SHIVER (12 page)

“Yep, that’s Raven’s argument. But Lynx has been called out on an injured eagle run.”

“Injured eagle?” Sounded like a wild goose chase to him.

“Apparently there was an incident involving beer, snow machines, and jumps. An eagle got in the way.”

“Well, I’ll get ready to go with whoever loses. You got anything else for me to wear besides Lynx’s Bermuda shorts?”

“Yes. You should find what you need in that bag.” She indicated a duffel by the dresser. “I’ll need to find you something to put over your foot, too. I don’t think you should try putting your foot into a shoe until the swelling has gone down. You’ll be grateful to know that I saved your boots.”

He was, since they were expensive, the kind of boots he only needed to buy once a decade or so. “Thanks, I’m appreciative. And for more than saving my boots.”

She tilted her head and looked at him. “I think you can be a real sweetie when you want to be. No wonder Raven seems nervous.”

He smiled. He could learn to like this little dynamo.

“I’ll let the battling siblings know you’re on your way.”

“Thanks, Eva.” He hobbled toward the bathroom. As soon as he heard the door close, he tried putting weight on his injured foot again. It took it, screamed while it did, but it was bearable in small doses. He quickly washed his face, sponged bathed what he could, dressed in Lynx’s jeans and t-shirt, and strapped on his own boot. At least one foot was covered. The weather outside was clear, which meant beautiful and wicked cold. He made his way down the hall to the main meeting room. His heart pumped faster at the prospect of seeing Raven.

“There’s something’s more than
fowl
about this whole thing, Lynx,” Raven hollered as Lynx finger-waved while escaping out the door. Raven stomped her foot, obviously losing the argument over driving him to Fairbanks.

“Morning, Raven,” Aidan greeted, smiling when she jumped and swiveled around. Her cheeks flushed.

Was she blushing because he’d caught her stomping her foot, or because she was nervous over seeing him after the position they’d been in last night? If she hadn’t called a halt to their activity, they would have woken up together. And if he’d done his job well, she’d be more than happy to take him to Fairbanks.

“If I have to go to Fairbanks, then I’m killing two birds with one stone.”

“Okay?” He didn’t know what she meant, but okay. All he knew was that he was getting to spend the day with her, alone. Granted in a car, and not a bed, but alone. “Let’s get going, then. Early bird catches the worm.”

“What?” She narrowed her eyes.

He shrugged. “There seemed to be a lot of bird analogies flying about. Thought I’d add another.”

Her lips twitched. It wasn’t quite a smile, but he’d take it. “This whole situation
is
for the birds.”

That’s the girl he remembered.

Fiona stuck her head into the room from the kitchen. “You two aren’t going anywhere until that man gets something to eat. Come on, I’ve made breakfast.”

“But, Mom,” Raven objected. “I’ve got to hurry and get back.”

“You have time for breakfast.” She motioned for them to enter the kitchen. Fiona was a stronger force, and besides, he was starving.

Eva sat at the table already eating a plate piled high with home-style hash browns, covered with eggs, grated cheese, chopped green peppers, and bits of ham. His mouth watered. He hobbled to the table and took a seat, ready to dive in.

“I’ve already eaten,” Raven said, walking to the back door, grabbing her coat off the hook. “Since I’ve got to head to Fairbanks—your husband’s a deadbeat, Eva—I’m taking a load with me. Mom, if there’s anything you need me to pick up, get it written down.”

“I already have a list.” Fiona held up a piece of paper.

“Of course you do,” Raven said. “Aidan, I’ll be back by the time you’re done eating.”

“Need any help?” he asked.

“Yes, but you’re in no shape.” Raven left, shutting the door behind her.

“What kind of load?”

“Pottery,” Fiona said. “Tern sells Raven’s pottery. Don’t worry about Raven. She’s taken care of herself for years. She just likes to make noise.” Fiona took a seat and served him up a plate.

