Page 9 of Trail to Trouble

He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about how long he’d been hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting in the U.P., at his uncle’s place. And how much he loved it.

“My uncle owns this property and business. I’ve been coming up here ever since I can remember. I’ve guided since I was sixteen years old. It’s the best job ever.”

Bianca waved her hand in a circular motion. “This is what you plan to do in the future?”

Her degrading tone let him know she’d certainly thought there were bigger and better things to do with his life. What did she know? This was his happy place. But she was right in a way. This job wouldn’t pay the mortgage. Not that he had one yet, but he would someday.

“I’d love to do this my entire life, but I won’t, as I plan to make use of my MBA degree soon. You know, get a big boy job,” he replied with an intentional edge in his tone to inform the princess that he was educated as well as her, if not more.

With her silence, he wondered if he’d bit back a smidge too much.

Bianca pulled her cell phone from her pocket and glanced at the screen. Her shoulders slumped.

“Well, since there’s nothing to do, I may as well just go to bed,” she said as she rose and stretched her long, thin arms into the air.

“Me, too,” Alyssa said, and then they both climbed into the small tent.

Hunter glanced around the campsite, then lifted his gaze. The constellations within view shone brightly in the clear night sky. His mom had educated him and his brother and sister well, regarding the constellations. They fascinated her. Hence their unusual names, of which none of them went by. Instead, they went by nicknames chosen with purpose.

The sound of the tent zipper pulled his attention from the star-lit sky.

Hannah caught his gaze.

“Everything okay? You need something?” he asked.

“No, just couldn’t sleep. I assumed when Alyssa and Bianca came into the tent, you’d turned in as well.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t tired yet, and I like to soak in the peaceful night atmosphere for a while before bed. It relaxes me.”

She made a move to climb back into the tent.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Leaving you in peace.”

“That’s not what I meant. Join me. Relax and enjoy,” he said as he motioned to the bench across the fire pit from him.

From the edgy way she acted earlier, he figured she needed to find some sort of peace and relaxation. Maybe the serene atmosphere would help do the trick.

She closed the tent and took a seat on the bench opposite the fire pit from him and then lifted her face to the sky.

“It’s so beautiful. I miss this,” she said.

“Miss the stars?” he asked.

“Yeah. Going to school in the Twin Cities, with all the lights, you don’t see the brightness of the stars.”

That he understood.

“You said, miss. Were you not born and raised in the city?”

She focused on him. “No. Northern Minnesota.”

Ah, that explained the camping and hiking experience and readiness. She wasn’t a city girl. He’d suspected that.

“I’m actually from Door County, Wisconsin. We see the stars pretty well there, but not like this,” he informed her, though she hadn’t asked.

He raised his gaze to the stars. It easily landed on the Big Dipper.