Mountain Man (Book 2): Homecoming

by Jones, Nathan

  Maybe he'd get some stuff done on his own this morning, grab Skyler once everyone was awake and out and about. And to be fair, he really should broach the subject with Kristy before taking her son off hunting and trapping and fishing, make sure she approved.

  Speaking of the flaxen-haired woman, just as he was about to walk away the door opened with a soft creak and she started to slip outside. Then she saw him standing there and gasped softly, sounding more terrified than surprised.

  He felt his face flushing with embarrassment at how he probably looked, standing here like this. And outside a home filled with traumatized people. “Sorry to startle you,” he whispered. “I was going to see if Skyler wanted to go out with me to set snares, then realized I'd have to wake you up along with him and thought better of it.”

  Kristy sighed and joined him outside, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it. “You're fine,” she whispered back. “I gave up on sleep . . . I can go wake him up for you.”

  Tom nodded sympathetically. He'd seen her up some mornings on the road from Grand Junction looking tired and troubled, and guessed she was having problems sleeping after what had nearly happened to her outside Newpost. Especially since she had a firsthand look of just what horrors had awaited her if things had turned out differently.

  “You want to come along too?” he asked. “Setting snares is a useful skill to have.”

  It was hard to read her expression in the dim predawn glow, but she sounded surprised and relieved. “You know, that doesn't sound terrible right about now. How long will we be gone?”

  “Probably just a few hours, no later than noon. We need to get back and figure out where the Hendricksons want to put their cabin, then get started felling logs for it.” Tom paused, smiling. “Also, if we want to start a ranch we'll need to think about building a barn and corral in advance. Nice big ones.”

  Kristy sighed, although she sounded more resolved than reluctant. “We've got our work cut out for us, don't we?”

  “I'm pretty sure that's the slogan for being alive.”

  She laughed softly and started to open the door. “Give me a few minutes to wake up Skyler and get ready,” she whispered as she disappeared inside.

  Tom headed back down to the flat and gathered up the bundle of snares he'd retrieved from his cache, as well as his trusty old .308 hunting rifle and .357 revolver. He'd already transferred the vital gear from his backpack, stuff he didn't go anywhere without, into his saddlebags, and now he packed the snares in as well. Then he got to work saddling Horse and Mary.

  Before he'd gotten his first Horse, he'd done plenty of rounds setting snares on foot. He'd even done it on foot occasionally when he'd had a horse. But now that he had another mount available, and Kristy and Skyler had one as well, he figured they should probably get used to riding them. Not to mention it would speed things up quite a bit, and make the task less of a hassle for Kristy.

  At least once she got used to being in the saddle; aside from one or two riding lessons growing up before the Ultimatum, she hadn't ridden at all before buying Horse. And with the stallion stuck pulling the wagon with Mary this entire trip, she hadn't had many chances to ride him on the trip to Emery, either.

  Speaking of which, the horses were a bit saddle-shy after going so long without wearing one. Tom soothed them as he got the saddles on, especially Horse who was a lot more spirited. Not much like his namesake, the faithful mount Tom had lost last winter.

  In fact, it would probably be smart to ride the stallion himself until Horse got used to them, and Kristy and Skyler became familiar enough with riding to handle him. Mary was smaller and more gentle, a better choice for first-time riders.

  The young mother and son joined him while he was adjusting the contents of his saddlebags for better balance. Kristy had brought jerky and rolled balls of oats, honey, and nuts for breakfast, and after mounting up they ate in the saddle as Tom led them north away from the flat.

  Over the next little while, they rode up the valley towards the higher meadow, then past it towards the top, where it led deeper into the mountains a bit west of north in the direction of the summer retreat.

  It was a nice ride. The mountain air was chilly, but at this elevation and time of year that was almost pleasant. As they made their way over ridges and along valleys, Tom talked them through finding the best spots to set snares, giving them opportunities to point any they saw out to him while he appraised their choices and offered insights.

