Sorene poured a cup of coffee, closing her eyes and savoring the first long, rich sip. The house was quiet this early, but wouldn’t be for long. Already she could hear stirrings upstairs. Soft flakes fell outside the darkened window. The sun wouldn’t be up for hours yet this far north, but the snow glowed giving the landscape an otherworldly feel.

She loved winter. Alaskan summers held their own kind of magic, but were so busy with the Wilde Log Homes business, trying to accomplish as much as they could before winter slowed construction.

Winter gave her more time to be creative, which she found more and more rewarding.

“Mornin’, Wild Heart.” Jack entered and headed right for the coffee pot.

“Morning, Dad. Are the others up?”

“You know they’re old enough now to be responsible for getting their asses out of bed on time without you waking them up.”

She gave him a slight smile, feeling a little out of sorts. Her sister Kennadee had called her recent melancholy “empty nest syndrome.” How could that be when she never had kids of her own?

Yes, she’d helped raise her siblings when she hadn’t been much more of a kid herself. She needed to let go. She understood that, but it was hard. Made even harder by Zoe, her youngest sister who had returned from her first semester of college and announced that she wasn’t going back. They’d been at each other’s throats ever since, and still Zoe wouldn’t see reason.

“Hey, what’s causing that wrinkled forehead?” Jack asked, reaching for a bowl and then grabbing milk out of the fridge.

“Want me to cook you some eggs?”

“No, need to watch the cholesterol. It’s whole grains for breakfast for now on, besides it keeps my figure looking dapper.”

Her dad was still a looker. If anything, he grew more distinguished the older he got. “Why is it that men get better looking as they get older, but women just look old?”

“You should try that junk Zoe slathers all over herself if you’re concerned about your appearance.” Jack stopped pouring cereal into a bowl and scrutinized her. “You know some makeup wouldn’t hurt, and when was the last time you had a haircut?”

“Do you think I need makeup?” She turned back to the window and gauged her reflection. There were dark circles under her eyes, due to her worrying over the fight with Zoe. Her blond hair was long and curly, and since she always had it twisted into a knot she hadn’t noticed that it looked unkempt.

“You should treat yourself to one of those spa days down at Heart Springs Eternal. Wild Cat would love to get her paws on you.” Jack scooped a large spoonful of cereal, and his crunching filled the silence while Sorene worried over her appearance, something she hadn’t done since high school.

Maybe she should borrow some makeup from one of her sisters. A little mascara would help outline her eyes as her lashes were so blond she tended to look like she didn’t have any.

“Morning.” Kennadee blew into the kitchen.

“There’s my Wildfire,” Jack said. He had a wild nickname for all of them and rarely called them by their actual names. “Where’s the fire today?”

“I’m headed into Fairbanks for training, and I probably won’t be back until the weekend.” Kennadee worked for the fire department and was always rushing off somewhere. At least she wasn’t fighting a fire today.

“You be careful. Weather’s warmed up, so the roads will be slick.”

“Yes, Dad.” Kennadee with her coffee-colored hair and Wilde green eyes, glanced at Sorene and frowned. “You okay, sis?”

“Of course. Hey, would you mind if I borrowed some makeup?” Sorene thought she caught a crafty smile from Jack before he spooned more cereal into his mouth.

“Help yourself, but if you want makeup tips, Zoe’s who you need to talk to.”

“If she was talking to me,” Sorene mumbled.

“Don’t worry about her, she’s just finding her feet.” Kennadee filled up a thermos with the remaining coffee and waved as she rushed out of the room.

“Why are you so upset with Zoe?” Jack asked. “College isn’t for everyone, and she might return after a few months break.”

Because I didn’t get to go to college.

Sorene tightened her lips not wanting the words to slip out. “I just hate to see her waste her life. She should be out there getting an education.”

“There are more ways to get an education than in a classroom. Life teaches the best lessons. Hey, that gives me an idea. I’ll take her with me into the office. She can start helping out there. If she isn’t going to school she needs to earn her keep, just like the rest of you kids did. It’s past time for her to learn the business.”

She couldn’t have Zoe in the office with her. They’d kill each other before the day was through. “Dad—”

“I also decided to put you on the lake house,” Jack interrupted. “I like your idea of carving the staircase posts. Since we don’t have a buyer for this project yet, let’s get creative and have a bit of fun with it.”

“Are you serious?” Excitement leaped in her chest.

