The Man from Montana

by Julianna Morris

  “Good eyes, Ginny,” he said approvingly. “That’s an elk. You can take a closer look through my binoculars.”

  He showed her how to adjust the lenses and glanced around the group. Everyone was looking down the slope, except Tessa, whose gaze was fixed on him.

  It wasn’t feminine awareness—it was something else. He just didn’t know what.

  Clay returned his focus to the other guests as they continued on. Ginny and her husband had sometimes stayed close behind him, other times dropping back to talk with the other couples when the trail was wide enough. For the last hour the three husbands had been engaged in a lively discussion about renewable energy production.

  They were an interesting group and he tried to dismiss his other concerns. It was only right for them to receive his full attention.

  * * *

  THAT EVENING TESSA decided one of the nice things about taking a commercially guided trip was having someone else cook.

  The couples erected their tents with Clay’s assistance and then he began preparing dinner. He chose a spot that was well away from the campsite, which was standard practice in wilderness areas, because the odors from cooking could attract scavenging bears. The air turned crisp as the sun dropped lower in the sky and jackets were pulled out.

  Tessa put up her own tent, though she would have preferred sleeping in the open. Her sleeping bag was rated to five degrees Fahrenheit, so warmth wasn’t a problem. On the other hand, tents provided some privacy, and dressing and undressing inside a sleeping bag were overrated activities.

  Across the clearing, the woman who’d mentioned wolves was surreptitiously rubbing her neck. In a way she reminded Tessa of Renee and she couldn’t resist going over.

  “Hey, I’m Tessa. You’re Ginny, right? Is there a problem?” she asked softly.

  Ginny bit her lip and looked ready to cry. “The straps rubbed my neck all day and my shoulders hurt. Please don’t tell anyone. My husband and I have talked about doing this for years and I don’t want to spoil it for him.”

  “Try loosening the strap across your chest tomorrow,” Tessa suggested. “That should help your neck. And I noticed you moved the contents of your pack around at one of our early stops. Did you leave the heavier items at the bottom?”

  Ginny sighed. “Probably not. I was looking for something and in a hurry to put everything back. I never realized there was so much to know about backpacking.”

  “It’ll get easier. I promise.”

  “I hope so. My husband and I worked hard to retire early. We wanted to be young enough to still do this kind of thing, and now I’m worried about every rustle in the leaves.”

  Tessa gave her a reassuring smile. “Give yourself a break, this is new to you. It’s natural to be leery. But I’ve been backpacking and camping since I was a small kid and never had any trouble with animals. Well, except for the raccoon who peed on my head. It was up a tree.”

  Ginny giggled and relaxed. “Oh, dear. I don’t think I’ll sit under any trees.”

  “I didn’t for a long time afterward. You’ll be fine, Ginny. Honestly.”

  “Thanks. Um, is it okay if I hike with you tomorrow? My husband keeps debating stuff with the other two guys and their wives are getting chummy, talking about kids.”

  “Sure, I’d like that.”

  Just then Clay called everyone over to eat and somehow Tessa ended up sitting on a log next to him, so close she could feel the heat from his body.

  The food was surprisingly tasty—mild chicken enchiladas prepared in a skillet, loaded with melted cheese and a salad on the side. Not gourmet cooking, but considerably better than freeze-dried beef stew, which was what she’d expected, despite claims on the Carson Outdoor Adventures website about quality meals. Dried red-pepper flakes had been included in the supplies as a seasoning, so she spiced her meal with a liberal sprinkling.

  “I never thought a backpack meal could taste this good,” one of the women declared.

  Clay grinned comfortably. “I can’t claim all the credit. My uncle used to be in charge of food prep on a navy aircraft carrier. Now that he’s retired, he runs our in-house kitchen, which supports the guides with their cooking efforts. Uncle Lee is the one who drove us to the trailhead.”

  “Was that your little boy who came into the barn?” Tessa asked when the conversation lagged, though she’d planned to watch Clay from a distance to get a sense of him. Following this trip, she was going to schedule a rafting tour where he was the guide and then go from there.

  Okay, it wasn’t the best plan, but it was a work in progress.

  “That was my nephew. Derry is a great kid.”

  Tessa glanced at him. It was a mark in Clay’s favor that he didn’t seem self-conscious about the handprint his nephew had left on his chest, or the colorful streaks on his sleeve.

  “You all live on the Carson Outdoor Adventures Ranch?”

  “Officially it’s the Carson Double C. But yeah, we all live there, along with a few wranglers and guides in the bunkhouse.”

  “Must be a big bunkhouse.”

  “Actually, there are two for crew quarters, along with a couple of homes on the property. I bought the ranch several years ago when I wanted to expand to horseback riding trips. Do you ride?”

  “Since before I can remember. I love horses. They’re remarkable animals. My grandparents have a boarding stable in the desert outside Tucson.”

  Clay nodded and got up to refill his coffee cup. “Anyone else?” he asked. “It’s still a bit warm. I make decaf in the evening, so it shouldn’t keep you awake.”

