Page 10

Tusk

W hen Tex told me that Clara was in contact with Brittany and they’d been invited to visit her in fuckin’ Alaska, I was shocked shitless. Brittany in Alaska? I never dreamed that she would pick such a remote location to run off to. She wasn’t the outdoorsy type and hated cold weather in general. Her being in Alaska makes absolutely no sense. Yet here she is.

My anxiety is nearing a full-blown panic when my phone rings. I can see by the number that it’s Tex.

I answer immediately, “Did you make contact with her?”

“It’s so much worse than we anticipated, Tusk. Get your ass here right away.”

“I’m leaving right now,” I tell him as I get up from my seat. I pull out my phone as I leave the diner and tell him, “Looks like I’m about thirty minutes from your location.”

He responds tightly, “Thirty minutes will be fine. I’ll hold down the fort until you get here.”

“Hold down the fort?” I say, wondering what the hell has happened.

“I’ll explain later.”

There is a pause, and then he lowers his voice to a mere whisper. “And when you get here, don’t go all caveman and lose your shit.”

“Why the fuck would I lose my shit?”

“It’s a bit of a shitshow here. But the thing is, if you scare her off by coming on too strong, she’s gonna bolt and run again. No matter how many emotions this situation pulls out of you, you keep your fuckin’ cool.”

“What the fuck is going on, Tex? If someone has harmed a hair on her head, I’ll drop them where they stand.”

“She ain’t gonna be needing that kind of attitude right now. You’ll see when you get your ass here. Just promise me that you’ll keep your shit together,” he whispers, clearly agitated.

“Scout’s fuckin’ honor,” I tell him through gritted teeth.

Clamping my phone into its cradle in the rented SUV, I turn on the sat-nav and head off to see my girl. It’s been months since she left, and to say I’ve been missing her would be an understatement. She’s been all I’ve been able to think about. I’ve searched all over three counties and more for her. Guilt about the day she left has been eating me up.

I feel like the world’s biggest idiot for having decided to meet Gina at the clubhouse. I should have known she’d bring trouble, and to think that Brittany was right there, sitting in the back of the bar with Clara, watching it all go down. My irritation level was high that day, but I was determined not to show it. I wanted my kids to have that perfect family experience. What a fuckin’ gigantic mistake that had been. It not only left Brittany with the impression I was getting back with my ex-wife, but it also gave Gina the impression that if she just said or did the right thing, I’d take her back.

That’s probably where she got the wild idea to do IVF again. I thought maybe she was lying to me, playing mind games. I’ve heard of women claiming to be pregnant with a man’s child to get him to come back. I’d been holding out hope that she was lying. That shit is so fucked up, but it’s just the kind of thing my ex-wife would do.

Smoke and I checked at the clinic, and sure enough, she had the procedure. I couldn’t get any more details out of them though, as the donor I had the right to know my sperm had been used, but because of patient confidentiality they refused to tell me more. We managed to withdraw my consent, and they destroyed my sperm samples in front of us. So, at least she can’t have more of my kids without telling me. I was pissed at her, but despite what she’d done, I would support my kid financially. As long as I don’t have to be with their mother, I guess one more is a blessing in disguise.

Before I know it, I’m pulling up to a quaint little cabin beside a frozen lake. I get out of the car and head inside. As I walk past Brittany’s car, I glance over and see a car seat in the back. I guess she’s taken a job babysitting or something. Though, any thought I would have given to that car seat is immediately replaced by the fact that she’s got a broken window and I wonder if this is what Tex was hinting at. What had happened?

I rush up the steps and knock on the door, maybe a little too forcefully. Tex opens the door and gives me a dirty look.

“Sorry,” I murmur. “Once I saw the window was broken out, I got a little agitated.”

Tex just hisses in a low tone, “You fuckin’ promised. I took you at your word not to fuck this up.”

I grab him by the arm and whisper back, “I’m under control. Let me the fuck in.”

He steps back with a disgusted look on his face. When I step into the cabin, I see Clara first. She’s got Steven in her arms, walking around with him. I walk up and grin at him, “Hey there, champ. How do you like the snow?”

