Free Desperate by Sylvia McDaniel Page A

would soon be due. She needed some quick cash.
     

Chapter Four
     
    M eg opened the door and was greeted by her sisters with their arms crossed, their expressions a matching set of you-messed-up, waiting for her. Now she would have to face their wrath, and yet, she’d had no choice. She knew they were starving. They needed food.
    “All right, I stole a ham. I was wrong,” she admitted, throwing up her arms.
    “And you kissed Zach. I saw you,” Ruby said, her tone defiant. “I got into trouble for kissing boys.”
    “I’m older than you,” Meg said defensively.
    The memory of his kiss filled Meg with warmth in places she’d never before imagined. The sense that she was a woman, even though trousers covered her legs and a man’s shirt habitually covered her breasts.
    Annabelle’s hazel eyes were cold, her expression stoic. “You might as well feed that ham to the chickens. We’re not eating it.”
    “The chickens would be having a rich man’s feast. Zach is going to pay Mr. Moore for his damn ham.”
    “Why did you do it, Meg? We’re not starving,” Ruby asked, staring at Meg like she didn’t know her.
    What could she say regarding her actions? No, she didn’t believe in stealing, but they were trying so hard and getting nowhere. No matter how much she worked, it was never enough. “I’m sick to death of chicken. I can’t bring myself to kill a goat, and the cows are for the market. Plus, I was starving.”
    She walked over to the table and began to clear the dishes. “I’m not throwing out this ham. You can now consider it a gift.”
    How embarrassing for the sheriff to know she’d stolen the ham and then to agree to pay for the meat to keep her out of trouble. It was generous, as he could have taken her to jail. What would her sisters have done then?
    “Don’t ever steal food for us again, Meg. You know Papa would not have agreed with what you did,” Annabelle told her.
    “Papa is not here to help us put food on the table.” Weariness filled Meg’s soul, leaving her bereft, empty. There was still mending for her to finish tonight. And Zach had not given her an answer. What would she do if he said no?
    “Why didn’t you just buy the ham?” Ruby asked.
    “Because Ho Chinn hasn’t paid me yet. Have either of you gotten paid?”
    “No,” Ruby said.
    “I have some tips, though they’re not much.”
    “Enough to buy a ham?” Meg asked, her voice rising with sarcasm as she clenched her fists. If only Ho Chinn would pay her what she was due.
    “No.”
    “That’s why I stole the ham,” Meg said triumphantly as she finished clearing off the table and picked up more of her alterations. She worked day and night on these pieces of sewing, repairing, replacing broken buttons, and still, there was more work when she arrived at the laundry. More work and no pay.
    Annabelle began to wash the dishes. “Papa always told us to stay on the right side of the law. Don’t bring home any more stolen food.”
    Neither of them understood Meg considered herself a complete failure at taking care of them. She’d done everything she could and still it wasn’t enough. “I know what Papa thought about stealing, but I couldn’t watch the two of you getting skinnier and skinnier. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re fed, and today I took matters into my own hands. I did what I had to do.”
    Ruby stared at her. “How is that any different from me earning money for Papa’s birthday present? Stealing is stealing. Wrong is wrong. Don’t do it again, Meg.”
    Meg sighed. How could she argue with her sisters when she knew they were right? Hopefully everything soon would be settled. She and Zach would be married, and he could help take care of her sisters. She sought to marry him for the right reasons, not just because he could help, but she was trying as hard as she could. She felt like she was running through water, getting nowhere fast.
    And after that kiss this evening, maybe being married to