“Of course, I’m serious. Just like Zoe, it’s time you took over more responsibility. You’ve a good eye, and I like those critters you carve up. Tell Wild Ride what kind of logs you need and I’ll make sure he delivers them. Consider the house yours, Wild Heart.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still a lot to oversee on the project and you’ll have to work with Bleu Carpentry to get it done.”

She loved Quinn Bleu. They’d always gotten along even though his son had left a gaping hole in her heart.

Zoe stumbled into the kitchen, yawning widely. Her long copper-colored mane flowing like silk down her back. Her large green eyes, framed with thick lashes filled her face, giving her a look of innocence she’d probably carry throughout her life. She was beautiful without a stitch of makeup, and top model gorgeous when she lathered it on. She pouted when she saw Sorene. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”

“Leaving now.”

“So are you, Wild Card,” Jack said. “Get dressed. You’re coming to work with me today.”

“Dad, I can’t. I have plans.”

“Change ‘em. You have ten minutes.”

“I can’t be ready in ten minutes,” she squeaked.

Sorene tried not to enjoy the shock on Zoe’s face.

“Then you will come as you are.” Jack glanced at his watch. Zoe made a frustrated sound, turned on heel and hurried back upstairs.

“I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” Sorene said.

“The same could be said of you and the lake house project.” There was a twinkle in his green eyes that had her wondering what Jack Wilde was really up to now, but the prospect of being able to take charge of the lake house had her disregarding the question. She couldn’t wait to get started.

The lake house was a favorite of hers. Part of her secretly wanted it for her own, but that would be impossible. She doubted she’d ever leave the family home. She couldn’t do that to her dad. He’d lost so much already. Not to mention her brothers and sisters, though some of them had started to move on.

Kennadee still lived at home when she was in town. Catronia had a room at the spa, but divided her time between there and here. The twins Ryder and Dare had recently converted the barn out back in to living quarters. Since Dare had a dozen dogs and was training for the Iditarod, it worked out well. And Brey had high-tailed it off to Nashville before the ink had been dry on his high school diploma.

Putting all those thoughts aside, Sorene headed upstairs to change her clothes into Carhartt overalls, an oversized flannel shirt with long johns under the getup. She’d be working in the elements and it was easier to shed layers than pile them on. Best to be prepared. She secured her hair and covered the curly mass under a large knit hat and glanced at her reflection. Yeah, no need for makeup, not when the boxy outfit alone would make anyone question her sex. No need for lipstick or mascara. Though lip balm would be a good idea. Alaskan winters were murder on lips.

Half an hour later she pulled up to the lake house, having already called Ryder and telling him what she would need in way of logs. He’d promised to have them delivered within the hour.

Until then she grabbed her sketch book and let herself in to the cold-soaked cabin. She paused regarding the plain construction-grade door.

This place needed a grand door. Maybe one with a wilderness scene carved into the wood. She made a note to talk to Quinn about getting a solid core door. The cabin needed finish work, baseboards, trim, cabinets, and floors, but she could still see the beauty of it. She’d tile the entryway, then have wide-planked wood floors everywhere else. The main room was two stories tall, with windows looking out over the lake. A river-rock stone fireplace was roughed in between two sets of French doors, and a deck still needed built, but they’d need to wait until the ground thawed before that could happen. The fireplace stone went all the way up to the tongue-and-groove ceiling. Makeshift stairs were in place for now that reached up to the loft, but she had plans for a grand staircase.

Excitement at getting her hands on this project had her grinning until her face hurt.

She started to sketch out how she saw the staircase, getting lost in her ideas until she heard Ryder’s customary three honk greeting.

She headed outside, waved at Ryder, and joined him at the tailgate of the truck.

“So, Dad is finally letting you take the reins. How’d you get him to agree to that?”

“Believe it or, it was actually his idea. No one was more surprised than me when he dropped it in my lap.”

“Knowing Dad, he’s got an agenda.”

“Or he trusts that I’ll do a good job,” she returned a little huffy.

“I highly doubt that,” Ryder teased with a smile that revealed deep dimples bracketing his mouth. If it weren’t for the dimples, he would be the mirror image of their dad at that age. He and Dare as they were identical twins, though it wasn’t that hard to tell them apart since Dare flat out refused to shave in winter. Dare raced a dog sled team and facial hair helped keep him warm and frostbite away.

