AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You made it,” Whiskey Jack said in greeting.
“Yes, we did,” Cole answered.
“Who’s the gal?”
“This is Maddie.”
Whiskey Jack scratched at the long black-and-gray beard hanging from his lips to his chest while squinting, casting his gaze from Maddie’s toes to her nose. Cole held his breath. He’d wondered what the old man’s reaction would be to having a woman in the camp, but ultimately had decided that if she wasn’t welcome, they’d go out on their own.
“Homer,” Whiskey Jack finally said, “you best be on your best behavior. No cussing around the lady.”
“No cussing,” the bird repeated. “No cussing.”
Maddie, eyes wide, turned his way. “It talks?”
“Yep,” Cole answered, laughing.
“More than I want at times,” Whiskey Jack said. “Put the mules over in the paddock with Emily.” He gestured toward a mule in a small fenced-in area. “No sense unpacking all your goods. I’ve got plenty and you can use my extra tent until you stake your claim.” Waving toward his smoking fire, he added, “Just frying up some fish for supper. Got more than enough. Hurry up, it’s almost done.”
Relieved by their welcome, Cole did as instructed, with Maddie helping him. There were a total of four tents and a small shelter made of tree trunks for the mules to be out of the weather when necessary. The main tent was twice as large as the others and had a wooden base a good three feet high. He’d have to take a closer look at that one in order to build a similar one for him and Maddie when they needed to set up camp.
After they’d carried the last of their possessions inside a small storage tent, Cole untied a bag of raisins. As they walked toward the scent of frying fish, he handed Maddie a palmful of the dried fruits. “Feed these to Homer. He’ll remember and like you.”
“Does everything like raisins?”
“Just about,” he answered, chuckling again. He liked that about her, too—how she made him laugh.
“Weather’s been good,” Whiskey Jack said as they approached. “River’s flowing stronger every day.”
Cole turned over a stump and indicated Maddie could sit on it. “Bringing gold with it, I hope,” he said while taking a seat on another stump.
Whiskey Jack let out a chortle and Homer shrieked, which not only stung Cole’s ears, it startled Maddie almost off her stump. He reached over and laid a hand on her knee. Mud had crusted on her skirt, but still his palm stung. If not for the shimmer in her eyes, he might have withdrawn his hand.
“There’s gold, that’s for sure,” Whiskey Jack said. “Lots of color in this area. More than I can gather. Sharing it with Belmont’s grandson seemed the right choice. He shared his riches with me on more than one voyage.” A smile showed the old man didn’t have many teeth left, yet his weathered face turned serene when he asked, “How’s your gran these days? I ain’t seen her in a long time. A very long time.”
“She’s doing well,” Cole answered. His insides took on a splattering of warmth, and he withheld the news about the hurricane for now. “Still running the warehouses, though mostly from a rocking chair on the front porch of her house.”
Whiskey Jack laughed. “You know, son, there’s women and then there’s ladies. Your gran’s a lady. Always was. I remember the first day we ever laid eyes on her, Belmont and I. We’d just shored our schooner at a small town several miles north of Boston. Something had spooked the two fine white horses pulling her carriage. Belmont took after them as though he was half horse himself.”
Cole grinned, having heard the story several times.
“What happened?” Maddie asked.
The way she was pitching the raisins, one by one, toward Homer without looking at the bird had Cole biting his lip. She knew about animals, too.
“Belmont stopped the horses,” Whiskey Jack said. “And before we set sail two months later, Belmont and Annabelle were married. She gave birth to Cole’s father on that first voyage, along with his uncle Trig. I remember that day, too. Those were two fine-looking babies.”
Whiskey Jack pulled the pan off the fire and slid the fish onto three plates he’d balanced on the rocks. Using a nearby stick, he shooed Homer from getting too close as he asked, “Got any more of those raisins you’re giving my bird?”
Maddie glanced his way and Cole nodded before he reached for the bag by his feet.
