Read Hell Transporter (Between) for Free Online

unload his bags.
    “Oh no, honey, thanks. I grabbed a quick bite at McDonald’s in Newport. I didn’t want you to have to drop everything and make me lunch as soon as I got here.”
    If only you knew how I had to drop everything!
    “I made up your bed for you,” I said, lugging his stuff into the cabin.
    “Well, that was sweet. Here I show up practically unannounced and you give me a king’s welcome. I guess we raised you right, huh?” He pinched my cheek like I was still a little girl. I winced.
    While Dad headed upstairs to unpack, I paced around the living room, thinking about Aiden out in the woods by himself and worrying about him meeting my dad. The centerpiece of the living room was a large rock fireplace built by hand with rocks drug from the lake. A couple of armchairs bracketed the fireplace, and two mismatched couches faced the center of the room. Behind them sat a heavy pine dining table where I’d spent many hours playing games as a child. On the wall, a painted wooden toilet seat cover held a small table lamp made to look like a woman’s leg in a fishnet stocking. Normally, the room’s corny, rustic style made me feel peaceful and homey, but today, it was all I could do to keep from chewing my fingernails down to stubs.
    Breathe, Lindsey, I thought and forced myself to calm down. The bookshelf along the wall behind the table called to me as a possible source of distraction, so I grabbed the nearest book I could find and sat on the couch.
    Dad came downstairs and plopped onto the oversized chair with a blissful sigh.
    “Man, I love this place. You remember making these when you were little?” he asked, referring to the tacky, naugahyde-capped footstools shaped like mushrooms.
    “Made from genuine nauga cows,” we said in unison. Some of my tension dissolved as I laughed with him, remembering how easy things used to be.
    “Yeah, your mom and I always…” he started, but his face clouded over at the mention of life before the divorce. He shook his head. “Well, never mind that. It’s just nice to be back.” His smile was overly bright and I returned it, glad we weren’t going to talk about Mom and her boyfriend, Nick.
    His eyes drifted over to the new woodpile and the drapes next to the fireplace. “What happened to the old curtains? Did you make a new frame for the woodpile?”
    I squirmed in my seat, afraid he would be upset. “Oh, uh, yeah, I… accidentally caught the woodpile on fire and it ruined the curtain so I had to make some new ones. Aiden built another frame and filled it with fresh logs.”
    He sat forward in his chair and directed a worried gaze at me, a deep furrow creasing his brow. “A fire? What happened? Were you hurt?”
    “No, I’m fine. I threw some papers into the fire and went to bed, not realizing the sparks had caught the woodpile on fire. The smoke woke me up and I was able to put it out with the extinguisher. Aiden pulled me out of the smoke.” The words were out before I’d had a chance to think about it and I swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t ask any questions about how Aiden had known I was in trouble.
    Dad ran a hand through his thick brown hair, and shook his head at me, clearly exasperated. “What am I going to do with you? I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?” I shrugged with an uneasy smile. “So Aiden, huh? That’s the guy you mentioned on the phone when you said you’d met someone?” He raised one eyebrow and tilted his head toward me. I felt a furious blush creeping up my cheeks. He chuckled and rubbed his chin, contemplating. “Ah, you must really like him. I haven’t seen you blush like that in a long time. Not since Jimmy what’s-his-name asked you to the junior prom.” He was teasing me and I knew it, but I couldn’t help the redness of my cheeks.
    “It sounds like I owe him a thank-you for watching over you, since you obviously shouldn’t be left alone.” I gave him my fiercest glare, but he just laughed. “Relax,