Nobody moves.
The cold settles in around the words. Somewhere in the treeline a branch drops its snow, a soft collapse in the silence. Owen holds his position. Reid lands off the tires and stands there, both feet in the snow, not stepping away.
"We wouldn't be the first in Briarhaven," I say.
The silence that follows is full of things none of us are saying.
Owen steps off the log bench slowly. Reid picks up his jump rope and wraps it once around his fist.
Neither of them says no.
"I'll see where things go," I tell them. "The two of you can catch up."
Reid doesn't answer.
He drops the jump rope.
His chest is still heaving, steam rising off his shoulders, sweat at his temples despite the cold. He's looking at the kitchen window with an expression I have never seen on him. Not the controlled stillness. Not the assessment. Something settled. Almost amused.
"What are you thinking?" I ask.
He holds up one finger. "Watch."
He turns to face the cabin and calls out across the yard, clear and easy: "MAYA!"
A beat. Then the kitchen window opens. She leans out into the cold, cheeks already pink, eyes going straight to Reid. She has the look she gets when she's been caught.
"Yeah?" she says.
"I'm heading to the rescue center." Reid's voice is unhurried. Completely calm. "Thought you might want to come. Wolves make good subjects. Could be useful for your book."
Her face lights up. All the careful gone at once, replaced by something unguarded and immediate, and she bounces on her toes.
"I'd love that," she says. "Ten minutes."
The window closes.
Reid turns around. He looks at me with the expression of a man who has just won something without breaking a sweat and would like the scoreboard to reflect that.
"First mover advantage," he says.
I stare at him.
Owen makes a sound beside me. Not quite a laugh but close enough.
"You son of a bitch," I say with amused annoyance.
Reid picks up his water bottle. He rolls his neck once, unhurried, and walks back toward the cabin without looking back.
I look at the tire.
I pick up the rope.
I pull.
14
REID