He reaches for me, like he always does. When I try to take him, Clara whispers, “Not this time, Tusk.”

I whisper back, “Why are we whispering?”

A familiar voice drifts from behind me, “Because you’re all conspiring against me.”

I whirl around and look at Brittany for the first time in almost nine months. She looks amazing. No, she looks even more amazing. Except maybe a little pale, and she’s got dark circles under her eyes. She’s also put on a bit of weight. It looks good on her, though.

It takes me a second to realize that the bundle in her arms is a baby, all wrapped up in blankets. I only realize it because my feet are taking me closer to her, and the blankets move.

“So, you ran off to Alaska to become a nanny?” I ask as I come to a stop in front of her. Of all the jobs Britt could have taken, her looking after kids was the craziest.

“What? No, of course not,” she replies. “What would make you think that?”

Running one finger along the edge of the baby blanket, I try to take a peek. “Unless you’ve mastered the art of making a baby in six months, I’m gonna say you’re watching someone else’s kid.”

Her face goes blank for a moment, and then her eyes cut to Tex and Clara. They’re both standing there with their mouths hanging open. I know my math is right. She left nine months ago and the baby look to be at least three months old.

Then Brittany’s voice brightens, she responds breezily, “Well, of course, I’m watching someone else’s baby. How else am I going to earn a living here?”

I sense movement out of the corner of my eye, and it’s Tex wiping one hand down his face, clearly exasperated. Meanwhile, Clara has that expression, the one some people get when they’re watching a traffic accident. I feel like I’m missing something, but I can’t imagine what it is.

I glance around and ask, “So what’s the plan here? We really should board up that window. Leaving a gaping hole in the glass in this kind of weather is just askin’ for trouble.”

Brittany immediately says, “There’s an old pallet on the back porch and a toolbox as well. It came with the cabin. In fact, the whole cabin came furnished.”

I take my gloves out of my pocket and head in the direction she gestured to. “I’ll take care of the window while you guys come up with a plan.” See? This is me going with the flow. I’m not demanding answers, acting all controlling and protective, or trying to immediately make up with her while she’s trying to work. I don’t even ask what fucking happened, or why there’s glass all over the floor. Pride swells in my chest that I’ve managed to avoid all the things Tex was concerned about. Brittany isn’t spooked about me showing up. Everything is going according to plan.

It takes me the better part of twenty minutes to break apart that stubbornly frozen pallet. When I walk back into the house carrying the boards, Tex has a dustpan and is cleaning up the glass from the floor. He dumps it in the trash can, and Clara comes along with a vacuum cleaner, which is smart. We can’t take a chance on any of the shards getting missed, especially when we have kids around.

I go out the front door and begin boarding up the window. There is something unsettling about this situation, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because I’m eager to get to patching things up with Brittany. Patience, I tell myself. There’s no need to rush things. I’ve finally got her in my sights again, and that’s the important thing.

When I’m finished with the window, I come back in and see several suitcases and a couple of diaper bags sitting in the living room. “Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

Tex frowns. “We’re going back to the hotel.”

Brittany explains, “The heat isn’t working, and there isn’t enough room for everyone to sleep comfortably here.”

I’m getting a really bad vibe, like maybe she’s lying to me. “You wanna tell me what happened to the window?”

Brittany is already wearing a parka and boots. She wraps another blanket around the baby and says, without looking at me, “It’s a long story. Let’s get to the hotel, put the kids to bed, and have a little sit down to talk about it.”

I shoot Tex a questioning look, but his expression is almost pained.

“Since I know my way around, I’ll lead the way. You can follow me. Be on the lookout for caribou. They like to jump out in front of cars at night.” She ain’t wrong about that, I narrowly missed one on my drive out here, so I speak up.

“You’re not driving. You and the baby can ride with me. My vehicle has four-wheel drive, and the roads are covered in snow.”

Brittany’s eyebrows shoot up. “This is Alaska. The roads are almost always covered in snow, especially this time of year.”

