by Elena Aitken
For a moment, Conrad looked as if he was going to argue again, but finally he picked up his horseshoe and without much bothering to take his time to line up his shot, he tossed. Surprisingly, it landed with a thud fairly close to the pin. Closer than Jason would have liked.
Jason followed it up with an even better shot, which brought a grunt from his cousin.
Conrad took a bit longer to line up his next shot, but Jason’s final throw was closer to the pin, and earned them the point.
With a curse, Conrad stomped off to the tree where he’d left his beer and cracked the top on another while he moved out of the way for Nolan and Chase to take their turn.
“Tell me about your girl,” Conrad sneered as he came up beside him. Jason bristled, but chose to ignore him. He wanted Jason to lose his cool and blow up. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I bet she’s looking for a real man, too.” Jason’s hands formed fists at his sides. “It won’t take much, either. It didn’t take more than a touch and a promise of a night she wouldn’t forget for Nikki.”
That was it. Nikki was off-limits. No matter what kind of relationship Conrad may or may not have shared with her before she died, he had no right to so much as mention her name. Before he could stop himself, Jason swung around. His fist connected squarely with Conrad’s jaw.
His cousin took two stumbling steps backward before he fell back into the dirt. His hand went to his jaw and he stared openmouthed at Jason, whose rage was only barely simmering. “Don’t you ever mention her name again.”
Conrad had the decency to look surprised, and maybe even a bit ashamed, but for Jason, it was too little too late. He swung again. This time Conrad blocked the punch. “JasonI don’t know why I said—hey.” Conrad dodged another swing. “Really, I’m—”
It didn’t matter what Conrad had to say; Jason wasn’t interested. He lunged forward and knocked his cousin off balance. They both toppled to the ground.
He didn’t know how many hits he got in, and he barely noticed the sting of Conrad’s own fist connecting with his face. He was too consumed with the white anger that he’d somehow managed to put a lid on for the last four years.
The fight didn’t last long enough as far as Jason was concerned before Nolan’s arms pulled him off and shoved him backward. “What the hell is wrong with you? Em would kill you if she saw you. Never mind Jen—”
“Let me go!” Jason twisted out of Nolan’s grip and wiped his lip. His cousin’s husband was right. Jason had no business getting in a family fight. Even if Conrad had deserved it.
Without looking back, he turned and prepared to walk away.
“Hey.”
There was something in Conrad’s voice that stopped him momentarily, but he didn’t turn around, and when Conrad yelled, “I loved her, too,” Jason gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, felt the sting in his knuckles, and stormed off.
~ * ~
Fortunately for both of them, Kayden was very brave and considered their departure from the rest of the group as an adventure. Lisa used it to her advantage and turned their short hike into a fun adventure. Despite his great attitude, he was young and cold, and the hike took him a lot longer then she’d hoped. With any luck, Morgan had made better time than she had and was already down the mountain with the others.
The cabin was always locked, although Lisa wasn’t sure why. Fortunately, she knew the key was hung on a nail on the side of the window frame. She quickly unlocked the door and ushered Kayden inside.
“What do you think?”
“Cool. Does anyone ever stay here?”
Lisa walked through the room and opened the shutters to let what remained of the sunlight to shine into the small space.
Consisting of one main living room that had a small kitchenette along the back wall, the cabin wasn’t much, but it was perfect for the overnight excursions that some of the guests of the Lodge liked to participate in. Two small bedrooms were equipped with bunk beds, so the cabin could sleep up to eight people, ten if you put them on the couches. Regardless, it would be more than enough for Lisa and Kayden to stay warm until help came.
“Well, we’re here,” she said. She pulled two big blankets off one of the overstuffed couches that surrounded the fireplace, and handed them to Kayden. “Here, wrap yourself up and stay as warm as you can. I’ll dry your clothes.”
Kayden did as he was told. “But we don’t get to stay, right?”
