The Mountain Man

“One wrong turn in the wilderness changed everything –
Or maybe it was the first right turn of my life.” – Emma

Wyatt
Emma is lost in my mountains when I find her.
A typical city girl wearing the worst hiking shoes I’ve ever seen.
A camera in hand. A backpack full of things no decent hiker would ever bring—lens, batteries, and all the other stuff she needs to capture that perfect shot.
But nothing that would help her survive Thorne Range, not even a granola bar or an extra water flask.
I take her to my cabin, feed her, offer her clothes, and give her shelter for the night, fully prepared to guide her back to civilization the next morning.
But she stays for one day. Then another. Then another.
She shouldn’t fit into my world, the same way I shouldn’t fit into hers—younger, naïve, college, law school and a bright future looming ahead of her.
I know the smart move would be to ignore the tension between us.
Bury these feelings. Deny them. Keep them from rushing to the surface.
Let her go her own way.
Christ.
Too bad I’m done being smart.
Sometimes getting lost is the only way to be found