Page 6 of Trail to Trouble

Hunter stepped away from her. She wished she hadn’t taken the binoculars from him. If she had let him keep holding them, he’d still be standing next to her. Her stomach tossed. What was she thinking? Was she just an idiot who didn’t learn from past mistakes?Stay away from men. They’re no good, she silently reminded herself.

Bianca asked for the binoculars so she could see the eagles.

“Where are they?” she asked as she batted her long, lashed eyelids at Hunter.

From a distance, Hunter pointed across the gorge.

“See that dying tree standing taller than the rest of the tree line?”

“Yeah.”

“Zone in on that and then swing to the right, following the tree line. You can’t miss the nest if you do that.”

Bianca tilted her head to the side and pulled a frown that seemed to go ignored by Hunter.

“Okay,” she replied.

Her disappointed look matched her tone. Hannah guessed her friend wanted Hunter to come over and help her find the nest like he had done with her. But instead, he directed her from afar.Poor Bianca.Was she losing her touch? Or was he on to her game? No, even if he was on to her game, like any other guy, he’d surely play along to get what he wanted from her. So, what was his deal?

Alyssa switched out her camera lenses and aimed at the eagle nest.

“This is awesome,” Alyssa said.

“Isn’t it, though?” Hunter replied. “Just wait until you see what else is in store for you guys during this trip.”

“What do you mean?” Alyssa asked.

“For sure, we’ll see some deer. Tomorrow, I can take you to an active beaver pond and with any luck we’ll see some moose, and perhaps, a coyote or a bear, and, if we’re really lucky, a wolf.”

“A wolf?” Alyssa asked with a tinge of surprise in her voice.

“Well, luck would have to be on our side, but it is a possibility.”

Hannah could see the wheels turning in her friend’s head. A picture of a wolf in the wild would surely garner some first-place contest awards for Alyssa.

A wolf. Was she staring at one right now? A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Was that who Hunter was? Being a nice guy now, but who was he really?

ChapterTwo

By the timehe and his crew returned to camp, it was dinnertime.

“Any volunteers to start the fire while I prepare dinner?” Hunter asked.

“I can do it,” Hannah replied.

He wasn’t surprised she was the one who offered. For starters, she was probably the only one who had ever started a campfire in a fire pit before, and second, he assumed the other two were used to being waited on.

She dropped her pack and rummaged through it until she pulled out a round, watertight container. It was one of those survival kits one can buy at any sporting goods store. The kind with fire starter, waterproof matches, signaling mirror, and one of those silver, reflective survival blankets. There were several other necessities in that bin. Hopefully, none they’d need, but it never hurt to have them.

Hannah retrieved kindling from the stack next to the split wood pile. A puzzled look washed over her face.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

Her brows knit. “Not really, but I don’t recall seeing this pile of wood before when I walked past here to set up my tent.”

Ahh, she’s perceptive.

“That’s because it wasn’t there.”