Page 29 of Repentance and Absolution
I thought about it. “Well, t’was awful kind of him to bring you home, and that’s a fact. I’ll always be grateful to him for that. But he didn’t say much. Didn’t seem overly friendly.”
“Well, he needed to get home. We left Irene, and I could tell she was worried about Clarence going out in that storm.”
“Irene. That’s his wife?”
“Yep. She’s awful nice. She gave me a cup of tea and her seat by the fire to warm up before we left.”
“Thank God.” I looked at the boots he’d left by the front door. “We need to get you a new pair of boots, I reckon. Those’re old and beat up.”
“How much you reckon one of those fur coats would cost? Like the one Clarence has?”
I let go of Oscar’s feet and stood up, going to the counter and finding a can of beans and the can opener.
“Don’t know. Probably pretty dear,” I said.
“Oh.”
“Anyway, you ain’t gonna need a coat like that. Because you ain’t goin’ out riding if there’s any chance of a storm from now on.”
“Oh, I see. You’re fixin’ to keep me here in this tiny house with you, so’s you can protect me from the elements and keep me all toasty and tumbled.”
I’d been expecting an angry protest but Oscar didn’t sound mad. When I gazed o’er at him, he was sitting there watching me with a benign curiosity and a plain affection that made me tingle from my toes to the top of my head.
“I reckon I will.”
He smiled then and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.
“Well, okay. As long as I’m allowed to go out when the weather’s fine.”
“You are.”
He looked at his feet that were still bare and pale against the floorboards.
“Maybe you need to warm me up from the inside out, Jimmy.”
I stared at him, my cock thickening at the look he was giving me.
“Maybe that would be best.”
Oscar stood and came o’er to where I was standing at the counter with the can of beans in my hand. He took it from me and set it down. Then he led me to the bed and climbed up onto it.
“All right,” he whispered. “Now you show me just how glad you are to have me back and set me aflame so’s I can get warm again.”
I crawled atop him and kissed him hard and desperate, then I showed him just how hot I could make him.
* * * *
The following week, on a sunny, mild day without a cloud in the sky, we decided to go into town for supplies to get us through most of the winter. Since we planned to stock up, we brought along Poke and some packs and rope to load him up. The storm had been a wake-up call, that we needed to make sure we had the essentials to get through the winter without needing to make too many trips into town.
We’d bought Poke in Whitehorse, instead of replacing the wagon we’d had to abandon. We’d wondered about his temperament, although the fella who’d sold him to us had assured us he was generally good-natured, and that had proven true.
He plodded along behind us at the end of his lead rope as we rode into town on that bright day in mid-December. T’was cold, sure enough, but with our long underwear on and our warm coats and hats, we didn’t fare too badly.
Tim Jensen let us stable the horses and the mule behind his saloon. So far, we had only found kindness in this town. I hoped our luck would continue.
The place was even quieter than it had been a month ago. Carson said a lot of folks went south to Vancouver or Victoria once the Skeena closed, due to the ice. The climate was milder there and they could find work that wasn’t available in Port Essington o’er the winter months. Still, there were enough folks remaining that Jensen’s Saloon could stay afloat, and enough through-travel that the hotels stayed busy.
Carson said that in the height of summer Port Essington was a sight to behold, with a bustling economy and a profitable trade. The dance halls and concert venues filled up with revelers, and there was even a small red-light district. I didn’t reckon any place would ever live up to Miss June’s resthouse in Telegraph Creek, so I had no interest in goin’ near it. Anyway, I had a warm body and an even warmer heart beside me whenever I needed it, and I was mighty thankful.