“But what if she really needs help? Pottery is heavy.”

“If she can’t do it herself, she’ll give her Uncle Pike a call.”

Eva tossed a ski mask across the table at Aidan. “Put this over your foot. It’s the best I could think of to keep your toes from getting frostbitten. I also called the doctor and got you an appointment. Here are the particulars.” She handed him a piece of paper.

“Thanks, Eva.”

She grunted around another mouthful. How did someone so small eat so much? He watched her polish off a full plate and then fill it up with a huge cinnamon roll. Was she only eating for two?

“Did you sleep all right, Aidan?” Fiona asked.

“Fine, thanks. The lodge is very comfortable.”

“What are your plans?”

“I need to go through Earl’s things and—according to his will—spread his ashes over the gold claim.”

“It’ll be hard getting to Trapper’s Creek this time of year. You’ll need a snow machine and good weather to make it safely through the pass. Promise me you won’t attempt it alone.”

Who was he going to get to accompany him? No one in this town would want to attend the sprinkling of Earl Harte’s ashes. But he nodded. He ate and then covered his foot with the ski mask Eva had found and was waiting in the main room for Raven when she pulled up in a big black Suburban. A mean, tough-looking gas hog.

He wished he could drive it.

Aidan met her on the wooden covered porch. The sun had started to rise, a faint peach blush in the east, casting the hills in dark shadows. The snow had blanketed everything in big white puffy shapes. Limbs drooped, heavy with snow. It looked like a fairytale Christmas card. The sky was a dark blue that would lighten with the sun until the combination of white-covered landscape and bright blue sky hurt the eyes to look at it. His sunglasses were in his rental. He’d had his wallet in the pocket of his coat. Eva had saved it from his jean pocket before tossing out the pants she’d cut off of him.

He knew he looked a sight, one leg in a hiking boot, the other covered in a ski mask. But this being Alaska, nobody would look twice at his crazy get-up. He hobbled to the end of the porch, looking at the slick ice and snow gleaming over the parking lot. While he’d put pressure on his bad leg, he didn’t want to slip and come down hard on it.

Raven jumped out of the Suburban, jogged around to the passenger door and opened it. She parked so that he wouldn’t have to walk far. But it was still ten feet or more. She approached and took his arm to help steady him on the ice-covered ground.

“Just take it slow. We aren’t in any hurry.”

He raised a brow. “What about you saying you had to get back early? That you had a lot to do?”

“I always have more to do than I can get done. Doesn’t mean that you have to hurry. Chances are if you push it, we’ll both end up on our butts, and this will take longer.”

She had a point. They reached the Suburban. “Nice rig,” he said admiring the leather seats.

“I like it.” She held his crutches while he grabbed the handle above his head and stepped on the running boards to propel himself onto the seat. The seat was heated. And she had turned it on for him. Heaven.

Raven opened the back door. He glanced behind him to see the seats down and the back of the Suburban filled with boxes. She placed the crutches to the side, shut the door, and walked around to the driver’s side, and got in. She clicked her seatbelt in place and looked at him. “Ready to fly this coop?”

He smiled. “As the crow flies, or should I say raven?” That must have hit too close to what he’d said last night, because her expression shut down. She turned her attention to the road as she put the SUV in gear, the four-wheel drive already engaged.

“I think we’ve exhausted the bird clichés.” She turned onto the Steese Highway, which would take them past Fox, another gold mining town, and then into Fairbanks. Though the trek was only thirty miles, it would take them at least an hour or more with the road conditions. The Steese wasn’t known for a smooth, pleasant drive. The road was plagued with frost heaves that changed yearly due to the freeze and thaw of the permafrost under the asphalt. The posted speed limit was fifty, but you were crazy to travel at such high speeds in the winter. Those who did usually ended up in the ditch, crashed into a tree, or plowing into a wayward moose.

Raven put in a Jon Bon Jovi CD. He admired the way she handled the big rig, her hands lightly placed on the wheel, confident in her ability.