  They regularly dismounted, and Tom let the mother and son set the snares while he talked them through it. All in all, it took much longer than if he'd gone on his own, but he enjoyed the company and they were learning useful skills.

  One of the lessons to teach was about being willing to change plans when an opportunity presented itself. Which Tom did, when he noticed a buck on a distant slope. “We're done setting snares for the day,” he announced, dismounting.

  Kristy reined in Mary behind him, Skyler peeking over her shoulder. “We still have half a dozen to set,” she pointed out. Then she saw him unslinging his rifle and her expression became worried. “Is there danger?”

  “Not for us.” Tom motioned with his free hand towards the distant buck. “There's fresh meat on the hoof. If I manage to bring it down we'll want to get it back to the flat quickly, get to work preserving whatever we don't plan to eat immediately, as well as treating the hide.”

  The flaxen-haired woman gave him an uncertain look as he immediately found a position and began taking aim, then glanced down at the mare she was seated on. “A gunshot's not going to send the horses bolting over the nearest mountain, is it?”

  He hesitated. That was actually a good point; Horse, that is his original trusty steed, had been used to the sound of gunfire, to the point where he barely twitched an ear even when Tom fired from the saddle. That was valuable training, something he'd come to take for granted.

  Which was ironic, considering what a pain it had been to train the horse not to shy from gunfire in the first place.

  Just to be safe, Tom had the two dismount, then securely tethered the horses to the trunk of a tree. He also had the mother and son stand a safe distance back from them in case they decided to lash out with hooves. Then he raised his rifle, took aim, and fired.

  He hit the buck, but it wasn't a clean kill; it bounded away trailing blood, and he had to bite back a curse remembering he was in mixed company. “Guess we'll need to chase it down.”

  The horses had spooked a bit, but it didn't take long to calm them down. Soon enough they were back in the saddle in pursuit, catching up to where the deer had been and following the blood trail for maybe twenty minutes. The horses weren't thrilled at the smell of blood, showing the whites of their eyes a bit, but that was another thing they needed to get used to.

  Tom had been letting Skyler and a somewhat queasy Kristy follow the trail and guide him for practice, although it wasn't exactly the most difficult thing to do. When he finally spotted the buck collapsed behind a tree up ahead, he held off on pointing it out to see how long it would take for the others.

  A minute or so later, about the point the horses smelled the dying animal and got antsy, Skyler pointed excitedly. “There!”

  Tom got them dismounted and their mounts tethered, then cautiously approached the thrashing deer, turning to look at Skyler and Kristy. “We need to put him out of his misery,” he said quietly. “Not the most pleasant thing, but it's a good learning opportunity. Either of you feel up to it?”

  The flaxen-haired woman shuddered. “I'm not in any hurry to try this. And I don't think I want Skyler seeing it, either.”

  The boy gave her an impatient look. “This is part of living in the mountains, Mom. I have to learn if I'm going to hunt and set snares with Trapper.”

  Tom did his best to hide his slight irritation about Skyler using the nickname. Most everyone in the convoy used it, but he would've preferred they didn't. And the boy hadn't, back when he'd spent those weeks gu
iding the young mother and her son on the way to Newpost; that was something Skyler had picked up once they started traveling with everyone else, and he heard the nickname more often.

  At least the kid seemed to think it was cool, which was why he used it . . . there were worse reasons to be called something.

  In any case, this wasn't getting the job done and in the meantime, the deer was suffering. “I'll do it, then,” Tom said. “Watch or not, I won't blame you either way.”

  He wasn't sure whether the other two watched as he carefully approached the buck and opened its throat. It was a shame to see the life go out of that magnificent creature, something he was more aware of with Kristy and Skyler there. But it was all part of nature, and they needed the meat and hide.

  Once it was over he hung the animal by its back legs to drain it, then turned to Skyler. “On to the next step,” he said, motioning with his knife. “You've got your new skinning knife, and you've helped me gut and skin rabbits. Field dressing a deer to take back with us is going to be a bit different.”

