by Jay Forman
“I’m not asking you to pay to fix up all the homes in Webequie. I won’t be spending your money for you, never you fear. But you’ve got all sorts of connections with the various government agencies. Surely, you can twist a few arms to get things moving?”
“Leave it with me.”
“Don’t give me any of that noncommittal nonsense.”
“Trust me? I might have an idea that’ll help.”
She nodded. “Fine. Because I do trust you.” She almost made it out the door, but turned around again. “And I’ll need your IT man again. I’m going to help the craft circle women sell some of their things on my knitting website.”
I waited for the door to close before crossing my good arm over my casted arm. “Start talking, big boy. What’s going on?”
“A lot.” He stood up and walked over to the closet. “Let’s get the business stuff out of the way first.” He lifted a perfectly pressed shirt off of a hanger. “Ross and Aileen were close, really close, but they missed the mark. Aileen killed Ross for nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, there may be some chromite—”
“She said she did it in self-defence, that Ross was going to kill her.”
“So you said yesterday, but she was lying. Ross was sitting down when she shot him.”
“Maybe he was holding a gun and was about to shoot her?”
“She could have run away. She wasn’t sitting down. And the Desert Eagle was hers, not Ross’, so she didn’t wrestle it from him.”
“What’s a Desert Eagle?”
“It’s a powerful handgun, completely illegal here but a lot of prospectors have them. Hell, I’d probably want one if I was out in the bush like they are. It could stop a bear with one shot. It’s the gun Frazer had when he followed you into the woods.”
Jack putting on the shirt and covering up his magnificently chiselled chest and stomach wasn’t the only thing that killed the mood for me. I shivered just thinking about the barrel of that gun pointing down at me.
“Is that what he used to shoot at your helicopter?”
“It’ll be weeks before we know that for certain, but I think it is. I think he was worried that we’d spotted his claim posts. I hadn’t, actually. I’d missed them.” He went over to the chest of drawers and opened the top one. “Enough about the gun. I don’t want to think about it.”
“Me, either.”
“A team from Winisk went out and did an airborne magnetic survey yesterday.”
“I think I saw them. Was that what that big thing under the helicopter was doing? Taking a survey?”
He nodded. “We’re pretty sure they found the kimberlite pipe.” He sat down in the chair by the door and started to pull on a pair of socks. “The crazy thing is that it was so obvious. It was right there, plain as day.”
“Where?”
“The circular lake that Eagle Rock looks out over.”
“No! Jack you can’t! I’ll never speak to you again if you—”
“If I what? What did I do?”
“You can’t blast the shit out of that place! You’ll destroy it.”
“I’m not going to!” he bellowed.
“What about all your employees and growth and all that crap you spewed at me the other day?”
“It wasn’t crap. It’s my business and it’s important to me and everyone who works for me.” Business Jack was back.
“Is that why you bought this lodge for Joshua? Was it a suck-up present to keep the people in Webequie happy, just in case you found some diamonds on their land that you wanted to dig up?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not stupid, Jack.”
“I have never, ever, thought that.”
“There’s no way Joshua could have saved up enough money to build this place. It’s five-star and those stars are expensive.”
“You’re right.”
I knew it!
“He didn’t have enough money. And, because he doesn’t own any land, he didn’t have any collateral to use to get a loan. So I co-signed it. But I haven’t put one cent of my money into this place. It’s all Joshua. If he makes a go of it, he’ll make a good profit. If he doesn’t, I’ll pay off the loan. He’s smart. His business plan is solid. I think he’ll be able to pull it off. If I didn’t think that I never would have co-signed the loan.”
“Oh.” I should have given Jack the benefit of the doubt.
“As for the possible kimberlite pipe, the only way anyone can develop that site is after consultation with the band council.”
“Are you going to try that?”
