I take a step back and run my eyes over the big pile of neatly stacked firewood. The sweat is beading on my forehead and I can feel it dripping down the center of my back. I unzip the front of my jacket and let the cool air come close to my body. I take a deep breath and nod to myself. This should keep me going for a month at least.

As I’m turning towards the cabin, I hear the crunch of car wheels on the gravel road leading up to my property. My eyebrows knit together and I walk towards the sound, ready to intercept whoever made the long, winding drive up to talk to me. They’re either lost, or something is wrong. I don’t get many visitors that come up just for a chat.

The familiar Lang Creek County Police emblem comes into view on the side of a white pickup truck. I stand at the top of my drive and wait for Sheriff Whittaker to stop the car and get out. He raises his arm towards me as he slams the pickup door closed.

“Aiden! How are you!”

“I’m fine, Bill. What brings you all the way up here?”

“Can’t a man come and see his friend and make sure everything is all right? I haven’t stopped by the garage in a while.”

I nod with pursed lips. I don’t like being reminded of work, and I spend as little time there as possible.

Bill walks towards me and extends his hand. I grasp it and we pump our arms up and down before he claps me on the back with his other hand.

“Good to see you’re still alive, friend.”

I nod towards the cabin. “Drink?”

Bill hesitates and points his thumb at his truck. “I haven’t got much time today, Aiden. I’m on duty in town. There’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

I nod slowly. I can feel that empty feeling in the pit of my stomach when I know there is bad news coming. My mind races to my brothers—did anything happen to them? Surely Bill wouldn’t be in such a good mood if it did? I stare at him until he nods and opens his mouth to speak.

“There’s a town hall meeting this Friday,” he starts.

I shake my head. “Not interested.” I turn towards the cabin and start walking away from Bill. His footsteps crunch as he jogs towards me.

“Aiden, wait! You’ve heard of the new hotel, haven’t you? They’re sending a representative to tell the town about it. We’re going to vote on the construction. Your property runs alongside the hotel grounds for at least four acres. If anyone should have a say, it’s you.”

I stop and turn towards him. “You already know what I think about that hotel, Bill,” I growl. Bill nods and takes another step closer to me. He spreads his palms up towards the sky and pleads with his eyes.

“Aiden, the town is divided. I agree with you, I don’t think the hotel should be there, but what can I do? I’m the Sheriff, for Christ’s sake. I need to be at least somewhat neutral. We need you to speak your mind.”

I stare at his eyes and feel myself harden. My body becomes stiff and my gaze gets hard and cold. Bill stands his ground, staring into my face as I feel that familiar current of anger and resentment fill me up. I shake my head and turn back towards the cabin.

“Get one of my brothers to go,” I call back. “I’m not interested.”

“I can’t!” Bill says. “Ethan is gone for Park Ranger training and Dominic… well, you know how Dominic is.”

“So all that’s left is me, is that it? Last resort?” I ask as I glance over my shoulder. Bill grins and shrugs his shoulders.

“Something like that.”

I hesitate. If my brothers can’t make it to town, no one will have the courage to speak up against the construction of the hotel. It’s endorsed by the McCoy family, and they own half the town. Every time I pull on my coveralls to go to work with ‘McCoy Trucking’ branded across the chest, I almost shudder with disgust.

If this hotel gets constructed, the whole county will change. The virgin forest that surrounds us will be destroyed by droves of tourists and the quiet, sleepy town that I’ve always known will be overrun. My family’s property will be the first to be impacted. I can hear my father’s voice in my head telling me to go to the meeting. It’s my duty to protect these forests.

But then I think about driving into town. I think about seeing Mara McCoy’s mother at the town hall meeting and the way she’ll look me up and down and lift her lip in a disgusted snarl. I shake my head.

“I’m busy, Bill. Get someone else.”

I see Bill’s shoulders slump before I turn back towards the cabin. I listen as his footsteps walk away from me towards his truck and hear the truck’s motor start. I open the door to the cabin and walk inside without looking back. With a deep breath, I bring my hands up to my face and blow out all the air from my lungs.

I peel my jacket off and toss it towards a chair before kicking my work boots off. It only takes a couple steps before I’m in the kitchen. I rip the refrigerator door open and crack a beer. The cold liquid runs down my throat and by the time I put it back down, half of it is gone. I set the beer on the counter and wipe my lips on the back of my hand. My eyes drift up through the kitchen window. The corner of the big house is just visible through the trees. A pang goes through my heart and I shake my head.

I was supposed to be there, with a wife and kids, living the way my father taught us. I wanted to fill every one of the four bedrooms with children and teach them everything I knew. I wanted to smell warm cooking coming from the luxurious kitchen and know that I had a good woman beside me.

That never happened though.

Mara and her family betrayed us, and now I’m here. I’m living in a tiny cabin working for the family that took everything from my brothers and I.

The small cabin at the back of the property is all I need. I don’t need a big house, or a woman, or children. I don’t need to be involved in the town’s problems. It doesn’t matter if they build a hotel or not. It doesn’t concern me. I finish my beer in one more gulp and toss the empty bottle into the trash. My eyes drift up towards the big house and I feel a shiver curl up my spine.

What will happen to it when the hotel is built? Will anyone come snooping through these woods? I shake my head. I know they will, and the little slice of peace that I’ve found up here will be gone forever.