Chapter Three
Thankfully, there wasno climbing that day, but still, by the time Everett was ready to stop for the night, Belle was exhausted.It reminded her of when she’d first started working at the hotel, and she wasn’t used to being on her feet.
Thankfully, he started a fire and immediately began cooking supper for them.“I won’t cook every night, but I know how tired you must be.All that time on trains and ships and then you are asked to trek across the Yukon without rest.”
“I have very little experience cooking over an open fire.I’m sure I can learn, but I’m glad you’ve taken the task from me this evening.”
“I’m not a great cook, but I can make something edible,” he said.“I hope you like fish and game because we’ll be living on it for the next few weeks as we head home.”
“Who’s taking care of your business while you’re gone?”she asked.
“My friend, James.He’s been my friend since we were young, and now he’s my right-hand man.”He smiled.“We came to Alaska together a few years back.Last year, he tried his hand at mining for gold, but he came back quickly.Said it wasn’t the life for him.”
“I don’t think it would be the life for me either.I can’t imagine spending all my time in a cave digging for gold.”
“There’s also panning for gold, but it’s frozen most of the year here.And the rivers are always cold.It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“Are you glad you came to Alaska?”she asked.
“Oh, yes.It’s...untouched by modern man.It’s a new frontier where you can be anything you want to be.Like America was in the days of the colonies.Am I making sense?”
“You are.It’s incredibly beautiful here...the bit I’ve seen.”
“Alaska is huge.People talk about how big Texas is, but Alaska puts it to shame.If this territory were divided in half, it would still be bigger than Texas.”
“Do you think it will ever be a state?”
“I honestly don’t know.I hope not.I think that would bring more people and change Alaska for good.I would hate that.”He shook his head.“The District of Alaska is a special place.”
“It sounds like you love your home.”
“I hope you grow to love it as well,” he said softly.
When they finished eating the simple meal of beans he had cooked, she half expected him to be ready to sleep...ready to consummate their marriage.Instead, he said, “I cooked, so I think it’s only fair you wash the pot and bowls we used.It’s a beautiful night, so I don’t want to erect the tent.”
“I don’t think there’s any need.I’ve never slept beneath the stars, but I do like the idea of it.And they’re so bright here.”
“I believe it’s the lack of fires polluting the air.I’m no scientist, but that sounds right to me.”
“To me as well.”She put the lid onto the pot of beans he’d made.“We can have these for lunch tomorrow.”
“That sounds good.I have some jerky and some dried fish, but we’ll need to do some hunting and fishing as well.”
“I’ll make it work.I was good at foraging for meals for my family after my mother died.”
“And your father?”
She sighed.“He was mostly in the saloon, but he’d come home on occasion and expect a good meal.Thankfully, there was a garden, and I sold our eggs to buy seeds.I only went to school until I was ten, but I taught myself after that.”
“I’m impressed,” he told her.“How many siblings did you have?”
“Six.”She shook her head.“My mother died in childbirth with little Cassandra.I was her mother for the first six years of her life...until my father remarried, and his wife didn’t think there should be two women in the house.So, I got a job at the hotel.I haven’t seen my family since.”
“I’m certain your siblings miss you.”
“Maybe they did at first.But it would have been easier for them to adjust to Maisie as their mother without me around.”
“Perhaps,” he said, looking at her.“I wish your life had been easier, and I’d promise to make your life easier from this day forward, but life in Alaska isn’t a picnic.I didn’t have a well until last year.Now at least you won’t have to go to the river for the water you need to cook or do laundry.”
