SHIVER (16 page)

“Yes, I’d like that,” he said. “I used to have a sled dog when I was a few years younger than you.” He looked off to the side, his expression sobered. “She was my best friend.”

Raven remembered. Earl had shot Aidan’s dog one night in a fit of rage. Right in front of him.

“What was her name?” Fox asked, his tone reverent as he picked up on Aidan’s sorrow. Her kid was a sharp one. Another reason she needed to keep him and Aidan apart. What if Fox guessed the truth? She’d explained to him, when he was younger, that circumstances prevented his father from being a part of his life. He’d been four and hadn’t brought up the subject again until he was seven. Then he’d suddenly stopped asking her questions and seemed to have accepted that he didn’t have a father in his life. The dogs, she figured were a huge part of that. She’d gotten him a husky around that time, hoping to take his mind off the subject. It had seemed to work because she hadn’t been plagued with questions since.

“Her name was Nugget,” Aidan said. “She was a golden Malamute with the deepest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

“She sounds beautiful.”

“Yeah, she was.” Aidan straightened his shoulders and collected himself. “You want to show me your dogs now?”

“No,” Raven said a little too loud. Both of them turned and stared at her with surprise. “You can’t. You need to put that leg up. Rest.” Anything but spend time with her son.

“I’m fine. I took some of the pain pills the doc gave me.” He studied her curiously. “Checking on dogs isn’t going to do me in.”

She wanted to object further but knew if she did it would only raise more questions. “I thought you wanted to head back to Earl’s?”

Aidan turned to Fox. “That’s another thing. Can you draw me a map on how to get past the booby traps? The snow covered up the tracks.”

Fox’s face brightened. “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” Raven said, her tone hard. “I don’t want you out there.”

“Neither do I,” Aidan agreed. “It’s too dangerous. Until I can find all the traps around the place, I don’t want anyone out there, but I do need you to draw me a map.”

“But—”

“No buts, Fox,” Raven said. “And I want to know how you knew where the booby traps were to begin with?”

Fox swallowed the last bite of his sandwich, looking from Raven to Aidan. “Uh…”

She waited. Fox glanced from both of them again, looking for an escape that wasn’t coming.

“Fox?” she prompted with her no-nonsense mother’s tone.

“Uh…I watched him…a couple of times.” He looked down at his plate.

“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.”

“So, Mr. Harte could have had a rightful claim to the mine?”

“Whether he had a legal right to it or not, it didn’t justify the means he used to get his hands on it. And all of it was for nothing.”

“Because after the first strike my grandfather found, no other gold was recovered?”

Aidan had been right, this kid was one smart cookie. “Right. Greed always brings out the worst in people.”

“That’s what Mom always says too.”

“She’s right. You need to listen to her.” They turned a corner on the path, and the trees opened up to reveal a home. A two story log cabin blended with the wilderness, adding rather than taking away. A smaller building was connected to the cabin by an enclosed walkway. He knew without being told that the building was Raven’s studio. He wanted a peek. The workspace of an artist told so much about them. He wanted a chance to get to know this new side of Raven he never knew existed.

To the left was Fox’s team. Six dogs sat or lay next to their own dog houses dotting the open land. Bales of straw were spread next to the houses, adding much needed insulation for the extreme winter temperatures. The huskies caught sight of Fox and leaped to their feet, their excited yips and howls echoing over the open area.

Fox beamed and ran to his dogs, ruffling the fur around their necks, allowing them to lick his face. It was clear that they loved him and vice versa. Aidan found a wide grin splitting his face as he watched the interaction. Every boy needed something like the unconditional love that these animals had for Fox.

Fox motioned him over. “Come meet my team.”

Aidan limped into the writhing bodies of fur. The first dog—must be the alpha male—stuck out his nose, his nostrils flaring, his mismatched brown and blue eyes flickering. Aidan offered his hand, palm up. It was sniffed and then the husky rubbed his head against him. Aidan smiled, his heart swelling as he was accepted into the pack. No judgment to be found here. The others followed suit. They had no idea who he was. Who he came from. But judged and accepted him with their own insightful brand of measurement. Why couldn’t it be that easy with people?

“Fox, you are the luckiest kid in the world.” Aidan smiled. “I’d have loved this.” He laughed as one of the dogs pushed him over and licked his face.

“Yeah, they’re really cool.” Joy lit Fox from within. “Wanta go for a ride with me? Not now, it’s getting too late, and Mom will say no. But maybe Saturday?”

“You got it.”

They shared a connection. Aidan didn’t know how to explain it, but something at that moment connected him to Fox. To cover up the swelling he felt in his heart, he asked, “What are their names?”

Fox’s face fell, and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Uh…I don’t want to creep you out but…”

“Creep me out? How?”

Fox bit his lips and then in a rush pointed to each dog and named them. “Nanook, Kenai, Siku, Miki, Senyea, and my lead dog, Lucien.”

Aidan was stunned and needed a moment to collect himself. He slowly got to his feet, his bad leg complaining—he’d obviously put it through too much today—and brushed the snow off his jeans. He looked at Fox who seemed apprehensive. “You named your dogs after the characters in my graphic novels?”

“I love the Spirit of the Totem series,” Fox rushed on to explain. “I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen now that Lucien had to sacrifice Senyea. I really hope you bring her back. I loved her.”

Aidan had no clue what was going to happen with Senyea. He had the novel halfway written but hadn’t touched it since this summer. Since his dad’s death, he’d lost the desire to write, to draw, to escape. He thought it was some kind of cosmic punishment. The gift of escapism he’d been given by a higher being to be able to deal with his father had been snuffed out with his father’s death. Ironic in a twisted sort of way.

Raven pulled up in her Suburban along the plowed driveway. She climbed out of the vehicle, and as soon as Aidan saw her, his heart jumped. Her long hair blew away from her face with her fast gait. He just stared. This could have been his life. She could have been his wife—should have been—Fox his son, these dogs, this place. All of it. The pain in his chest flared.

“I thought you’d appreciate a ride back. Besides—” she looked at her son “—Fox needs to get his chores done and math homework started.”

Aidan also heard the unspoken message. She didn’t want her son spending too much time with him. Not that he blamed her. Though it was hard not to take personally. He laid his hand on Fox’s shoulder. “Thank you for showing me your team. They’re impressive.”

Fox beamed up at him with admiration. Aidan stepped back. He couldn’t remember a time someone had looked at him that way. The burning ache in his chest flamed hotter.