Finding Home Read Online Free Page A

dearly for grizzly items and I am sure
these will be a prize. Give me a day or two to get the best price
for you,” he added with a grin.
     
    “ I’ll check into the
Stillwater and drop in to see you in the morning,” Nat said as she
led the two horses and mule over to the livery.
     
    “ See you in the morning
then,” Smithy called out to her.
     
    Nat gave instructions for her animals
to be cared for and then with Gyp on her heels she headed to the
Stillwater to get a room. The clerks smile turned to a scowl as he
eyed Gyp, but the look on Nat’s face told him she was a force to be
reckoned with and he handed her the room key without
comment.
     
    Nat carried her packs up the stairs to
her room and then left the room with Gyp to find a nice hot meal.
She stopped at the desk to tell the clerk to order up a hot bath
for her in her room and then walked into the dining room. She sat
at a small table and Gyp sat at her feet.
     
    A young woman approached her table to
take her order. Nat took off her hat and her dark hair fell to her
shoulders bringing a smile to the woman’s face.
     
    “ What can I get for you?”
she asked.
     
    “ The biggest steak you can
find well done with the works,” Nat answered. “A smaller steak well
done for my companion too please,” she requested. “You can hold her
beans,” Nat teased, “they give her gas,” she added with a
chuckle.
     
    The waitress rewarded her with a
brilliant smile before heading to the kitchen to place Nat’s order.
Nat looked around the dining room at the town folk that had come in
for an early dinner and a few stray fellow trappers who like her
were still rugged from the trail. A hot bath would do wonders for
Nat and she looked forward to it as much as she did a hot
meal.
     
    The waitress returned with a steaming
plate of fresh rolls and butter. “You look hungry, so I brought
these out for you,” she said as she sat the plate on the
table.
     
    “ Thanks, we’re starving,”
Nat said as she buttered a hot roll pinching a bite off for Gyp.
“We are both sick of my cooking too,” she added.
     
    “ How long have you been
out?” the young woman asked.
     
    “ What month is this?” Nat
asked.
     
    “ November,” the woman
replied.
     
    “ Nine months then,” Nat
replied.
     
    “ That’s a long time to be in
the woods alone,” the young woman commented.
     
    “ I was with my father until
a few weeks ago,” Nat replied. “He was killed by a grizzly she
added numbly.”
     
    “ I am so sorry to hear
that,” the woman said and blushing turned to go.
     
    “ Thanks,” Nat
said.
     
    Nat ate a few more of the delicious
rolls while she waited on their dinner. When the woman returned
carrying two large plates of food Nat’s mouth watered with one look
of the steak. She reached for Gyp’s smaller steak to cut it into
smaller pieces and the woman said, “You start on your steak and I
will cut this one up for your friend.”
     
    “ Thanks,” Nat said as the
woman sat down at the table to cut Gyp’s steak.
     
    Nat took a bite of the steak and her
taste buds exploded with ecstasy, the warm juices and seasoning
assaulting her senses. She moaned loudly and the young woman at her
side blushed. “This is heavenly,” Nat said. “My compliments to the
cook she added.”

    “ Why thank you ma’am,” the
young lady said, “just be sure to save some room for desert, I have
fresh pies baked today,” she added as she stood to
leave.
     
    Nat sat the plate down in front of Gyp
and watched with delight as the young pup devoured the tasty meal,
gnawing the bone while Nat returned to her own feast. The young
woman brought out another basket of fresh rolls and then left Nat
to finish her meal.
     
    Nat cleaned the meat from the T Bone
and then placed the bone on Gyp’s plate as she drank from a mug of
cool water. Nat looked up to see the young woman approaching again
with a tray holding several slices of pie. Nat chose a thick slice
of apple