‘What’s Whiskey River like?’ She asks, as we eat breakfast.
‘It’s a lot like any other small-town, I guess. They do have a bit more tourism than I’d like. People who are passing through from Yellowstone National Park on their way to Glacier National Park or vice versa. They stop to check out the local shops, and many times, they stay overnight.’
While I’m grateful for the tourists, because they are mostly who buy my stuff, but at the same time, it’s a bit of a pain in the warmer months. I guess that’s why I spend all my time winter prepping on the mountain, to avoid as much of the crowds between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
‘I’m really excited to see this shop you talk so much about and meet your friends.’
Though I want her to meet the guys, I’m also hesitant, though I won’t tell her that. She saw how possessive I was when it was just Phoenix, and he was separated by a body of water.
‘We’ll walk Main Street, and you can do some shopping and see everything,’ I say, kissing her temple.
I love touching her anyway I can. She melts into each and every one of my touches. Every day I want to show her how grateful I am that she chose me and allows me to do all this for her. Before she even came into my life, I think I was getting ready for her, even if I didn’t realize it.
After breakfast, I show her how to attach the covered trailer to the four-wheeler, and we load it up with the jerky, knives, and furs we are taking to town.
She’s dressed in her clothes from the day she found me in the river, and as hot as she looks, I much prefer her in my clothes she wears around the cabin. But definitely those are not to be worn in town. Anyway, as soon as we get home, I have plans to remove these ‘town’ clothes.
Once we get to my truck, we load everything up and make our way into town. Emelie is practically bouncing in her seat.
I wonder if being secluded in the cabin is really something she can handle. But like so often, it’s as if she can read my thoughts and can calm my fears.
‘I’m so excited to meet your friends,’ she smiles over at me.
‘And go into town,’ I add.
‘Yeah, I want to see where you call home. This is another part of you I get to know. Plus, this is going to be my home too, so I want to see it. But already I can’t wait to get back to the cabin to be alone with you. I guess I got used to it being just you and me.’
‘I did, too,’ I smile at her.
I nod, but worry still tries to pull at me. I push it down and focus on telling her about the guys.
‘Well, I’ve told you about Phoenix. Then, there’s Cash. His brother lives with him but is sick. His brother raised him out here in the mountains, so he’s a lot more isolated than the rest of us, but he’s a good guy. He brings in furs and some handmade items.’
Turning on to the main road, I keep talking to calm my nerves. ‘Then, there’s Bennett. While he lives further out than the three of us, he also has connections in town. He rents out some of his lands to the local ranchers and sells hunting supplies, bows, arrows, and such.’
‘It’s such a different life out here, and there’s so much to know,’ she says.
‘You don’t have to learn it all at once. It will come to you.’
‘I’m not worried. I’m actually excited to learn. There’s so much more I want to know about you.’
This woman never stops amazing me. Her words calm my soul in a way only she can.
We get into town earlier than I planned.
‘Since we’re still early, let’s get you some clothes, and then head to the shop.’
‘Only if it’s the thrift store up ahead,’ she says.
Little does she know, I would have bought her the most expensive clothes in town if she wanted them, but the fact that she prefers shopping at the thrift store, makes me fall in love with her even more.
We walk out with two overflowing bags of clothes for her, and I grabbed a few things for myself. The total we spent was less than fifty dollars, so we were both happy. And making this girl happy is all I ever want to do.
“Our next stop is Whiskey River Local Retail,” I say. “It’s where we’re going to meet the guys and sell our stuff.”
The town has done Main Street up right, using local wood and stone to keep the mountain town feel.
‘Axel!’ Jack calls out.
His eyes are on Emelie because in all the years we’ve been here, not one of us has brought someone with us when we visit the shop. But he waits for an introduction and doesn’t ask for any explanations. Jack is a good guy and one you want to have on your side.
‘This is Emelie, my girl,’ I say.
‘Nice to meet you, Emelie.’ Jack shakes her hand.
Before she can speak, Phoenix walks up.
‘Nice to see you again.’ Phoenix walks over and gives her a hug.
I grind my teeth. Even though I don’t like him touching her, I trust him, so I resist the urge to punch him in the face for laying a hand on her. He’s the most outgoing of the four of us, so I know the other two will keep their distance.
‘It’s nice to see you up close,” she says to Phoenix. “And even better to meet you, Jack.’
‘Jack owns the store,’ I tell her, as Cash and Bennett walk in.
‘Damn, it’s true. Phoenix said you had a lady friend.’ Bennett says, shaking my hand.
‘You guys are bigger gossips than the ladies in town,’ I huff, but just smile and introduce them to Emelie.
Cash, as I thought, is shy and standoffish. He watches but nods hello.
‘Stay here and look around. I’ll unload the truck,’ I tell her, and she starts checking things out.
