Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lincoln
“Really?”
A couple days later, Trinity’s face falls when she sees what I put on her plate for dinner.
“Look, I get it, but we both need to bulk up as much as we can before we leave. We need protein.”
Dinner tonight is canned tuna, salmon jerky, black beans and mixed nuts. We’ve used most of the food in the cabin. Between that and the break in the weather, it’s time for us to hike out of here.
We’ve started packing supplies, trying to include all the essentials and enough food to get us by. I figure we can cover about twenty miles a day, but we’ll be hiking north, which should be the direction of Fairbanks, and it’ll get colder as we go.
“I found my bracelet,” Trin says as she sits down across from me at the table.
“Where was it?”
“In the kitchen drawer where the utensils are. It must’ve fallen off when I was getting something out of the drawer.”
We turned the cabin upside down looking for that damn bracelet, a delicate silver chain. Trin was frantic when she realized it was missing a couple of days ago.
“Glad you found it.”
I shovel a giant bite of canned tuna into my mouth, planning to finish it quickly. When we get back home, I’m eating at a steak house every night for a week. I spend a good part of every day fantasizing about a perfectly cooked medium rare filet, juice dripping off my fork as I raise it to my mouth.
“It’s not valuable, but my dad gave it to me,” Trin says as she picks up an almond from her plate.
“You don’t talk about him much.”
She shrugs. “I’ve been thinking about him more since we’ve been here. He took me and Dalton on fishing and hunting trips. He dreamed of going to Alaska one day to fish for salmon.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but was he sick, or did you lose him unexpectedly?”
“Kind of both. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he was gone less than a month later.”
“Damn, I’m sorry.”
She meets my gaze across the table. “You would’ve liked him. He never got frustrated with us, and if you knew how many times I got my fishing line tangled and he had to cut it and fix it, you’d be impressed by that.”
“What was his name?”
“Mario.” She picks up a hazelnut and puts it in her mouth. “Does Dalton talk about him?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him mention him. He talks about your mom, though.”
Her eyes tear up at my mention of her mom.
“Our dad was Dalton’s hero. He took his death really hard.” She forces a smile. “What about your dad? Unless you don’t want to say anything.”
I sit up straighter and roll my shoulders, thoughts of my dad making me tense up. I’ve told Trinity so much about myself, but my father is a subject that’s hard for me to even think about.
“He, uh...left when I was ten.” I scrub a hand down my face. “I mean, I thought he left.”
She eats the food on her plate, letting me take time before I continue.
“My mom moved us from San Diego to Columbus and it was...sudden. She said Dad had a girlfriend and wanted to have a new family with her and her kids. And that we couldn’t afford to live in San Diego anymore. We moved into a shitty little apartment and she got a job bartending. She told me and my sister that our dad never gave her a dime. Never tried to see us. I wouldn’t have been able to keep playing hockey if not for scholarship programs.”
I sigh heavily and look away.
Trinity covers my hand with hers. “You don’t have to say anymore.”
“No, I don’t mind. My mom wasn’t all bad. I don’t mean to make it sound that way. She was a good mom and we loved her. But at her funeral, her sister told me she thought I deserved to know the truth, which was that my dad did ask for a divorce, but he never said he didn’t want anything to do with me and my sister. He did pay child support and he tried to see us, but my mom wouldn’t have it. She was so hurt that she hurt him back in the only way she could.”
Trinity’s lips turn down at the corners in a frown. “That’s...I don’t even know what to say.”
“Yeah. I told myself at first that he must not have tried very hard, but when we were cleaning out Mom’s house, I found all the birthday and Christmas cards and letters Dad had sent us. Just having those as a kid--” I stop talking, fighting a lump of emotion in my throat. “It would have meant a lot. To know my dad loved me. I wondered for all those years how he could just stop loving me.”
“Have you ever tried to get in touch with him?”
I shake my head, shame washing over me. “I looked him up. He lives in Phoenix. Has a wife and another daughter. I thought about reaching out, but...I never did. And then our plane crashed and I thought I’d die without ever making things right with him.”
She gets up and comes over to me, bending to hug me. The ends of her soft hair brush over my neck. “I’m so sorry. That’s a heavy burden.”
I rest my cheek against her chest. “When we make it back, I’m going to call him. I don’t even know what I’ll say, but...”
She cups my face in her hands. “You’ll know. When the time comes, the words will--”
A sound makes us both turn. When I see the front door moving, I realize the sound is someone opening it. I jump up from my chair to stand in front of Trin as a tall, twentysomething man walks inside and sees us.
“Are you fucking serious? Squatters?” He grabs a can of bear spray from a pocket in his cargo pants and points it at me. “I’ll use this if I have to! You’re trespassing.”
I put a palm out to assure him I mean no harm. “Slow down, man. Don’t fucking bear spray me. We were in a plane crash and we took shelter here. There weren’t any other places to go. I’ve got the money to pay for everything we’ve used.”
He pulls off a brown stocking cap and stuffs it into his pants, running his hand through unruly brown curly hair and glancing out the open doorway. “Cheri, there are squatters in here. Call the boss.”
“A phone?” I take a few steps forward. “You guys have a phone? I’ll pay you ten thousand bucks to make a phone call.”
He moves the can of bear spray up and down. “Stay back! Let me guess, your plane was loaded up with drugs. If you’ve been making meth here, I swear to fuck I’ll put my snow boot all the way up your ass. I’m not relocating to this tundra for a month to oversee the chemical cleanout. I almost turned feral when I had to oversee the solar panel install.”
