Tide and Tempest (Edge of Freedom Book #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

way her lip quivered made Tillie think she had more she wanted to say. She took another sip of her tea and waited.
    Finally, she cleared her throat. “Tillie, Laverne and I have been talking. Do you realize winter will be upon us in just a few short months?”
    “Aye, and it’ll likely be a long one if the predictions in the almanac hold true.”
    Amelia’s needle slowed. “Exactly, which is why we were thinking . . . perhaps the priest at Our Lady of Deliverance—”
    “Father Ed?”
    Amelia nodded. “Perhaps Father Ed and a few of the other local ministers would be interested in purchasing extra vegetables for their stores. Maybe even a few canned goods.”
    Tillie hesitated, her suspicion growing. “I didn’t realize wehad goods to spare. Doesn’t the garden normally supply just what Laverne needs to run the boardinghouse?”
    “True,” Amelia said, averting her gaze, “but you know we haven’t had as many residents since Ana and Cara left, not to mention Breda and . . .” Her voice lowered. “Well, Deidre.”
    Tillie shivered as she recalled the mystery that had hung over the boardinghouse last season. Since then, both of her friends had been forced into hiding and Breda had moved, which meant that of the six rooms Amelia let out for rent, only two were filled. She held in a sigh. Perhaps soon it would be safe enough for her friends to return. She hoped so. She had much to tell them. In the meantime . . .
    Her stomach sank as the realization of Amelia’s situation struck. “I planned to go by the church this afternoon,” she said. “I can make inquiries then.”
    “That would be grand. Thank you.” Smiling, she resumed her stitchwork.
    Tillie bit her lip, thinking. “Perhaps I can see about drumming up boarders, too. There are plenty of able-bodied women at the shelter, many of whom would be glad of a situation such as this, only . . .” She paused. The women at the shelter faced the same problem as Amelia. “Most have had a difficult time securing employment in these hard times. What jobs there are to be had are filled by men.”
    Amelia’s mouth turned in a scowl. “And after all that natter during the presidential election of tariffs boosting our country’s industry. I’d have thought by now they’d have taken effect.”
    Hoping to ease the frustration in Amelia’s voice, Tillie smiled. “There now, it is only July. President McKinley has barely had time to settle into his office. Things will get better, for sure and for certain.”
    But would they? Even as she spoke, worry brewed in herstomach. McKinley’s campaign promises might hold true, but perhaps not in time to help Amelia, and not if she lost another boarder.
    For the first time, Tillie considered what her plan of opening an orphanage and moving out of the boardinghouse would do to her friend. It left her anxious and unsettled as she collected her bonnet and gloves and set out for the church. The feelings intensified when she passed the land office with an advertisement for a six-roomed farmhouse taped to the window.
    She looked away. For now, she’d forget about the orphanage and focus on helping Amelia. That meant talking to Father Ed and the women at the shelter. But only briefly, she told herself. Only until she’d found a way to help Amelia.
    Even with her mind made up, a niggle of disappointment tightened her throat. Ignoring the sentiment, she lifted her chin and quickened her pace. Before long, she’d left the land office with its window advertisement far behind.

5
    A briny wind lifted the tips of Morgan’s hair and whipped it into his face, stinging his eyes. He raked it away with an impatient tug of his fingers. Blast the length! He was determined to have it trimmed by the end of the day, even if he had to whet a knife and cut it himself.
    Reaching up toward the gunwale, he closed his fist around a length of rope and swung himself onto the deck of the Caitriona Marie , ignoring the ladder slapping