  Ginny’s husband yawned. “Doesn’t matter. Pour away. After today’s hike, nothing will keep me awake.”

  A couple of the others accepted, as well, and the group chatted for another hour. Tessa thought about offering to help when Clay went to deal with the dishes, but there was something almost intimate about doing cleanup with another person. She and her mom talked about everything under the sun when they were cleaning the kitchen. The same with her dad.

  But right now it was all Tessa could do not to ask Clay outright about Renee, and it was the wrong time and place for those questions.

  Would it have made a difference if he’d come to the memorial service? Perhaps. They wanted to believe Renee had been in a good relationship before her death, but his absence seemed to contradict that. Or maybe not. The world was changing. Quite a few people were opting out of traditional rites, believing they didn’t help. In all honesty, Tessa didn’t think the memorial service had given her closure any more than it had for the family. It was just a lot of words that were supposed to be comforting, yet left them wondering how well they’d known Renee, after all.

  And wondering if they’d failed her.

  The thought occupied Tessa over the next couple of days, though hiking with Ginny was a helpful distraction. Ginny became less concerned about wild animals as the trip progressed and proved to have a fun sense of humor.

  For the most part Tessa avoided any additional conversations with Clay and tried not to participate in group discussions where he was actively involved. So it was a surprise when he came over on the third afternoon as she splashed her face with water from a stream.

  “I need to ask you something,” he said, crouching to dip a hand in the current, too.

  Her nerves went on alert. “Oh?”

  “Are you from Gunther Computer Systems?”

  She blinked. “No. Why would you think that?”

  “Sorry, it’s just the way you’re acting. I’ve dealt with a wide variety of clients since starting my business, and you don’t seem especially interested in the scenery or the wilderness backpacking experience. You also didn’t bring a camera and haven’t taken any pictures with a phone. Gunther sent someone out last summer who behaved similarly. She was acting as a scout for the company—like a headhunter, except for exe
cutive retreat locations.”

  Tessa tried not to wince.

  Normally she would have been thrilled to take a trip like this. She picked a different vacation destination each November and loved the adventure of seeing a new place and trying new things. She’d gone scuba diving in the Bahamas eighteen months ago, but hadn’t been anywhere since.

  She thought fast, trying to come up with a believable reason for everything. So much for thinking she’d been discreet, or maybe Clay was just too observant.

  “The thing is, I thought some of the outdoor adventure companies around here might be hiring seasonal employees,” she said. “Taking this trip was an unconventional way of demonstrating I have the right outdoor skills. Sort of a job interview. I want to spend more time in Montana, but to do that, I need to find work. While I have some savings, I don’t want to wipe them out entirely.”

  The skepticism grew on Clay’s face. “Other jobs are available in the area, especially during the summer, when we get more tourists. Why go to these lengths?”

  “A good number of seasonal positions are for restaurant servers, which doesn’t appeal to me. My résumé is limited. I’m a landscape architect as well as a restoration specialist for swimming pools—you know, where the minerals have built up or there’s algae or rust stains and that kind of thing. Unfortunately, while you have swimming pools here, it’s nothing like Tucson. I doubt there’s much need in Elk Point or Kalispell for my particular knowledge.”

  Tessa hated prevaricating, though most of what she’d said was true. Her father’s construction business specialized in building swimming pools, and people also hired them to restore and repair their old pools. Both restoration and doing sustainable poolside landscaping were her specialties. She’d even thought about starting her own business before losing her twin.

  It was one of the last things she and Renee had talked about.

  * * *

  CLAY NARROWED HIS EYES, not entirely sure he believed Tessa. On the other hand, there weren’t many swimming pools in northern Montana compared to places famous for their hot, dry weather. Maybe he’d wanted her to be a representative from Gunther Computer Systems because it meant his reputation was recovering.

  Molly let out a small “rff” and he rubbed her neck. She’d begun sharing her time between the guests, but still had a preference for Tessa.

  “I don’t have any openings for guides, though I need someone in the office for a few months,” he told Tessa. “No promises, but after we get back, give me the information I need for a background check, along with a couple of references, and I’ll consider hiring you on a trial basis.”

  “Thanks.”

  While Tessa’s quick smile reminded him of someone, he couldn’t place the memory. But it didn’t matter—if she did okay in the office, he’d save time looking for someone.

  And these days, time was a valuable commodity.

  CHAPTER TWO

  TESSA DID HER best to look pleased, rather than shocked. But that’s how she felt—completely and utterly flabbergasted.

  Saying she was looking for work had just been something to explain why she didn’t seem to be acting like the rest of the group. A job offer was the last thing she had expected. And now she’d have to give Clay references. She had people who would vouch for her, that wasn’t a problem, but it would be tricky since she didn’t want them revealing too much.

  Perhaps she could provide her pastor’s name and number, and the same for her dad’s foreman in the building division. But first she’d have to ask them not to mention Renee. Family shouldn’t be discussed in a reference check, but most of the people she knew were chatty. If she didn’t warn them ahead of time, they might speculate aloud whether she was looking for a change after her sister’s death. Most prospective employers probably wouldn’t dig for additional personal details, but she didn’t know enough about Clay to be sure of what he’d do.

