Chapter 1

1

Summer 1888 - Johnstown, Pennsylvania

He was there, but she didn't see him. Like a watermark on paper, it would have been so clear if she had looked, but her eyes were on the lake. Maggie MacLaren sat on a fence at the edge of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, like an indigenous specimen perched in repose. A young woman, barely nineteen, she wore comfortable brown shoes caked with dirt, a sensible gabardine skirt, and a crisp shirtwaist fastened at the neck with a cameo pin she had purchased from Woolworth’s. Honey brown curls hung untended over forehead and cheek as she gripped the rail with her fingers. Miles from the rumble of the iron mill below, she could see clearly enough to envision a life far from billowing smoke.

The windless surroundings soothed her senses as she observed the ladies across the lake. Skimming along the boardwalk under sheltering parasols, their movements were facile, their days uncomplicated. Up here in the mountains, above the masses, they were buoyed by power flowing from wealth. Maggie longed to be one of those ladies whose brows were as smooth and translucent as lake water.

As she drew in a cool breath and exhaled her cares as if they were vapor, a man crept up behind her.

“This is private property, Miss.” He grabbed hold of her waist with strong hands that were far too familiar.

Maggie started and nearly fell in the process. “Get your hands off me!” She struggled, then, turning, she saw him.

“Jake.”

“Afternoon, Maggie!” He touched his cap with mock formality. His smile lit that familiar spark in his eyes. She believed she could hide its effect upon her, unaware her eyes bore its reflection.

“You can let go now,” she said.

“I’m just trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

“From falling.”

“But you made me lose my balance.”

“Maggie, nobody makes you do anything.”

Maggie scowled, but Jake’s grin was impervious.

“Look at you—sitting on that fence rail like you’re posing for target practice.”

“And what concern is it of yours?”

“You could have been shot.”

“Shot.” Maggie nodded skeptically.

“Didn’t you see the sign?”

She glanced toward the sign, which in fresh paint indeed stated, “TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT.”

“Who would shoot me?” she said, donning a smile artificially demure.

“Oh, I wouldn’t trust any of those rich city boys with a shotgun in their hands. They might take you for a loon.”

“Or you for a boar.”

Jake stepped toward her. “Now, Maggie darlin’—”

“Don’t Maggie darlin’ me.” She pushed herself from the fence and stood up to face him.

His grin lost its mischief. A breeze stirred up scents of sweet grass and soil.

Her eyes softened. “What?” Maggie asked, looking lost.

His smile faded. “I didn’t say anything.” He was standing too close.

“But you wanted to.” She studied his face. It was hard, with marked planes at sharp angles—a working man’s face, roughened ahead of his years by unexpressed anger and melancholy, which he thought he kept hidden. The air stilled as if to allow an inviolable silence to hover.

“I was just wondering.” His eyes searched hers for some understanding.

“Don’t,” she said softly.

“I can’t help it.” Jake watched her as she looked anywhere but at him, at the metal gray creek, and the sky it mirrored. “Those clouds don’t look good. You’ll be caught in the rain.”

Inner warmth tempered her aspect. “I won’t dissolve.”

“I know.” A fence and a lifetime lay between them. She could get beyond neither.

Maggie turned to pick up her bicycle. Walking beside it, she steered it toward the road. Jake hopped over the fence and caught hold of the handlebars.

“I could sure use a ride.” His usual mirth had returned. It set Maggie at ease.

“A ride? How did you get up here?”

“Will dropped me off,” he said, walking beside her.

“I’ll be sure to stop by and tell him you’re up here,” said Maggie. She tugged at her bike, but Jake kept a firm grip with hands bronzed by work at the open-hearth of the Cambria Iron Works.

“He’s at work. Now, you wouldn’t make me walk, Maggie,” he said with that cajoling way of his that so bothered and charmed her.

She stopped and stared. “Well, I don’t see how you intend—”

He stepped around and stood blocking her path with his unwieldy physique, too strong to be stylish. Unable to see past his shoulders, she looked up at his smile, although she knew better. She had lost. She shook her head, lifting her hands in an invitational shrug, and let Jake take the bike.

“Here.” He straddled the bicycle, and lifted Maggie with ease to a seat on the handlebars.

Maggie let out a shriek and a laugh, and then hung on for dear life as they coasted down the mountain far too quickly.

“What about your fish?” she said, turning slightly back toward him.

“My fish? Oh, my fish, well—”

“You didn’t catch any, did you?”

“You’d better keep your skirt away from that wheel.”

