“Why were you watching him? I told you to stay away from him.”
“I don’t know.” Fox shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I wanted to know why everyone thought he was dangerous.”
“So you put yourself in danger to find out?” Obviously she’d allowed the boy too much freedom.
“She’s right, Fox,” Aidan said. “Earl was a loose cannon. Unpredictable.”
Raven shot him a look that said she didn’t need his help with her son. He must have gotten the message for Aidan leaned back in his chair, separating himself from the conversation.
“We’ll talk about this later,” Raven said. “Right now, get on your chores, okay?”
“Yes, Mom.” Fox glanced at Aidan. “Still want to see my dogs?”
“Fox, that isn’t a good idea,” Raven said.
“Yes, I’d like to.” Aidan stared at Raven, the look a challenge of sorts. “That is if it’s all right with your mother.”
Sure, make her the bad guy. Fox beseeched her with his large brown eyes. While letting Aidan and her son do anything together went against everything screaming inside of her, she couldn’t see a way out of it. “Fine.” She glared at Aidan. “I don’t want to hear it if you hurt yourself.”
He flashed her a smile, his dimple shining bright like a neon sign. “Thanks for worrying about me.”
She scowled. “I’m not worrying about you. I want you healthy so you can move on.”
“Mom,” Fox said, his tone chastising.
Crap. She needed to watch her tone. “Sorry,” she gritted out. Aidan’s smile got bigger. He was obviously enjoying the situation.
“Come on.” Fox jumped to his feet. “One of my dogs has a golden coat too. You’ll love her.”
Aidan slowly stood, hobbled to the door, grabbed his new parka, and put it on.
“Don’t over do,” Raven warned.
Aidan winked at her as he left. She should go with them, but didn’t miss that her son hadn’t invited her along. She understood he was of the age where he was looking for a father figure. He had Lynx and Pike. Why did he need another?
It was just a phase. Fox had saved Aidan’s life so he felt connected to him. That would pass as soon as Aidan left.
The sooner he left the better.
For all of them.
Aidan followed Fox down the well-worn path from the lodge toward Fool’s Cove. The beauty of the area slapped him as sharp as the cold. Scrawny Spruce trees, their pine needles heavy with snow bordered the trail, while branches of birch trees, were a drastic contrast with their white and black parchment bark. It was quiet here, the sound of their feet crunching in the snow and their breathing the only sound. No traffic, no horns, or the squeal of brakes. No people. Just him and Fox traipsing through the woods.
A chickadee sang a song to its mate, while a ptarmigan dressed in its white-feathered coat darted across their path, surprising Aidan. Fox took it in stride.
“So why haven’t you come back home before now?” Fox asked.
“I promised never to return last time I was here.”
“Why?”
Where did he start? He should have started with watching how he’d answered Fox’s question in the first place. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not wanted around here.”
“Yeah, I noticed. But nobody’s told me why. I thought I’d develop my own opinion from the source. You.”
Smart kid. “Bad things happened the last summer I was here.” Some great things had happened, too. Lying with Raven. Loving Raven.
“Yeah, I know. My grandfather was killed. I’m named after him, you know.”
Aidan smiled. “I figured that out.”
Fox flashed him a smile in return. A dimple peeked for a moment and then was gone. Cute kid.
“I also know Mr. Harte was suspected to have some part in his death. But nobody tells me anything. Just that I needed to stay away from him.”
Aidan tightened the gloves on his hands. How much should he tell young Fox? It wasn’t his place. Actually it was, since his own father had caused the death of his grandfather, a great man. “Earl had everything to do with your grandfather’s death.”
“Why?”
Again with the whys. “There was a land dispute. Earl thought your grandfather’s gold mine was his.”
“Was it?”
“I think the word used by the property surveyor was ‘undetermined.’ But Earl was adamant that the mine belonged to him.”
“Why?”
The more information he gave Fox, the more questions the kid came up with. “A lot of the land around here was homesteaded. Claims were laid on mines that sometimes had more than one claim attached. My mother’s people and your grandfather’s apparently were partners years back and laid claim to the Trapper’s Creek mine. No gold was ever found, until about fifteen years ago. Your grandfather found the gold. And Earl found a deed to the claim. But there were questions, because the claim was in my mother’s name, and she’d died by then.”