Chase This Light

by Francis Gideon

  Chase This Light

  By Francis Gideon

  When Jason Flores moves to the Yukon for a new job, he’s not sure what to expect. His son Micah seems enchanted by the wildlife, but his recent fear of the dark means that the eighteen-hour nights in the winter will be a difficult adjustment. When Jason takes Micah to the local museum’s interactive lecture series on the gold rush, it turns out to be one of the best decisions he’s ever made.

  Pete Odjick, a tattooed First Nations man, dresses up for the weekly lectures as Skookum Jim, one of the first prospectors to find gold. He takes an immediate interest in Micah and an even bigger interest in Jason.

  As their flirtation grows into something more serious, Jason’s job at a big name oil company and Pete’s volunteer work with an environmental group become a point of contention. Can they come to an understanding and give Micah a family again? Or will the drastic differences between them tear them apart? As the winter nights grow longer, Pete and Jason worry their love won’t be enough to chase the darkness away.

  World of Love: Stories of romance that span every corner of the globe.

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  More from Francis Gideon

  About the Author

  By Francis Gideon

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright Page

  For Travis

  Chapter One

  JASON FLORES opened the door to the rustic and brightly painted townhouse, groping the wall for the light switch. The real estate agent, Cassandra, had assured him that everything was set for Jason and Micah to move in. Up until two weeks ago, Jason had still been calculating numbers in a cramped house outside of Pickering, Ontario close to Highway 401 near Toronto. The move to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, a different time zone and over eight hours away by plane, was a big one. He’d only been able to come to the territory once three months ago, and that weekend trip had been mostly spent inside his new office building with the Eakon Oil Company signing paperwork. He’d met Cassandra in a coffee shop parking lot where he’d given the specifics of the house he’d need for himself and Micah and then got on another plane back home.

  “Got it,” Jason murmured, flicking the switch.

  Light flooded the front hallway and illuminated half the kitchen and living room area, along with a staircase that led to the townhouse’s second and third floors. The living room and kitchen had modern appliances and standing lamps, along with a SpongeBob blanket, Micah’s favorite, hung over the couch’s armrest. A TV and entertainment system was already hooked up, and Jason’s endless stacks of DVDs were on shelves lining the living room. From what Jason could see, they were back in alphabetical order too. The moving crew had come by two weeks before Jason and made sure the house was livable. It was hard enough to keep Micah calm on a cross-country move so soon after his mother’s death, so Jason knew furniture shopping was a no-go and relied on others to do it for him. He stepped forward on the plush white carpets, already envisioning how many juice stains and Cheerios would become ground into the fibers. The white carpets ended where the living room began and became polished hardwood floors, while the kitchen had plain white tiles. When he opened a hall closet, saw a dustpan, broom, and vacuum already there, he blessed Cassandra’s organization. She had made all the right decisions. The house was utterly perfect. Jason made a mental note to give her a bonus and to rate her at least a million five-star reviews on whatever online message boards he could.

  When Jason spotted the purple basket wrapped with cellophane on the kitchen counter, his heart warmed. A ribbon across the basket read Welcome to the Yukon! and was filled with a dozen local products, baked goods, and what seemed like even more brochures for local attractions. Jason snapped up one that seemed to be for day care in the area, knowing it was the next hurdle on his long to-do list for the move. His new job would start in a matter of days, and Micah’s regular sitter was still in Pickering, Ontario. He fought the urge to call Cassandra to see if she could vouch for this day care place, only to realize she’d probably been the one to make sure he got the welcome basket in the first place.

  Already, Jason was enjoying the small-town appeal of the city of Whitehorse. In spite of being the largest city in the Yukon, everyone seemed to know everyone else. And Jason knew he’d have to cash in on their good graces soon, before they realized what he did for a living.

  “Daddy?”

