"Momma I'm home!" Maggie called as she hung her coat up on the coat rack just beside the front door. The old home was cozy and as Maggie hastily set her gloves down on the furnace, she peered around her home. The smell of freshly baked pumpkin pie floated through the home, giving off a fragrance that made her stomach rumble. There was a parlor just down the hall as Maggie walked through the home and she passed a library on her right. No one were in these rooms, and she figured the rest of her family were in the kitchen. Making her way quickly to the kitchen clutching the newspaper, Maggie followed the scent of the pie.

She finally reached the old kitchen and grinned when she saw her mother bent over the stove stirring a large pot. Her older brother, Caleb, was sitting at the table reading a book. She grinned at him. He was tall, much taller than her own five feet and four inches, he reached roughly six four. He didn't look very Irish, with his midnight black hair. But his emerald sparkling eyes and pale skin gave away his Irish traits. The whole family had those emerald hues. Caleb was had been eighteen for some time now but look anything like it, despite his height. He had a pleasantly youthful looking face and was rather lanky, and he smiled when he saw Maggie walk in.

Beside Caleb was Maggie's other older brother, Bran. Bran had turned seventeen in June, and made Maggie very aware of it. Maggie was usually teased by Bran, he was the quirky Malloy son. Tall like the rest of the Malloy boys, he was just under six two, with black hair just like his brother. His eyes were as emerald as ever, and the two boys looked so much alike that most mistaken them for each other. Bran wasn't as beautiful as Caleb. His features were sharper and chizzled. He still looked young for his age, though.

Maggie had three other older brothers, Aidan, Garrett and Keelin. They were back in Ireland with her father. Aidan was the oldest at twenty six, and was married with two little girls. Garrett, was twenty four, also married and with a newborn lad. Keelin was just twenty and living with Mr. Malloy, helping him with the farm. Maggie missed them all so terribly. She hadn't seen them in more than eight years. When Maggie, her mother and Bran and Caleb had come over from Ireland, the others were supposed to meet them there. But the rush was incredible and the others couldn't come over for so long. They were set to come in a few months, and Maggie was so excited to finally get to see the rest of her family! How she had missed them! The next ship that sailed to America wasn't until after March, and Maggie could hardly wait. She had two nieces and a nephew to look forward to seeing, plus her father and brothers!

Maggie walked into the kitchen all the way and sat the paper down at the table.

"I though yeh'd never get it!" complained Bran as he snatched up the paper, skimming through the headlines. "What took yeh so long, eh? You left more than an hour ago!"

Mrs. Malloy turned toward Maggie and scowled at her youngest child. "Aye, Maggie m'dear. I didn't ask yeh to go venture about, did I? You had meh worried sick, yeh did!"

Maggie rolled her eyes as she sat down. "I'm sorry Mother. I could hardly find any newsies at all! And when I did he was too busy talking to some lass and didn't notice me until forever.." Maggie trailed off as she thought about Mush. He was a strange fellow, he was. She began to play with Bran's wooden sail boat he was working on. He had quite the craftsmen hand.

"Bran, how long have you been working on this one?" She asked, examining the mast. "It's beautiful!"

Bran shook his head. "Not too long. It's nothing yet, yeh just wait until I got it all painted and whatnot."

Maggie smiled at her brother. "I can't wait! Can I have this one?"

Caleb put his book down. "Aye, Maggie! You've got about a million of those things! Everyone Bran's ever made is in yeh room." He grinned at his younger sister. "Yeh've got yerself quite a collection."

Maggie scrunched her face at him. "Oh bah! I love his works! And what are you reading now? You always read. Always!"

Caleb smirked. "It's called Oliver Twist. Quite good, actually. You might like it."

"Oh bah!" Bran laughed and set back to work, however Mrs. Malloy was not amused.

"Aye, Maggie! Go clean up for lunch! Yeh don't look lady like at all. And what is of this non sense word, 'bah?' Yeh aren't a lad like yer brothers!"

Caleb and Bran started laughing and Maggie frowned. Sighing, she bounced lightly out of the kitchen and went to wash up for lunch.