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Chapter 2
Eric
The crunch of snow under my boots was loud. I’d arrived just before nightfall and the mountain back roads in the winter had taken a beating. I’d had to manoeuvre around multiple fallen trees, arriving just barely at a reasonable hour. Only those who had a truck would be able to manage it, anything small would get bogged. And that was probably part of the reason why I liked the secluded location. I readjusted my backpack over my shoulder, admiring the wooden cabin and fiddling with the key. How bad could its maintenance be this year?
When I opened the door and switched on the light, the cabin echoed with a low whistle of wind pushing past me. I let out a chilled puff of breath. It was just as beat up as the roads. It’d be a full day’s clean, especially the dust and spiderwebs. But it was home. Despite its pristine making and design, I imagined my twin brothers were to blame for having left it in this mess when they visited midyear uninvited.
I looked down at Shadow, my dog, scratching him behind his ear. The great big, brown German shepherd was sitting by my side loyally. He inspected the cabin with the same resolve that I did, slowly stepping in and sniffing about. This year, in the small town of Rosefield, the air felt more frigid than usual. I hoped the locals received enough wood for their fireplaces until I was able to make it back for the New Year.
“Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us this year, boy.” Before I could properly inspect the frigid cabin, a set of lights danced through the trees. Damn. I thought I’d at least get a few days in without any visitors.
A beat-up, gray truck parked behind my red one. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Eric Dawson himself.” Coots charmed a grin. The old man had half his teeth and a few gray scraps of hair on his head and chin left. “I had a feeling you’d be pulling in today.” He must’ve seen me drive through town first.
Shadow sat obediently at my feet, coming between me and anyone I conversed with. And I loved how it intimidated the shit out of everyone in the process.
“It’s been a while,” I said extending my hand to shake his.
“I’m assuming you missed your pa and uncle before they left town for hunting?” he asked. The same time every year the two left for a month. And that’s why I came back, to help out my mother. Unfortunately, the locals had also gotten used to the tradition.
“It would appear so,” I grumbled.
Coots stared down at Shadow, licking his lips as he looked between us. I had nothing personally against Coots or any of the locals. I just wasn’t much of a people person—and that was putting it politely.
“Ye cabin’s looking pretty beat up, had a few storms run through these past few months if ye need a hand.”
“Nothing I can’t manage on my own.”
He shook his head, agreeing as if we’d had a full conversation.
“Always a man of few words,” he joked. When I didn’t entertain it, he went sombre. “Anyway, ye pa wanted me to give ye a new axe for the new year.”
“What happened to my old one?” I growled.
Shadow shifted his front paws impatiently. I know, boy, I thought. Coot’s attention dipped back down to him, probably assuring the dog wasn’t doing anything scary. “Ye brother broke it apparently.”
I huffed. “The twins?” I asked.
“Nah, Thomas,” he said. That little shit. I didn’t give a flying damn if he was the youngest and my mother’s favourite, he was in so much shit when I saw him next.
“Ye pa left it with me to bring it up when ye got into town. So, it’s in the trunk, I’ll grab it,” he cheerily said. He eyed Shadow as he warily stepped away. The moment his gaze shifted elsewhere, I smirked, rubbing my hand through the fur on Shadow’s head and scratching the black patch at the back of his ear.
Shadow would never hurt anyone unless commanded. But like owner, he had a certain “charm” about him that let others know he was grouchy and best left alone. It filled me with male pride. Man and his best friend, that kind of shit.
“Here she is.” Coots hauled the new axe out. “Me and Ann were hoping we might be first to receive some of ye wood.”
Ah. That’s why he’d driven all the way out of town to greet me. The axe was just an added excuse. But I didn’t mind chopping wood for the locals. It took my mind away from other things while I was here in town. “Sure. I’ll drop some off over the next few days.”
Coots seemed pleased with that, patting a hand on his stomach “Also, be careful around these parts, some locals have been reporting wolves howling lately.”
And by “reporting” he meant “gossiping.” “Around these parts? There hasn’t been a sighting for years,” I scoffed. I’d grown up here most my life and not once had there been a sighting. I doubted it was going to happen now.
“I know, that’s what I said,” he agreed breathlessly as if we’d finally found communal ground.
He was discontent when I said nothing again.
“Ye going to see ye mother while ye in town?”
I eyed him. With a population this small, I was certain there was no way to avoid her, even if I wanted to. Not to forget to mention I’d be managing our family café, like always, so the question was rhetorical. As if sensing my displeasure in the conversation, his throat bobbled.