  Jason set down the basket and turned toward the open door of the house. Micah’d fallen asleep in the car from the airport to the house, and when they arrived in the driveway, Jason didn’t have the heart to wake him. He’d only meant to turn on all the lights before getting Micah, since he’d been nursing a pretty hardcore fear of the dark lately, but he’d been completely taken in by the home’s quaint feel. Now Micah was awake, still strapped into his car seat, and terrified. God, it had only been for three minutes at most, but Micah’s voice trembled with Jason’s loss. Jason rushed toward Micah’s side of the car, but the beginnings of gut-wrenching sobs had already started.

  “Daddy!”

  “I know, I know, Micah.” Jason unlocked the door and swiftly moved in to undo Micah’s child seat. He scooped the three- (almost four-) year-old into his arms and felt him instantly cling to the collar of his shirt. Wetness surrounded Jason’s shoulder. He shifted from side to side, making sympathetic noises to Micah’s plight while berating himself internally. Did you really just leave him in the car? Even for three seconds, that was bad. Thank God all the neighbors seemed to be asleep or not the busybodies Cassandra had warned him about. The closest house was a couple meters away, distinctly farther away than the semidetached house Jason bought with Alison three years ago. That same semidetached house had netted Jason a pretty penny on the market (in spite of the damp basement and thin walls) because of its proximity to Toronto.

  Jason shook his head and held Micah closer. It was bad enough the kid had lost his mother and his grandmother; he didn’t need Jason to start acting like a total flake too. Jason had been Micah’s sole caregiver ever since his mother died in a fluke accident over a year ago, but he was still adjusting to the role. He may have been the best uncle there was when Micah was a baby, but that role was so, so much different than surrogate father. Jason had depended on Adelaide, Micah’s grandmother, for help ushering him into his makeshift fatherhood. Now that she was gone too, he knew he couldn’t let her memory down. He wanted to impress Adelaide with his paternal skills almost as much as he’d wanted to fix his fraught relationship with Alison years ago. And Adelaide, Jason reminded himself, would have yelled at you for leaving Micah in the car, even for three seconds. So get yourself together.

  As Jason swayed with Micah in his arms, he heard Adelaide’s voice in his mind. Babies don’t understand blood relations. They only know who wakes them up every morning and who puts them to bed every night. Who cuts their food and who tells them stories. They don’t understand the terms for love in a language; it has to be real. Physical. Don’t make love into a shadow that’s forever chasing light.

  Jason repeated the words, sometimes whispering them to Micah between his sobs. When his crying had ceased and most of his tears had gone directly into Jason’s shirt, Jason smiled. He glanced down at Micah’
s big brown eyes and the curly brown hair that Jason was still trying to figure out how to tame.

  “Hey there, little man. Are you hungry?”

  Micah nodded. Along with his hunger came more frustration and his face twisted in pain. Jason placed a quick kiss on Micah’s head.

  “Well, then. I guess it’s snack time.”

  Jason carried Micah and his shoulder bag to the front door. Micah glanced around, his gaze never fixating on anything too long in the front hallway. He made a pleased noise and clapped when he saw the SpongeBob blanket. Jason had to hold on tight so he didn’t squirm away from him, but he also tried to show his enthusiasm.

  “I know, right? This wonderful woman named Cassandra got that for you. She made sure you had a good bed, a good box for your special toys, and maybe even a couple new toys too. And if I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure she got us both some animal crackers.”

  Jason turned into the kitchen and opened the first cabinet. Dishes (including a brand-new set of the multicolored kiddie dishes Micah couldn’t eat without) stared back at him. Micah recognized his purple cup and reached out for it. Jason had to shuffle all the things he carried around in order to set up some kind of snack, but in a few minutes everything was ready to go.

  Micah sat in his booster seat that he was quickly outgrowing with a purple cup full of water. Cassandra had made sure to stock them up with food that wouldn’t expire like animal crackers, applesauce, and some microwave meals for their first night. There were a few Cokes in the fridge for Jason, and—bless Cassandra—a few cans of his favorite beer. She was definitely getting a tip. Considering the substantial pay raise he was getting for this random relocation to the middle of the wintery landscape, Jason knew he could afford it.

