EVENING

Josh made it home more than an hour before sundown. He was satisfied, though. He'd had a perfectly fine day. He had done everything he'd wanted to, and maybe a little more. He had even watched the clouds twice: once before he started wandering and once afterwards.

And he had an idea for new plans to make. Now he just had to figure out how to get them done.

The cabin looked quiet, warm, and welcoming. A lot different than it had when he'd left! He hoped they'd settled their problems –sometime he'd have to tell Jeremy Jason's housekeeping story – the boy had kept whispering to him all night about what he was going to do today. Poor kid.

Josh entered the cabin. Everything, including all three beds, was neat as a pin and clean as whatever thing was clean. A whistle, maybe? That didn't make any sense, but then those old sayings didn't always.

While he was taking off his boots and hanging up his coat, he realized the place smelled good. Fresh coffee and a halfway savory stew, from the aroma.

Jeremy was sitting at the table, with playing cards, trying (and mostly failing) to build something (a house) with them. He glanced up at Joshua, and returned his attention to gathering the cards. The younger boy's eyes were a little puffy, a bit red, but not terribly so. Joshua assumed he'd had a good cry earlier in the day, but not recently.

Josh poured himself a cup of coffee. "Where's Jason?"

Jeremy shrugged.

Josh thought that over a moment, while lifting the lid off the stewpot. "Mmm. He didn't make this, I can tell. Nothing's mushy. You want some?"

Jeremy shook his head.

"Do you care if I do?" Josh was getting a shallow bowl out and filling it.

Jeremy shook his head again.

"Any bread?"

Jeremy looked over at a tin canister on the shelf.

"Thanks." Josh came to the table, sat down and watched Jeremy begin balancing the cards against one another again. "You know, I could show you how to do that."

Again the head-shake.

"If you were staying in because of cooking, you can go outside for a bit, now that I'm here."

Jeremy shook his head, then banged his fists on the table, and buried his face in his hands when his cards collapsed again.

"It's alright, just don't go too far."

Jeremy shook his head.

Josh sighed in between bites. "Why not?"

Jeremy shrugged.

"I'd like to shake you, except you look like you've had enough today. I don't know which one of us would be madder if I made you cry. Or more embarrassed."

Jeremy's lips twitched. He almost smiled, before gathering cards again. And shrugging again.

"That's better," Josh said. "Why won't you go out? It's gonna get dark pretty quick pretty soon."

"P-promised Jason."

"Okay, but I'm here now."

"P-promised w-wouldn't leave c-cabin, not even on p-porch."

"Why would you do that?"

Jeremy did manage a wry smile. "O-only w-way he w-would l-leave. D-didn't w-want him t-to st-tay."

"Can't blame you for that," Josh agreed, getting up for seconds. "Sure you don't want to eat?"

"B-been t-tastin' all d-day."

"Did you make this?"

Jeremy shook his head. "J-jason st-started it. An-nother r-reason to m-make him go away. He p-put in too much water."

"He always does. Thinks he doesn't have to watch it as close or something."

"Uh-huh." No head shake.

Progress, Josh thought. Sounds other than the kid's hair swooshing. "Wanna play cards or something?"

"D-don' yell at me." He pushed the cards over to Josh.

"I think we all had enough of that for today." josh shuffled the cards.

"I tol' Jason I din't like him today."

"And you're still alive and whole?"

Jeremy laughed.

"What'll we play? Any preference?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm gonna lose anyway."

"Yeah, if you think like that. I'll tell you if I think you're playing wrong and tell you why I think that, if you want me to."

"Kay."

The boys played amicably enough until it got so dark that Joash got up and lit the lamp.

While he was doing that, Jeremy went to the door and looked out. He came back to the table looking worried. "Josh?"

"Yeah?"

"It's d-dark, an' – and Jason isn't here."

"Oh, he'll be along anytime. He probably found somebody to talk to. One of them trappers, maybe, and lost track of time." Josh hoped he was right. Hoped.

"Wh-what if he d-don't?"

Josh grinned. "Then we can stay up all night if we want to."

Jeremy looked at him doubtfully.

"Well, if you want me to make you go to bed…" Josh teased, and drew a laugh from his brother.

"Nuh-uh." Jeremy shook his head (again) for emphasis.

"You want to keep playing cards, or read, or, I know – let me teach you chess. Be funny if you learn when Jason keeps saying you can't learn because he can't."

"He don't like that game. Says it's too slow."

"I know. He really doesn't like it because he has to think ahead. He's not very good at that."

"Dunno. I think he mostly thinks good things."

"Yeah, but there's bad things to think about, too."

"I know. Yeah, we can do that for awhile. Until J-jason comes, anyway."

"Okay."

Joshua, when he wanted to be, was a good teacher, and Jeremy knew most of the pieces and many of their moves. He'd learned from watching Josh try to teach Jason, and from one abortive attempt when Jason had tried to teach Jeremy. (That had been Josh's idea, and it had not been one of his better ones.)

They played for hours, Josh keeping one eye on the clock, and Jeremy's attention on the gameboard.

"J-josh?"

"Hmm?"

"He still ain't here."

"Yeah, he must have set up somewhere once it got dark." Josh kept his tone nonchalant, but inside he was both worried and simmering.

"M-maybe l-look for him?"

"Yeah, and what do you think he would say if he comes back and we aren't here? Especially after you promising to stay inside until he gets back?"

"B-but th-there m–might b-be b-bears."

"Oh, I'd bet on Jason over the bear. Wouldn't you?" Jeremy was getting – scared, for lack of a better word. Josh didn't need that. One brother doing one kind of crazy at a time was enough. And Jeremy could get SO upset So fast and SO easy.

"B-but the b-bears are hungry."

"Well, Jason knows that. That's why I'm sure, " Josh crossed his fingers behind his back, "he's hunkered down somewhere."

"You are?"

I have to be, Josh thought, before saying, "Yeah. Now, why don't we get ready for bed, and if we can't sleep , we'll wrap up in a blanket and pull a chair over by the fire and I'll read to you. But not none of that flowery stuff like you like Jason to say."

"You can read an orphan book."

"You can pick out the book after you get washed up." Josh wasn't sure what books were here and which were there, and Jeremy knew which ones he liked. "I ain't doing funny voices, though."

Jeremy sighed and put water on to warm up for the wash up.