by Elena Aitken
Nate shrugged. “Kinda. But I wanna hear about bears.”
Lisa smiled and looked over at Kayden. Avoidance didn’t seem to be working, so she decided on a new strategy: tell Nate just enough to keep him happy, but not enough to scare Kayden.
She glanced down the path where Morgan walked with the girls. She could hear the refrain of a song as it floated toward her. Morgan liked to sing with her hikers.
“Okay,” she said. “But let’s start walking again.”
The boys fell into step beside her on the wide trail. “Well,” she began. “There are bears in the forest. But don’t worry. Because we don’t see them very often. They don’t really like people very much.”
“They don’t?” Kayden asked. His eyes were wide.
“No. They’re actually quite shy, so we like to give them their space, too. Any guesses why?”
It was Nate who piped up. “So they don’t eat us.”
Kayden’s eyes got even wider, if it was possible. “Don’t worry.” Lisa reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Bears don’t eat people.”
“That’s not true,” Nate said. “I heard that a grizzly bear will—”
“They don’t eat people,” she said again. This time a little firmer. “But if they’re scared or feel threatened, like any animal, they will attack. And that’s why we give them space.”
“Kind of like when my mom says she needs space,” Kayden said.
Lisa laughed and swung his arms, enjoying their time together. He was a bright kid and even Nate with his questions and fascination with bears was a lot of fun. She couldn’t have asked for better kids to hang out with.
“Hey,” Lisa said. “We’re almost at the lake. It’s just a little bit farther and we can have lunch. Are you guys hungry?”
They both cheered and Lisa laughed again. Little boys were always hungry.
“Can we run?”
Lisa looked behind her to see where Morgan was. It looked as if she was having a good time with the girls, who wandered their way up the path and looked at everything. Morgan waved Lisa on.
“Sure.” Lisa let go of their hands so they could move faster. “Let’s go on ahead and pick the lunch spot.”
Nate and Kayden both cheered the way she knew they would, so she picked up the pace until they lightly jogged down the wooded trail.
It was only a few minutes before they broke through the trees and into a clearing where a beautiful glacier-fed lake dominated the landscape. She stopped an admired the view, the way she always did. It didn’t matter how many times she saw Crown Lake—it always took her breath away. On the close end, where she stood with the boys, there was a dock that they used to launch the canoes, but the boats had been put away for the season already. Crown Lake was quiet at this time of year and the water was so perfectly still that the surrounding mountains almost had an exact mirror replica reflected in the water. She could have stared at the tranquil scene all day but she had little boys to watch, and sure enough, they’d already made a beeline to the water’s edge.
“Be careful,” she called. “The rocks are slippery and that water is cold.”
That was an understatement. The water in a glacier-fed lake was just that: glacier cold. They’d been lucky to have such nice weather so far into the season, but Lisa knew it could snow any day and it wouldn’t take much for Crown Lake to freeze over. It was one thing to look at the lake, but swimming was totally out of the question.
“Don’t worry, we’re just going to throw rocks.” Kayden picked up a handful of stones and threw them one by one into the water and shattered the glassy calm of the surface. “I can throw farther than you can,” he challenged Nate.
Soon both the boys were engrossed in a competition and Lisa decided to set up the snacks she had in her backpack on a nearby picnic table. She pulled the granola bars out of the pack, and was just about to lay out the juice boxes when she realized the boys had become very quiet.
Quiet and little boys did not go together unless they were up to something. She whipped her head around as she chastised herself for turning her back in the first place. They’d given up on their competition and now balanced on the large boulders that bordered the water’s edge and picked their way along.
“Be careful, you guys.” Both boys froze and looked at her, legs poised midair. She left the snacks and started toward them. “Those rocks can be—”
A shriek split the air. Lisa burst forward, but there was no way she’d have been able to get to Kayden in time. He lost his balance and fell sideways into the water. It only took three steps to reach him, and in one fast move, Lisa gave Nate a shove back toward the shore and reached down to haul Kayden from the shallow water.