  With Micah now happy and eating away, Jason started to unpack some of the smaller boxes and suitcases the two of them had traveled with. He also rearranged some of the dishes the moving men had left, since they weren’t quite in the right position or the places they had been in their last house. Jason had read enough mommy blogs on the plane ride over to know that the best thing for Micah was to keep things as consistent as possible. He’d be starting a new day care, then a new school in a couple months, all while in a completely new town. With so much change already, little things—like the purple cup, the animal crackers—really mattered.

  So does not leaving him sleeping alone in the car. Jason shook his head. Stupid, stupid.

  “Done!” Micah held up the plate his crackers had been on.

  “Great job! Now I will get you some applesauce. Be careful, though. You can’t fling it all around.”

  Micah nodded and accepted what Jason gave him. When he started to eat too fast, Jason said a few gentle words to make sure he slowed. Micah finally did, but soon grew excited and gestured toward the window.

  “Daddy. Look. Chicken.”

  Jason glanced out the large sliding door in the kitchen and into their backyard. Beyond the fence was a ring of evergreen trees. The grass was green, though it seemed to struggle in some areas now that the temperatures were dipping at night and summer was coming to an end. After surveying the backyard several times over, Jason still saw no sign of a bird. Not even the sky was dotted with robins or sparrows.

  “Where is the bird?” Jason asked. “Not all birds are chickens, remember. There are so many types.”

  “Chicken,” Micah said again. He gestured, flinging applesauce as he did.

  Jason sighed. He grabbed a roll of paper towels and wiped up the spot of applesauce. He was about to lecture Micah in a soothing tone when he glanced up and saw the bird (or “chicken”) that Micah must have seen. Its wings were white and large as it flew into the sky, making it seem like a cloud had taken off. It reminded Jason of a falcon, but it wasn’t. He had no idea what he was staring at—only that it was gorgeous.

  “Daddy, look!”

  “I see, I see.” Jason wandered to the sliding door and pulled back the blinds entirely to get a better view of the backyard. He watched as the bird soared above them and then disappeared into the skyline. He glanced back and searched the faraway trees for more signs of life, but came away with nothing. At least, nothing that I can see. Jason’s interest was now caught. He wanted to know more about this landscape and what lurked in those woods, so he could share it with Micah.

  “Done, Daddy!” Micah announced. His applesauce container still had small bits of food inside, but Jason knew that done meant done for the kid. He put the container in the trash and washed Micah’s hands and face with a towel before he picked him up out of the booster seat. When Micah clung to his torso, he didn’t set him down. The two of them went to the window, both searching for animals, but they didn’t see anything else.

  “I want to see,” Micah stated. “See now.”

  “I know, but maybe the animals are sleeping? They will hibernate in the winter, sleep for a long, long time, but that is still far away from now. So maybe they’re practicing their sleeping.”

  The sun was still high in the sky and wouldn’t set until much later. Jason was relieved he didn’t have to move during the summer, when it was daylight all the damn time, but in late August when the sun had mostly returned to the typical rise and fall schedule they were used to in Pickering. He still hadn’t told Micah that in the winter in the Yukon, the sun went down and stayed down for much, much longer than they were both used to.

  But that’s not for a while, Jason thought. And you don’t have to tell him everything right away.

  “Hey,” Jason said, tickling Micah as they turned away from the window. “What do you say you take another nap, little guy?”

  “No! I’m not tired.”

  Jason tried to coax Micah to sleep for another moment before giving up. Maybe he really wasn’t tired and the nap on the plane and in the car had been sufficient. Jason wasn’t quite sure how he was still standing, given how much sleep he’d lost during the moving process and the 4:00 a.m. plane they caught. Jason had dozed, but was mostly riding high off adrenaline. He needed time to unpack what he’d brought for himself and get settled, but that could wait. Right? Jason wandered back over to the counter and the Welcome Wagon basket. Micah bounced in his arms at all the shiny paper.