“Quit it,” she said, her attention on the road. “Quit looking at me.”

“I can’t help it.” He wanted her. Always had. He knew now that what he had tried to feel for Sonya was based on her similarities to Raven. Both were capable, confident women. Both came from well-adjusted families, unlike his severely dysfunctional one. “You’ve grown into a strikingly, beautiful woman, Raven.”

She glanced at him, her eyes quickly returning to the road. “Don’t flatter me. It won’t work. I’m not sleeping with you.”

“You think that’s all I’m after? Your body?” He scoffed. “Don’t sell yourself short. You have so much more to offer.”

Her hands tightened on the wheel, the only outward sign of his words affecting her.

The sun rose over the hills, turning everything a brilliant white. Clean, pure, yet brutal in its beauty.

“Tell me what you have in those boxes back there.” He needed to get her to talk to him. They used to be able to talk about everything.

“Pottery.”

“Come on. It’s a long drive. Talk to me. How did you get into pottery? Are we talking molds, wheel-thrown items? Hand-building?”

She slid him a glance. He registered her surprise before she once again turned back to the road. “We could just enjoy the quiet and scenery.”

“I’d rather get to know who you are now.”

“Why? You’ll be leaving soon. Getting back to your life.”

He didn’t really have a life. Other than his pretend one. And he could pretend anywhere. “Humor me. What will it hurt?”

“Fine.” She sighed. “When I found out I was pregnant, I had to give up the scholarship to Berkeley. I enrolled at the University of Alaska Fairbanks instead. On a whim I took a pottery class. As it turned out, I had a knack.”

“Did you graduate?”

“What, because I was pregnant you assume that I never finished my education?”

“No. That isn’t it. But since you found your knack, I wanted to know if you took it further? That’s all.”

“Sorry. I’m a little touchy on the subject since so many people pressured me to quit and get a real job to support the both of us.” She shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal now, but he knew better.

“Who pressured you?”

“Everyone, except Tern and Grandma Coho.”

“Fiona?”

“She was the toughest. She wanted me to stay and work at the lodge. That way I could be with Fox every day.”

“How did you do it?”

“My teacher, Mrs. Bailey.” She smiled now, and it caused his heart to jump. “She believed in me so much she rented me the apartment over her garage for next to nothing and helped me with scholarships that supported us until I graduated with an arts degree. For repayment, she calls me in as a guest teacher a few times a semester, and I also do a summer class, where students come out to the lodge and we do Raku firings and the like.”

“You really enjoy it, don’t you?” When she looked at him in confusion he expanded, “I hear it in your voice, see it in your face, the love you have for your craft.”

“Yes. I do love it.” She gestured with her hands, lifting them off the wheel for a moment before returning them. “It’s hard to explain, and most people don’t understand, but to create something from the earth, something that is art yet has form and function, a simple casserole dish that has been molded, fired twice at extreme temperatures and comes through it stronger, more resilient, able to last centuries, thousands of years. It’s amazing.” She stopped and blushed. “I can get carried away.”

“Don’t apologize. We should all feel that way about what we do.”

“Do you?” She looked at him. “Do you feel that way?”

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. She’d been honest in her answers and it had shown as bright and pure as the sunlight hitting the snow around them. “I love it, yet, hate it too.” He laughed when she looked at him funny. “I know it doesn’t make sense. When everything is going right, it’s a rush, like a drug. But when it’s going bad, it can be very bad.”

“How bad?”

“Like bashing your head into a wall every day. Fighting with words that won’t form the way you want them to. Characters who refuse to cooperate. But the worst is the silence. When nobody wants to talk. When that happens, life seems like it’s over.” His voice had turned quiet at the end. He hadn’t meant to reveal so much.

“Is that the way it’s been lately?” she asked softly.

He’d known she’d see more than he wanted her to. He took a deep breath. “Yeah, lately it’s been tough.”