Lisa glanced outside at the quickly dimming light. “You know what? I think we might get to extend our adventure a little bit longer, after all. It’s getting dark, so it’s probably safer to stay here. And, more fun, right?”
“Yeah.” Wrapped up in a blanket, he wandered around the room. “It’s cool here. Like camp. But better.”
“It is pretty awesome here,” Lisa agreed with a smile. “I like to come whenever I get a chance. Hey, have you ever made a fire before?”
Kayden shook his head.
“Well, how about you help me, and I can teach you some things? Does that sound okay?”
He nodded eagerly and joined her close to the fire.
“Okay,” Lisa said. “But you have to stay back. No closer than this.” She threw a pillow on the floor. “But I need you to help me with the kindling. To make a good fire, we need kindling. Do you know what that is?”
Kayden nodded and then shook his head. “Not really.”
Lisa laughed at his eagerness to please. He was such a sweet boy. “Kindling is the little bits of wood, dry grass, and other things we can burn that will start the fire fast. If you look at the bottom of the wood bucket here, I bet you can scrape up enough to help me start a good fire. I’m going to look for a little paper that can help us light it.”
Lisa left Kayden happily digging through the bucket and making piles of straw, wood shavings, and twigs. She puttered around the kitchen and located cans of soup and an unopened package of crackers. It was the makings of a good dinner, because it was looking more and more like they’d be spending the night. There was no way Lisa could take him down the mountain at night, especially with his clothes still damp. That, and he was just a little boy. He was likely to be exhausted with all the hiking they’d done, not to mention the excitement of falling in the lake.
It would be best to get him fed and warm so they could both fall asleep and get an early start in the morning.
“How are you doing over there?” She rejoined him and put the paper in a pile next to his kindling.
“I think I have enough.” Kayden waved his hand over his collection. “Do I?”
Lisa smiled and ruffled his hair. “It looks good. I think we should be okay.” She moved over to the firebox and pulled out some of the smaller sticks. “Okay, we have your awesome kindling, and some paper and of course the sticks. We should be able to get started.”
Kayden looked on with hero worship in his eyes as Lisa deftly made a teepee style fire stack, and explained what she was doing the entire time. She even let him reach in and lay on one of the sticks before she had him retreat to the safety of the pillow. Once he was settled, Lisa pulled out the long stick matches, lit one and put it to the paper in the center of the teepee, where it caught immediately.
“Awesome.”
Lisa looked over at Kayden, who had a huge smile on his face, and laughed. It was easy to forget the magic of fire when you were an adult. Looking at it through the eyes of a child made her remember how great it could be. Yet another reason she loved hanging out with children.
“So now all we need to do is add some larger pieces of wood, and then the fire will really catch hold and we can just enjoy it.” Lisa looked into the woodpile again, but it was a little low on the bigger logs. She’d have to go outside to the woodpile. “Hey, buddy. I’m going to get you to sit up here on the couch for me while I go outside, okay?”
Kayden immediately did what he was told. She smiled. He was such a good kid. She worked with a lot of children, some better than others, but Kayden was definitely one of
the sweetest and smartest. Not to mention one of the best behaved.
“I promise, I’ll only be a few minutes and I’ll be right outside, okay? But I really need you to stay up here away from the fire, okay? I know it’s cool but it can be really dangerous if you’re not careful.”
He nodded and looked serious enough that Lisa believed he’d be fine.
The second she stepped outside, she took a big breath and filled her lungs with air. It was beautiful up at Settler’s Cabin, and she hadn’t been lying when she said it was one of her favorite places to be. Soon, the snow would fall and she wouldn’t have nearly as many chances to get up there. So despite the less than perfect situation that had brought her there, she might as well enjoy it while she could.
The woodpile was around the back of the cabin, so she took the basket from the front porch and made her way down the steps. Maybe in the morning she’d be able to take Kayden down to the falls before they headed back to the Lodge. She dismissed the thought the moment it popped into her head. She knew she’d have to take him back the moment the sun came up. His family would be worried about him, as she was sure she would be, too, if the roles were reversed.
