Page 3 of Wild About the Mountain Guide
“Great,” Knox mutters. “I suggest you ladies drop by Maple’s Outfitters before we start. I’m not joking about the appropriate gear. The mountains are unforgiving.”
“Unforgiving of fashion mistakes?” Harmony asks in a surprised voice.
Knox grits his teeth. “No, of human life.”
He grabs his coffee and heads for the door, pausing long enough to look back at us with a frown. Then he’s gone.
Okay, so… I’m about to spend a week in the wilderness with a man who looks like he could bench press a bear and clearly thinks I’m about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Maybe I can quickly break a leg and get out of here after all.
“Isn’t he magnetic?” Harmony sighs dreamily. “All that masculine, earthy energy. I bet he’s a Scorpio.”
Magnetic. Right. More like magnetically repelling what little outdoorsy confidence I had left.
Chapter Two
Knox
I knock on Sawyer’s front door with my elbow, balancing the box of cinnamon rolls from Summit Sweets in one hand and my coffee in the other. I’m about to spend a week babysitting city folks who think grizzlies are oversized teddy bears, but not before I bring my best friend and his pregnant wife some breakfast.
The door swings open. Sawyer takes one look at my face and chuckles. “You look nervous. Don’t tell me the big, tough wilderness guide is worried about a few city slickers.”
“I’m not nervous,” I say, stepping inside. “I’m just… mentally preparing. Why did we think this retreat idea was a good business move again? I hated it the first time we did it, and I drew the short strawagain.”
“Because tourists pay good money to pretend they’re wilderness experts for a week, and we need the income. Plus, you drew the short straw fair and square,” he says as he closes the door behind me.
Right. The money. The only reason I’m not currently faking my own death to get out of this retreat.
“Remind me to rig the drawing next time. Leading this thing two times in a row should come with hazard pay. But you’re right, I do need the money.”
“How’s your grandmother doing?” Sawyer asks with a concerned look.
“Stable for now. Her dialysis isn’t getting any cheaper, and the home nurse I hired for the week costs more than my truck payment. But she’s worth it, and she’s the only one I trust to keep an eye on things while I’m gone.”
He nods. “Sorry, man.”
“It’s okay. Thank goodness this retreat pays way better than our usual gigs. Anyway, enough about me. How’s Reese doing?”
“Enormous and cranky. She finished another thriller last night and kept me awake, gushing about how brilliant the twist ending was.”
Sawyer leads me into the living room, where his wife, Reese, is curled up on the couch with a book in one hand and the other resting on her very pregnant belly.
“Hey, Knox. Thanks for checking on us before you disappear into the wilderness for a week.”
I grin. “Someone has to make sure Sawyer’s blood sugar is stable for when you go into labor. I’ll be gone all week, so I won’t be able to resuscitate him if he faints,” I put the box of cinnamon rolls on the coffee table.
“Oh, fresh cinnamon rolls from Summit Sweets! Thanks.” Reese’s eyes light up. “But why do you look like you’re about to face a firing squad?”
“I met two of my retreat participants this morning. One thinks crystals are adequate bear protection, and the other—” I stop mid-sentence when I see the book in Reese’s hands.
The cover shows a sinister-looking house with the titleThe Mother-In-Law’s Mistakeemblazoned across it. But it’s the author photo on the back that makes my coffee nearly exit through my nose.
I frown. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” Reese follows my gaze.
“That’s her. That’s one of my retreat participants.”
The book literally flies out of Reese’s hands as she struggles to sit up straighter, which I imagine is no easy feat when you’re nine months pregnant. “Peyton Reed?ThePeyton Reed is here? In our small mountain town?”
