Finding Home (30 page)

“
No, not all at,” he
answered. “Why don’t you join us for some coffee,” he
offered.

Nat stepped down from Hardy and tied
him off to a small tree. She took the cup of coffee from Susan and
joined them around the fire.

“
I just left a cabin about
four hours ride from here. It would provide you better protection
from the elements to have a roof over your head and it is an area
filled with plentiful game. ”

“
Why are you leaving it
then?” Tom asked.

“
My heart just isn’t into
the life anymore since my father passed. That will be his grave at
the end of the cabin and I ask that you tend to it respectfully if
you chose to use the cabin,” Nat said.

“
I am sorry you lost your
father,” Susan said.

“
Thank you. It was at the
end of last year’s season, so he has been gone awhile.”

“
A roof over our heads would
be nice Tom,” Susan said.

Nat smiled at the young woman and
looked at her husband. “The cabin sits between three creeks that
join a mile away to form a nice sized river. All four spots are
great for trapping and the game is plentiful to keep you well fed.
”

“
We thank you for the
information and will take advantage of that,” Tom said. “What was
your father’s name?” he asked.

“
It was Nathan and he taught
me everything I know about trapping and living in the woods,” Nat
said. She finished her coffee and handed the cup back to Susan.
“Thank you for the coffee. If you will follow this trail for half a
day you will come to a small trail that bears to the right. Follow
it and it will lead you to the cabin. A fire is already laid in the
fireplace.”

“
Thank you so much,” Tom
said as he shook her hand with enthusiasm.

“
You are welcome and good
luck,” she said. “Oh and for something sweet, you will find a honey
tree if you take the trail off to the left of the cabin and a smoke
stick resting at the end of the porch.”

“
That sounds good to me,”
Susan said. “Thanks again and have a safe trip home.”

Nat walked over and mounted Hardy. With
a wave and a smile, she left the clearing, hoping to still make the
cave by nightfall.

As she rode away from the clearing, she
could hear the couple scurrying about as they gathered their
supplies. It put a smile on her face to know that the cabin would
be used and maintained by the couple who so desperately needed
help.

Nat reached the cave just as dusk began
to settle in. She removed the packs from the animals and allowed
them to graze freely as she started a campfire. She removed
portions of jerky for her and Gyp as they sat listening to the
stirring night.

The animals returned to the mouth of
the cave after grazing and watched over Nat as she curled into her
bedroll and slept soundly that night.

As the sun’s light crested the horizon,
Hardy began stomping his feet as he shifted his weight. Who needed
a rooster, Nat thought when I have Hardy. She climbed from her
bedroll and rolled it tightly before tying it onto her saddle. She
slipped into her boots and pulled her hat over her brow. “Let’s
pack up and head for home.”

She packed the animals and climbed up
onto Hardy’s back. The day promised to be warm and Nat would be
grateful for a stop at a river along the way to hopefully bathe her
body. She did not want to return to Marissa with the musk of a
month’s sweat on her body. If there was no one close, she would
strip down and bathe quickly in the cold waters and put on fresh
clothing, she thought as they trod down the path.

Soon, very soon, she would be back in
her love’s arms. Her smile grew with each step and when they
reached the river, she cheerfully tolerated the frigid water to
bathe and wash her hair. She would still wear a faint musk that
only a long, hot, bath would soak from her skin, but she was at
least tolerable to smell.

As the sun began to set, Nat could
smell the smoke from Marissa’s fireplace. They rode into the yard
and Gyp raced ahead to scratch at the front door.

Marissa was just sitting down to enjoy
a meal of fried chicken and biscuits when she heard the scratching
at the door. When the noise appeared for the second time, Marissa
stood and walked to the door. She opened the door and Gyp rushed to
her side.

“
Welcome back, Gyp,” Marissa
said as she bent down to pet her. She looked up to see Nat stepping
down from Hardy’s back. She smiled brightly and rushed to Nat’s
arms. “Welcome home, my love,” she said.

“
Thank you,” Nat said and
was cut off by a sweltering, hot kiss from Marissa. She held her
tightly in her arms as they kissed for several minutes.

“
I am so happy to see
you.”

“
I can see that,” Nat
teased. “It is good to be home.”

“
Let me help you with the
animals and I will get you something to eat,” Marissa
said.

“
I will unload the animals
if you will start the wash pot fire. I am in desperate need of a
hot bath.”

“
You have a good point,”
Marissa said as she wriggled her nose.

Nat lifted the packs from the animals
and left them setting on the front porch. Tomorrow she could deal
with unpacking and taking the pelts to Smithy. Tonight, she wanted
nothing more than to be in Marissa’s company and fall asleep in her
arms.

Nat took the animals to the barn where
she fed them grain and made sure they had water, before she walked
back to the cabin. The water was heating as she walked past the
wash pot into the cabin. Marissa was preparing the bathing area for
Nat.

“
I had just sat down for
dinner. Would you like to share my chicken, or would you like
something else?”

“
There is not enough chicken
for both of us, so you eat that while I cook some
flapjacks.”

“
Better yet, you snack on
the chicken and I will prepare flapjacks and eggs too if you want
them,” Marissa said, as she handed Nat a chicken leg.

“
We are starving,” Nat said.
“We have lived off of jerky for two days now, so anything hot would
be good.”

Marissa cooked Nat and Gyp two thick
flapjacks each then scrambled a dozen eggs. She sat down with them
and shared the eggs and the last of the chicken. When the meal was
over, Nat started bringing in hot water for her bath while Marissa
cleaned the dishes.

Nat was undressing when Marissa joined
her in the bathing area. “You have lost weight,” she said with a
look of concern.

“
My cooking tastes nothing
like yours,” Nat said with a warm smile.

Marissa kissed her again and then
looked into her eyes as her fingertips traced the fading scar down
her face. “You really are home.”

“
Yes, my love, I am,” Nat
said.

Nat finished undressing and climbed
into the steaming, hot water. “This feels so good,” she
groaned.

Marissa knelt beside Nat to wash her
hair and then bathed her body as Nat relaxed in the soaking
bath.

“
I am beginning to feel
human again,” Nat said as she looked at Marissa with adoring eyes
as she stepped from the bath tub.

“
You certainly smell
better,” Marissa teased as she wrapped Nat in a thick
towel.

After drying her body, Marissa reached
around her head and slipped the necklace off, placing it over Nat’s
head. She looked at the bear claws resting on Nat’s skin and said,
“Now you are truly home.”

The End