As with last year, I will be posting a piece of short fiction and an unreleased page image in time for the holidays. From now on, however, this will happen with the Winter Sale, when all Grindwheel Game products can participate in the promotion. Please enjoy the story, and have a great holiday season!
Coming Home
Squaring his shoulders, Jessip Kraye walked down the long, dusty road with his head held high. It seemed like a lifetime had passed since he left even though it was less than a month. And, despite all his misgivings, he had returned. It had taken all of his courage, and the plain advice of the old men who worked alongside him in the cannery, but he was finally here to set things right.
He could feel the purse of coins bouncing against his hip, and his hand kept dropping to the pocket where he had placed the small, plain ring of sea-gold. It was not much, but it was what he could afford with his modest wages. He hoped that his sincerity would make up for the harsh words he had said, and his desertion of his lover in the face of the shocking news. He was here to take her back, if she would have him, and prove his worth as a man with his gainful employment in the town of Red Drift.
He thought of how crowded the rented room would become, but pushed the thought away. He loved Annie with all his heart. It was just fear which caused him to run from his responsibilities as a father and leave Falk's Wash. It had been less than an hour before the pangs of guilt had settled in, and he had vowed to make something of himself before returning to propose marriage.
His search for work had paid off, so now here he was. The local preacher had already agreed to wed them – if Annie was agreeable – so now came the hardest part.
Jessip took a deep breath as the Benner inn came into view over the hedges. He hoped that his reception would be a pleasant one. Daydreaming of carrying his bride back home to live a life of wedded bliss, he knocked on the door.
