CHAPTER ONE
Griffin
“And you remembered your rain jacket?”
“It’s not going to rain.” William rolls his eyes and it takes everything in me not to call him on it. Truthfully, if I wasn’t so distracted by the fact that he was about to head out into the woods for the night without me, I might. As it was, I let it pass.
“Griff. We’ve got it all covered.” My father puts his hand on my shoulder and stills me. To my son, he says, “Run in and get check with Gran. She has a surprise for dinner tonight.” William did not need to be told twice and the moment he’d disappears into the house, my father turns to me.
“Son, you’re acting like I’m taking him away for a month. We’re going to the hunting cabin for two nights. We’ll be back in time for your ma’s lasagna Sunday night. He’ll be fine.”
He’s not wrong. Pa rarely was.
I tale a deep breath and straighten my shoulders, moments before my six year old son appears at the front door, his grandmother right behind him.
“Gran made us cinnamon buns.”
I can’t help it. I raise an eyebrow. “For a camping trip, Ma? Really?”
“Don’t worry, Griffin. I made you some, too.” She winks in my direction. Ma runs the kitchen at The Den, the only place to eat in town—or stay in one of the few rooms—her cinnamon buns are a draw for miles around. “Now let these boys go on their trip. They’ll be fine. You forget your father raised five sons of his own.” She appears at my side and squeezes my arm before whispering in my ear. “A little time off will be good for you.”
She’s not wrong either. As a single dad, I very rarely get a night off. Let alone two in a row. Not that I have any exciting plans. Unless you consider stocking the wood sheds exciting.
I manage to bite my tongue and without any further interference, Pa loads my son into his old pick up truck and with only a tousle of his thick dark hair, no kisses for my big boy when others are watching, they’re off for their camping trip.
It feels like a piece of myself driving off in that rusty old Ford. Which only proves my folks right. I could use a break from being a full time dad.
I give Ma a kiss and gratefully take the package of cinnamon buns before driving away from the little town of Rock Creek and back to the comfort of my mountain and the cozy log cabin I call home. With a night to myself stretching out before me, the thought of a good cigar and a glass of whiskey feels like just the right way to spend the time. Two vices I don’t allow myself to indulge in often when William is around.
The sun has just dipped behind the jagged peaks, which is the only reason why I see the flash of yellow in the distance, followed by the orange and the tell tale puff of smoke. A fire.
Fuck.
It’s likely only some stupid kids having a campfire down by the river, but any fire is bad news these days. The forest is dry,and in the height of fire season, people should know better. Just one spark could create a very dangerous situation. Very quickly.
It’s the last thing I want to do, but as a member of Rock Creek Search and Rescue, and the volunteer fire department, one way or another I’ll have to deal with it. Might as well be on my terms, telling some jackasses to put out their campfire rather than rescuing them from a full fledged forest fire.
With a groan, I tug the steering wheel to the left onto the dirt track that leads down to the river. The whisky is going to have to wait.
Sophie
“I don’t thinkwe’re supposed to have fires.”
No. Strike that. Iknowwe aren’t supposed to have fires. There was a county wide fire ban in place. I cross my arms over my chest and hug myself to give me enough strength to stand up to my stupid step brother and his friends.
“Seth, we really shouldn’t?—”
“Shut up, Sophie.” Seth holds another log aloft. “The only reason you’re here is because mom begged me to bring you to get you out of the house for a few days.” He tosses the log on the fire causing a shower of sparks to fly up around me. But it’s not the embers that burn.
There’s no point telling him that it was my dad that asked me to accompany Seth and his dumb friends into the woods to makesure they stayed out of trouble. “It’s not like you have any other plans, do you, Sophie?”
Ouch.
But he’s not wrong. I didn’t have any other plans. Because all I do is go to class and study because that’s all there’s ever time for in law school.
At least, that’s all Iusedto do. Before I dropped out last week.
But I’m not about to share that particular detail with anyone yet, so I did what I always do when my dad asks me to do something. I said yes.
