Mountain Man (Book 2): Homecoming
Page 17
Winter together in the lodge, and spring building the ranch side by side. Children, she hoped, and peaceful, contented days. Growing old in this valley with her family around her.
It was a pleasant thought, enough to keep her warm until Vicky, who'd been clearing up the lunch dishes, spotted her on the way back to her cabin and insisted she get inside and warm up before she caught her death of cold.
So Kristy did, spending the rest of the day working on a fur blanket she planned to give to her friend for the baby. Although she frequently paused to check outside, staring worriedly down the valley and constantly disappointed not to see Tom's familiar form riding into view with the horses.
The clouds looming overhead still hadn't dropped their burden by nightfall, when Kristy reluctantly gave up and went to bed.
The next morning dragged on like molasses towards noon, when she expected Tom to return from his urgent, secret trip. She had her suspicions what it was about, but didn't want to get her hopes up. Although they got up in any case.
Around noon, as she was fetching water to begin cooking lunch, the bleak layer of clouds overhead finally loosed a desultory flurry of snow. Skyler and Lisa, who'd been fetching firewood from the pile, immediately dropped their armfuls and began running around the flat, laughing excitedly and trying to catch the fat flakes on their tongues as they drifted out of the sky.
Kristy paused to watch the first snow of the year, not sure she could share the children's excitement. If Tom was here would he be worried about everything they hadn't managed to get done in time, rushing around making last minute preparations in case this storm was serious enough to snow them in?
She felt a surge of concern; it seemed absurd with Emery only half a day away, but would this give him trouble getting back to her?
Almost as if thinking of him had made the mountain man appear, a shout of greeting from Skyler heralded Tom's arrival at the bottom of the flat, riding Mary while leading Horse by the reins.
Kristy was overjoyed to see him safely returned, but still couldn't help but take a moment to stare with a bemused expression at the big blocky covered bundle tied to the stallion's packsaddle. Whatever it was, Horse really didn't seem to appreciate having to carry it. That might've been because it was heavy, Tom needing to ask for Skyler's and Bob's help to lower it to the ground as the Hendricksons emerged from their cabin to welcome him back.
Kristy stepped forward to help as well, although she wasn't sure what she could do, but the mountain man gave her a solemn look with twinkling eyes.
“Just stay right there and enjoy the surprise.”
She felt her heart beat faster, waiting in eager anticipation as the two men laboriously and carefully lowered the heavy object to the ground, while her son held Horse's reins and kept him calm. Then they stepped back, her boyfriend motioning to her in a silent invitation to be the one to do the honors.
Kristy moved forward hesitantly and knelt beside the surprise, poking around at the cloth covering until she found a way to unwrap it, as if it was a birthday present. The thick cloth finally came away to reveal a black cast iron surface.
It was a stove, an actual wood-burning stove! As she hastily finished peeling the cloth down to the ground to reveal the squat legs it stood on, and a solid door on the front, Tom proudly brought over a large but relatively light bundle that had been tied behind Mary's saddle, opening it up to reveal shiny round lengths of stovepipe.
She stared at it all in growing elation. Just the thought of having this heating the lodge, all the smoke whisked cleanly outside through stovepipes, of nestling beside it on cold winter nights and feeling perfectly cozy, almost made her look forward to the worst the cold months had to throw at them. And being able to cook on an actual stovetop, finally!
She was so intent on the beautiful sight that she barely noticed the Hendricksons casually sauntering back to their cabin and disappearing inside, or Skyler unobtrusively starting the climb up to the lodge. Barely wondered why they were giving her and Tom some space for something as simple, if incredible, as a new stove.
Then the mountain man wrapped his arms around her from behind, solid and welcoming. Kristy happily leaned back against him as he pressed his cheek against hers, the hint of stubble there soft and bristly. “What do you think?” he asked quietly.
Kristy wasn't sure she could express her emotions without breaking down blubbering, so she did her best to keep the mood light. “I think it should fit just about perfectly where the fireplace is.”
He murmured in agreement. “We can run the pipes through both rooms for heat, and then out through the front wall. That'll let me seal the ventilation cracks above the chimney so it won't be so drafty in the winter. We'll make the lodge nice and cozy.”