“No. What I’m going to do is fly the chief down to Thunder Bay so he can get a prospector’s licence. He can take the Mining Act Awareness Program online, just like Frazer did, get his licence and then stake and record the claim in the name of the band. Then, if anyone wants to develop the site, they’ll have to lease the claim from the band. It’ll be up to the council to decide if the cash windfall – and it could potentially be huge – is worth the cost of having a mine so close to where they live. Obviously, if they decide to lease the claim out I hope they’ll lease it to my company. I – my company – would be in the same position if anyone else recorded a claim on it. I’d have to negotiate with whoever held the claim, just like every other mining company. All I’m going to do is facilitate making sure that the people of Webequie are one-hundred percent in the power position. And I don’t think they’ll be leasing out the claim anytime soon. That diamond of River’s will be able to pay for an awful lot of improvements, if that’s how he and his grandfather choose to spend the money. I’ve offered to help them put the diamond up for auction.”
“Oh.”
He walked over, bent down and gave me a long, extra long, kiss. “Let’s both stop saying stupid stuff, okay?”
“Okay.”
He started to kneel down beside the bed, but winced when the skin on his thigh stretched out. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed. “Let’s talk about the personal stuff now.”
He picked up my left hand. “Lee Smith, will you marry me?”
“I already said yes.”
“True, in your own unique way, but I need to add one more word to that proposal. Lee Smith, will you marry me today?”
“What?” Were the drugs still in my system? “We don’t have a marriage licence—”
“Yes, we do. I got it yesterday in Thunder Bay.”
“How? You would have needed my ID—”
“I took your passport and driver’s licence out of your backpack. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
Did I mind? I didn’t know, because my mind was being bombarded by too many unspoken questions. “We don’t have rings—”
“Got that covered, too. Emma bought two matching bead rings in Webequie yesterday. Next? I know you’re not finished yet.”
“What about a pre-nup? You had one with Lisa—”
“You’re not Lisa. You’re already getting everything in my will. I’ve waited over 20 years for this, so the only way you’re getting rid of me is if you kill me, which you may very well want to do from time to time. Either way, it’s all yours.”
Was I going to do this? “What if I’m worried that you’ll dump me and try to take my house? Maybe I want a pre-nup?”
“You’re stalling.”
I was. “I want to keep working, keep travelling.”
“I always thought you would.”
“And I don’t want to change my name again. You have no idea how much of a pain it is to change your name legally, all the government offices you have to get in touch with, and credit card companies, and—”
“I don’t care what your last name is. I’m in love with Lee – you, and that’ll never change.”
“This is why you brought Auntie Em up here, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “And your favourite Justice of the Peace. I knew you wouldn’t want a religious ceremony.”
I really had seen him! “He’s not my favourite anything. He’s just who I get stuck with
all the time.”
“And Will’s here, too. He wants to give you away because Doug can’t be here for that.”
Tears instantly welled in my eyes.
“Blaze came, too, to spend some time with his grandfather. Come on, Lee. It makes perfect sense to do it now. Neither of us wants a big society wedding. Nobody knows we’re here; all the press left yesterday. The only people who will know are the people who matter to us.”
“But it’ll get out eventually.” My heart sank. “And when it does you’ll be Stuart Saddler’s son-in-law.”
“Do you think I care? He’ll only be a part of us if you want him to be.” The hopeful gleam in Jack’s eyes dimmed a bit.
“Zuzie will be your mother-in-law and Steve will be your brother-in-law. Let’s face it, I come from one fucked-up family. You don’t need that.”
“No, what I need is you.” He let go of my hand. “Complete disclosure, right?”
What was coming next?
“The Ontario Court of Appeal has agreed to hear Stuart’s appeal. Emma was going to tell you but our lives went a little nuts. You’re going to be in the media spotlight, whether you marry me or not. You’ll be subpoenaed to testify again. I’d like – no, I want – to be solidly beside you through all of it.”
Was that what the big rush was about? His over-protective nature? I didn’t need to be protected! I’d been taking care of myself, by myself, for a long, long time.
“I know you can handle it by yourself.” How did he do that? Know what I was thinking? “You’ve proven that. But you don’t have to and that’s not why I want to get married today. I’ve wanted to marry you since the day I first met you at Berkshire. Stuart’s lousy timing, or maybe lucky timing, has nothing to do with today.”
Was he too good to be true? He was asking me to take the ultimate leap of faith. I didn’t leap, except for off of things. I didn’t know if I had enough faith left in me.
