Her Wicked Captain: The River Rogues, Book 1 Read Online Free

past few weeks, but sometimes he looked at her a little too long. The mercantile owners, especially Mrs. Sharpe, would note the impropriety of a man exchanging friendly looks with a woman. More so, a slave speaking freely with an unmarried, supposedly white woman.
    Jeremiah’s tall height and flashes of anger failed to intimidate Dell. Once she’d noted the wit and sense of humor behind his dark, sensitive eyes, she’d immediately liked him. With time, she hoped he wouldn’t blame her for Ephraim striking gold and becoming his new master.
    However, she hadn’t stopped blaming herself.
    Two years ago, Ephraim kept trying to have his way with her whenever he drank—which was often around her uncle’s still—so she gave him a card reading meant to get rid of him. She’d predicted if he went with the rest of the Forty-niners to California, he would find gold. Unfortunately for Jeremiah, the fortune came true.
    Now guilt festered in her gut as she led Jeremiah behind the rack of hanging frocks away from Mrs. Sharpe’s prying gaze.
    “Are you injured?” she whispered.
    “No. They just knocked the wind out of me.” He dropped his hand from his ribs and fiddled with a bolt of fabric hanging from the rack.
    Dell frowned at his lie, but there was nothing she could do to help him heal any faster. Tamping down her frustration, she wound through the maze of garments, followed by her new friend.
    Back at the dry goods, Jeremiah selected a bag of cornmeal.
    “Is that one of the steamboat’s crew?” He nodded at the window.
    Dell leaned over a barrel of cinnamon penny-candy to see, biting her lip as a group of men passed the storefront, deep in conversation. She recognized the preacher, the blacksmith, and a few more faces in the crowd, along with Rory Campbell wearing a white hat atop his waving golden hair. A parade of children bobbed in their wake, struggling to keep up and gain the handsome captain’s attention. Sarah and Nathaniel were among them.
    Behind the counter, Mrs. Sharpe chuckled. She raised her voice to Dell. “That Sarah sure looks smitten on the newcomer.”
    Dell groaned inwardly. She had meant to warn Sarah that riverboat hands weren’t savory characters. But then sassy Sarah would’ve probably asked what that made Dell’s mama, being a former riverboat lady.
    She should feel relieved they’d barely spoken when she’d climbed on board his boat. If he ever identified her as his employer’s stepdaughter, he could also expose her to the town as a fake and a fraud, especially since everyone in Posey Hollow had always assumed she was white.
    So why did she suddenly feel as if someone had put one of those sacks of buckwheat on her chest?
    Sarah glanced in the store window as she passed. Spotting Dell, she beamed and waved vigorously, tapping her little brother’s shoulder. Leaving him, she ran into the mercantile.
    “Philadelphia! Where’ve you been? I’ve got so much to tell you!”
    “Shh. We’re shopping.” Dell inhaled, feeling all the eyes on her again. She took Sarah’s hand and led her behind the hanging racks of frocks. She whispered, “Hadn’t you better go home and see what your ma wants you to do?”
    Sarah giggled and clamped a hand over her mouth, sending her braid-loops swinging. “I will, I will. But first let me tell you the news.” She grabbed Dell’s arms dramatically. “There. Is. To. Be. A. Dance.”
    Dell rolled her eyes. “Charming. I didn’t think you cared for dancing.”
    “I didn’t until The Dark Enchantress arrived. The captain has arranged it all to take place while their boat is stranded. He’s ordered Father to supply several gallons of brew. He also told Mr. Abernathy to kill a hog, Mrs. Kelly to make her blackberry cobblers, and the Temple tent to be raised for the music. It will be even better than the log rollin’ last year.”
    How could it not? Dell pretended to admire a gingham frock as a customer passed them.
    “I don’t think the captain