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Hell, he'd baited her out of spite, like some
snot-nosed kid trying to get even.
    No, she wasn't the problem. He was. A
long-suppressed claustrophobia that had nothing to do with
sled-busting trees breathed down his neck and it worried the shit
out of him.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
    Claire framed Andy and the squirming
four-month-old puppy in the digital camera's display while five
other tricolored bundles tumbled over the toes of her boots. The
litter of Alaskan huskies, sired by Handsome, bounced and rolled
over each other for attention.
    "Say cheese!" Claire called over the pups'
yips and adolescent barks.
    "Chee— Yuck!" Andy sputtered as the pup he'd
named Noel licked him in the mouth.
    Containing a laugh, Claire took the picture.
"One more before you have to go in for lessons."
    "Okay." Andy struggled to maintain his hold
on the squirming puppy. "Hey, Dillon!"
    "Hey, sport!"
    Claire nearly dropped the camera at the sound
of Dillon's voice from close behind her. She turned and saw him
standing an arm's length away, dark green bibs hanging loose over a
black turtleneck. He looked tired, his brown hair tousled, like
he'd run his fingers through it in place of a comb. Claire heard
him take a team out after everyone had gone to bed the night
before, then heard him return four hours later, yet he'd been up
and helping with the dogs by eight this morning. Tired looked good
on him, she decided.
    His easy smile made her pulse hum. "Nice
camera," he said.
    "Her old boyfriend gave it to her," Andy
informed him.
    Claire cringed. "I don't think Dillon wants
to hear about that, hon."
    But Andy didn't take the hint. "Auntie Claire
came to visit us after he dumped her. She called him a big mistake
and cried and threw things."
    "No kidding."
    Claire closed her eyes and groaned.
    "His name was Hammertown and – "
    "Hamilton," Claire corrected. "Grant
Hamilton."
    "Yeah, and he – "
    "Andrew Sommer!" Janey called from the cabin
porch. "Lunch break's over! Time for math!"
    Andy sighed and put Noel down to rejoin her
brothers and sisters. "Don't forget you're gonna teach me how to
play poker tonight," he said to Dillon on his way out of the
pen.
    "I won't forget."
    "Poker?" Claire asked.
    "He wants me to play a game with him and it's
the only one I know. Will his folks object?"
    "They'll probably ask to be dealt in." Maybe
she'd invite herself to a place at the table too. "Andy's really
taken a liking to you."
    "The feeling's mutual."
    A blue-eyed puppy named Joy wobbled over and
nosed at Dillon's boot. Claire knelt and took the pup's picture.
Straightening, she looked at the camera and shrugged. "One of the
few things Grant forgot to take with him when he moved to New
York."
    "New York?"
    She found the derision in his voice
surprisingly satisfying. "He said he had a job offer, but..." She
let her voice trail off.
    "He didn't ask you to go with him?"
    "He knew I wouldn't. I used to think that's
why he chose the east coast. It was as far from Portland as he
could get without leaving the country." It felt good to be able to
say it without the bitterness that used to stick in her throat.
    "And now?"
    "Now it doesn't matter. He doesn't
matter. I got a nice camera and one hell of a vacation out of the
deal."
    Dillon didn't ask, but Claire felt the
question hanging in the air. She wanted to talk about it, she
realized, wanted him to understand. "I had this case, a client
facing the death penalty. The media had him convicted before the
trial even began. Grant couldn't accept that I'd represent such an
obviously guilty animal, that I'd stay late at the office, that I'd
miss dinner dates. He accused me of being more in love with my work
than with him."
    She expected Dillon to ask her if it was
true, something she'd asked herself countless times in the past two
years. And if she answered honestly, she'd have to say yes. She
wondered now how much she ever really loved the man she'd been
living with. She knew she didn't miss him.
    Instead of the