She abruptly looked down and grabbed her skirt, already soiled by the spokes brushing past it. Her sudden movement threw the bicycle off balance. The front wheel wobbled, nearly tossing Maggie to the ground. With strong arms and good reflexes, Jake kept them from falling.

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking back to him and once more nearly causing them to fall.

“There’s something wrong with that front end,” he said, pausing as his eyes lowered long enough to take in the round hips on the handlebars. “It doesn’t balance proper.”

“—

ly

.”

“What?” Jake looked up, startled.

“Doesn’t balance proper—

ly

.” As soon as she spoke, she regretted her words. He hid his discomfiture well, but she sensed it. She began to apologize, but it only made things worse.

As they neared the town, the factory smoke rose to meet the dark clouds. A few drops of moisture fell on their faces, and then a few more, until the sky opened up to deluge the pair.

“It’s raining,” said Jake.

“Oh really?” Maggie looked back at Jake, causing the bicycle to swerve again, but this time Jake was ready. He leaned forward. His lips touched Maggie’s ear as he said, “Look, darlin’, you just have to stop looking at me or we’ll end up sprawled all over the road together. And then what would people say?”

“They’d say, ‘Next time don’t follow the path of the horses.’”

But people did talk. There had been rumors among the wide open-eyed ladies in town. But Maggie ignored them. If she wanted to marry Jake, she would—Irish Catholic or not, and the women at the Presbyterian Church could go hang. She would marry whomever she chose, but it just so happened it wouldn't be Jacob O’Neill.

As they neared the town, they were on level ground, no longer coasting with ease down the mountain. Maggie listened to Jake’s deep and rhythmic breathing.

“If it’s too much for you, we could switch places for a while,” said Maggie, as they pulled into her yard.

She hopped off and dashed up the steps, while Jake hoisted the bicycle next to his shoulder and followed. They laughed to look at each other’s rain pasted foreheads as, side-by-side, they leaned their backs against the clapboard house and caught their breath under shelter of the covered front porch. Jake flashed a smile, then reached over and took Maggie’s hand. They looked straight ahead and watched the rain pour over the eaves.

His hand fit about hers, and the bulk of his shoulders pressed against her with each inhalation. As it slowed, she stole a glance. His hair hung from his forehead in sections of dripping brown strands. He wiped moisture from his stippled cheekbones and uneven nose, and then glanced at Maggie with troubling eyes. They deepened from an overcast hue to twilight gray. She could lose herself beneath such a sky.

He said, “I’ll be by tomorrow to take a look at that wheel. It’s not pointing straight—

ly

.”

She avoided his eyes. She wanted to smile. “It was fine until you got on it,” she said.

He cocked his head and furrowed his brow. “Must be the load was too heavy in front.”

With sharp eyes, she released his hand and pushed it away.

“Now, Maggie,” he said through his laughter. “You know I’m just joking.”

In an instant, Jake’s humor changed to concern. Turning her face, Maggie saw through the sheer curtain the silhouette of Beth, her older sister, at work in the kitchen.

“Maggie?”

She refused to acknowledge him. Jake stepped around to face her.

“Darlin’, I was only joking—”

“So was I!” she said, looking at him with sparks of mischief in her eyes.

Jake took an impulsive step forward. “Maggie…”

She stepped back and bumped against the door. The rebound brought her closer to Jake.

“Is that you, Maggie?” Beth called from inside.

She eased back toward the door, while he slowly advanced with a vengeful grin. Defiant, amused, Maggie knew she had triumphed—until she saw in his eyes something true.

“Maggie.” Jake broke the silence that filled the air between them. His face warmed and invited.

Maggie looked past the yard, through the rain in the darkness. The leaves shivered. “We really shouldn’t tease,” she said, looking downward.

“Who’s that you’re talking to?” Maggie didn't hear Beth’s footsteps on the hard wood floor.

The door opened and threw Maggie off balance. Jake reached out to steady her, but she grabbed hold of the door frame and righted herself. He took a step back.

“Jake? How are you?” Beth’s voice broke through.

He lowered his arms.

Maggie slipped past, went inside, and tried hard to look poised, but, failing, diverted her attention to her sister.

Beth ushered Jake into the kitchen. “Look at you! I’ll get some towels and put on some coffee.”

It was dry, filled with firelight and a faint scent of yeast. But the warmth of the room came from Beth. By twenty-seven, life with Hank Garvey had drained her of freshness. Yet her kindness imparted a subtle beauty, like an abalone shell on the shore of a rough sea.