“Mmm, I like the sound of that,” she said, wrapping his arms a bit tighter around her. “I can't wait to cook my first meal with it.”
“Me either.” To her disappointment, he let her go and stepped briskly over to the stove. “Speaking of which, you might want to check the interior before we move it inside. I thought it looked good, but you might think it needs a bit of cleaning.”
Something in Tom's expression and slightly nervous posture made her hesitate. Was the stove a disaster inside or something? Although he seemed more eager than worried. Frowning, Kristy crouched and opened the sturdy cast iron door, which opened smoothly without so much as a squeak.
What was he even talking about? It was pristine inside, almost as if it had been carefully scoured. In fact, the only thing in there resting on the clean surface was a little velvet box-
Kristy sucked in a sharp breath as realization dawned, whirling towards her boyfriend. She'd suspected he might be planning something like this when he left so suddenly yesterday, although him including a stove of all things as part of the long anticipated event had thrown her off . . .
To her delight, Tom had used the distraction to go to one knee, one hand solemnly raised proffering a simple but lovely gold ring with a modest diamond glittering in its setting.
“Kristy Graham,” he said with deep feeling as her hands flew to her mouth. “Will you marry me?”
Something between a laugh and a sob escaped her smiling lips, and her eyes blurred with tears as she tentatively reached out to touch the ring. “You used a wood-burning stove to propose to me?” she couldn't help but ask.
Tom shifted sheepishly, expression priceless. “It, um, seemed like a good symbolic gesture?”
Kristy laughed more genuinely this time. “Symbolic of what?”
She felt a bit bad for teasing him when she saw him genuinely floundering. Although given his fondness for teasing her, it seemed appropriate. “That our love is hot and heavy?” he tried.
She couldn't help it, she collapsed on the ground in peals of laughter. Her boyfriend, or fiance now she supposed, looked down at her with a somewhat sickly smile, as if wondering if this was a good sign.
Oh, Tom. Somehow this proposal was exactly what Kristy would've expected from him: practical, but with deep feeling and a surprising amount of understated romanticism.
She had to admit it beat Miles's proposal. Although to be fair, her first husband had simply asked her to marry him after she'd announced she was pregnant with Skyler. Not exactly a dazzling gesture, but they'd both been young and stupid and struggling to survive the end of the world.
Tom's smile was fading to a slightly worried look, and she realized he'd asked her a question she had yet to answer. “Yes!” she gasped, still giggling. She struggled to her knees and threw her arms around him, peppering his face with kisses. “Yes, I'll marry you, Tom Miller!”
Grinning ear to ear, he fumbled for her hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger. It wasn't a perfect fit, but pretty darn close. Then he solemnly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.
After a blissful eternity, they finally broke away. Kristy looked down at the ring on her finger with mingled awe and joy. Then she looked up at the large snowflakes still drifting
down around them. “Looks like you asked me none too soon,” she said. “Think we'll still be able to make it to Emery so we can have a ceremony with all our friends?”
His gray eyes turned mischievous as he glanced at the sky. “Depends. Might be snowed in until spring.”
She bit back a groan at the suggestion. She'd waited long enough, and the last thing she wanted was to spend all the cold nights of winter shivering alone in bed. Besides, she had a feeling that even with her fiance's slow, careful way of going about things, he didn't want to delay the wedding any more than she did.
“I'd like to plan for three weeks from now,” she told him firmly. “Even if we have to tunnel through ten feet of snow.”
Tom chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. “I suppose I could rig up some snowshoes,” he murmured, then pulled back to look into her eyes, showing that same fierce intensity, like she was his sole focus, the only person in the whole world to him, that always made her heart race. “I love you, Kristy Graham.”
“I love you, Tom Miller,” Kristy said fervently, and leaned in for another kiss.
The End
The Miller Family's story continues in
Homeland, Book Three of the
Mountain Man series.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading Homecoming!
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Links to books by Nathan Jones
POST-APOCALYPTIC
BEST LAID PLANS
Fuel
Shortage
Invasion
Reclamation
Determination
NUCLEAR WINTER
First Winter
First Spring
Chain Breakers
Going Home
Fallen City:A Best Laid Plans Standalone
MOUNTAIN MAN
Badlands
Homecoming
Homeland
SCIENCE FICTION
Boralene
Last Stand