  “You think?” the boy said, still looking queasy. “The rabbits were gross enough, this is going to be a hundred times worse!”

  Tom snorted. “Actually, going by weight that's probably about right.” They both gave him dirty looks, and he sighed. “All right, I'll do it and talk you through the process as I go. If you can stomach the sight, pay attention for when it's your turn, whenever you feel up to it.”

  To their credit, at least they crept closer and watched while he gutted the buck. It didn't take long, and Tom soon had the deer slung over Horse's flanks for the trip back; the stallion wasn't best pleased by that, but it was something he needed to learn, too.

  As they were mounting, Kristy cleared her throat. “This is how you live?”

  It was hard to read her tone. Was she regretting coming with him now, maybe not just on this ride but to the mountains in the first place? Some people just didn't like to see where their meat came from.

  He nudged Horse back the way they'd come, keeping firm control as his mount shifted restlessly at carrying a carcass. “Yep, this is how I live.”

  * * * * *

  Whatever Kristy's queasiness about dealing with a dead deer, she certainly had no complaints about the results when Tom fried up some venison steaks for lunch; it was probably the best meal she'd had all year.

  Everyone helped out cleaning the hide and hanging it to dry, as well as salting the remaining meat to prepare it to dry as well. And distasteful as Kristy found the work, after leaving the mountain man to do everything else with the deer even though he was trying to teach them to be self-sufficient, she was determined to do her part now.

  Thankfully, the task didn't take too long. They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening pacing out the place for the Hendricksons' new cabin on the north end of the flat, near a spring of cold, clear water that sprang out of the hillside and joined the stream. It would be humble to begin with, one room, a door, and a couple of windows that would probably just be covered with waxed paper until they found something better.

  If they ever did.

  The majority of the time was spent finding straight trees of the appropriate height and width. They even had time before dinner, which was more venison steaks, to cut down and limb a dozen. Kristy wasn't much help with any of that, unfortunately, aside from dragging the lopped off branches into a pile for firewood with the kids' help, and getting the finished logs tied to the horses' harnesses to drag over to the cabin site.

  Judging by the day's tasks, Kristy felt more than a few misgivings about coming up into the mountains, and just what her life was going to be like here with Tom. Not that she didn't want to be with him, of course, but it was turning out to involve a lot of hard, messy work. And he wasn't sparing her from doing her share of even the worst of it, the way Miles always had when he went hunting.

  In a way, she took that as a compliment, that the mountain man didn't judge any tasks as beneath her and expected her to pull her weight. And it wasn't as if the last decade since the Ultimatum hadn't taught her the value of hard work.

  Besides, this was an adjustment period and a lot of the work right now was things they'd only have to do once, like building a house for her friends. Not to mention that when they got the ranch up and running they'd be doing entirely different, and probably more enjoyable and fulfilling, work.

  By sundown, Kristy was sore, tired, and more sweaty than she'd like even after washing up for dinner. So she wasn't exactly feeling at the height of feminine allure when Tom invited her to a good vantage point just across the stream from the flat, to watch the sunset with him.

  That didn't stop her from leaping at the chance. Between the meeting with Emery's townspeople that had run late, and yesterday working until after dark to make the caves comfortable for five people to sleep in, it had been a few days since they'd been able to enjoy their nightly habit of watching the sunset together. It just felt right to settle down on a grassy tussock beside him, cozying up to his side as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

  Although Kristy couldn't speak for herself, she thought Tom still smelled kind of nice even after a day of hard work; earthy, but not exactly unpleasant. She felt a deep contentment being in his arms, watching with him as the sun set over the winter lodge's ridge.

  Skyler and Lisa were playing by the stream, the girl looking less haunted than usual by what she'd been through, leading to the optimistic hope that she'd be able to get past it. Inside the newly laid foundations of the cabin, Bob and Vicky were pacing out the interior. Planning the layout and, from the looks of things, discussing furniture to make.

