Romance on the Edge 01 - Hooked

wouldn’t give to have some of her easy-going temperament. It would sure help pave the way with Sonya.
    Sonya .
    His heart ached.
    Why hadn’t someone from the Savonskis’ camp told him what had happened to her? Didn’t they realize how worried he’d be? Not just worried, he was frustrated as hell, and so angry he didn’t know if he could pull it back. He’d had to hear the news from Davida. He’d made a run for groceries—seemed they were always out of stuff—after the fishing period had closed, and had picked up more than food.
    Davida had said the troopers thought someone had shot Sonya’s window with a slingshot. How she got her information, he didn’t know, but he did know of someone who was very skilled with a slingshot.
    Earl strolled into the cabin and spied the box of food sitting on the table. “Hey, you picked up more vittles.” He seemed to be in good spirits for a change.
    Why was that, Aidan wanted to know. Was it because Sonya was across the creek, sporting stitches from cuts his father’s slingshot might have caused?
    “Good thinking, Junior,” Earl continued. “We was getting a might low on essentials.” Earl rifled through the box, still packed with cereal, snacks, and canned goods. “Didn’t you get any more beer?”
    “Nope.” There was enough drinking going on around here between his dad and Uncle Roland. He wasn’t going to supply it for them. If they wanted to get stinking drunk, they could buy the beer themselves.
    “Well, why the hell not? You wasted a whole trip to the cannery and didn’t get a case of beer. What were you thinking?”
    “I was thinking of Sonya.” Aidan nailed him with a stare. Earl seemed to take notice that Aidan wasn’t in a pretty mood himself. “You have anything to do with that?”
    “With what?”
    “Don’t play dumb with me, old man. I know you heard what happened to her yesterday. Did you have anything to do with it?”
    “Settle down, boy. Of course I didn’t. How could I?”
    “You’re damn good with a slingshot. The only other person I know who can come close to you is Roland.”
    “I don’t know if I should feel flattered or insulted. No matter how good I am, I couldn’t make a shot like that from shore. Plus, why would I want to hurt Sonya?”
    Why did Earl and Roland do half of the mean-spirited things they did? “Maybe you weren’t after Sonya. Maybe you just wanted to cause trouble, like with their skiffs.”
    Earl laughed and shook his head. “You been smoking weed, boy?”
    Not since high school. “Where were you and Roland yesterday afternoon?”
    “You’re overstepping yourself, Junior. You don’t have the gonads to go up against me. So pull it back.”
    Aidan’s fists clenched next to his sides. How he wanted to plant one right in his father’s face, just like his dad used to do to his mother. Like he’d done to Aidan.
    The man more than had it coming.
    “Aidan?” Lana’s hesitant voice broke through his need for vengeance. “Don’t do it.”
    He turned and met her wide, fretful eyes. He looked back to his father, who seemed to delight in the confrontation. Realization hit him like a rogue wave.
    Earl wanted Aidan to take a swing at him. Relished it.
    Aidan fell back. He was staring into the cold, mean eyes of his future self, if he didn’t gain control.
    Earl shook his head in disgust when Aidan stepped back and relaxed his fists. “Sissy boy,” he said, turning on his heel and slamming out of the cabin.
    “Thank you, Aidan,” Lana said. She earmarked the place in her book and rose to her feet. “I really appreciate you holding back. I know it wasn’t easy.” She combed golden hair back behind her ears with nervous fingers. “Do you really think Uncle Earl and my dad had something to do with Sonya getting hurt?”
    “I don’t know what to think.” Aidan picked up the cheese sandwich he no longer wanted and offered it to Lana. She shook her head. He took a bite, not willing to waste the food even though he wasn’t hungry anymore. The sandwich tasted stale with a hint of mold. Time to throw out the rest of the bread, if not the cheese.
    “Why would our fathers do something like that?” Lana continued with her questions.
    Aidan wished she’d stop. He didn’t have an answer for her and he didn’t want to think about what Earl and Roland were up to now. If their sick sense of amusement had targeted Sonya and her family, he needed to do more than think about it.
    First, he had to see