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Maddie a moment to make sense of the sight in front of her. It took even longer to believe what she saw. Jimmy stood in the middle of the cabin, his face practically split in two by a wide grin.
    Maddie never thought to see a more glorious sight. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she threw her arms around him. “You scared me.” She cupped her hands around his face. “You practically scared me to death.”
    “Eww, you’re cold,” he said, pulling away.
    She wasn’t just cold; she was frozen, and snow still clung to her skirt. But none of that mattered, not now.
    “Where were you?” Donovan asked. “Why didn’t you answer when we called you?”
    “I found a cellar.” Jimmy pointed to a gaping hole next to Maddie’s ironing-board desk. “It leads to a tunnel. I didn’t hear you.”
    Maddie glanced at Donovan, who was blowing on his hands. “But the door was unbolted, I thought …”
    “I grabbed the hatchet from the porch,” Jimmy said. “I used it to pry open the cellar door.”
    “Jimmy found tin goods!” Sophie’s voice was high-pitched with excitement. “There’s food. Come and see.” She grabbed Maddie’s hand and pulled her across the room. “Now we can eat.”
    Maddie stared through the square hole in the floor. She had known there was a loose floorboard in that spot, but it had never occurred to her it was actually a trapdoor. Sophie held the lantern over the hole, and the light illuminated a shelf of tin goods.
    Jimmy brushed past her and climbed down the wooden ladder. “Come on down,” he called.
    “Miss Parker is cold and wet. She needs to dry off,” Donovan said. He slipped off his duster. “Here, put this on. It’s dryer than your cloak.”
    He held the duster for her. She slipped out of her wet garment and slid her arms into the duster’s sleeves. The long coat practically buried her, but it felt warm and cozy and so very, very comforting. When she pulled the wool fabric close, she caught a whiff of leather and pine that was as pleasant as it was masculine.
    Turning her back, she reached inside to pull off her wet skirt and petticoat, leaving her drawers intact. Donovan took the garments from her, his gaze meeting hers for an instant before turning to spread them in front of the fire to dry.
    “Hurry,” Jimmy called from below, his voice edged with impatience.
    Donovan’s eyebrows raised in question. “I’ll go below. You stay by the fire.”
    “And miss all the fun?” she asked, slipping her cold hands into the duster’s deep pockets. “Come on. Let’s not keep Jimmy waiting any longer.”
    He gave her a crooked grin. “After you.”
    She blew on her still-cold hands, turned, and felt for the first rung on the ladder with her foot. The duster was in the way, and she had to take care not to get her shoes caught in the hem. The three children waited for her to descend, Jimmy holding the lantern up high.
    The moment Maddie reached the cellar floor, Donovan started down the ladder, the wood creaking beneath his weight.
    The cellar had dirt walls and floor, the low ceiling reinforced with wood beams. It smelled dank and musty. Rough wood shelves stretched the length of one wall. Maddie counted a dozen or more cans of food and a package of tack bread. Unbelievable!
    She took Brandon’s hands and swung him around. “God worked through Jimmy, and now we have something to eat.”
    Lowering Brandon to the ground, she hugged Sophie and Jimmy and in her excitement threw her arms around Donovan. He looked startled at first but quickly slipped his hands around her waist and hugged her back. Feeling suddenly breathless, she pulled away.
    Purposely avoiding his eyes, she studied the cans, reading each label aloud. “Peas, string beans, corn, beets. More peas and—”
    “Is that all there is?” Sophie asked, making a face. “Just vegetables?”
    “I’m afraid so,” Maddie answered.
    “If God had worked through me, we would have had roast beef,” Sophie grumbled.
    Maddie