Not that he wasn’t safe. They were perfectly safe up there. But that wouldn’t be enough to alleviate a mother’s fears.
Lisa knelt down and gathered wood, and filled her basket. A snap and a rustle from the front of the cabin caught her attention, but she didn’t move. She may have played off the threat of bears when she talked to the children, but it was a very real threat up so high in the mountains, especially as the animals prepared for hibernation. Slowly, Lisa picked up the biggest stick she could and turned around, ready to go defend herself and Kayden from whatever animal had wandered near.
In one move, she leapt to her feet and snuck to the side of the cabin, ready to scare the animal. She turned the corner and brandished the stick over her head. She let out a scream that would have been enough to scare all the birds from the trees.
She lunged forward and almost smacked into a large man. She lowered the log, but didn’t drop it.
“What the–”
“Whoa—”
“What are you doing here? You scared the life out of me.”
Jason stood in front of her, his hands outstretched to fend off imminent attack and a grin on his face. “I came to rescue you,” he said.
Lisa lowered the stick and put her other hand on her hip. “I do not need rescuing.” She glared at him. “But you might.” She swung the piece of wood again before she dropped it into her basket. “Seriously, how did you get up here so fast?”
She gathered up her basket and walked toward him, a wary expression on her face. “Morgan couldn’t have been back for long. And it takes awhile to hike up here. You must have been flying.”
“Something like that.” Jason gestured to a mountain bike in the yard. “I was out for a ride and I ran into Morgan halfway up the trail. I didn’t see any point in wasting any more time, so I thought I’d come straight up.”
From the look of his sweat-ringed T-shirt, he’d worked hard to get there so quickly. Lisa tried not to notice his hard chest, and the way the cotton clung to it. She cleared her throat and looked away.
“Besides, I thought you might need—”
“To be rescued?” She spun around again and raised her eyebrow at him. “Because I’m perfectly fine. You know, I do know what I’m doing.”
“I’m sure you do. I wasn’t trying to imply you weren’t, but Morgan made it seem like it was an emergency situation. Is Kayden okay?”
“He’s fine. He slipped in the lake and got wet. We couldn’t have made it all the way back down without him freezing to death. Besides, it’s kind of an adventure for him.” She stopped in front of Jason and looked him in the eyes, trying to ignore the spark she felt when she did so. “He’s pretty excited about it.”
“I bet he is.”
He held her gaze for a moment and looked as if he was going to say something else, but when he didn’t, Lisa moved to push past him. “Well, we should get in there then. I told him I wouldn’t be gone long.”
Lisa had to slip sideways to move past Jason, who didn’t get out of the way to let her by. When her still bare arm touched him, shivers went through her, and she didn’t think it was because of the rapidly cooling air. “Wow,” she said. “It’s starting to get cool out here.”
She turned to go back into the cabin, but was stopped by Jason’s hand on her arm. “Lisa.”
When she turned, he was close, really close, and her skin burned hot where he touched her. Suddenly, the air was no longer chilled. It was hot with the sparks flying between them. “Yes?” She barely managed to get the word out.
Slowly, he pulled her close until she could feel his breath on her face. “I just wanted to—”
Her body thrilled at the idea of her lips meeting his, but something else flowed through her. Indecision? Worry? Whatever it was, she couldn’t kiss him. She pulled away before she could give in to what her body so desperately wanted. “We should get inside.” Lisa didn’t look at him when she spoke, but she could hear the sigh escape his lips.
What was she doing? She couldn’t kiss him. She wasn’t like that anymore. Even if things felt different with him, she still couldn’t allow herself to go there.
When she opened the door to the cabin, she looked first to the fire and then to the couch, where Kayden was still curled up. He looked as if he was almost asleep, but his head popped up when he heard her.
