Page 11 of Elijah's Hope
Shelby’s eyes got big. “No sir, of course not, sir. Not even as old as my daddy.”
He groaned then. “Goodnight then.” He looked at me. “Make sure you check that cabin before you leave her. Not that I don’t trust Zeke, but you know the drill.”
My lips quirked. “Yes, sir.”
That earned a harsh glare, which made me laugh harder. He left, and I gave a wave to other guys following suit.
“What would you be doing if I wasn’t here?” she wanted to know.
“Playing poker with those jokers. We play a lot of poker. Don’t get me wrong, it kills time. But I wanted something more than killing time for a change.”
“Are you a good player?”
I smiled. “I’m better than good. I’m lucky.”
“So you’re not just an angel, you’re a lucky angel. Well, my goodness, that’s saying something. Makes me wonder how I got so lucky.”
We left the bar a little after that and while it was cold, it wasn’t too cold to make the mile-long walk to the cabin situated just outside of town. I held her bag of new clothes in one hand and her hand in the other. We didn’t talk the entire time. I wasn’t sure if she was getting nervous or, like me, was just enjoying the sounds of the night. The rich smell of pine. That sense that things were where they were supposed to be in the world.
It was a strange sense of contentment I don’t remember ever feeling. I always felt like I wasn’t in the place where I was supposed to be. Not at home with my mother, not in the Army with strangers.
Hope’s Point had been the closest I had come to fitting in someplace. Shelby made that place a whole lot nicer. Not that this was permanent. Just a few days of…fun. Something outside the routine. A break from normal.
Nothing serious.
I had thought about the chance of having the opportunity to seduce a woman. Not pick a woman up at a bar, which was the usual routine when we made the trek to Nome or even farther down to Anchorage. There, it was all about speed, need and expediency. On the woman’s part, too. She understood the drill of an oil rigger, no pun intended.
This was supposed to be different. This was supposed to be dates and fun and time. Time for Shelby to get comfortable with me, to get to know me. To…like me before she got into bed with me.
Shit. When was the last time I cared about a girl liking me? No lie, it had to have been high school. It made me feel older than I was. It made me wonder when I had given up on a life that included a nice woman. Pets. Kids.
Damn. Was I seriously thinking about kids right now?
“I guess here we are,” Shelby said, breaking me out of my reverie. I saw her looking up at the cloudless sunny sky in amazement. “It’s so crazy. It feels…”
“Like it’s still the middle of the day?” I guessed from her reaction. “Welcome to Alaska. There are shades in the cabin to cover the windows. They’ll help you sleep.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Cold and warm light at the same time. It’s magical,” she said with a note of awe in her voice.
We were standing in front of her cabin.
“Let me check it out for you. I’ll get the fire going again in the stove. Don’t worry about stoking it. It will die down by the time you’re asleep, but your blankets will keep you plenty warm. Not going to lie, your nose is going to be freezing in the morning, but the rest of you should be pretty toasty. And I’m serious about closing those shades. A body needs dark to sleep.”
Shelby stood inside the cabin this time as I made a quick study of the place. Again, no varmints, no bats. I threw a few logs into the stove with a little starter paper to get it hot fast. Once that was done, there really was nothing left for me to do.
Except one thing.
“About those plans I had for tomorrow…you still interested?”
She nodded and clapped enthusiastically. I took that as a good sign.
“What are we doing?”
“It’s a surprise.” Not sure why I had to do that. Guess I wanted see her face tomorrow when I told her what we would be doing.
“Will I need my new coat?”
I nodded pointing to the bag I had left by the door. “Yep. Jeans, the thick socks I got you and the coat, and you should be fine. It’s supposed to be in the fifties tomorrow but where we’re going it will feel colder. I’ll pick you up around ten a.m.”