His eyes were wide with shock and he was soaked from head to toe.
“It’s okay, buddy.” She forced her voice to be calm. “I got you.” She dragged him to the shore and immediately stripped his hoodie off. “Are you hurt anywhere?” She didn’t think so; in fact, the fall wasn’t high enough to do much damage, except for maybe a few bruises and of course, more dangerous, make him wet and cold.
Kayden shook his head.
“Good.” Lisa offered him a smile she hoped was reassuring and called to Nate who stood, unmoving, and watched the scene unfold. “I need your hoodie, Nate.”
“But I’ll get cold.” The boy wrapped his arms around himself.
“Not as cold as Kayden. I need your help, okay?”
Nate nodded, finally understanding, and shrugged out of his sweater. He handed it to Lisa, who tugged it quickly over Kayden’s head.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded, but started crying softly. “I’m so cold, Lisa.” Of course he was, and it was only going to get worse.
“I know, buddy.” Lisa glanced around and searched for an option, but didn’t find any. There was still no sign of Morgan and the rest of the kids. “Nate, I need you to go down the trail and find Morgan, okay? She won’t be far and I need you to go tell her what happened.”
It went against everything she’d ever been taught, to send a child on his own down the trail, but she didn’t have any other choice. “Stay on the trail, Nate, and yell her name as loud as you can until you get to her, okay?”
He nodded and set off, set on his mission and ready to take it seriously. Lisa watched as he disappeared down the path. Morgan wasn’t far, and she knew he’d be okay. Her first priority had to be Kayden and keeping him warm.
“Come on, Kayden. I need you to walk with me over here, okay?”
He nodded. Tears still streamed down his face and his chin chattered, clacking his teeth together.
Lisa moved him as quickly as she could to the shack where the lifejackets and supplies were kept for the canoes. She prayed it was unlocked, as there was no reason for anyone to break into the building so far up in the mountains.
With one arm wrapped around the shivering boy, she jiggled the handle and pushed against the door. To her relief, it opened with a crash and she shuffled him inside. Once out of the air, Lisa helped Kayden out of his soaked shoes and jeans and found an old towel to wrap around his waist. It probably wasn’t the cleanest towel, but it was dry and that was far more important at the moment.
“I’m sorry, Lisa.” The words came out in bursts as Kayden tried to control his shivering. He looked so sad and upset that Lisa’s heart cracked a little.
“You’re okay. I’m not mad at you.” She rubbed his arms over the towel. “Accidents happen, right?”
He nodded and sniffed loudly. She kept talking to him, reassured him that everything was going to be okay. Pretty soon, Kayden calmed down enough to control his tears, although she would’ve been happier if he still wasn’t shivering so violently.
There wasn’t much more she could do, so Lisa wrapped her arms around him as tightly as possible and held him tight when Morgan burst into the hut.
“What’s going on? What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“He’s fine, Morgan. It was just a bi
t of an accident. He’s just a little cold.”
“Really cold,” Kayden added.
“Really cold.”
“We need to get him back,” Morgan said. “Right away before it gets too cold.”
“It’s already too cold to go all the way back to the Lodge, Morgan. He’ll never make it that far. Not without dry clothes.”
“Okay, I’ll stay with Kayden, and you can take the others back down the mountain to get help.” Morgan took charge of the situation. “The others are just sitting outside having a snack. As soon as they’re finished, you can go.”
“There’s only one problem with that plan.”
Morgan turned and looked down at Lisa.
“As soon as the sun goes down, it’s going to freeze in here,” Lisa said. “And don’t forget how early the sun goes down these days.”
Morgan bit her lip and paced around the small room. “I don’t know if we have another choice.”
Lisa pulled herself away from Kayden and stood. She gestured to the door and the two women slipped outside. The other children sat at the picnic table, a safe distance from the water, and peacefully ate their snack. “I have an idea,” Lisa said when they were out of earshot. “Settler’s Cabin isn’t too far from here. Kayden’s a good hiker, and we should be able to make it in about thirty minutes while the sun is still high enough not to be too cold. It’s not ideal, but if he wears my sweater, it will be big enough to cover his legs. And once we get there, I can build a fire to dry out his clothes.”