This guy looks—and sounds—more like Seth Rogen than Seth Rogen does. But I have more important things to discuss with him.
“Look, I’m Lincoln Rowe. I’m a pro hockey player for the Minnesota Mammoths. Google it and you’ll find pictures of me without this caveman beard. We were in a plane crash in January. I have the money to pay for everything we used.”
He lowers the bear spray slightly. “I don’t think the sat phones can do that. I did hear about a hockey player in a plane crash, but I thought he died.”
Trinity steps out from behind me, her hands out in front of her. “We would have died if we hadn’t found this place. It saved our lives.”
I bare my teeth to the guy, moving my lips so he can get a good look at them. “Look, dude. No meth. I’ve broken a few teeth playing hockey and gotten them fixed, but that’s it.”
He considers for a couple of seconds and then puts the can of bear spray back in a leg pocket of his pants. “Fucking nuts.” He glances up at us. “Our boss will be here soon; he can give you a ride back to his plane.”
Trinity laughs a single note. “I’m not getting on a plane. If we could just use a phone, that’s all we need.”
“Your boss has a plane?” I ask.
“What? Oh. Yeah. Cheri and I are two of his assistants. We always bring supplies in by snowmobile when he wants to spend time here.”
Trin and I exchange a sheepish look.
“We’ve eaten most of the food,” I say, stepping forward and extending my hand to him. “What was your name?”
“Logan.” He pinches his brows together as he shakes my hand. “Sorry, the wheels are turning and I’m just thinking of stuff here...we’re probably gonna need to call in legal and have you sign some paperwork.”
“Uh...for what?”
He blows out a breath just as a petite woman walks into the cabin and smiles at us.
“Hi, I’m Cheri Marone, first assistant to Skyler Cross. Did I hear you say you’re that hockey player from the plane crash in Alaska?”
Logan gives her an aggravated, wide-eyed look. “We said we were doing away with the whole first-assistant, second-assistant thing. We’re both equal assistants.”
“Skyler Cross?” My jaw drops. “You mean...?”
Cheri nods. “Yes, the tech billionaire. This is his cabin.”
Logan throws his arms up and turns around. “I was going to have them sign NDAs before we told them that. You never ask for my input.”
Trinity steps forward to introduce herself to Cheri. As they shake hands, she says, “You have nothing to worry about from us, I promise. This cabin saved our lives and we’re completely indebted to Mr. Cross.”
I put a palm on Trinity’s back, the reality that we’re being rescued starting to sink in. “I’ll cover the costs of everything.”
Cheri waves her hand dismissively. “That’s not a concern. It’s just that Mr. Cross comes here when he wants to be completely alone. Away from his crazy busy schedule. And if people knew about it--”
“It’s a security risk,” Logan finishes, his forehead wrinkled with tension. “He’s gonna want a whole new cabin built, isn’t he?” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’ll get assigned to Alaska again for months .”
“Hey, asshole ,” Cheri snaps. “These two need medical attention. They need to call their families. None of this is about you.”
He puts up his palms in surrender. “Right. You’re right.”
Trinity turns to me, tears brimming in her eyes. “We’re going home!”
I hug her, relieved by our luck. Now we don’t have to face the uncertainties of hiking out of here with supplies.
“You’re the hockey player?”
I release Trinity and look at the cabin’s doorway, where a very tall, lean man whose face I know well is standing. Skyler Cross is one of the wealthiest, most recognizable men in the world.
“That’s me,” I say.
He grins and unzips his thick parka. “What a world. Seattle’s my team, but I couldn’t be happier you two found refuge here.”
Trinity rushes over to hug him. “Your cabin saved our lives, Mr. Cross. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
He gives her a fatherly look. “I’m just glad you found it. I think you’re quite far from where they were searching for the plane.” Feeling around in his coat pockets, he pulls out a satellite phone with a thick antenna. “Call your family, and then we’ll get you both to my plane.”
Trinity takes the phone, her expression turning wary. “I appreciate it, but I won’t be able to get on a plane.”
He nods. “Of course. I understand. We’ll figure something out that you’re comfortable with.”
Cheri shows Trin how to dial the sat phone and I approach Skyler, shaking his hand. “We’re so grateful for everything.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Trin walks to the other side of the cabin, the phone to her ear, as Cheri turns to me and Skyler.
“Um...Lincoln, we’d really appreciate you not mentioning the bear spray.”
Skyler scrunches his forehead in confusion. “What bear spray?”
Cheri looks up at her boss, who’s a solid foot taller than her. “Logan pulled bear spray on them when we walked in.”
Skyler rolls his eyes. “Please tell me he didn’t spray any of it.”
I answer. “No, and it’s forgotten, really. I know it was alarming to walk in and see two strangers eating at the kitchen table.”
The subject is forgotten when I hear Trinity crying. I turn to look at her and she’s facing me, tears streaming down her face. “We’re okay, Dalton. We’re both just fine. I’m so sorry for the way I treated you the last time I saw you. You were—” She pauses to listen. “I know. I love you, too.”
I smile at her, the fact that it’s over sinking all the way in. Using an outhouse, never being completely warm and eating tuna out of a can as a main course—all over.
I’ll go back to my life in Minneapolis, to my team. And Trin will go back to her life in Chicago. I knew it had to happen at some point, but I didn’t expect to feel such a stab of regret over it.
It’s us—me and her—that’s the only thing I regret being over.