“On second thought, you two need to get out of those wet clothes. Jake, you come with me. We’ll find some of Hank’s clothes for you, then we’ll warm you up with some coffee. Go on upstairs, Maggie. You’ll catch your death.”

When Maggie returned, she found Jake seated at the round oaken table, wearing an outgrown pair of Hank’s waist overalls and a cable knit sweater. While he filled out the shoulders and arms with a body as hard as the steel he fashioned, the remainder of the sweater hung loosely, the ribbing having been stretched beyond hope by Hank’s bloated belly.

Beth watched Jake’s deep-set eyes follow Maggie into the room. Maggie pulled her damp curls from beneath her cardigan, and then left them to fall where they would on her shoulders. Then she wrapped the brown worsted wool around her with folded arms and a shudder. She looked best in plain clothing. Her features were almost too large for her face, so that feminine frills on her looked frenetic, as though hopelessly trying to vie for attention. There was depth in her countenance, and yet she appeared unconcerned with herself.

Maggie glanced at Beth, hesitated, and then asked, “Where’s Hank?”

“Out.”

Maggie knew where “out” was. After Beth and Maggie’s parents had died, Beth and Hank moved into the MacLaren home along with two-year-old Robin. Soon the pattern was set. By now, Hank would have stopped on his way home from work, for a beer at a saloon. There were dozens to choose from. “A beer” seldom meant one. He would come home late tonight, a volatile bundle of conflicting emotions that would likely erupt for no obvious reason.

Jake observed the women’s exchange with tacit concern. He had seen Hank in action and could muster little tolerance and less respect for the man.

“More coffee?” Beth asked.

Jake finished a gulp. “No, I shouldn’t.” He glanced toward the door. “But you do make the best coffee in the valley.”

Beth grinned. “Save your flattery, Jake. One day you’ll need it for—” She caught herself. “—For some lucky girl.”

“On second thought, one more cup wouldn’t hurt,” he said, standing to walk to the stove.

Beth caught Maggie’s eye with a look both knowing and questioning.

“Robin’s awfully quiet,” Maggie said, hoping to deflect Beth’s attention.

“She’s probably playing with her dolls.” Beth cocked her head to listen, and then set down her coffee cup. “It is awfully quiet. I’d better go check on her.”

Maggie pushed her chair back from the table. “I can go, Beth. Why don’t you sit down?”

“No, you stay here,” Beth said with maternal demeanor. Maggie obeyed. Beth was six years older than Maggie and had been like a parent for quite some time. Other than Robin, Beth was all she had left in the way of family. Maggie adored her.

Jake watched Beth leave the kitchen. He waited until he heard the stairs creak under Beth’s feet, then leaned closer toward Maggie and said quietly, “Why do you suppose she married him?”

Maggie looked toward the stairs and shook her head. “There’s no use trying to figure that one out. Believe me, I’ve tried. He used to be handsome, but she’s smarter than that.”

“I guess it’s none of my business, but marriage doesn’t seem to be good to her.”

A cynical smile bloomed on Maggie’s face. “But that’s not the point, is it? For better or worse. We all assume we’ll get the better, but Beth got the worse.” Jake followed her eyes to Beth’s wedding rings, which lay on the windowsill above the sink.

“It’s enough to keep you from marrying,” said Jake.

“Marriage is enough to keep me from marrying,” said Maggie. Her eyes flickered then darkened. She stared at her hands with a distant expression.

Jake watched her, mired in unresolved thoughts of his own. His feelings were close to the surface, like a buoy too heavily weighted beneath and pushed down from above, yet intractably fighting for air; but Jake’s will was stronger—or maybe his pride.

“Uncle Jake!” Robin came running down the stairs and into his arms.

Jake scooped the five-year-old up and onto his lap. “And how’s my best girl?”

She looked down and grinned coyly.

“Fine.”

“Are you now? And how is Miss Dolly?”

“

Special

Dolly is fine. We were having tea.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry I haven’t any tea to offer. Do you suppose Special Dolly would care for some coffee?”

Robin gave the matter a moment of doubtful thought until she caught sight of a plate of oatmeal cookies Beth was just setting down on the counter. “I think she’d rather have a cookie.”

“All that cookie for this little doll? She’ll grow too fat for her clothes. Unless…do they make corsets for dollies?”

“Uncle Jake!” She was shocked but not too much to laugh.

“No, I think you’ll have to eat this,” he said, holding a cookie before her.

Robin reached, but he pulled it back.