“Unfortunately, your vehicle is a piece of shit. It doesn’t even have snow tires on it.”

She seems to shrink a bit before telling me in a small voice, “I’ve been meaning to take care of that. My car does okay in the snow.”

“No need to take unnecessary risks with someone else’s child. I’ll change the car seat over to my rental. Give me five minutes, then come on out.”

“Alright, fine. I don’t want to spoil our visit arguing about details.”

I hold up five fingers to remind her to give me a few minutes to get the car seat sorted. “The rental has heated seats. Don’t pretend like that’s not gonna be great in this weather, than freezing your ass off in your old rust bucket.”

I finally get a smile outta her. “To be honest, that sounds amazing.”

Tex follows me out to the car. The minute we get to her vehicle, he starts whispering again. “You have no goddamn clue what the ever-loving fuck is going on here.”

“Calm the fuck down, brother.” Turning to look at him, I tell him in no uncertain terms, “I’m gonna nail whatever asshole broke her window.”

Tex makes a disgruntled sound. I glance over my shoulder to see him rubbing his face again. I turn back to the task at hand, reminding him, “Dermatologists say you shouldn’t touch your face so much. It transfers germs and bacteria, and that’s not healthy.”

He says, “You know what, I can’t with y’all anymore. Not right now. I just fuckin’ can’t.”

When the seat finally comes loose, I turn to find him stomping back off into the cabin. I have no earthly idea what has my club brother so stressed, but when we get to the hotel, I’m sure as fuck gonna find out or die trying.

As I’m securing the car seat into the back of my rented SUV, I’m vaguely aware that voices are being raised inside the cabin. I don’t get an opportunity to see what’s up, because no sooner do I get the seat strapped into place, than Brittany comes out.

I move out of the way to give her a chance to do her thing with the baby and begin carrying her luggage off the porch where Tex left it. After it’s all stowed in the trunk, I climb into the driver’s seat to find her sitting in the passenger seat, staring at me.

I can’t help but smile. Yeah, she left me, and that stressed me the fuck out. But I managed to find her. Starting the engine, I tell her, “I’m so goddamn glad to finally find you, baby. I missed ya like crazy.”

She glances away. “Let’s not talk about personal things just yet.”

I reach over to grab my seatbelt and snap it into place. I should probably be disappointed, annoyed, or downright pissed off that she doesn’t want to talk about us, but I’m not. I find that I’m just so damn happy to finally find her, that I don’t care about anything else. I’ll give her all the time she needs to ease into being with me again.

“We don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do, baby. We’ve got all the time in the world to sort out our relationship.”

I get a text from Clara with the address of the hotel they booked. I just arrived a few hours ago, and I know they got in late last night, slept in, and ate before heading to Brittany’s cabin. I put the address into my GPS and pull the SUV out onto the road before trying to make small talk.

“How do you like living in Alaska?”

“It wasn’t my first choice, but it grew on me after a couple of months.”

I grin at her tone of voice. “It looked like a pristine wilderness retreat from the air when my plane landed.”

“It always does when there’s fresh snowfall.”

We come across a caribou who doesn’t move, even when I flash my high beams.

“Fuckin’ hell. These things literally have no fear of humans.”

“They tend to prance around the road without a care in the world. Turn your lights off entirely—sometimes that works,” she advises. “I prefer them mesmerized by the headlights, because when they panic, it can get dangerous.”

“I guess that means no honking my horn, right?”

“I wouldn’t advise it. They are by far the most annoying wildlife I’ve met. They get really aggressive during rutting season and sometimes attack cars.”

“Showing off for the ladies, no doubt.”

A smile ghosts across her face. I don’t know if it’s because of my lame-ass joke or because the caribou finally moved his fat ass off the road.

“They’re territorial animals. And they have sharp hooves.”

We start moving again and keep up the pleasant conversation all the way to the hotel. The baby sleeps the whole way. I’d never been that lucky with my own kids. They’d always been a wild and noisy bunch. I like to think they got that from their mother.