sparingly. Opening day of archery season was the following morning, and he had work to do. Reece and Katie had no such obligations. They both joined in the festivities with Thorn, Liz, and the elder Hastingses, enjoying the fine South African vintages.
“Don’t be afraid to try my famous hot sauce,” Jonathan reminded the table. “Goes great with everything.”
“Don’t believe him,” Raife warned. “He makes it with homegrown ghost peppers. If you value your taste buds, you’ll shy away.”
The conversation was light and jovial, much of it surrounding humorous stories from Reece’s and Raife’s younger days.
“Does Katie know about your crazy Alaskan adventure, Reece?” Jonathan prodded.
“Ah, I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet,” Reece responded.
“Alaskan adventure?” Katie asked.
“Yeah, how long did that insane escapade take you?” Raife teased. “Three months, wasn’t it?”
“Sixty-four days,” Reece responded, shaking a finger at his friend.
“Oh, do tell,” Katie pushed.
“I’ll tell you,” Jonathan jumped in, ever the storyteller. “Your man here, Katie, he decides he wants to spend some time in Alaska before he ships off for boot camp. His father, Tom, God rest his soul, had a trapper’s cabin in the middle of nowhere up there so Reece had a bit of experience in austere conditions, but of course he wanted to take things to the next bloody level. He decides he wants to trek across, what was it, Reece, the Talkeetna glacier?”
“Close.” Reece smiled, looking sideways at Katie.
“Doesn’t matter,” Jonathan continued. “This wild bloke decides he’s going to head into the Alaskan wilderness, alone, trek across the Talkeetna glacier, to the, uh, what river was it? No matter, to some glacial river and then kayak to the ocean.”
“Kayak?” Katie asked. “Where was he going to find a kayak in the middle of the backcountry?”
“Ha! That’s the best part, Katie,” Jonathan went on. “He pulled it behind him, over the snow.”
“You did what?” Katie asked, turning her attention back to Reece.
“Well, I had it tied to me so if I fell in a crevasse the idea was that the kayak would slide over the top and I’d be suspended underneath. Then I’d just jumar up and continue on.”
“Jumar?” Katie asked.
“Ascenders. They allow you to pull yourself up a rope. You can use a smaller piece of line and make your own as well.”
“Best part is,” Jonathan said, jumping back into the story, “this was before cell phones and sat phones and constant connectivity. He tells us and his parents that he’ll be back in a month. Sixty-four days later he comes kayaking into Cook Inlet none the worse for wear, other than looking like a vagrant.”
Reece shrugged. “It was a good pre-BUD/S workout.”
“And that wasn’t the end of it,” Jonathan continued. “This mountain man then sells his whitewater boat and mountaineering gear, buys a sea kayak, and spends a month island-hopping his away around Prince William Sound.”
“What did you eat?” Katie asked.
“I pulled a lot of the staples behind me in the kayak, potatoes and rice, and I hunted and fished my way across for protein. I had a little .22 in the kayak that I’d use for squirrels and beavers, and a fly rod for trout and arctic grayling. Once in the sound, I trolled off the kayak for salmon.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t starve to death. Remember, I’ve seen your fishing abilities,” Katie joked.
Laughter was a near constant around the table, with Jonathan having an amusing tale to tell about everyone there.
As the early evening dinner wore to a close and the air temperature began to drop, the men moved to the fire pit while the women moved inside. Thorn packed a pipe, knowing his friend would like nothing more than to roll a fresh tobacco cigarette, yet with Caroline so close, he wouldn’t dare. When the old warhorses started discussing their plan for the following day, Reece and Raife stepped a few feet away, Raife not wanting the scent of tobacco to negatively impact the next day’s hunt.
“Good luck tomorrow,” Reece said.
“Thanks, buddy. If you’re around, I may need help packing the meat out.”
“Well then, I changed my mind. I hope you don’t get him.” Reece chuckled. “I’m planning to take Katie into town in the morning, but we’ll zip back if you need me.”
“Reece,” his friend began, “what were you looking at during dinner?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. At times you were here, but you weren’t really here.”
Reece had forgotten how well his blood brother knew him.
“Nothing. Well, not nothing. Just a feeling. Something’s not right.”