  “Present? Birthday?”

  “Not a birthday gift, but a welcome one. When people move in to a new place, sometimes people who already live here will give presents. Maybe there’s something in here for us to do. What do you say?”

  Jason was already unwrapping the rest of the cellophane with his spare arm in a flurry. If he could find a park or an indoor playground, maybe even a wildlife preserve or a zoo, then Micah could run around until dinner, eat, and go to bed right away and Jason could have the night to recoup. Once the cellophane was gone, Jason picked up the brochures. He zoned in on one for the local museum right away.

  “Hmmm. What’s this?”

  The MacBride History Museum. Come by and see our interactive displays and lectures while learning about the Yukon Territory. There are scavenger hunts, pretend gold mining, lessons for the little ones, and so much more!

  “Hmm.” Jason flipped over the brochure to see their hours. For a Wednesday afternoon near the end of the season, Jason didn’t have much hope. But as it turned out, their famous interactive lecture series was still going on. “What do you say, Micah? Do you want to go and hunt for some gold?”

  “Yeah!” Micah said, bouncing in Jason’s arms.

  Jason smiled and kissed Micah’s head. Finally, he’d done something right today.

  Chapter Two

  “GOOD AFTERNOON.”

  Pete Odjick tipped his hat as the crowd waiting in the foyer of the museum entered the auditorium. His costume for Skookum Jim, AKA James Mason, was immaculate. His brown, Inuit skin and short hair made him a dead ringer for the old prospector who started the gold rush, and the costume department at the museum helped him with the rest. He wore a brown suit with a paisley tie, along with a worn pair of leather shoes. Pete didn’t have t
he characteristic mustache Skookum Jim bore, but the costume department loaned him a fake beard that was close enough to make a few eighth-graders and younger kids giggle with delight. The hat was the real triumph, though, having been custom-made by Kirsten to resemble the one Jim wore in his most famous photo, which hung on the museum walls.

  Some older kids eyed Pete, tilting their heads as if trying to place why he was familiar. When in costume for the museum, there was a strict rule that they couldn’t break character in order to state who they were. Kids had to learn through the interactive events and the small skits instead. But this time, Pete winked and gestured toward the photograph of Skookum Jim, and the other prospectors, in the foyer. The boys seemed to understand who he was then and smiled as they rushed to their seats in the front two rows of the auditorium.

  Pete’s friend, Keith Martinez, was dressed as George Washington Carmack, Skookum’s brother-in-law and the man initially credited with starting the gold rush. Keith took tickets by the door while Pete made sure everyone got to their seats. The customer director, Kirsten, made sure the props and technical equipment were set up on stage. Halfway through the lecture, she would come in as a sheriff who tried to discredit their gold findings. Months ago, when the summer season started and the interactive lectures changed their material, there had been a fight about whether or not she should represent a historically inaccurate version of events and be a woman sheriff. Pete had been relieved when she’d won and been given permission to play the typically male part as a woman for the entire season.

  For the interactive portion of the lecture series, Pete and Keith would rehash a dramatized version of finding gold in the Bonanza Creek. The screen in the background would be interspersed with scenery shots, historical facts, and then an interactive map on where gold was found as Keith and Pete went into the audience and showed them their gold. The lectures were geared toward kids in junior high and tourists, but Pete was delighted each summer when younger and younger kids came in. The museum had done extremely well this season, and chances were, with a government grant also being issued, Pete would be able to keep his job through the winter. He’d never been around long enough in any place to have a job last more than one season, even if he returned year after year. Any position longer than three consecutive months seemed surreal. Even if this work was a little goofy, and he had to act out historical events that were beyond cheesy, he loved seeing the delight on kids’ faces. It reminded him of the tribal stories his mother and sisters told him when he was little and that later shaped his father’s art.