Part II
Whale oil lanterns burned on the dock, doing little to push back the darkness. This late in the year, dawn would not come until after nine. The sleds would be long gone by then.
Wind gusted down the frozen river, ruffling the fur on Kali’s parka. The warmth from the open firebox door offered a slight reprieve from the cold, but she kept her scarf over her nose as she shoveled coal inside. Embers glowed red, and the pressure gauge on the boiler ticked closer to the operational mark.
She paused to issue a fierce yawn. The Mounties had kept her up late with questions and paperwork, making her regret her decision not to simply throw those thugs’ bodies to the wolves. Cedar had been conveniently, or perhaps conspicuously, absent when the Mounties came to retrieve the dead men.
Nearby, dogs pranced and whined with excitement as men led them to the traces. More than a dozen sleds were lined up on the riverbank. Kali ignored the muttered comments about her monstrosity as well as the wager going around as to how far she’d make it before crashing through the ice or having a catastrophic boiler failure.
Cedar was hefting sacks of sand onto her cargo platform. Each sled would carry a five-hundred-pound load in addition to whatever supplies the mushers took. She worried again about the mass of her contraption. More than once, she had debated saving weight by skimping on coal and cutting wood as she went, but that would take time she could ill afford to lose during the race. She supposed she could leave a few tools behind, though the box of smoke nuts was definitely going. A girl had to have more than a rifle for self-defense purposes.
“Morning, Kali.”
Though a scarf muffled the voice, Kali recognized the drawl. Originally from Georgia, Nelly managed to look beautiful even in a parka. Though layers of winter clothing obscured her curves, the long blonde hair spilling from her hood always enticed the northern men.
“Morning,” Kali said.
“I came to wish you luck. I slipped away from my young man to see you off.”
“Which young man is it this time?”
“The one I’d marry if his claim ever panned out.”
“So...that narrows it to...Charles or Saul. Or is Rupert still a contender?”
“Saul,” Nelly said, a smile in her voice.
Cedar dropped another sack on the sled, working quietly and efficiently. The perfect employee. Kali still found him damned suspicious. She took Nelly’s arm and drew her back a few paces.
“This fellow you sent over without asking if I was interested... What do you know about him? I question the wisdom of going out in the wilderness with a stranger. A tall, strong, well-armed stranger.”
“He walked into my salon and looked at my face instead of my breasts,” Nelly said.
“I see. And that makes him utterly trustworthy.” Kali stamped her feet, already missing the warmth of the firebox.
“I didn’t say that, but he probably won’t try to rape you out there.”
“An admirable quality in a man, I’m sure, but why does he want to go with me? Did you tell him...?” Kali watched her friend’s eyes.
“Only that you were hiring. He came in asking about the folks and businesses in town.”
“Asking?” Kali said. “Like fishing for information?”
“He spoke of doing some prospecting, but I could tell he was a tenderfoot who needed looking after.”
Kali arched her brows. Cedar might be new to the area, but he had already proven he could take care of himself. Besides, the only men Nelly worried about “looking after” were handsome ones.
“I told him he couldn’t prospect for anything in the snow,” Nelly said, “and he might as well settle in and get a job ‘til the streams thawed. Coincidentally, you were hiring.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t hiring.” Kali glowered to let Nelly know she did not appreciate the big-sister interference.
Nelly waved away the glower, unperturbed. “You need someone out there with you, and he’s a fine enough fellow to keep you company. In more ways than one, I’m sure.”
“Nelly.”
“What? You’re too young to act like an old maid. Just because Sebastian was a scheming scoundrel doesn’t mean all men are.”
Kali shook her head. “This one’s up to something sly. He doesn’t seem desperate enough to work for the possibility of pay.”
“You’re overthinking this, Kali.” Nelly gave her a friendly shove toward the sled. “It’s a three-day race. How much trouble could you two get into?”
Kali found it impossible to dismiss her glower as she returned to the furnace.