Morgan listened, and contemplated Lisa’s idea. “I should be the one who takes him,” she said after a moment. Lisa didn’t say anything; she didn’t have to. “But…you are better outdoors,” Morgan added after a moment. “And Kayden really does seem to like you.”
Lisa nodded.
“Okay,” Morgan said after a moment. “It’s the best plan we’ve got. And you’re right; he’ll never make it all the way down the mountain before freezing. Will you be able to get there fast enough?”
“I think so. We’ll leave right away.”
Not wanting to waste any more time, Lisa tugged her sweater over her head and shivered involuntarily at the sudden chill on her bare arms. They’d been lucky with the November weather. Very lucky. But there was no mistaking that winter was right around the corner. And she hadn’t been exaggerating when she said they’d freeze if they didn’t get to the cabin before dark. When the sun went down in the mountains, it got cold. Fast.
CHAPTER FIVE
There were a dozen different things Jason would have liked to be doing in the mountains, and playing games with the adult members of his extended family was not one of them. But he’d told his sister he’d be able to forgive Conrad, and he’d be dammed if he wasn’t going to prove it. Even if the mere sight of him caused Jason’s skin to crawl. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to work with him. Maybe Jen was right and it was a bad idea.
Jason shook his head and grabbed a soft drink from the cooler before he headed back to the field, where an excessively competitive game of horseshoes was going on.
“Hurry up, Jason. It’s your turn.”
Jason lifted his hand in acknowledgement to his cousin, Chase, and made his way back to his teammate. At least he’d managed to secure himself a partner he wasn’t likely to kill. Chase drove him crazy at times with the whole sense of entitlement thing he had going on, but he wasn’t a bad guy and from what he could tell, he actually had a handle on his responsibilities at Porter Properties, and Jason could respect that. Even if his older brother was a total jackass.
He reached the pit and Chase handed him his horseshoes. “Let’s win this already. We only need one more point to shut these jokers down.”
Jason took a quick glance toward his Aunt Betty, who raised her eyebrow at Chase’s choice of words. “Done,” he said with a wink in his favorite aunt’s direction.
With a nod, Chase made his way back to his side of the pit. So far, Jason and Chase had managed to win three of their matches and were in contention to win the entire horseshoe tournament. Someone, likely his cousin Emily, had created a chart outlining all the games, the winners, and who would play who next. If Jason and Chase won this game against his Aunt Betty and her latest boyfriend, they’d be headed into the championship match against Conrad and Emily’s husband Nolan. There was nothing Jason wanted more than to beat Conrad.
He lined up his shot and with a focused determination, he made his shot. The sound of metal connecting rang out as he made contact with the pin, but the shoe spun off the pin and landed in the sand with a thud.
“Dammit.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Chase called from his end. “You got this.”
Jason nodded and grabbed his soda while Aunt Betty lined herself up.
“You know, dear, if you just concentrated more you wouldn’t have any trouble at all.” Aunt Betty stopped mid-swing to impart her wisdom. For as long as he could remember, his aunt had been trying to “teach him a thing or two” about life. For the most part, it was entertaining and totally harmless, and at the moment when she was supposed to be concentrating on her own game, it had the added benefit of causing a distraction for her.
“Is that right, Aunt Betty?” Jason leaned against a nearby tree trunk and crossed his arms. “You know, I could really use a bit of help with my concentration. And you do it so well.” If his aunt knew he was giving her a hard time, she didn’t show it.
“Watch and learn, kiddo.” Betty swung her arm back again to prepare for the shot. “It’s all about focus. No matter what it is in life, if you have focus, you’ll be fine.” She released the horseshoe and they both watched while it flipped through the air, landing nowhere near the target pin.
