To my Lord and Savior, counselor and king, who makes all things new and is a God of second chances.
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Fit to be tied.
That was the phrase Abigail Murphy’s grandmother had used, and it was how she felt right now as she stalked toward the trees that would lead her back to civilization. The weight of her backpack seemed to increase as she hiked. Abigail adjusted the shoulder straps, lifted her chin and tried not to obsess over the notion that her client—Jesse Santorum—had not been completely forthright with her. As a wilderness guide, she worked with all kinds of people. But Jesse had gotten under her skin.
It had taken three days to hike up to the remote area where Jesse said he wanted to fish. He’d been tense the whole time, insisting that they put in long days to get to the destination. But once they stood on the shores of shimmering Crystal Lake, fishing seemed to be the last thing on his mind.
Four days ago, when Jesse had walked into the office of Big Sky Outfitters, his request had seemed strange from the get-go. He needed to be guided into the lake, but he didn’t require her services to be guided out. He’d been up-front with her about not needing her to get him back out, but usually when a client wanted to improve their skills, they asked that the guide stay close in case they got lost.
She would have refused his request if it hadn’t been the off-season, if this hadn’t been the first time she was left alone to run the business while the owners, Heather and Zane, had gone on their honeymoon. She wanted to prove to her new employers she was worth her salt. Though she’d worked as a guide since she was a teenager in Idaho, she was new to this part of Montana.
Being a female guide meant she was always in a perpetual state of having to prove herself, anyway. She’d taken the crisp hundred-dollar bills Jesse had fanned out on the desk and made him sign a waiver that Big Sky Outfitters was not responsible if he got lost on his way back into town. She’d taken all the precautions. She’d left him with the satellite phone in case he did need help.
Then she prayed her bosses would be happy with her decision and nothing disastrous would come of it.
Abby pulled herself from her negative thoughts and took in her surroundings. She was only a few yards from the edge of the forest.
Five crows fluttered up from the edge of the trees. Their wings flapped in the breeze. Something had scared them.
Abby stopped as the hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. She listened. Maybe an animal had alarmed the birds. Her heartbeat revved up a notch. This high up in the mountains, it could be something as benign as a deer, or as dangerous as a mama bear with cubs. Because it was spring, the bears would be coming out of hibernation, hungry and looking for food. She didn’t want to be a bear appetizer today.
She turned back to look up at the mountain peak, where Jesse said he was going to hike to get the lay of the land. Those were his actual words: lay of the land. What did that have to do with fishing?
She clenched her jaw. She was no longer responsible for him. Why, then, did she feel like he wasn’t telling her the whole truth? Why did it make her so mad? Maybe it was just because her trust in men had been broken to pieces in the last month.
She was still raw from her breakup with Brent. After three years and an engagement ring, he had started dating another girl in the church choir behind her back. When Brent got the job with the US Forest Service, she’d followed him out here to Fort Madison with the promise that they would be married within six months. She’d left her family and the small town in Idaho where they’d both grown up for a shattered dream.