The day was a nice one. The cold wasn’t too biting, although the clouds portended snow and I expected it would start to fall soon. We hadn’t had a but a few flurries so far, but I reckoned we were overdue for a dumping.
I was used to snow and, to tell the truth, I liked it. When the world was blanketed in white, the stillness settled me and made me feel like a bear in a den—safe and protected. I don’t know what t’was exactly, but I liked the feeling.
My thoughts returned on their own to all the times I’d ridden out doing reconnaissance for the outlaw gang, back when I was nothing but a stooge for those men. Recon had seemed like a benign sort of thing, compared to what the others liked to do, so I fastened onto it as something they could count on me for. I could ride well, and I could keep quiet. And I had a way of explaining the landscape that would make it easy for the others to find what they needed.
Of course, I had enabled them in so many ways, and perhaps I was in a large way responsible for all the things they had done. But I figured someone else would have done the recon if I hadn’t, and they’d have found folks to rob and murder just the same. Only I had to live with the fact that it had been me.
“Jimmy, what are you thinkin’ about?” Oscar said, as he pulled Onyx up beside Dixie. “You’re frownin’ like you need to use the outhouse.”
I forced my features to relax and gave him a look. “Nah, I used it this morning. Stank it up real good.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I reckon that’s true. Still, whatever you’re thinkin’ don’t sit too well with you. I can tell.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh, you can, can you? What am I thinkin’ right now?” I said, running my gaze along his body and back up again, then licking my lips and giving him the most sultry look I could manage. I figured distraction was better than telling him about all that darkness I wanted to forget.
His eyes widened and he swallowed, his cheeks flushing and a smile forming.
“Hmm. I don’t know if I can say it out loud. ‘Tis so very scandalous.”
“Never stopped you before,” I grunted. “Never mind. Let’s just keep goin’. This was a good idea.”
Oscar nodded, keeping pace beside me and Dixie through the clearing. “Good. I’m having fun, too.”
“I think Onyx is enjoying herself. Her eyes are so bright, and she’s swishing her tail. What sort of secrets are you tellin’ her when you whisper and her ears go back?”
He winked. “Oh, you know. All the dirty things we do, you and me.”
“That poor animal.”
He laughed. “She don’t care. I reckon animals ain’t as particular as people, and they’re better for it, truly.”
“Yeah, you might be right. Although I’ve known some people could have cared a bit more about some things.”
“Sure. Only I think the code most people are using could stand a fix or two.”
“I agree with you there.”
We continued on for a spell. When we hit the tree line again, we needed to go single file to find a way through, but we’d had to do that plenty of times on our journey to Port Essington, so t’wasn’t any different. I ended up behind Oscar as we circled around and started to head back in the direction of our homestead. We’d ridden in a rough circle to explore as much area as we could.
I smelled woodsmoke before we came to a small clearing. For a second I thought I’d misjudged the distance and we were already back at our place, but that couldn’t be.
Oscar pulled Onyx to a stop.
“Hey, look.”
I peered around him. An impressive, planked farmhouse loomed at the far edge of the clearing, smoke drifting from its chimney. A moderately sized barn sat between us and the house, beside a large paddock. Two horses—a bay and a chestnut—grazed inside a sturdy wood fence.
“Guess we got some neighbors,” I said, uneasiness creeping in. On the one hand, t’was good to have folks close enough to ride to in an emergency. But, on another hand, it seemed like an invasion of our space and privacy. What with the secret nature of our relationship, it suited us to be isolated and alone. I wasn’t sure how I felt to know there were people so close.
As we watched, a man came out of the front door of the farmhouse and headed to the barn. We had come out of the thick trees, and I figured we were visible, so there was no point trying to hide. The man stopped and stared in our direction. He remained motionless, as if he’d seen a dangerous animal, when t’was only me and Oscar on horses, plain as day.
I raised my arm to indicate that we were friendly, but the man didn’t move and kept staring for a long moment. Then he turned right quick and hastened back to the house, slipping inside and shutting the door. I reckon he probably latched it, too.
“Why’s he so scared of us?” Oscar said.
“I don’t know.”
Dixie was getting restless. She didn’t understand why we’d stopped. I reckoned we could do one of two things. We could go forward and introduce ourselves or we could avoid the place and head home.
