It took all her effort not to screech. “This clerk gave away my room.”
Mack raised his brows and listened to the clerk’s rushed explanation. “Appears there’s nothing to be done.”
She rolled her shoulders back and picked up her valise. “If you’ll direct me to your nearest barn, I’ll bed down with the horses.”
The clerk gasped in horror, but Mack chuckled. “She’s pulling your leg, my good man. Thank you for your time, and please give the owner my regards.” He slid his card across the desk, and the clerk scanned it.
“Mr. Donnelly, I had no idea the lady was your friend. Please, give me a moment to call around. Perhaps someone can take her in for the night.”
“No need, my aunt will be happy to do so.” Mack placed a hand on her elbow and directed her to the door. “You can close your mouth now, Winnie.”
She snapped her jaw shut so hard her teeth clacked. “How on earth are you famous on a small island in the middle of the Puget Sound?”
“My aunt is. By extension, I am as well.”
“Why do I feel like that’s not the entire truth?”
He slid her a glance. “Okay, fine. I got into some mischief here as a young man, and I’m afraid I’ve been immortalized.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling and gave him a stern look. “What did you do?”
He shrugged. “Tied a flock of geese up in the minister’s garden. There were enough feathers flying around to stuff a mattress.”
A giggle escaped despite her efforts. “I shall endeavor never to get on your bad side.”
“You never could.”
The confident declaration wound its way around her heart and squeezed. She wasn’t sure how to respond, so she cleared her throat and changed the subject. “What will your aunt say when I arrive at her doorstep, bedraggled and homeless?”
“Not a thing. If anyone should be nervous, it is I. Aunt Jenny is bound to take this out of proportion.”
“How so?”
Mack gave her a lascivious wink. “Is the wordparamourstill in fashion?”
She swatted him on the arm. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t worry, I would never let her think poorly of you.”
Her heart tripped a beat. It shouldn’t matter that he would go out of his way to make sure his beloved aunt thought well of her, but it did. She mentally enforced a barrier around her pattering heart and let Mack guide her along the mud-packed street lined with one-story shops and office buildings. They walked slowly to accommodate her hobble, and Mack pointed out landmarks of interest.
“The town is smaller than I expected, considering an event is being held here.”
“It’s still mostly an agricultural town,” he said. “Lots of Irish and Dutch immigrants.”
“Has your aunt always lived here?”
“She and my uncle moved to Freeland when I was a boy, but after my uncle passed, she relocated here.”
“Freeland? Why does that ring a bell?”
He shot her a look. “The socialist utopia?”
“Ohh, yes.” She pursed her lips. “Your aunt sounds quite interesting.”
“She is. You’ll adore her as much as I do.”
His devotion to a family member, especially an older woman, was unexpected. Her father had always treated his female family members with detached respect. And though she had never met her late husband’s sister who lived in England, he had only mentioned her when it came to performing his duty. It was becoming harder than ever, if not impossible, to reconcile Mack’s many layers, and the inability to gain a clear picture rattled her.
