1
*KOLE*
Achainsaw buzzed in the distance, echoing through the trees. I lowered my axe and sucked in a deep breath of Alaskan mountain air. The fresh bite of pine and the last bits of sun hit my nose and forced my lips to tip upward. All of us on Fairplay Mountain were preparing for the upcoming winter. Early weather reports said it would be harsh, but it was harsh every year in Alaska. I’d do what I always did regardless of where I laid my head… prepare.
I gave a long whistle and waited until Whiteout came dashing through the row of pines that circled the clearing around my homestead. The all-white, fluffy mutt I picked up from the pound in Anchorage jetted across the green grass across from me. Now he stood out, but in just a few weeks, when soft snow covered the ground, he’d blend right in.
“Are you ready for dinner, buddy?” I asked as Whiteout jumped in a circle in front of me. He’d been my constant companion since I moved to Fairplay Mountain almost two years ago. A group of us came. Former SEALs who left the military searching for a little peace and a lot of quiet.
I laid my ax next to my splitting stump and let Whiteout lead me to the small two-room cabin we considered home sweet home. It was bigger than some houses on the mountain but still smaller than most homes everywhere else in America.
My phone rang as I approached the small log-framed porch, and I slowed my steps to pull it from my pocket. The name Calder flashed on the screen.
I hadn’t heard from him in almost a year.
“Yeah,” I said as I answered and let Whiteout into the cabin.
The line crackled for a moment. “Knox, is that you?”
“You got me. What’s up, Cal?” Calder ran a security firm from a building based in South Carolina. I’d done a few jobs for him in Tidehaven before making the permanent move to Alaska and leaving the business for good.
He coughed. “I’ve got a job for you if you want to make some extra cash.”
My gaze scanned the cabin, making sure everything was in order but also noticing all the stuff I’d acquired since moving in. “Got everything I need right now, Calder. Not much more cash can buy me.”
He laughed. “I didn’t know you’d gone minimalist up there in the mountains.”
I wouldn’t call it minimalism, but you couldn’t fit all that much into a two-room cabin. Plus, it was hell bringing anything in from the lower states.
“Truth is, Knox, I’m in a bit of a bind here in South Carolina,” he continued. “There’s more work than even I expected, and I’m out of guys to send out. Plus, we’ve got a storm that’s supposed to sideswipe us, but you know how the weather is.”
It was just like Calder complaining about too much work. “Sounds like a good problem for you to have.”
Also, how was he going to get around to asking me to help him? I knew it was coming, something in my gut told me tobrace for impact. Calder had a way of getting what he wanted out of people,. I normally loved to help my friends, but I couldn’t leave the mountain now. It was almost time for the first of many snowfalls in Alaska. Once the road closed to our mountain, there was no getting in or out. I had to use these last few weeks to prepare so Whiteout and I didn’t starve or freeze to death over the long winter.
Calder laughed again, but this time it came out uneasily. “Truth is, I might have overextended myself a bit. I’d turn down the job, but it’s someone close, a local. It’s hard to say no to locals, Knox.”
“Sometimes we have to do hard things,” I said, repeating a comment our commanding officer used to use against us often.
His laugher stopped. “Don’t get me started on that. It’s been a freaky year. Women in distress everywhere. I know you’ve got a good thing happening in Alaska, and I wouldn’t ask unless I absolutely needed someone. It’s triple the pay, and if you can’t solve it in one week, I’ll put you on the plane out of town myself.”
“Triple the pay?” Calder always paid well. Triple pay meant I’d have enough to upgrade my snowblower and pay to have it flown in.
Keys clicked in the call’s background. “Perfect. Triple the pay and a small bonus if you wrap it up before you leave.”
“And I leave in a week? No extensions.”
“One week, got it,” he said, sounding a little too smug about winning. “You’re a good friend, Knox. I appreciate the help, and I think you’ll like this case.”
“I like not shoveling snow.” The case didn’t really matter to me as long as I made it home to cash the check.
More key typing. “How soon can you get here?”
“Larry is on his plane today, so I can head to Anchorage for a main flight to Tidehaven, but I’ve got to stop and talk to the neighbors to see if someone will take care of Whiteout for me.”
A little over twenty-four hours,and three layovers later, I touched down in South Carolina. The ride to Tidehaven took longer than I expected, and a wall of humidity hit me in the chest as I got out of the car at the dock.
“Wonderful,” I said, wiping my face. We were off to a great start. After an August week in the South, the Alaskan snow would be a welcome sight.
