2. Aiden

Chapter Two

AIDEN

Silence.

Nothing but the drum of his heartbeat.There was no Waylon on the radio, no laughter, not even the worried cries of the teenagers clustered around the bonfire.

Aiden was staring down a long, dark tunnel, and at the end of it loomed a hulking beast with dripping fangs and razor-sharp claws.It was a dream, of course. In reality, the black bear had been a curious adolescent, big enough to reach mid-chest on all fours, but not a monster.That was part of the reason Aiden felt confident enough to toy with him; booze was the other part.

He knew he was dreaming, but part of him hoped that maybe he'd become a spirit and traveled back to the past.It would be different this time; he knew better now.

But when it finally happened, he couldn't move.He hovered at his dream-self's shoulder like a ghost, watching as he flailed like a fool and drunkenly shooed the bear from their campground.He knew the precise moment the bear's demeanor changed—and so did the man who stepped in front of him.No, not a man—a boy. Barely older than Aiden, but unshakeable in a way that usually only came with age or experience.Vanishingly few people were born with such confidence, and for better or worse, they drew attention wherever they went.

"Seth, don't ? —"

Seth couldn't hear him; no one could.Aiden watched, agonized, as the older boy cautiously lured the irritable bear toward the edge of the camp.It lumbered after him suspiciously, bewildered to find itself among the circle of trucks and camp chairs in the first place.Firelight played over the bear's fur, more brown than black—and also over Seth's long, tousled hair, more black than brown.Flames carved deep shadows in Seth's harsh features.He'd always looked half-feral but never more than facing off with a wild animal.

Aiden stood rooted to the spot as the bear lifted a paw and took a lazy swipe at Seth's flank.Claws the size of a man's palm sliced through Seth's flannel and scored his flesh.Aiden could only stare at the blood in horror.

Seth didn't even flinch. The bear sized him up and seemed to consider for a moment, then ambled off into the darkness as silently as it had come.Seth clamped one hand over the wound.Blood oozed between his fingers, and still, the first thing he did was grab Aiden by the hair and force his head back.

"Tell me you're okay," he demanded roughly.

Young Aiden nodded, or maybe he cracked a lame joke, but the watching Aiden knew better.

He knew it was all his fault.

A high-pitched scream tore him from the dream, and for a crazy moment, Aiden was sure the bear had returned.He bolted upright and banged his head, rattling the keys and spare change he kept on the shelf above his bunk.He clapped a hand to his forehead and fell back into his pillow with a groan.

It was the middle of the afternoon, judging by the yellow sunlight creeping past his trailer blinds.Too damn bright for a man with a prize-winning hangover.His tongue tasted like sour whiskey, and his head felt like it had been shoved into a meat grinder and sloppily reassembled on the other side.

Mia had warned him not to drink before she turned him loose against medical advice, but Mia never tried to sleep in the Shirleen Trailer Park on a Saturday night.The only thing louder than the ongoing marital spat between his next door neighbors was the strains of Immigrant Song blasting at full volume from an ancient stereo.Aiden had lived in this rattletrap tin can since his eighteenth birthday, so he was used to his neighbors wilding at night.There was no harm in a hard-working crowd escaping their back-breaking daily grind by cutting loose once the sun went down.

But they didn't usually scream during the day, and certainly not loud enough to wake him from a dead sleep.That was enough to get him moving.

He practically fell out of the trailer, barefoot and shirtless, slipping on his ice-slick steps in the rush.He cursed, catching himself on the handrail, half-blinded by the intense winter sunshine.

It looked like an ordinary, quiet afternoon except for the gleaming Lexus parked between his trailer and his neighbor, Deb's.Two middle-aged women were arguing beside the car, one impeccably dressed and the other wearing a gas station uniform.They were staring at something stuck beneath the front tire.Aiden squinted and picked out the mangled frame of Deb's bright red Schwinn.

"You did it on purpose!" Deb yelled, jabbing a finger in his mother's unflinching face.

"Why on earth would I do that?" Aiden's mother grabbed Deb by the wrist and forcefully directed her finger away."Don't point at me. It's rude."

"It's rude to run over my bike!" Deb's face was red and scrunched like she was fighting back tears."I never liked you, Barbara Doyle.You think your shit don't stink just because you went off and got that fancy college degree.Well, you got knocked up, didn't you?Where did that get you? Right back here, that's where.You're no better'n us, Babs!"

"You're deflecting your inadequacies onto other people," Barbara said icily."You need to work through these deep-seated jealousies, or they'll impact all your interpersonal relationships.If you'd cared about your bicycle, you wouldn't have left it lying in a snowdrift."

"On my property!"

"Oh, please." His mother's precisely lined lips twisted into a moue of distaste."Like there's any property lines in this heap.Don't take your frustrations out on me."

"How am I supposed to get to work now?" Deb moaned, clasping her cheeks in her hands and staring forlornly down at the twisted frame."They'll fire me if I'm late for another shift!"

Barbara sniffed and averted her eyes as if embarrassed by the woman's distress.Her expression was remote behind the reflective lenses of her designer sunglasses.Aiden instantly recognized the look.His mother had a way of distancing herself mentally from any situation she didn't like.She'd already washed her hands of Deb, convincing herself it had nothing to do with her.Sure enough, she adjusted the shoulder strap of her purse, checked the corner of her mouth for lipstick, and stepped around the wreckage.

"Aiden, help her get the bike out from under the car," she commanded."I'm not staying even five minutes and don't want to take my fender off when I back up."

