Wilder Than the Rest: MacLarens of Fire Mountain by Shirleen Davies Page A

his glass and set it down, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Our parents didn’t come with us to America. We were sent by ourselves in hopes of finding a better life.”
    “But I thought…” Mollie’s voice faded as she absorbed his words.
    “I know. Most people not from Fire Mountain assume we grew up there. The truth is we only found our cousins and Aunt Alicia during the last year. We tried to locate them when we first arrived, without success. That’s when Connor found work on the docks in Red Hook. I worked for a man who made tools and Meggie cleaned rooms in a boarding house.” He fell silent for a moment, remembering the small two-room apartment they’d shared until Meggie had been kidnapped. “One night, Meggie never came home. We looked for her everywhere, for months, before Connor decided it was best to move on—life in Red Hook no longer held any appeal. We did whatever we could to get by, always looking for Meggie. Eventually, we both found work that took us to different locations. He and I always stayed in touch. After years, he located Meggie and brought her to Fire Mountain, where I’d settled with our cousins.”
    “I’m sorry, Pierce,” Mollie murmured.
    “For what?”
    “Believing that you could never imagine how hard life could be without parents or family. I thought all the MacLarens had grown up with … well, I guess with…” She looked down at her folded hands, feeling ashamed of the assumptions she’d made.
    “With everything handed to us?” he prompted, his voice soft, barely above a whisper.
    Mollie raised her head to focus on a man who’d become more important to her than she wanted to admit. “Yes, I suppose so.”
    Penelope picked that moment to enter the room carrying a cake and place it in the center of the table. She stepped back to watch Mollie’s reaction.
    “Oh, Penelope, this is beautiful,” Mollie exclaimed, staring at the dessert adorned with flowers and bows.
    “Thank you, ma’am. May I bring in coffee or tea?”
    “Coffee for both of us,” Pierce answered. “And thank you. The cake is perfect.”
    He watched Mollie’s eyes as they took in the sweet confection, looking at each decoration as if trying to memorize it.
    “You know, it might melt if we don’t try some.” He grinned at her surprised expression then laughed when she realized he was joking.
    “You’re right.” She reached for a knife, sliced a good-sized piece, and set it on one of the small plates Penelope had provided before handing the serving to Pierce. She cut another slice and set it aside. When Penelope returned with their coffee, Mollie presented her with the portion of cake and asked for a third plate.
    Penelope blushed, took the cake, and rushed into the kitchen for another plate.
    Pierce and Mollie each had two slices, deciding it would never be as good as it was right now. When they were finished, Pierce pushed up and walked around the table to pull out Mollie’s chair.
    “Come on. Let’s take a walk.” He strode to the entrance and came back with her coat before grabbing his own and slipping into it. He escorted her outside into the cool night air and stopped, tilting his head up for a view of the star-filled sky.
    He remembered lying on the roof of the boarding house in Red Hook and staring at the same sky, wondering if his life would amount to much. Tonight, he felt it had.
    Mollie walked up next to him and looked up. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
    Pierce looked down at her glowing face, wisps of golden blonde hair escaping from the loose chignon, her warm brown eyes sparkling in the moonlit night. “Very beautiful,” he answered then picked up her hand to wrap it around his arm before starting down the steps to the street.
    “Where are we going?” Mollie felt almost giddy with an excitement she hadn’t felt in a long time.
    “I don’t know exactly. Perhaps around the block or further. Does it matter?”
    “Not really,” she