Finding Home (15 page)

She and Gyp watched the sun as it sunk
past the horizon, its last rays casting long shadows across the
water as they tasted the shrimp.

Nat offered one of the shrimp to Gyp
and watched as they dog ate it slowly.

“
They are kind of bland
aren’t they?” she asked as she bit into the meat. “I bet they would
taste much better basted with some honey butter,” she said, as she
chewed. “Maybe we should take some home for Marissa to cook. I bet
she knows just how to prepare them,” Nat said.

Her words reminded her of just how much
she missed her lover. The ocean had turned out to be a beautiful
surprise, but Nat was missing the comfort of Marissa’s arms. “Would
you mind if we went home early?” she asked Gyp as her companion
looked back at her with loving eyes. “No, I don’t guess you would,
you love her as much as I do, I think,” she said.

Nat took the fish from above the fire
and peeled some of the flakey meat to place in Gyp’s bowl and
placed a healthy portion on her plate. Hardy walked up to them and
Nat stood to place some feed in his bag and slipped it over his
head.

When she returned, she tasted the fish
and moaned softly. “This tastes much better,” Nat said as she
placed the bowl in front of Gyp. The seasonings had roasted into
the meat and it flaked apart lightly as Nat picked it off the bones
with her fork. Gyp finished her portion and licked her lips at Nat
who chuckled and added another portion into the dog’s
bowl.

They ate the entire fish before walking
down to the water to rinse out their dishes as the moon began to
rise. Nat and Gyp dug clams until the sack was half full and then
walked back to the cave. “Tomorrow we will check the pools for more
shrimp and then head for home,” she said to Gyp as she moved her
bedroll deeper into the cave.

Nat put more wood on the fire and
stretched out on her bedroll with Gyp tucked closely into her side.
She fell asleep with her left hand buried in Gyp’s fur and dreamed
of the creatures that danced upon the cave walls.

PART TEN

Nat woke up the next morning and put a
pot of coffee on after stoking the fire. The Northern Lights were
starting to fade when Gyp joined her and stretched before lying
down by the fire. There was an extra crispness in the air this
morning and Nat felt certain they would encounter rain before they
made it home.

She lifted the sack and carried it down
to the rock pools in search of shrimp with Gyp on her heels. Nat
removed her boots and waded into the pool where she was rewarded by
a bounty of several dozen shrimp that she placed in the sack. She
added more water and then tightened the drawstring on the sack. She
sat down on a rock as she waited for her feet to dry then put her
socks on and slipped back into her boots. They walked back to the
cave where Nat hung the sack and took out several slices of the
thin jerky for breakfast.

“
I sure could go for one of
Marissa’s breakfasts right now,” she said, as she bit down on the
chewy meat.

Gyp held the strip between her paws as
she chewed the meat until it was soft enough to swallow. Nat sipped
her coffee as the sun crept into the morning sky and then doused
the fire with the rest of the coffee. The hot embers hissed and
steamed as smoke filled the air. Nat took the remainder of the wood
into the cave and laid it next to the fire pit as the previous
visitor had done. She rolled up her bedroll and fastened it to the
back of her saddle which she carried out and placed on Hardy’s
back. She cinched up the girth and placed the bridle on her
faithful steed as they prepared to leave for home. Nat slid the
rifle back into the holder and slipped the strings of the food sack
and the water proofed sack over her saddle horn.

Nat placed her foot in the stirrup and
mounted Hardy. “Let’s go home, my friends,” she said as her heel
nudged Hardy into movement. They traveled the path until noon when
Nat pulled Hardy to a stop and dismounted. She led him over to a
small stream and allowed him to drink his fill of the cold water as
she and Gyp shared more of the jerky. Nat knelt down and filled her
hands with the cold water and quenched her thirst as Gyp lapped up
water beside her.

After a short break, she mounted Hardy
and pulled her hat down over her eyes to block the light rain that
had begun to fall. Gyp ran ahead of them chasing wild scents and
would disappear into the dense woods and reappear ahead of them
down the path and wait for them to catch up. Nat observed an
abundance of wild life as she plodded along and would have taken a
large buck if she had brought Quincy the mule to carry the carcass.
You will only grow bigger, she thought as she watched him bound
across the path in front of them.

The plodding of Hardy’s hooves and the
creak of her leather saddle made Nat sleepy and she felt her head
begin to nod. A sharp yelp from Gyp made her head jerk up and her
hand instinctively moved to the butt of the rifle. She watched as a
rabbit bolted from the underbrush and fled quickly down the path
with Gyp closely on its heels. Another ten yards and Gyp would have
caught the rabbit that veered hard right and disappeared down a
hole in the ground. Gyp skidded to a halt and used her front paws
to dig at the hole.

“
That rabbit is long gone,
Gyp,” Nat said with a chuckle.

Gyp stopped digging and trotted back
onto the path. In another hour, they arrived at the cabin and Nat
dismounted and grabbed a water bucket, dropping two dozen of the
shrimp into it and covered them with the salty water. She left the
bucket on the counter and returned to take up the sack and mount
Hardy for the ride into town. Nat planned to drop the sack off to
the Indian woman and then meet Marissa at the hotel to walk her
home.

She rode Hardy to the woman’s small
house on the edge of town. The Indian woman was sitting on her
porch, peeling one of the apples Nat had brought her.

“
You are back sooner than
expected,” she said to Nat when she dismounted.

“
The ocean was beautiful,
but it was time to come home,” she said as she took the sack from
her saddle horn and walked to the porch. “I have a surprise for
you,” she said with a smile.