  It was peaceful and idyllic, and Kristy felt a lot of her misgivings fade away. She could grow to love this life. “I've missed this,” she murmured, resting her head on Tom's shoulder.

  He nodded. “Me too. More than I'd realized.” He freed a hand long enough to wave at the flat across from them. “This is a good spot to look at all this. I can almost see the barn and other outbuildings finished, a corral or two full of animals. I never really thought of this place as a ranch, probably because I never could've afforded it, but it's kind of perfect, isn't it?”

  She murmured her agreement, settling closer against him. This was exactly what she'd needed to hear, a reminder that today's hard work was leading to a real future for her and her son. And, she thought with a slight flush to her cheeks, any more children she might have.

  Kristy could see it, too. Although while he saw the buildings and animals, she saw a big table or two where everyone could gather to eat meals outdoors on nice days. She saw little toddlers trundling through the grass laughing and chasing grasshoppers. And wash hanging to dry on lines, and her and Vicky chatting as they cooked meals.

  Maybe, once they'd settled down a bit more, she could take a trip to Emery and see if she could find someone to sell or trade a sourdough starter. Baking bread had never exactly been a thrilling activity, but it held a certain appeal at the moment.

  “What do you think?” Tom asked quietly after a few minutes. “I could help finish the Hendricksons' cabin, give Sheriff Mitchells time to track down a Geiger counter, then head up to Utah Valley. See what we're working with. Maybe we could even hold off on selling the wagon so I can use it to bring things down.”

  “Mmm.” She raised her head to look into his piercing gray eyes. “You mean “we”, right?”

  He looked surprised. “I'd be happy to have you along,” he agreed. “I just figured you were heartily sick of traveling. And . . .” he hesitated before continuing gently, “I know you've got painful memories up there.”

  Kristy shook her head, feeling a fresh surge of grief for Miles. But she didn't want to dwell on that right now. “Maybe, now that I've put some time and distance between what happened and where I am now, it'll be a chance to finally put it behind me. Say my final goodbyes.”

  Tom didn't say anything, although he squeezed her shoulder gently in support.
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  The sun sank below the horizon, and the light in the little valley gradually began to fade. She allowed her grief to fade as well, letting herself just enjoy this time with Tom, the hope of something new and special growing between them.

  When he finally stood, pulling her to her feet with him, she held his hand to keep him from immediately walking back towards the flat. He paused, and as she drifted a little closer, looking up at him expectantly, realization seemed to dawn in those gray eyes of his, like the sun peeking through a solemn, overcast day.

  Finally.

  Kristy had been giving the man broader and broader hints ever since Grand Junction, trying to let him know she was ready for him to take the next step. She'd tried not to be too obvious about it, since she didn't want him to get the wrong idea, but at the same time, she couldn't be too subtle because, well, it was Tom.

  She couldn't blame the mountain man for being rusty when it came to social cues, especially with women. That didn't stop her from wanting to grab him by the ears and yell “Just kiss me already!” in his face, whenever he passed up a perfectly good opportunity she'd carefully arranged and made as simple and straightforward as she knew how.

  But she had a strong certainty tonight was different. There was definitely the feel of a moment as she waited in almost electric anticipation, and he seemed to finally sense it as well. She felt her heart thundering in her ears as he stepped closer and leaned down to press his lips to hers, a bit clumsy but definitely not tentative.

  Kristy melted against him, kissing back gently but firmly for several seconds. She wouldn't have minded the moment lasting forever, and had a feeling Tom felt the same since he didn't seem in a hurry to end it. Although, given that he wasn't an experienced kisser, she was pretty sure he was holding his breath.

  So she took pity on him and broke the kiss off herself, pretending not to hear him gasp in some air as she nuzzled his cheek with hers; to be fair, she was feeling a bit breathless herself. “Finally,” she murmured, still holding him tight.