Jack, Mr Rational, didn’t do spur of the moment. It was the wrong moment to do this. “Jack, we’ve both been through some pretty major things in the last two days. We should wait until our lives settle back down again, let our bodies heal—”
“When will that be? Neither of us has lived a settled life – ever.”
True. But …
“Stop thinking yourself out of it. Please?”
I was running out of reasons to not do it. “Where would we live?”
“Wherever we want.”
“I don’t have anything to wear, all my clothes are dirty.”
“I like what you’re wearing now.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”
“Wear dirty clothes then. Lord knows, I’m not marrying you for your fashion sense.”
“I’d need a shower first.” Was I really going to do this?
“I can help with that!” He scooped me up off the bed before I could tell him not to. “I’m pretty good in showers.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t I know it. But your stitches—”
“Will get wet.” He was already walking to the bathroom.
“My cast—”
“They gave me a bag to put over it so you could shower.” He turned sideways to get us both through the bathroom door. “But you’ll still need me to lather you up.”
“We don’t have any honey.”
“There’s a corny line just waiting to be said – I have you, honey.”
“That was bad. Really bad.”
“Do me a favour?”
“What?”
“Answer the bloody question! Do you want to marry me today?”
“I do.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I have to thank Sarah Ivy. Her Grade One class in Webequie is lucky to have such a wonderful teacher. I’ll never be able to adequately express my gratitude for the patience she showed as she taught me about Webequie and the people who live there.
I learned an awful lot about my country while writing this and with each new question I asked I learned even more about the generosity of my fellow Canadians. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time so freely: Laura Clinton (Mining Matters); Florence MacLeod (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada); prospector Shawn Ryan (RyanWood Exploration); Alphons Evers and Léanne Messier (Ministry of Northern Development and Mines); Vicki Lean (Director, After The Last River); Lieutenant-Colonel Bryn Elliott (Senior Staff Officer Search and Rescue, 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters, Canadian Armed Forces); Captain Erol Toprak (430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, 1 Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force); Staff Sergeant Ted Hurren (Bracebridge OPP); PC Rich Williamson (South Simcoe Police); Dr. Toby Rose (Deputy Chief Forensic Pathologist, Ontario); Adam Martin (Simcoe Paramedic Services); Barry Walker (Sandy River Outfitters, Manitoba); Doris Muckenheim (The Wolf Den) and Steve Hajaglou. With a special meegwetch to Joe McClellan in Winnipeg, and Roydon and Kathy in Webequie.
All of the people above gave me accurate information. Any mistakes are entirely mine. The only excuse I can offer is that this is a work of fiction and I freely admit that I deliberately changed and added a few things to fit the story – like the fictional tributary that joins the Attawapiskat and Winisk rivers.
Thank you to Adrian Sutherland and Midnight Shine for allowing me to share some of their words. The music they make brings hope and happiness to their Cree communities along the coast of the James Bay (Attawapiskat, Moose Factory, Fort Albany). May their inspiration reach far and wide. It certainly reached me.
Thanks, too, to the people who helped me catch some of my mistakes: Christopher de Corneille, Lyne Darrah, Robyn Mulcaster, Angie Peck (my favourite Texan), Jane Power, Emily Pronio and Marilyn Turner.
I wish I could thank two elected representatives whom I contacted in order to get a well rounded understanding of the First Nations issues in Northern Ontario: the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, my local MPP for twelve years and Premier of Ontario, and the Honourable Dr. Carolyn Bennett, MP, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs (and one of my mother’s former medical students) … but neither they nor anyone from their offices ever replied to my requests for information, which says a lot.
There is one elected official who helped make this book possible – the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau. Mr. Prime Minister, your social media j-stroke has steered us back onto the world map. I’ll raise my paddle to you the next time I’m floating by Ahmek.
To everyone at Endeavour Press, thank you for making this book ... a book.
Finally, the biggest thank you of them all to my agent, Peter Buckman. I wouldn’t have written these words and nobody would be reading them now if it weren’t for you.
If you enjoyed No Return check out Endeavour Press’s other books here: Endeavour Press - the UK’s leading independent publisher of digital books.
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