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woods wafted on the pine-scented breeze.
    A moment later Sam approached Frank. He squatted beside the boy and observed the game before speaking in such a low tone that Annie couldn’t catch his words. His position stretched the shirt fabric across his wide back and tightened his buttocks. Solid muscle and then some. A man totally at ease in his body and in his appeal.
    Sam was too big, too bold, and too... much. Smug as she’d expected, but more—kind and charming and intelligent. In talking about leaving baseball, his voice had held an angry layer. His wounds went deeper than the visible scars. He loved the sport. That was clear. For him it hadn’t meant only bucks and broads.
    He still wasn’t her type. Another pro athlete? Not in this lifetime.
    Any spare time she’d spend on her tablet, even though there’d be no internet connection. Yet sparring with Sam did lighten her mood and ease her anxiety about what Mother Nature had in store for her. Emma would have encouraged her. Heck, her extroverted friend would have competed for Sam’s attentions. She managed a wistful smile.
    Her mission was to make a success of the week’s challenges and study her notes, but what if immersing herself in this wild environment also helped her understand the Hunter? Could she grasp what he felt in this wilderness that was scary to her?
    She clenched her fingers together and blinked away tears. She had to try. “I’ll find him, Em. I promise.”
    She couldn’t let Sam sidetrack her. But the man sure was distracting. Too distracting.
    Sam didn’t wait for Frank’s reply, but stood and ambled over to her. “I’ll give you a hand with the tent.”
    “Thanks.” She jerked her chin toward the boy. “What—”
    Sam shushed her. “Not now.”
    Nora emerged from the trees with an armload of small branches, which she dumped beside the fire ring. With a guarded glance at her son and a sigh, she went back for more.
    Frank’s thumbs continued to fly over the game controls. Otherwise he didn’t move or indicate awareness of anyone else or of his surroundings.
    Sam showed her how to connect the aluminum tent poles into a frame. He whistled snatches of songs she didn’t recognize as they hooked on the nylon tent and the rain fly.
    “I can’t stand it any longer,” she whispered. “What did you say to him?”
    Sam winked, crinkling the fine lines around his eyes and arching one eyebrow. Darker than his hair, his brows bristled with the same unruly audacity as his personality.
    “I told him before we set out, no work equals no food. He had the travel time to decide. A minute ago I whispered to him that tonight’s menu is lobsters and corn on the cob.”
    A sputtered snort escaped before her contained her laughter, in case Frank could hear. “I hope he likes lobster.”
    “Nora said he always wants it on his birthday.”
    “Lobster doesn’t sound much like food for a wilderness immersion. Were you kidding?”
    “Nope. Eight live ones in the cooler, along with two more meals, chicken and stir-fry beef. After that, supper’s a wilderness challenge.” His mustache lifted with his grin.
    She didn’t want to know. “Poor Nora has to lug the firewood alone.” She scowled at Frank’s back. “He’ll test you, to see if you mean it.”
    “You bet, but soon that growing boy’s gonna get hungry as the proverbial bear.” He handed her a metal tent stake. “The batteries in his electronic gadget will die. His mom ditched the spares before they left home.”
    “My fingers are crossed.” Annie shoved the last tent stake into the sandy soil.
    Whistling another tune, Sam strolled off to help Nora. This one she recognized—“Don’t Fence Me In.”

 
    FIVE
     
    Northern Maine woods
     
    That afternoon sweat trickled down his back as he crouched between a boulder and a clump of low junipers. No matter. He had taught himself to sit motionless for hours. The cramping taught him patience. He knew he could go beyond pain.
    This was