“Has anyone ever attempted to approach a wild animal?” A larger man in his late forties asked as they made their way out the back doors and across the lawn toward the hiking trails.
“Oh, you’d be surprised at what I’ve seen. I think people assume they’re tame since they’re so close to the resort. But stick with me and you’ll be fine.”
Ethan turned around at the entrance to the thick woods and stopped. “If you somehow get separated from us, whatever you do, donotleave the trail. The best thing you can do is stay putuntil we find you. If you leave the trail, it’ll be much harder for us to find you.”
Everyone’s heads bobbed in understanding, except for Lily’s. She rolled her eyes. He smiled.
They continued on the trail into the thick woods, and Ethan pulled in a deep breath. The thing he loved most about living in Montana was the fresh air. There weren’t any factories around, so the air remained unpolluted. It was the best thing about living in a small town.
He pointed out different birds he saw and identified plants for the group. He was in his element. Nature brought him nothing but joy and energized him down to the core.
At one point, Ethan thought he might move away from Wintervale. Growing up there, it felt too small. He decided to go away for college to a bigger city, but felt a disconnect. He found himself driving to different hiking spots in the areas, but it never felt right.
It wasn’t until he came home for the summer and went on a backpacking trip that he realized this was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. A place he used to strive to leave became his solace. He pitched the idea of being an adventure guide at the resort to his parents and they agreed it would be a great asset. After that, they saw a jump in reservations. Instead of just being a ski and mountain biking resort, they now had activities for the people who didn’t want to be on the mountain, and Ethan always tried to add more activities for the resort guests to enjoy.
They reached the lookout without incident. His family had built a railing just inside the edge to prevent people from going over the cliff. There were also several wooden benches they had built to provide seating for anyone who needed a rest or wanted to sit and enjoy the view.
Ethan pointed out the fishing hole off in the distance with the waterfall that ran into it. He pointed out the gondolas, which were running to bring hikers and bikers alike to the top of the mountain from the resort, so they could hike or bike down.
He stepped off to the side to let everyone take turns looking out over the view and squatted down in front of his pack. He pulled out his water bottle and took a long drink. It would be another hot day. It was only 10 a.m., and he could feel the heat of the sun warming his back despite the shade from the trees.
Ethan glanced up and caught Lily watching him. She immediately shifted her gaze and looked out over the view.
He deposited his water bottle back into the side pouch of his pack and pulled out granola bars. Then he walked around the group and distributed them. When he stopped beside Lily and handed one to her, she frowned.
“Don’t like granola bars?” he asked.
“They’re fine.”
“So what’s the frown for?”
“I’m not frowning.”
He chuckled. “Okay.”
He rested his arms against the railing of the lookout and pulled in another deep breath with his eyes closed.
“Are you sniffing the air?” Lily asked.
He kept his eyes closed and smiled. “Aren’t you?”
“No. That’s weird.”
He opened his eyes and looked over to where she was leaning against the railing like him.
“Why is it weird?”
“It just is.”
“Maybe you should give it a big sniff and you might change your mind.”
She raised an eyebrow without a hint of a smile on her face.
Ethan laughed. “You can’t tell me you’ve never taken a deep breath of the fresh air. It smells amazing.”
“I can’t say I have.”
He tilted his head. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