“Where do you want these?” Ryder asked, lowering the tailgate to reveal six logs, ranging five to seven feet long and no less than twelve inches in diameter.

She knew how much they each would weigh and looked around the site. The less manhandling the better for both their backs.

“It’s fairly flat over there.” She pointed to a spot a hundred yards or so from the log cabin. There she’d be able to glance up at the log structure for inspiration if she needed it.

“You got it.” Ryder vaulted into the bed of the truck with ease. “Stand back.”

“Let me help.” She moved to climb into the truck.

“Gravity is doing the work here. There’s no way we’re lifting these. It took three guys to get them into the truck. That and a lot of swear words. So, stand back.”

She retreated to a safe distance, and Ryder, one-by-one, rolled the logs out of the bed. They each landed with a thunk on the snowy ground. Then they pushed and rolled the logs over to where Sorene wanted to work. They were both out of breath and sweating by the time she was satisfied.

“You owe me for this,” Ryder huffed, stretching his lower back.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” She turned and started carrying her tools over to the site.

Ryder glanced around. “You going to be okay out here on your own?”

She held up the chainsaw and looked at him with disbelief. “Seriously?”

“What if you hurt yourself? That saw has a wicked kickback.”

“I’ve been handling a chainsaw longer than you have, Ry. I know what I’m doing. What’s with the sudden protective brother thing?” She was the mother bear when it came to her siblings. She couldn’t remember when one of them had ever worried about her.

“You’re a woman alone out here in the wilderness—”

“Stop right there before you step into it further. It doesn’t matter that I’m a woman alone out here. I know how to take care of myself just as you do.”

Ryder rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not wanting to drop the subject. He must have read something in her stance, and wisely decided to back off. “All right, I know when to shut up.”

“No, you don’t or you wouldn’t have opened your mouth to begin with.”

“So, what are you planning for these tree trunks?” He prudently changed the subject.

“These will make up the posts for the staircase. I plan to do a bear for starters and see what else inspires me.”

“That’ll be a real showstopper when you’re finished. Dad was right to hand over the finishing details of this place to you. He ought to do it more often.”

She beamed as emotion swept through her. Quickly, she turned and reached for her blowtorch to hide how much Ryder’s words had affected her.

Ryder slammed the tailgate shut. “I’m off to the Atwood place. Want me to give Leia your best?”

She packed a snowball and let it fly at his head. Laughing, he ducked, gave her a wave and headed out.

Sorene didn’t hate easily, but Leia Atwood sat right at the top of the list of people Sorene would prefer to never to deal with again. Leia had been her arch nemesis since grade school, nicknaming her Sorry in the first grade. The name had stuck until she’d grown breasts before the other girls, and she’d lost her braces and glasses when she entered high school. Yet there were still random times the dreaded name surfaced even though she’d turned twenty-eight last summer, usually when Leia was around. Then there was the history between Ash and Leia—

No, don’t go there. Revisiting those memories would serve nothing. She had logs to carve.

She shed her parka. Moving the logs into place had heated her up, and she knew from experience, once she started handing the chainsaw, she’d heat up even more.

The temperature was downright balmy for February, hovering in the twenties. It would dip back down to forty below before break up arrived—break up being the Alaskan term for spring, since the season didn’t materialize gently. For now, she’d embrace the chinook winds soaring over the interior, giving them all a tease of the long-awaited spring to come.

The spot was magical. The cabin nestled in the pines on the bank of Fervor Lake, one of the many lakes heated from underground hot springs around Heartbreak. It never froze over and was warm enough to swim in year-round. Steam currently drifted lazily up from its dark, blue-green surface adding a mystical, otherworldly atmosphere to the area.

Sorene turned from the view and studied the log in front of her, trying to figure out where to start sawing to reveal the bear locked inside. She picked up the chainsaw with its eighteen-inch blade and yanked on the cord. It started up with a roar, vibrating in her leather-gloved hands. This bear would be the first and largest of many forest creatures she’d planned, making up the posts of the curving staircase in the lake house cabin. This project had quickly become a favorite of hers, and she already knew when it came time to hand over the keys to the new owners, she’d be heartsick over not living here herself. But there was nothing that could be done about that. For now, she’d put her mark on the place.

She lost herself in cutting away parts of the trunk, and the stress of the fight she’d had with Zoe faded with each razor-sharp pass she made in the wood.