Winter Hearts Read Online Free

worry. I brought food.” From the canvas sack the young man pulled out a cloth bag of cornmeal and a huge slab of salt pork. Again he stuck his arm in the sack and pulled out several large potatoes and a few onions.
    Luke looked at the food with relief. He’d share what he had, and willingly, but he was glad Sam had brought supplies. “I’ve got a water pump and a sink.” He pointed at the amenities with pride. “The pump was a bonus when I rented the house for the winter.”
    “It sure is.” Sam smiled.
    Without further ado, Sam set about making a meal. He stoked the stove as if he were in his own home and then found a knife and began to slice the potatoes and salt pork, all the while saying nothing.
    When the salt pork was frying in the pan, he added the sliced potatoes and onions, filling the house with the delicious aroma of good home cooking. Sam pumped a little water into a bowl and began to make corn mush cakes. Luke sat near the stove on one of the straight-backed chairs, watching Sam working away at the table. Every now and then Sam looked at him, smiled, and then looked down again as if he was shy.
    “How much food did you bring?” Luke asked.
    “Enough to last through till spring. I knew I was coming too late to plant a crop, but I didn’t think I’d hit storms like this. I set out at the end of September, and it’s taken me this long to get to De Smet because the weather’s been so bad.”
    “So you were headed to De Smet? Not just passing through?” Luke asked.
    “Yes, sir. I claimed a quarter section.”
    So he must be twenty-one years old. The law said a man must be at least twenty-one to claim land.
    When the meal was ready, Sam found the tin plates and knives and forks without asking where they were. In such a small house it wasn’t difficult to find things. He set the table like they were in a hotel or something and then looked at Luke with a smile that twisted Luke’s insides so painfully he couldn’t decide what he wanted more—the food or the man.
    The food he could have, but he’d better not make the mistake of laying a hand on Sam, not if they were to live in the same town. He got up to swing his chair to the table when Sam grabbed it and did it for him. Surprised once again by the young man’s good manners, Luke sat down and picked up his fork. He was anxious to dig in when he noticed Sam with his head bowed and his hands clasped.
    He wanted to say grace!
    Luke put his fork down, and Sam looked up and gave him that smile again. If he’s teasing, I’ll beat his ass and throw him out into the night to freeze. It’s hard enough to ignore his handsome young face without him acting all coy and then outraged if I touch him.
    “For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.”
    “Amen,” Luke repeated.
    The food was delicious after a month on plain corn mush, beans, and a few canned oysters. Luke tried not to stuff it down, but it was gone before Sam was halfway through his plateful. The men in the gold mines ate like animals, and by the time he’d left, his manners were no better. “Thank you,” he said when he was done.
    Sam paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. “You’re welcome, sir.”
    “You might as well call me Chandler if you’re going to stay.”
    A hopeful expression lit Sam’s eyes. “Can I stay till spring? I’ll never get a shanty put up on my quarter section now. The snow’s too deep, and I need to buy a stove.”
    Till spring? This boy would drive him insane before then. “There’re a couple of hotels in town, the Beardsley Hotel and Mead’s. You could stay there.”
    “That would be expensive. I wanted to save as much money as possible for seed wheat,” Sam said.
    Luke shrugged. “Stay if you need to,” he said, as if he didn’t care.
    “Thank you!” Sam smiled wide with gratitude. “I have enough food for both of us. That should be worth the price of my rent.” Luke watched him finish his meal. Sam ate