Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters) by Lena Dooley Nelson Read Free Book Online Page A

here?
    With the scrap of paper clutched in her fingers, she scrambled to her feet. They were tingling because she had sat on them so long they had almost gone completely to sleep. After she tapped them on the floor several times, the numbness began to recede, leaving pinpricks of pain behind. What should I do now?
    The small white chest beside where she had been sitting caught her eyes. Quickly she replaced all the items inside, trying to remember what went where. Did it really matter? Finally, out of anger, she just shoved in what was left and closed the latch. She wasn't going to put the chest back in its hiding place, so it wouldn't matter.
    A thought pushed its way into her shock-numbed mind. What am I going to do about what I found out? The idea of talking to Mother about the picture and adoption paper made her stomach turn. They weren't really mother and daughter. Not by blood anyway. No wonder Maggie couldn't please her.
    Maybe that was why Mother kept the secret from her. Maybe she was sorry she ever adopted her. What was it about her that kept the women in her life from loving her? First her real mother, whoever she was, then Florence. Both had rejected her in different ways. The pain from that admission radiated from her heart, burning a trail to her churning stomach.
    But if that was true, why was Mother always trying to change her, make her into the perfect daughter? Were her real parents terrible people? Was Mother afraid Maggie would turn out like them? Her head started to throb with all the thoughts bumping into each other. She couldn't make heads or tails of any of them. More tears slid down her cheeks.
    And why hadn't Daddy told her anything about the adoption? What did he have to hide? Scenarios whirled inside her brain as if they were alive. Maggie would have to learn to accept all of this on some level before she was ready to hear the absolute truth from the people who raised her as their own. Who was Angus McKenna, and why did he give her up for adoption? From what little she knew about her parents' trip west on the wagon train, the adoption had to have happened close to the time they arrived in Oregon. Was it actually on the trip, or had it happened soon after? And where was her natural mother in all this?
    Quickly, to return the attic the way it was before Mother came up there, Maggie rearranged the clothing and boxes. All except for the white chest and the green dress.
    She carried those downstairs to her room and hid them in her wardrobe. Thank goodness Mother never bothered with Maggie's clothing anymore. Today was Ingrid's day off. When her maid returned tomorrow, she wouldn't ask any questions about the things Maggie had added to her personal storage space. Because they had become friends, Ingrid understood the importance of maintaining complete trust between them.
    When Maggie closed the wardrobe door, she noticed her reflection in the mirrored center panel. She stared at her face, so like the one in the faded photograph, yet so different. Maggie's eyes were red and swollen, and much of her hair hung out of the carefully created style. Such a mess . Florence was always trying to get Maggie to keep her hair tamed into a neat hairstyle. Now she knew why that had been such a problem to her.
    She went to her washstand and poured water into the bowl, then dipped a cloth in and wrung it out. She dropped onto her chaise lounge and pressed the damp cloth over her eyes. Just who am I really? If her last name were McKenna, no wonder she had red hair. Did the woman in the photo have it too? She almost had to be her mother, didn't she?
    Why did my real mother and father give me away? And why didn't my mother sign the adoption paper?
    Somehow, she had to find answers to these questions.

Chapter 4

    Margaret, come see what I found.” Mother’s voice carried up the staircase to Maggie’s room.
    The strident tone grated on Maggie more today than it ever had before. The one thing she didn’t want to do was