  Being friendly and conversant was his public persona as a guide. The individual underneath was an unknown. So while she hadn’t intended to get a job under false pretenses, working for the company might help her understand more about him and how his business operated.

  “Right now you’re still a paying client,” he said, standing up. “And we have a few miles left to hike before reaching our campsite.”

  “Of course.” She stood, as well, pretending not to see the helping hand he’d extended. “This area is amazing. I can see why you love it so much. Did you grow up around Glacier National Park?”

  “Nope, in a little Montana ranching town called Shelton. It’s southeast of Elk Point, on the other side of the Continental Divide. Shelton is a great place, but the family would come up here on long weekends and for vacations. As time passed, I just couldn’t see living anywhere else. Don’t get me wrong, I like my hometown, but I’d rather hike mountain trails than look at cows. And there are a whole bunch of cows there.”

  Tessa suspected there was more to the story, but didn’t see how it could affect anything related to Renee.

  “And yet you own a ranch,” she said lightly.

  “Not to raise cattle—it supports my outdoor adventure business. I don’t even breed horses, I just make sure the ones we keep for trips are properly looked after. We have quite a few, so it’s a big job. By the way, are you going to need a place to live, or do you already have an apartment?”

  Tessa thought about the hotel where she’d been staying before the backpack trip. While it was midrange in price for the area, it still wasn’t cheap. She didn’t want to touch her inheritance from Renee’s estate, but she had the money she’d saved to start her pool-restoration business. She’d gladly use every penny to get some answers, but living in a tourist hotel wouldn’t fit her claim of needing work in order to remain in northern Montana.

  She lifted her backpack and settled the straps on her shoulders. “Yeah, I need a place. Any ideas?”

  “As I mentioned, I have two bunkhouses. One is for women and it’s empty at the moment. You could camp there for a couple of days while I do the reference checks. Then, provided everything works out, lodging would be part of your pay.”

  “That sounds fine. But we should get back to the group. I wouldn’t want them to think they’ve been abandoned.”

  “That sounds like something a guide would say. Still hoping for the job?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “Nope, I’m just anxious to reach our campsite and find out what you’re whipping up for dinner.” She headed up the trail.

  “You’re hungry? We just had lunch,” he called after her.

  She waved a hand and continued to where the rest of the group was putting items into their packs, getting ready to leave. Ginny gave her a welcoming smile.

  There were a few good-natured complaints as the others lifted their packs, but it hadn’t taken long for them to settle into the routine of being on the trail. By this evening, they’d probably start bemoaning that the trip was ending tomorrow.

  “Is everything okay?” Ginny asked. “You and Clay seemed to be having an intense discussion. Was he warning you not to drink the water...just in case you didn’t hear his two hundred other warnings?”

  Clay’s regular reminders that water in the backcountry wasn’t safe to drink without filtering had become a point of sly humor in the group, though the reminders weren’t a bad idea. The larger waterways were unappealing due to silt from rapid snowmelt in the higher mountains, but the sparkling clear water in the smaller streams and creeks looked far too refreshing to someone hot and thirsty from hiking.

  “Nothing about water, but I may have gotten myself a job,” Tessa said lightly.

  “Oooh, you’ll be a great guide. We’ll stay in Elk Point longer so we can go on your first tour.”

  The warm friendship in Ginny’s face made Tessa’s eyes burn briefly. Ever since losing Renee, her emotions had been even closer to the surface. Sad
movies prompted tears, poetry had a deeper meaning, music wove itself around her heart with a particular intensity, and the kindness of someone she barely knew could make her cry.

  “I wish you could,” she said. “But just my bad luck, Clay only has an opening in the company office. Anyway, I’d have to learn more about the area before guiding a group. Tell me, where are you and your husband headed next?” Tessa asked to change the subject.

  “We’re going to explore more of Montana, then head for Alaska. Have you ever been there?”

  “I wish.”

  Tessa thought Alaska would be a fabulous place to visit, but since she took her vacations in November, she generally chose warm, southern destinations with longer winter daylight hours. And sometimes she just relaxed around her parents’ pool to save money. Their backyard was comfortable enough to be a destination spot of its own, with a fountain, spa, sauna and loads of Spanish tile.

  Being there also gave her a sense of accomplishment. While getting her degree in landscape architecture, they’d let her dig up the place and put in a whole new design as part of a class project.

  “How about you, Clay?” Ginny called to him. “Have you ever been to Alaska?”

  “It’s hard to get away when you own an outdoor adventure company. Do you plan to climb Denali?”

  “You mean the mountain they used to call McKinley?” Ginny scrunched her nose when he nodded. “Fat chance. If you think I was concerned about wolves and mountain lions on this trip, how do you think I feel about Kodiak bears? Those things are humongous. On the other hand, since I can still run faster than my husband, I’m not going to worry.”

  Her spouse groaned and appreciative snickers went around the group. Tessa happened to catch Clay’s gaze and caught a hint of amusement in his eyes, so he was probably enjoying the joke.