Wild At Heart (Wild 2)

“As much fun as flying to a place called Murder Lake sounds and having my ears talked off—” Mark loves to talk. I once called his office to arrange billing and it took me forty minutes and five I should let you gos before I could break free. “I have to meet Emily in an hour to go over our plans ahead of next week’s meeting, and then I’m heading over to Roy’s.”

I was nervous, approaching Emily about my ideas, given the weak start to our relationship. But she has warmed since then. She’s still painfully shy, but she’s also collaborative and talented with drawing and photography and willing to help me come up with a fun and creative social media campaign.

“Isn’t he all healed up yet?”

“Cast comes off next week.”

Jonah tugs on his jeans. “I talked to my mom today. Told her we were staying in Alaska for Christmas.”

“How’d she take it?” It’s been a few years since Jonah saw his mother.

He sighs heavily. “They want to come here.”

“Oh my God, it’s actually happening.” A week with my boyfriend’s mother—whom I’ve never met—and a stepfather whom Jonah despises. Throw in my psychoanalyzing stepfather and a mother who fusses over minute details, and this could spell disaster.

“Huh?”

I push my worries aside. “That’s great! So … We’ll have a full house.” We really need a dining table.

“Yeah.” He snorts. “Both sets of parents and Aggie and Mabel? How the hell are we gonna fit everyone in?”

“Are Agnes and Mabel coming, too?”

“Damn right, they’re comin’. If I have my way, they’ll be living here by then.” He shakes his head. “Maybe we can put my mom and Dickhead up in a hotel.”

“We can’t put them up in a hotel on Christmas after they’ve flown from Oslo.”

“Fine. Maybe we can stay at a hotel,” he mutters, buckling his belt. “I wonder how much one of those places at the McGivneys’ would cost to build. We could build a cabin to stick them in for the week. We have enough property.”

I watch him pull a T-shirt from another drawer and yank it over his head, hiding his body. But my mind is spinning. This is as good a time as any.

“Hey, can you spare a half hour? I want to show you something.”

* * *

The hinges creak noisily. “Put that there?” I nod at the small boulder.

Jonah props the door open, and we step inside.

His curious blue eyes roam the four dark corners. “Can’t believe Phil never said anything about this place.”

“I know, right?” I mentioned the cabin that same day Oscar’s foot got caught and intended to bring Jonah out, but time passed and it has sat here, alone.

But not forgotten.

“What do you think about fixing it up?”

“This place?” His hand strokes his beard in thought as he does a slow circle, searching the walls. “I don’t know. It’s small. And it wouldn’t be cheap.”

“It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.” I grin sheepishly. “I already had this guy from Anchorage who restores old cabins come up to see it and give me a quote. His name is Steve and he said it was built really well, and it looks like Phil somewhat maintained it through the years.”

“So, he did maintain something?” Jonah asks wryly, but he’s smiling. “How long have you been thinkin’ about this?”

“Since Diana was here, and then Agnes and Mabel.” I shrug. “I like having people around. We have an incredible spot here. We could rent it out for weekends. Put it on Airbnb. I’m sure couples would love it.”

He ambles outside, peering upward. “Needs a new roof.”

“And windows, and some more weatherproofing, and heating, and plumbing, and a laneway in …” I recite all the expenses I’ve been tallying. “And I’ve been looking at ways to make it ecological. I think it’d be neat, you know? To have an efficient cabin here. And see how close it is to the water?” I cut through the trees, adjusting the rifle slung over my shoulder as I push through branches to reach the rocky shoreline, thirty feet away. After the bear incident at Roy’s last month, Jonah set up a target in our backyard. I’ve become adept at loading and firing.