Chapter 5

“I’m sorry about your dad,” Cole said at last. “Was he sick?”

The dam that held all of Daniel’s feelings cracked, but years of living among thick-skinned Yoopers made him hold back nonetheless. He shook his head. “Not in the slightest. He loved the outdoors. Co-owned a sporting goods store that specialized in hiking, kayaking, camping, you name it. Insisted on testing just about every product himself before he’d stock it, so he and I spent a lot of weekends in the wilderness together. Thought he’d live to be a hundred, but a heart attack got him. Af—when he died, I didn’t want to go back home, but I wanted that freedom again, so here I am.”

Cole nodded. “It’s a good place to be free.”

“Looks like it,” Daniel agreed. “I want to see as much as I can today, so let’s get going.”