Chapter 63
Remy
In the weeks that followed, I settled into a routine in Glacier Valley.
Ripley and I spent a few days away from the town, hunting, and whatever we harvested that we didn’t keep for ourselves, we’d trade with Harvey Bonet. He was the proprietor of Glacier’s Edge, who served food in addition to libations, and he was happy to procure any red meat I brought in.
The next couple days after a hunt, I set about doing any task that Anoona needed at The Frozen Grave.
Mostly, that meant patching up holes in the siding and chasing out a destructive family of squirrels that made a nest in the eaves.
Sometimes, she’d send me on an errand, like delivering a letter to the pigeon post, or I’d tend to the mules in the stables.
Jordy took Buck with him when he left, and in the early days of July, I found a trusted porter to take Vince back to New Emberwood. By then, I’d worked enough to ensure the mule had extra oats and supplies on the long journey back.
It had been surprisingly emotional for me, saying goodbye to him. He’d been a reliable companion for so long, and I know I would’ve died without him. Maybe Ripley, too, since Vince was the one who ran for help outside Xwechtáal.
But that was also why I knew I needed to say goodbye. He deserved to go back to Lazlo, Nova, and the rest of his family in New Emberwood. Along with instructions on how to care for Vince, I gave the porter a letter for Lazlo, so he’d now how much the mule deserved to be pampered.
I stroked his fur, I pressed my forehead against his, and I thanked him before I told him goodbye. Ripley had also seemed to understand, because she twined herself between his legs when she tended to be more physically aloof with him.
The two of us stood in the middle of the muddy main street one warm morning, and we watched as Vince and the porter walked out of town and out of our lives.
“What do you say, Ripley? Should we get a drink?” I asked her, and she let out a chuffing sound. “Well, you can have fish, and I’ll have the drink.”
Heading over to Glacier’s Edge fairly early in the morning had also become a part of our routine.
The owner Henry didn’t usually start serving food until the evenings, but I had worked out a deal with him for Ripley.
He kept a whole intact salmon on ice for us, and when we came in, I sat in the back corner drinking my cares away while the lion happily chomped down on a frozen fishcicle.
So after Vince left, that’s where Ripley and I went. This early in the day, there weren’t many people here yet. Most folks out here had to work hard all day long to survive, but the ones who didn’t had a funny way of ending up in the pub.
The proprietor Henry was behind the bar, pouring a drink for an old man who was here even more often than I was. Henry was a wiry man in his mid-fifties, with medium-brown skin, and long black hair that he often wore pulled back in the warmer weather.
“Remy, Ripley,” Henry greeted us when we went inside. “Shall I bring you your usual?”
“That would be fantastic, thanks, Henry.” I sat down at a corner table, and Ripley spun three times before laying down on the floor near my feet.
A moment later, Henry set my glass of wild berry brandy in front of me, before he crouched down to present Ripley were her hefty frozen fish.
“Long morning?” Henry asked me. He was still crouched beside the lion, stroking the fur on her back as she licked her treat.
I nodded, swirling the liquid in my glass. “Saying goodbye isn’t easy, even when you know it’s for the best.”
“You did right by that mule,” Henry said in a knowing way. “If you mean to go to Alaska, he’ll be happier here.”
I glanced over at him. “How’d you know that my mule left? I didn’t tell you that yet. And how do you know I mean to go to Alaska?”
“Glacier Valley isn’t that big of a town, and I have an ear for all the news,” he replied with a quixotic smile.
He straightened up, then went back to tending the bar. Glacier’s Edge was one of the places in town that had electricity, so fairy lights were strung along the wall, and music played softly out of a crackling stereo. I settled back into my seat and downed my brandy.
Right now, I felt in limbo between journeys, and that’s where I would remain until Cold Shore let me in. So, I supposed, I might as well relax and enjoy it. While Ripley purred as she gnawed on her fish, I flagged down Henry and ordered another drink.