Shiver(57)

Aidan gathered up his meager belongings. There wasn’t much. He’d stop at the lodge’s little store and buy a few bundles of chopped wood. That would warm up Earl’s cabin until he could chop some himself.

He straightened up the room, gathered his stuff and with one backward glance, shut the door.

Fox was waiting for him in the front room.

“Hey, Aidan,” Fox said with a wide smile, a dimple peeking from his left cheek. “You said you wanted to go for a ride with me and my dogs, remember? Today is Saturday.”

Aidan’s stomach clenched. He did not want to disappoint this boy. He’d been disappointed all his life. He didn’t want to treat the kid this way. “Sorry. But I need to head to Earl’s.”

Fox’s face fell and Aidan felt like the worst kind of bastard. “Sorry, kid. I have to get out of the godforsaken place before I go crazy.” That was said in truth. Damn, he really wanted to go for a sled ride with Fox. It had been decades since he had flown over the snow pulled by a team of well-trained dogs.

Why couldn’t Fox have been his son? He resembled him. But he was probably seeing what he wanted to see.

“But—”

“See ya, kid.” Aidan turned and walked out of the lodge, feeling like an ass. Why hadn’t he figured out a way to let Fox down easy? Instead, he’d treated the situation the way Eva would’ve with her rip-off-the-Band-Aid method.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN



Aidan entered Earl’s, determined to finish what he’d come here to do. Hurt and anger fueled him on. He built a fire in the wood stove, and the small place heated up fast. His dad had been good at surviving in some of the worst places.

He tackled the job of cleaning up. Walking outside with Fox’s map, he methodically sprung every fucking booby-trap he could find. Anyone could step into one—an animal, lost hiker, hunter, or kid with a dog team out for a sled ride. Earl wasn’t going to hurt anyone else in this world.

Aidan took a break from tramping around in the cold and made himself a cup of coffee by melting snow with the dented tin percolator over the hot stove. He swallowed a few ibuprofens along with the bitter coffee. His medical boot was getting in the way. So he went into Earl’s bedroom and rummaged around until he found a pair of well-worn Timberland hunting boots. He pulled off the Velcro plastic boot the doctor had strapped him in, and changed the bandages. His dad’s old Timberland’s would do just as good of a job keeping his leg tight and would better protect him from the snow and cold.

When he was finished with the first aid, he went back outside with the ax. His leg was bearable as long as he kept the wounds cleaned and managed the pain with over the counter drugs. Besides what was a little physical pain when his emotional pain would have most putting a bullet in their head? He’d thought about ending it all. Had even tried pulling the trigger a few months back, but something had kept him from actually taking his own life. Probably the cowardice his dad had accused him of.

Chalk up another one for the bastard.

Aidan set up logs and began the backbreaking work of chopping wood. The day had turned sunny, deceiving since the temps were hovering around negative ten. The physical activity soon had him shedding his jacket. The last thing he wanted to do was sweat in conditions like this. Sweat would freeze and chill him to the bone as soon as he stopped working. Then it would take forever to get warm.

He heard a twig break and swung around, scanning the area. The black wolf stood thirty feet off. Watching.

What the hell?

Aidan lowered the ax and met the wolf’s eyes. Everything he’d read about wolves said meeting their gaze was a big no no. But the wolf took no offense. In fact, he yawned—the wolf actually yawned at him. Aidan looked at it closer, wondering if it wasn’t a full-blooded wolf. Maybe the animal was a half-breed. Part wolf, part husky or Malamute.

No. Aidan would bet his life he was looking at a full-blooded Alaskan timber wolf.

Why the hell was it watching him?

The wolf suddenly perked its ears and turned its head to the side. Then it was off like a shot as though spooked. Next, Aidan heard dogs. Fox glided his team into the driveway and dropped the steel brake, stepping on it to anchor the teeth into the snow. The dogs pranced, some turning circles until they found a spot to settle down. None seemed to have picked up the wolf’s scent.

Fox slowly walked toward Aidan, his eyes landing on the pile of traps, before seeking out Aidan’s. “Can we talk?”

What was this? First Raven and now Fox needing to have words with him. Aidan set the ax in the log. “All right. Let’s go in and get something warm to drink.” If Raven found out about this meeting, which she undoubtedly would, he’d be called to task. Screw it. He was through hurting the kid. “Are your dogs going to be okay?”