"He's not in the house," Aanon called, voice panicked.
"Call the police!" she cried as he bolted for the barn.
On a hunch, she marched toward the big house, but Erin stood in her way.
"Move," Farrah growled.
"You're not stepping one foot in my house."
"If you did something to him, I swear, I'll kill you."
"Pipe down. I would never hurt my son. And besides, I have a witness who'll back me up that you just threatened my life." She leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "I brought you a going away gift, Farrah."
At a gesture, she turned slowly to find Miles sitting on the porch swing. His muddy eyes, ones she once thought so alluring, searched her face questioningly. His hair was cropped short to ease his receding hairline, and he looked older, more tired than when she'd left New York. Without a word, she shoved her way past Erin.
"Did you see that?" the atrocious woman asked. "She laid hands on me, too!"
Gasping for breath that didn't want to come from lungs frozen in shock, she jogged for the door to the root cellar and climbed down. It was dark, and she pulled the string that turned on the swaying light bulb.
"Dodge," she whispered. "It's me, Farrah."
A whimper sounded from the corner, and she stepped around a crate of sawdust and potatoes.
He sat huddled in on himself, arms wrapped tightly around his middle like armor.
"Oh Dodge," she said, dropping to her knees. "It's okay, buddy."
He jumped into her arms and sobbed. "Mommy scared me."
"How, baby?"
"She broke your house and yelled at me."
"So you came down here because you knew she wouldn't try to find you here?"
"Yes." His answer came out so softly, she could barely make it out.
For long minutes, she sat there holding him until he was cried out. She had to let Aanon know he was okay before he worried himself into a frenzy, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Dodge in the dark, cold root cellar.
"Guess what?" she asked.
"What?"
"Daddy is here. And he wouldn't ever let anything happen to you. Right?"
Dodge nodded.
"So I think we should go tell him you're okay because he's very worried."
Another nod, and he slid his tiny hand into hers as she stood. She led him through the back entrance that took them outside and called for Aanon as soon as she hit fresh air.
"Did you find him?" he called.
"Yes. He's okay."
When he reached them, he slid the last couple of feet on his knees and hugged Dodge to his chest. "Son, you scared me so bad. Don't ever hide like that from us again, okay?"
"Aanon," she warned. "He's afraid of Erin. He hid there so she wouldn't find him. Apparently, he saw her trash the cattleman's cabin, and she was yelling at him while she did it."
Aanon just stared at her like he didn't understand the words coming from her mouth. Slowly, life returned to his eyes, and he asked Dodge if it was true.
Dodge nodded and gave a brave attempt at stifling a second round of tears.
"Go help Ms. Farrah clean up her clothes by the cabin, and I'm going to go talk to Momma, okay?"
His little lip trembled, threatening to break Farrah's heart, but he nodded. Brave little man, so much like his father.
She and Dodge piled the strewn, snow-dusted clothing into the big suitcase. One of the wheels was busted off, and the word whore was scribbled across the front in her favorite color of pink lipstick. She sent a silent thank you into the clouds that the little boy was too young to read. Aanon's deep and muffled voice could be heard from the porch, and Erin shrieked a lot, but Farrah did her best to hurry Dodge inside so he didn't have to hear the poison his mother was spewing.
Miles let himself in as she lit the wood burning stove.
"I didn't want to see you like this," he said, gesturing to the big house. "I didn't know what that woman was about. She called and told me where you were, said you needed help. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't know I was part of some big elaborate plan to hurt you. I was just worried about you. About the baby."
She pulled a disheveled blanket from the floor and wrapped it around Dodge's shaking shoulders. "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to move back to New York. Let me put you up in a nice place and take care of you and my child. I'll pay for everything, Farrah. You won't have to work until you want to. Or you could stay at home with the baby even."
"Her. You can call the baby her."
"A girl?" A flash of something hard crossed his features. "That's okay, my offer still stands."
"Your offer for me to be your kept woman? Would your wife ever know about our daughter?"
"Farrah, please."
"Would she?"
His dark eyes were stern, serious. "No."
"She could have a life here."
"Here?" Bitterness touched his voice. "With the animals? Do you even have running water? Is there a hospital within a hundred miles of here? I cannot even fathom where you're going to have this child when the time comes. I drove through town. There's nothing there Farrah! This is no place for you or my child. You chose wrong."
Sniffing, she nodded her head slowly. "Yes, I did." How could she not have seen how wrong he was for her when they were together? He stood for nothing she needed in a man. She couldn't blame it on the absence of a father figure, showing her what to look for. He'd made the decision not to be part of her life, and she'd accepted that a long time ago. It was on her to choose to be with a man who cared for her above himself. Good grief, even a man who respected her at all would've been a better option than Miles.
Erin's obnoxious voice grew louder, and the door crashed open. "I have demands if you ever want to see your son again," she finished.
Aanon brushed past her and stood in front of Dodge. When he did a double take at Miles, Farrah muttered, "Aanon, Miles. Miles, Aanon."
Aanon dropped his face into his hands and rubbed his eyes like he hadn't slept in days. "Jesus, Erin."
"Yeah, I called him. So what? Your ex needs a ride into town and plane fare. And I'm not paying for that shit. Her baby daddy is responsible for that business."
"Wow," Miles muttered.
"Here's how this is going down. I'm moving into the big house with Aanon. And Dodge, of course. You"-she jabbed a finger at Farrah-"are evicted, effective immediately. I don't want you around me or my son. She pushed me, Aanon. You should be defending me right now."
Farrah shrugged unapologetically when Aanon looked at her. She would've claw-slapped her angry face if she hadn't been in such a hurry to find Dodge.
"I'm glad you called the police. I'm going to file assault charges. You'll be having your baby in prison if you don't get off my property. Right now!"
"Yeah, that would never hold," Miles said. "I'm a lawyer. I'd know."
Erin's mouth opened and shut like a landed salmon.
"Really, none of what you've said would." He swung a tired gaze to Aanon. "Empty threats, I'm afraid. I can get you primary custody of your son just based on what I've personally seen and heard in the last four hours. She hit him with flying debris on multiple occasions during her psychotic tirade on your house, and she cursed out your son for being just like his father. The kid didn't even act like it was an abnormal occurrence."
Aanon looked sick as he shook his head. "Erin, tell me that's not true."
She crossed her arms and arched her perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I'm not saying anything without my lawyer present."
"Have you filed for a custody hearing yet?" he asked Aanon.
"I did," Erin replied.
Miles narrowed his eyes at the interruption but ignored her. "Judges don't like taking children from their mothers without good cause. That's where it's going to get sticky unless you have a good lawyer. Do you?"
"Can't afford one," Aanon said low. "I pay everything I make to Erin so she can take care of Dodge."
Miles's empty glare landed on Farrah, but his words were for Aanon. "I'll hire the best lawyer in Anchorage to fight for full custody of your son."
Aanon followed his gaze to her and frowned. Suspiciously, he asked, "What's the catch?"
"Farrah seems to care for you and the boy. I'll pay all the fees, every penny of them, if she comes back to New York with me so I can be close to my child."
Farrah gasped, and Aanon shook his head. "No," he said. "Absolutely not. I don't want that. I'll sell this place and afford the lawyer myself."