The woman watched with anticipation as
Nat opened the drawstring on the sack and placed her hand inside
fishing around until her fingers came across one of the shrimp. She
pulled it out of the sack and the woman cried out in
surprise.

“
Shrimp,” she said. I
haven’t seen those in ages,” she said, her eyes shining
brightly.

“
There are a dozen or so in
there with your clams,” Nat said.

“
Wonderful,” the woman said
and hugged Nat’s neck as she took the sack she offered.

“
What is the best way to
cook those?” Nat asked. “I tried grilling them on the camp fire,
but they were very bland.”

“
Remove the head and outer
shell and then dip them in a whipped egg and then some seasoned
flour and fry them in some light grease,” the woman
said.

“
Sounds easy enough,” Nat
said.

“
When they turn a golden
brown, take them from the grease and let them cool.”

“
I will try that tonight,”
Nat said.

“
If you and Marissa will
come by tomorrow night we will have some fresh clam chowder,” the
woman said with a warm smile.

“
You have a deal,” Nat
promised and turned to walk back to Hardy.

“
Wait just a minute,” she
said.

Nat stopped and turned back to the
woman.

“
I have something for you,”
she said and took the sack inside and reappeared moments later with
two pair of breeches tied up with a string.

“
You are done already?” Nat
asked.

“
When you get to be my age,
you don’t sleep as well as you did when you were young,” she said,
as she handed Nat the package. “Try those on later and let me know
if any changes are needed.”

“
Thank you, my friend,” Nat
said as she reached for Hardy’s reins and they walked to the
hotel.

The sun was starting to set and Nat
knew it wouldn’t be long before Marissa finished her shift. She
left Hardy tied to a hitching post and told Gyp, “stay” as she
entered the hotel. When she stepped inside Marissa looked up to see
Nat enter and her smile lit the entire room.

Marissa rushed over and hugged her
tightly. “You are home early,” she said.

“
I missed you,” Nat admitted
with a smile. “How much longer until you are done here?” she
asked.

“
Just a few more minutes,”
Marissa said.

“
We will wait for you on the
porch and walk you home then,” Nat said.

“
I will be right there,”
Marissa said as she turned to walk back into the
kitchen.

Nat walked back onto the porch and sat
in a chair with Gyp beside her as she waited for
Marissa.

Marissa finished up the last of the
dishes and then joined Nat for the walk home. “I am so glad to see
you,” she said as they walked from town and she reached for Nat’s
hand.

“
The ocean was beautiful and
we saw some unique creatures, but we decided we missed your cooking
and warm bed,” Nat admitted.

“
Are you saying I am
spoiling you?” Marissa teased.

“
Yes, that is it exactly,”
Nat said with a grin. “Tonight I have a treat for you though. I am
going to cook dinner for you. ”

“
Oh goody, what are we
having?” Marissa asked.

“
I am frying shrimp for
you,” Nat said proudly.

“
I haven’t had fresh shrimp
in years,” Marissa said.

“
Tonight you will. I just
caught them this morning,” she said. “As soon as I take care of
Hardy I will be over to cook for you,” Nat said when they reached
her cabin.

“
I look forward to that,”
Marissa said as she stood facing Nat.

Nat leaned down and kissed Marissa
softly. “I will see you soon.”

Marissa walked on to her cabin as Nat
led Hardy into the small barn and removed the saddle from his body.
She wiped down his body and filled his feed bin before leaving the
barn. She took her bedroll and rifle back inside her cabin and then
walked to Marissa’s.

Nat took her coat off and hung it
behind Marissa’s door. Marissa had brought out a frying pan and was
heating it by the fire while she waited on Nat. Nat peeled and
removed the heads from the shrimp as Marissa watched her closely.
“Can you pour some flour in a bowl for me?” she asked.

“
Yes, I will,” Marissa
said.

Nat took a small grate and placed it
above the coals in the fireplace. She also put a large portion of
lard in the heated frying pan and placed it on the grate to heat
up. Next, Nat took two eggs and cracked them emptying them into a
bowl and used a fork to scramble them. Nat shook salt and pepper
into the flour and shook the mixture, blending it together. Marissa
watched as Nat picked up a shrimp and dunked it into the egg and
then coated it with the flour. She repeated the process with a
dozen of the shrimp and then carried the plate holding them over to
the fireplace and placed them in the bubbling grease.

She returned the plate to the counter
and breaded the remaining shrimp as the first batch began to cook.
Nat took a clean plate and a long metal fork and sat on the hearth
as she watched the shrimp cooking. Marissa took the shrimp shells
out in the bucket and dumped them in the fire and rinsed out the
bucket.

Nat turned the shrimp in the grease and
smiled when she saw them beginning to turn a golden brown. Marissa
placed plates and forks on the table and poured glasses of cool
water for them as Nat cooked.

The first batch was cooked and Nat took
them from the grease. She placed them on a plate to cool as she
cooked the next batch with Marissa watching her carefully. “You
handle that frying pan well,” she said with a smile to
Nat.

“
I can cook, it’s just that
I am limited to what I can cook,” Nat said. “Most of my experience
has come in the woods, where we eat what we have
killed.”

“
Well those smell wonderful
and I can’t wait to taste them,” Marissa said. “How was your
trip?”

“
It was good to finally see
the ocean. Gyp woke me the first night, to get up and see the
Northern Lights,” she said.

“
Good girl, Gyp,” Marissa
said, and Gyp lifted her head.