“I have to go,” Jamie said as he stood up, grabbing his tray.
“Be sure and head down to the fire pit to help them set up,” said Quint. “This your first Friday? The campfire events are kind of fun.”
“Yes,” Jamie said, and then added, “I’ll go down and help.”
Jamie bussed his tray and raced out of of the dining hall so fast, he was on fire. He looked all around for Leland, but didn’t see him, and so headed out to the fire pit and helped arrange the hay bales and patterned blankets in rings that went around and out from the fire pit.
One of the guys from the kitchen, wearing a long white apron that flapped around his knees, came pushing a huge cart that turned out to have all the makings for s’mores and hot apple cider. And then, as the sun started going down, guests started to gather and take their seats.
The air grew chilly, so Jamie ran up to the staff quarters to get his long-sleeved shirt. When he came back to the fire pit, long purple shadows had laid themselves over everything, making it dark.
A low wind blew. It didn’t seem like quite the night to sit out in the open, but guests were chatting amongst themselves, faces aglow in the firelight when they got up to grab a roasting stick and supplies for their s’mores. Two ranch hands had built a fire in the middle of a ring of pink and white stones, and against the backdrop of the darker night, it was really quite cozy.
Almost all the hay bales were occupied, and a few chairs, too, which someone had brought out. About half of the staff was there, filling in any blank spots so nobody had to sit by themselves. Jamie took a seat in the back row on a hay bale with a red woolen blanket, but he was close enough to feel the warmth of the fire, and felt the anticipation building, not quite sure what was to happen.
What happened was that Bill came out, dressed pretty much like the first time Jamie had seen him, except he was wearing a canvas jacket like many of the ranch hands were wearing. Jamie should have worn his, but it was too late now to go get it.
Bill got himself a cup of hot cider and drank it while chatting with Brody and the guy with the apron standing near the cart. Then, just as Bill walked to stand by the fire and take center stage, someone sat down beside Jamie and held out a cup of hot cider. It was Leland.
“Here,” said Leland. He was wearing one of those canvas jackets too, sturdy and warm. “You should have worn your jacket.”
“Yeah, I’m realizing that. Thanks for the cider,” Jamie said, taking the cup of cider. He curled both hands around it to warm his fingers, and took a sip and sighed as the warmth moved through him, the sweetness. “I didn’t mean to butt in on your dinner with those guys.”
“Don’t worry about it,” said Leland.
Jamie looked up at Leland as he took a sip of his cider. He had showered and shaved, and maybe Jamie could smell cologne, or maybe it was some other guy wearing it. Leland probably had to get cleaned up for the evening’s activities so he could make a good impression on guests. That was it.
“Here,” said Leland. He slipped off his jacket and placed it around Jamie’s shoulders, where the heavy weight of it surrounded him with Leland’s warmth. “Put your arms in.”
Jamie did as he was told, carefully holding his hot cider away so he wouldn’t spill it on the jacket. Was Leland doing what he’d do for any of his ranch hands? Or did it mean something else?
“You missed the happy birthday song in the dining hall,” said Leland, leaning close. “I looked for you to come up, but you were gone.”
It was almost a question. Jamie shrugged and tried not to latch on to the idea that Leland had been looking forhim. Had stood there and wondered where he was.
But Leland had been looking, and the image of it whirled in Jamie’s head as Bill started talking, introducing the story he was going to tell, something about wishes made on Iron Mountain when there were shooting stars overhead. Then he told a spooky story about a herd of ghost horses that raced across parts of the ranch when the moon was full.
“Please don’t tell the one about the missing guest,” said Leland, under his breath.
“What?” Jamie asked, leaning close. “Missing guest?”
“We had a guest go missing at the end of last season,” said Leland, leaning just as close, so close that Jamie could smell his cologne, all dusky and lovely. “It’s what put Bill in the hospital, the anxiety of it all. Don’t know how the ranch pulled back after that, but we did. Bill tells it like a ghost story, but who wants to hear about a guest wandering and disappearing forever?”
Bill started telling a story about Tommyknockers who roamed the mines just on the other side of Iron Mountain, and Leland breathed a huge sigh, like he was relieved. Then Bill told another story, and another after that, and then led the crowd in campfire songs, making them sing rounds until everybody couldn’t sing anymore, they were laughing so hard. Then someone turned up the lights on the dining hall, and Bill thanked everyone for coming, and said it was time for bed.
The guests dispersed back to their cabins or the main lodge, and Jamie helped tidy the hay bales and fold blankets. Leland stuck close the whole while, and as they worked in the chilly air, it began to rain a little. Jamie would have been shivering without Leland’s sturdy jacket, and he still couldn’t believe Leland had lent it to him.
“Don’t forget next time,” said Leland, as he came up to Jamie.
“What?” Jamie asked, blinking up at him, feeling like he wanted to yawn.
“This,” Leland said. He tugged on the sleeve of the jacket. “At night at this altitude, it can get pretty chilly, even if it’s not raining. You need to stay warm so you don’t catch a chill.” Leland seemed to stop himself from something he wanted to say, then tugged on the jacket once more. “Anyway, you can give it back to me in the morning. Right?”
“Sure,” Jamie said, pleased and flustered at the same time, and found he loved looking up at Leland while he looked down at Jamie with his serious grey-blue eyes of his, flashing in the dying firelight. What he didn’t love was that Leland seemed unhappy, and he struggled to search for what he might have done to cause that. “Are you okay?”
“Let me walk you back,” Leland said.
There were plenty of people to help finish whatever needed doing, so Jamie stuck close to Leland’s side, trotting to keep up with his long legs. They went back around the cabins to the path in front of the dining hall, the evening air splotched light and dark beneath the shadows of the spreading pine trees.
