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Chapter 1
“You’ve had some pretty cracked ideas in the past, but this might be the most cracked,” Owen groused.
Which was funny because while they were technically hunting for deer today, Lincoln Donall would also accept grouse or any other small game that happened to cross their path. He’d learned a long time ago not to be so stubborn about what you wanted to harvest that you ended up going hungry. Rule number one of living in the Alaskan bush: never come back empty-handed.
He and Owen Pierce were on the far end of Enclave, the Alaskan island in Cook Inlet they both now called home, making their way through the snow-blanketed woods with their packs and their rifles and their sidearms. With the cold and the lack of town life amenities like a gas station or a grocery store it might not be everyone’s idea of paradise, but Linc loved it here. It was the first place he’d ever seriously considered setting down roots.
Which was great in a lot of ways but living tucked away from the world on an island his friends had basically turned into a kinky-as-fuck DDlg utopia wasn’t without its problems.
Taj Hovick and his ex-military buddies, turned subsistence lifestylers and private security, had a pretty sweet set-up here, and it was an amazing refuge for all sorts of things. But if a person was into women, there wasn’t really a dating pool to speak of. So, was his plan that started with him making his way to Montana in a few days to spend a week at Rawhide Ranch cracked? Or just smart?
“Cracked like an egg,” Linc agreed. “Or clam shells after an otter or a gull has gotten through with them.”
“So what the fuck, dude?”
Linc laughed. He’d been friends with Owen Pierce for years now and knew the steadfast and responsible doctor was mostly ribbing him about his fast and loose style of being alive.
Pushing a spruce branch aside so Owen wouldn’t get smacked in the face with it, he shrugged. “Look, not all of us are lucky enough to have a gorgeous and perfect redheaded Little fall into our laps, okay? Some of us have to work for our happy endings.”
Owen shot him a dirty look as they continued to follow the game trail. They’d seen some sign but it wasn’t super fresh, so this could be a fool’s errand but it was worth a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and Linc really wanted to gain some venison for his freezer.
“I’m not saying it’s easy,” he told his friend as a sort of apology. “I know how much time and effort you put into keeping Cricket happy and healthy. I did it myself for a few days, remember?”
“I do. And so does Cricket. You did a good job looking after her, and I’d let you do it again.”
Linc felt anaw, shucksheat creep up the back of his neck. Owen probably didn’t know it, but his words meant a lot. His friend was one of the smartest guys he knew, plus he was a great doctor, and a fantastic Daddy to his Little, Cricket. If Owen trusted him to look after his precious babygirl, then Linc had obviously done something right.
Which was a fair change of pace from when he’d been a kid. School was rough, home was rougher, and it had felt like the only attention he got was from being an asshole. And when he’d gotten older, from girls who wanted to piss off their parents by dating a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. But he’d known even then he wasn’t a bad boy who wanted to break girls’ hearts. He just hadn’t figured out quite how to be a good one back then.
“Well, maybe after having that experience with your Little, I want one of my own,” he told his hunting buddy. “And how the hell am I supposed to meet someone if I’m living out on Enclave? It’s not like there are any single women within twenty miles. Within a hundred are a handful of tiny villages only accessible by boat or plane. There’s no app for that.”
“Do you even know what an app is?” Owen grumbled.
Okay, so Linc wasn’t the best with his cellphone or electronics in general. He’d gotten onboard with texting but that was about as tech savvy as he got.
“Not really. But it sounded good, right?”
Owen rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, it’s not like I’m sending away for a mail-order bride like those old-timey gold prospectors. I’m gonna meet a bunch of women, find one I like, and bring her back here.”
“That’s how it’s gonna work, huh?”
“Why are you saying that like it’s the wildest thing you’ve ever heard?” Linc demanded. “You knew Cricket for five seconds before you took her home and made her your Little girl.”
“No, I’d known Cricket for two years.”
“Not like that you hadn’t.”
“That much is true. But that was happenstance. I just think it’s weird that you’re trying to make this happen on purpose and within a week. Why don’t you just join ’Pollo and Toga when they go into Anchorage and drop by Covert? Get to know someone.”
“Maybe I will if this doesn’t do the trick, but I’ve got a good feeling about this,” Linc told him, and then squatted down to check out some deer sign. Now that was fresh, and he smiled. Their chances of bagging a buck were getting better and better.
“You have a good feeling about everything.”
“That’s because everything always works out.”
Owen shook his head.