“You’re back.” His voice was so eager, Lisa’s heart melted a little.
“I told you I was just going outside. And look who I found out there.” She stepped aside to reveal Jason, who was still in the doorway.
“Uncle Jason.” Kayden leapt off the couch and ran to his uncle, who picked him up and wrapped him in his arms.
“Hey, buddy. I heard you were a bit clumsy today.”
Kayden nodded. “I slipped. But it’s okay because we got to come up to this super cool cabin and we couldn’t have come if I didn’t.”
Jason put him down and tried to look stern. “Maybe,” he said. “But your mom is going to go crazy with worry. We should call them.”
“Oh,” Lisa said. “I don’t have a radio.”
Jason pulled one from his pocket. “I do. They gave me one when I insisted on going out on the bike alone. They wanted to send me with the outdoor guy—”
“Bo.”
“Yeah. Bo. But I kind of insisted I wanted to be alone.” He shrugged casually, but by the look of him, and the cut over his eyebrow that looked like it would leave a bruise, Lisa was pretty sure there was a reason he wanted to be alone. “So I guess it all worked out,” Jason finished.
Kayden cheered and Lisa tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped. “Probably a good idea.” She reached out for the radio. “I’ll go in the other room and check in. I suppose you’ll be staying then?”
“Staying?”
Jason left Kayden on the couch and moved to the back of the small space where Lisa stood.
“We’ll have to stay the night.” Lisa felt suddenly claustrophobic by his large presence in the cabin. “I found a bit of food for dinner and we’ll—”
“We can’t stay.”
Lisa swallowed her disappointment that he wanted to go. “Well, we can’t leave.” She put her hands on her hips and stood up straight. “It’s going to be dark soon and Kayden’s clothes aren’t dry. We’re staying.”
“His mother will flip out.” Jason shook his head. “I love the mountains, and I’m always up for an adventure.” Had he just raised his eyebrow at her? Lisa tried to keep her face neutral. “But Jennifer thinks the mountains are full of danger. She’ll lose it if Kayden stays up here.”
“There’s no other choice.” Lisa tried to take a step back, needing distance between them. “I’ll try to explain it to her.”
“I don’t—”
“Can we stay, Uncle Jason?”
They both swun
g around to the voice.
“It’s fun here. And Mom won’t mind. Not if you’re here.”
Jason turned and looked at Lisa again. Knowing she’d won, she tried not to smile.
She failed.
CHAPTER SIX
Jason wasn’t disappointed at the idea of staying the night in the cabin. Far from it. He loved the mountains. In fact, there was a time when he would have said that they were second only to the company of a beautiful woman. That time was long ago, but being up at Settler’s Cabin with Lisa felt right. Even if she did challenge everything he said. The truth was, it had been a long time since he’d enjoyed spending time with a woman and the little he knew about Lisa, he liked. A lot. He was determined to spend more time with her and being stranded at a remote mountain cabin couldn’t be more of a perfect opportunity.
She’d gone into the back room to radio down to the main Lodge, and Jason used the opportunity to clean up his face a little bit at the sink. After he left the horseshoe pit, he’d needed to be alone and work out some frustration. The best way to do that was by working up a sweat and he’d more or less bullied the poor girl who rented the bikes out to let him go out without a guide. The fact that he likely looked as if he’d taken a beating probably had a little something to do with that.
The fact that Conrad had to be in worse shape brightened him considerably as he dabbed at his sore lip. There was running water in the sink that looked to be piped in from the nearby creek. It was primitive, but it worked and soon he’d washed up and hoped that he looked to be in better shape than when he’d arrived.
Interesting that Lisa hadn’t commented on his face. Either she didn’t care, or she was trying not to attract attention to it. Jason chose to believe the latter. Because if she didn’t care that would mean that whatever attraction he could feel growing between them was completely one-sided. And that wasn’t an option.