Jason swallowed his laughter but couldn’t keep the smile from appearing across his face. “Now that was impressive, Aunt Betty. I mean, you sure showed me how to concentrate,” he teased her gently and she swatted him on the arm.
“Well, maybe it has something to do with aim, too.”
“Maybe.” Jason chuckled and lined up for his next shot. “But if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll use my own strategy on this one.”
She waved her hand at him and moved aside while he lined up for his shot. This time he didn’t take long before he tossed the horseshoe, and he watched in satisfaction as it arced up and landed with a soft plop and a metal twang as it circled around the pin.
“Yes!”
Chase fist pumped the air and they each took a moment to celebrate their victory. The Porter family took their horseshoes very seriously, and a championship would definitely give them bragging rights.
“Nicely done, boys.” Aunt Betty smiled and patted each of them on the back. “It’s that throwing arm, Jason.” She squeezed his bicep through his T-shirt. “If I had muscles as big as these ones, we’d be winning all the games, too.”
“You did great, Aunt Betty.” Jason put his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. “But it’s not the arm—it’s the concentration, right?”
She smacked him playfully. “You’re a feisty thing, Jason. What you need is a good woman to keep you in line. When are you going to find a nice girl and bring her by for us to meet?”
Jason’s thoughts immediately went to Lisa, which was beyond ridiculous considering she’d barely even spoken to him. But there was something about her, and he had a feeling she was definitely feisty enough to keep him in line. Maybe if he apologized for being a grade-A jerk when they’d first met, he could convince her to go for dinner with him? Maybe even a family dinner?
“Well, you never know, Aunt Betty. I might just bring someone around.”
Why the hell had he said that?
“Oh really?” Jason spun around to see Conrad stood behind him. “And who would that be?”
Jason clenched his teeth and ignored the question. “I didn’t realize eavesdropping was your thing now.” Jason’s hands automatically fisted and his entire body tensed. Conrad’s presence had that effect on him.<
br />
“If you have a new lady friend,” he emphasized the last words, “I think we’d all love to meet her.” Conrad’s voice slurred slightly and it took all Jason’s control not to punch him. “After all, it has been awhile.”
Jason lunged forward, but thankfully Aunt Betty stood between them, so Jason backed down. Just because Conrad deserved to be taken down a few notches didn’t mean he was going to disrespect his favorite aunt to do it in front of her.
“Boys.” She patted both of them on the chest. “This is a fun family event. Settle it over a game of horseshoes. It’s a Porter tradition, after all.”
“Sounds good to me.” Conrad leered at him and took a swig of beer. By the look of him, it hadn’t been his first drink. Leave it to Conrad to get drunk at a family function. “We all know how this will play out.”
Jason swallowed his rage and nodded curtly.
“We got this, Jason.” Chase pounded him on his back and took him aside. “Don’t let him get to you. Let’s just win this.”
Jason glanced behind him and saw Nolan walk up, ready to get the game going. Conrad crushed his now empty beer can and tossed it in the bushes. Anger flared through him. “Yeah, let’s go win this.”
As a matter of point, Jason returned to the side of the horseshoe pit he’d held earlier despite the fact that Conrad now shared that space. Maybe because of that fact. He wasn’t going to back down from his jackass cousin; quite the contrary.
“Why don’t you take the first throw?” Jason nodded in the direction of the pins.
“You think we need to go first? Because I don’t need any kind of advantage, you know? I’ll win this game with or—”
“Just throw,” Chase yelled from the other end of the pit.
Jason tilted his head but didn’t bother to hide his grin.
“Come on, Conrad,” Nolan called. No doubt he was already sick of the cousin rivalry. He’d met Emily right before things had really turned bad between Jason and Conrad. Given that most people didn’t know the truth about Nikki’s deception, or Conrad’s betrayal, most of the family couldn’t understand the animosity between the two men. As kids they’d been so close; it was particularly hard for the older members of the family to see the rift that continued to grow. Most of the younger family members just got irritated, the way Nolan was now. “We don’t have all day. Let’s just win and move on.”