The guys follow me out to bring in their stuff, but once we are out the door, they stop and look at me, even Cash. I know they want an explanation.
‘She was out camping with her now ex, and he left her alone out there. Man just left her with nothing. Then, she got lost and found me at the river. It was right before the storm hit, so I took her back to the cabin, figuring I had a few days before I could get her to Phoenix, who could help her out. But it just took one day, and I knew she was mine.’
‘Wow, fate wasn’t going to let you off the hook too easy, huh?’ Bennett says.
‘No kidding. Her ex fucking showed up on my doorstep last night, looking for her and wanting her back.’
‘That might have been my fault,’ Phoenix says.
‘What?’ I turn to him, raising an eyebrow.
‘You didn’t say how serious it was. It sounded like she was there until you could get into town, so when I went to get the clothes, and some guy was asking in town about a girl, I gave him your info.’ He cringes and looks sorry.
‘You didn’t think to tell me?’ I growl.
‘I should have I know, but it slipped my mind, once we got to talking at the crossing.’
I take a deep breath. This isn’t Phoenix’s fault. He would have come looking for her regardless, and she had to face him at some point.
‘She wants to stay here with me. Next week, I plan to drive to Billings to get her stuff,’ I say.
‘Need any help?’ Bennett asks.
‘Nah, she said what she has will fit in my truck.’
With that settled, I turn to Cash. ‘How’s your brother?’
He shakes his head. ‘Declining fast. The worse he gets, the more paranoid he is.’
‘You need anything, no matter how small, you let us know,’ I tell him.
‘I will.’
When I look at Bennett, he shrugs. It’s his way of saying nothing new with him. With that, we start unloading our trucks. Phoenix always gives Jack a heads up, when we will be in town, so he has someone ready to help get everything ready for sale.
‘Being wrapped up in that cabin, is good for making jerky, huh?’ Jack says when he sees how much I brought in this time.
‘That’s all Emelie. I was able to get twice as much done with her help. She took right to it.’
‘Special woman who takes to how you boys live. Hold on tight to her,’ he says.
‘I plan, too.’ I find her across the store, looking at some locally made dream catchers.
‘You want one?’ I ask, walking up behind her.
‘They are beautiful.’ She says in awe.
‘Pick one. It will be the first item we buy together for our home.’
Then, she turns to me with the biggest smile on her face, and tucks herself into my chest, giving me a hug. After taking some time to look around, picks the blue one that’s about as large as her head.
‘This will go great on the wood walls above your bed,’ she says.
‘Our bed, Little One. Our bed.’
Once again, the big grin covers her face, making my heart skip a beat, as we go purchase the dream catcher.
‘Ahhh, this is one of my favorites, too. It’s made by a lady from the Flathead Reservation. Every so often, she brings these in, along with some handmade jewelry.’ Jack says, wrapping it up and handing it back to Emelie.
‘I’ll take it out of your check next month.’ He tells me, handing over the envelope with my prior month’s income.
From there, we head to the bank across the street to deposit my check.
Turning to Emelie, I ask, ‘Do you want to walk through that shop and grab lunch at the café up ahead?’
‘That sounds perfect.’ She takes my hand with no hesitation.
As we walk down the street hand-in-hand window shopping, she doesn’t notice a single one of the stares I get or people who cross the street, so they don’t have to walk by me.
No, she just smiles up at me with all the love in the world and holds me tighter.
When we walk into the café, that’s also a bakery, we place our order, and the entire time, she’s focused on me. With her, it’s easy to ignore the stares and whispers that have followed me my entire life.
The girl at the counter does a double take, when she sees me, but then finds Emelie’s smiling face and gives us a hesitant smile, before taking our order. We grab a seat in the back, and for the first time, since my parents passed, I enjoy a meal out.
Normally, I just get a meal to go and eat in my truck. Today, we leisurely eat our lunch and enjoy each other’s company. Then finishing lunch, we walk back up the street to my truck, stopping in a few stores. She holds on to my arm and is full of smiles, but for me, her eyes shine with love.
Suddenly, all the looks, stares, and whispers mean nothing, because she’s proud to be on my arm, and she’s all that matters.
After we leave the last store, I practically drag her back to my truck. I’m parked in a parking lot between two buildings and at the back of the lot. No one can see us from the street, so when I put her into the truck and turn it on, I don’t hesitate for a moment to pull her on to my lap.
I grind up into her, making her gasp and causing her eyes to glaze over. I tilt her head to look at me and wait until her eyes are on me.
‘I love you, Little One. Seeing how happy you were to be at my side…’ I get choked up and can’t get the words out.
‘I love you too, My Giant.’ She leans down to kiss me.
Right there in the truck, I make love to her, because I can’t wait, until we get back to the cabin to make her as happy as she has made me.
Now, it’s time to show her what life with me out here is really like.
