hastings immediately, and that would take money. She’d left the small sum she’d withdrawn from the bank in Seattle aboard Quinn’s railroad car, hidden away under the mattress.
    Resolutely, Melissa snatched up her shawl, walked out of the house, and started off in the direction of the railroaddepot. When she reached it she found that the train had gone, but Quinn’s car had been shunted off onto a side rail. Melissa strode over to it, climbed up on the platform, and tried the door.
    It was soundly locked.
    “Damn,” she whispered, lowering her head for a moment.
    “Is there a problem, Mrs. Rafferty?” The unfamiliar masculine voice made Melissa draw in a deep breath and gather her dignity about her. She looked down and saw a tall, handsome man standing nearby. He had fair hair, like Ajax’s, and his eyes were a dancing, merry blue.
    “How do you know my name?”
    “Everyone does,” the man answered with a sideways grin. “You’re famous now, ma’am.” In that moment he remembered his manners and moved toward Melissa with one hand extended in greeting. “Forgive me—my name is Mitchell Williams, and I’m your husband’s friend as well as his attorney.”
    Melissa thought the name sounded vaguely familiar, but she didn’t linger on the fact. She had other things on her mind. “I’ve got sixty-four dollars and seventy-two cents hidden in this railroad car, and I can’t get in to fetch it,” she complained after shaking Mr. Williams’s hand.
    If the lawyer wondered at this odd turn of events, he gave no indication of it. “That’s easy,” he said, taking his wallet from the inside pocket of his suit coat. “I’ll advance you the money now, and you can repay me later.”
    Melissa hesitated—she certainly wasn’t in the habit of taking money from strange men. On the other hand, this situation called for extraordinary measures. “Well. ..”
    Mr. Williams had already counted out sixty-five dollars, and he was extending the money to Melissa. With great reluctance she accepted it.
    “Thank you,” she said, averting her eyes. Then, after a moment, she made her way down the platform steps to the ground, assisted by the very gentlemanly Mr. Williams.
    He touched the brim of his hat. “No trouble, Mrs. Rafferty,” he said, with just the hint of a smile touching his lips. “Out to do some shopping, are you?”
    Melissa drew a deep breath and let it out again. “Actually, I was going to send a wire to my family. Is there a Western Union office in town?”
    Mr. Williams held out his arm. “Right down the street,” he said smoothly. “Please allow me to escort you.”
    Melissa reflected that Quinn could learn a few things from his friend about manners and the proper way to acquit oneself with a lady. She took the offered arm and smiled. “I’m looking for work, too,” she announced.
    The lawyer looked surprised, but only for a moment. “Work?” he echoed.
    Melissa leaned a little closer to confide, “Mr. Rafferty and I have an agreement, you see.”
    His blue eyes twinkled. “Do you, now? I don’t mind telling you, I can’t see Quinn sending his wife out to hold down a job.”
    “Oh, he’s firmly opposed,” Melissa replied. “But we made a bargain, and he has to honor it.”
    Mr. Williams cleared his throat and looked away for a moment. They had reached the Western Union office, but he hesitated outside, forcing Melissa to linger, too.
    “The cannery’s down that way,” he said, gesturing toward the shore. “They’re usually looking for help.”
    “Thank you,” Melissa said warmly, letting go of his arm. “For everything.”
    There was a gentle expression in his eyes when he looked at Melissa again. “Go home to your brothers, little one,” he said softly. “You don’t have the first idea what you’re letting yourself in