Deb's fingers turned into claws."You nasty?—"

"Whoa, now!" Aiden jumped between them and caught Deb by both wrists before she could unleash her press-ons directly into his mother's face."It'll be okay, Deb. I'll give you a lift to work."

Deb examined him suspiciously, searching for a trick."What about my bike?" she demanded.

"I can fix it."

"You're kidding." She snorted."It needs a whole new frame!"

"Hey, you doubting me now?" He blasted his best grin, the one that popped the dimple in his cheek, and was gratified when her lips instinctively twitched in response.They always smiled back. It was his superpower.

"Well, as long as I'm not late for work…" she hedged, unwilling to be mollified but unable to hang onto her rage.

Aiden dropped an enthusiastic kiss on her cheek, tasted perfume, and said, "Let me grab my boots, and we're outta here."

His mother was waiting inside his trailer when he hobbled in on numb toes.She looked uncomfortable in his living space, her posture stiff and awkward, her gaze flitting between his unmade bunk and the bowl of leftover ramen in his tiny sink.His living situation always overwhelmed her, but Aiden had learned to stop making excuses for his life long ago.It only led to arguments he'd never win.

"What're you doing here, Mom?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing the sting from his frozen feet.

Barbara finally tore her horrified gaze from his pile of dirty socks and studied him."I heard from my assistant, Katie, that you had some kind of accident.I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Even though he knew better, a pleased little rush of warmth trickled through his chest."Thanks," he said, keeping his tone light and easy, "but I just got knocked around a bit.You know how hard my head is."

"That's true," she said wryly.

Aiden tugged his boots over a pair of thick wool socks and stood.He snagged a clean flannel shirt from a nearby pile and said, "It was nice of you to check on me."

She frowned. "What kind of mother would I be if I didn't worry about you?"

Aiden didn't reply. He knew his mother well enough to read between the lines; she hadn't worried about him but knew she should.Gossip flew around a tiny town like Sweetwater quicker than flies at a barbeque.Folks started gabbing any time Fire-Rescue was activated, and she'd been acutely aware of how it would look if she didn't show some maternal concern.As the town's only licensed therapist, she understood how normal family relationships worked, despite being incapable of doing more than a shallow impersonation.

Aiden brushed his teeth under her watchful scrutiny and quickly glanced in the mirror above the sink.His blond curls were unruly as always, but nothing he couldn't hide with a hat.The tawny scruff on his jaw could stretch another day before he was forced to shave.It never grew quickly, and he'd rather not fuss too much with his face until the shiner over his left eye healed.

The elk's rack hadn't been nearly as big as it would be someday, but it still clocked him a good one.Mia was right; he was damn lucky to be alive.Seth must have pulled him out of the water only moments after he'd lost consciousness.That meant he'd been somewhere nearby the whole time—watching.Aiden wasn't sure what to make of that or the complicated tangle of unhappy emotions it stirred within him.

He cleared his throat. "I've got to get going, Mom.Deb needs a ride."

"Yes, of course," she said absently, thoughts a mile away."But I wanted to talk about the roof before you go."

Aiden glanced up toward his ceiling."What roof?"

"The house," she said impatiently."It needs a new roof."

"I just put new shingles up two years ago," Aiden said incredulously.

She shrugged, pulled out her cell phone, and began scrolling."I don't know what to tell you.I had a special technician visit from Boise, and he said I'd benefit from top-line slate shingles."

"That'll cost an arm and a leg," Aiden cautioned.

"If you pay half, it would be very reasonable for both of us.After all, it's your home, too."

Aiden couldn't help but laugh."I haven't lived there in over a decade!"

She waved the point away as if shooing a pesky fly."It's your childhood home. Why wouldn't you want to help?If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have bought so much property in the first place.I worked hard to give you a proper place to grow up—or would you rather have been raised in a place like this?"

"I wouldn't have minded," Aiden said casually.

Her lip curled as if he'd just asked her to wash his dirty socks."I wish you'd stop saying these things just to aggravate me."

Aiden sighed, snagged his winter jacket off the hook by the door, and gestured for her to follow him out so he could lock up."How much do you need?"

"Twenty thousand."

When he slipped on the step this time, it wasn't because of the ice.At least he caught himself before landing face-first in the snow."Oh, sure," he said sarcastically."Just let me cash in some bonds, move some money around.No problem."

"There's no need to be snide.After everything I've done for you, the least you can do is help me upgrade the house so I can grow old comfortably.That's not so much to ask…or is it?"

Aiden had never met a woman capable of lifting her nose in the air quite like his mother.She'd turned it into an art form that never failed to send a spike of irrational anger straight through his brain.He wasn't the only one, judging by the vicious way Deb snapped her bubblegum as she climbed into his truck.

"She's a real piece of work," Deb muttered, wrestling with her seatbelt as the Lexus backed out behind them."No offense, sweetheart, but I don't know how a lamb like you managed to crawl out of that woman's womb."

"Ugh." He shuddered. "If you value my sanity, you won't ever say those words in my earshot."

"Sorry," she said with a laugh."You know what I mean. You've lived here almost as long as me.Since you were—what? Seventeen?Eighteen? In all that time, I've never seen you without a smile on your face.You're as different from Babs as fish and feathers."

"Yeah." Aiden watched in his rearview mirror as the brake lights of the Lexusflashed.He swallowed the itchy, unsettled feeling climbing up his chest and said, "She's not sobad.Just wants love, like all the rest ofus."

Too bad hardly anyone ever foundit.