“Are you sure you’ve got room…in

this

tummy?”

Robin burst into a series of giggles as Jake tickled her until she escaped under the table. A moment later, a small hand reached up, snatched the cookie, and vanished under the table.

Beth opened a cupboard and pulled out some plates as she said, “Jake, you’re staying for dinner. I guess Hank’s going to be late, so it will just be the four of us.”

Jake hesitated, and then shook his head. “I really ought to start for home.”

“You live next door,” Beth reminded, as she set the table with an extra place for him.

Robin popped her head out from under the table. “Please, Uncle Jake?”

Maggie opened a drawer and gathered some flatware while she listened intently. Jake glanced at Robin, then looked at Beth and laughed.

“I might as well wait till the rain lets up. Besides, I’d hate to disappoint my best girl,” he said as he winked at Robin and brushed a cookie crumb from her cheek.

Beth made certain that the only place left at the table for Maggie was a seat beside Jake. As Maggie was sitting, Beth busied herself spooning into Jake’s bowl some Hungarian goulash of beef chunks, tomatoes and whatever vegetables were on hand, seasoned generously with paprika. She asked Jake to bless the meal, then bowed her head and breathed in the peace that filled the room. She used to feel sad to be so relieved by Hank’s absence. But now she felt calm, as though emotions like happiness and sorrow were no longer available to her.

Afterward, Jake helped Maggie finish the dishes while Beth put Robin to bed. He was rarely found idle when there was work to be done. It was his way. Maggie was used to it.

He hung up the dishtowel but stood there reluctantly staring. Abruptly, he turned and looked at Maggie as though he had something to say but thought better of it.

Maggie waited.

Jake hesitated, then bolted for the door and took hold of the knob. He impulsively turned back. “There’s a concert in the park Saturday.”

With a puzzled laugh, Maggie said, “There’s a concert in the park every Saturday.”

“Well, I guess I haven’t been to one in a while, and—”

“Jake…”

“Come with me, Maggie.” He held both her shoulders.

“It sounds nice, but…” She stared at the topstitching on his shirt and its collar. Her eyes darted up to the planes of his cheeks, which were flushed, and his eyes were bright as the firelight across the room.

Jake’s eyes darted to the wall, then lowered. Then he smiled at Maggie—it was nearly a wink—and gave her shoulders a pat as though it didn’t matter. He turned back toward the door.

Maggie wanted to say something else—but instead what came out was, “It’s just that—I don’t really care for band concerts.”

Jake nodded. “I didn’t know that.” He studied the window. A drizzle of moisture slid down the pane.

“It’s not that—”

“No—I know,” he replied.

The power to break a man’s heart was too weighty. Maggie wished she could shed it.

Beth walked in to find Jake poised by the door. “You’re not leaving us, are you?”

Jake walked over to her with open arms and gave her a big hug. “Thank you for dinner, Beth.”

“You know you’re welcome anytime. And thank you for watching out for Maggie. Somebody’s got to.” She hooked her arm in his and patted his hand.

Maggie fired an impatient look toward Beth.

Jake paused at the doorway. “Goodnight, Beth.” He gave nod over his shoulder. “Maggie.”

“Goodnight,” Beth said, and Maggie echoed.

She would have reached out to touch him, but as close as he was, it was still too far. He closed the screen door behind him and walked down the steps and across the yard.

Maggie watched him and saw all the coal and the steel that she longed to leave behind. He was part of this town and would remain so for the rest of his life, while Maggie had spent the best part of her life wanting something more. If she let Jake in her heart, he would never leave it, and she would never leave Johnstown. From within and without, her heart and her hometown both tried to ensnare her.

Through the window, she watched Jake easily hoist himself over the back fence and sprint across the yard to his house. “It’s better this way,” she thought, as she turned her back and leaned against the door.

The slam of a door disrupted the night stillness. Maggie sat up in bed. Something toppled over. A chair?

“Damn it!” Hank’s growl grated against the still dark morning air.

Maggie flopped back down and pulled the covers around her.

A chair scraped against the wood floor. Something fell to the floor and shattered—not china but a heavier glass or a jar, which Hank damned to hell for eluding his grasp.

Silence followed for several long moments, until a thud sounded against a downstairs wall. Or was it the landing?

Maggie lay in bed, alert, without moving. Minutes passed. Stumbling steps of a lumbering body advanced up the stairs. Beth and Hank’s bedroom door opened roughly and closed. And then it was still until stertorous noises all but rattled the wall.

Maggie rolled over and wished she could sleep.