The Mighty Quinns: Eli (2 page)

“You rented out my grandmother's cabin?”

“You won't believe what they paid,” Annalise said. “It's all very professional. This woman they got to host the show, Lucy Parker, she's read all your grandmother's books. She's a huge fan.”

“How old is she?”

“What difference does that make? I was twenty-four when I first climbed Everest. Your grandmother was fifty when she wrote her first book. Age is just another metric that men use to put women down.”

Eli cursed softly. “All right, never mind her age. How long is she going to live there all alone? Two, three months?”

“A year. And she isn't alone. She has a dog with her.”

“A year? How is a TV personality from Los Angeles going to feed herself? Does she hunt? What about chopping wood? There must be a production crew that's going to stay with her. They wouldn't leave her up there all alone.” He stared at Annalise. “Well? Did you ask these questions?”

“Well...no. I'm sure they know what they're doing.”

“Does she have a radio or a sat phone to call if she needs help?”

His mother shrugged. “I have no idea. You can find out yourself when you hike up there the day after tomorrow. That's the job. Check up on her once a month. Bring a few supplies to her.” She stood up. “In the meantime, I think we should go out and stuff ourselves with pizza and beer.”

“You don't eat cheese,” he said. “You're a vegan.”

“I've realized that cheese is quite possibly the most sublime food on the planet. And I only eat organic cheese from grass-fed, humanely pastured milk cows.”

“Next thing you'll be telling me that you're eating meat.”

“Bacon,” she said. “I mean, it's really not meat. It's fat. And it smells like sex feels. At my age, I just don't think I should deny any of my urges. Life is short. We have to enjoy every single moment. That's what Richard says.”

Eli rubbed his forehead, wondering at the sudden knot of tension beneath his fingertips. Maybe a beer—or five—was exactly what he needed right now. It appeared that a lot of things had changed since he'd last been home.

Leave it to his mother to involve them both in some silly reality show. The
reality
was that life in Trudie's cabin was hard and lonely and it wasn't a place for make-believe adventurers. He intended to let Lucy Parker know exactly what she was in for. And once she found out what a winter in the Rockies would be like, she'd want to run right back down the mountain.

* * *

L
UCY
P
ARKER
ROLLED
over on her bunk and winced at the ache in her shoulder. She'd spent the previous day stripping the bark from a tree she'd felled last week. It was backbreaking work, but all part of the process—the process of building her own shelter that would withstand the harsh winter.

She sat up and brushed the hair out of her eyes. This was the life she'd signed on for. A year in the wilderness, a year living life as Trudie Montgomery had. And the first task was to construct a small log cabin. She'd been on the mountain for exactly a month and had managed to gather enough logs for one wall of the ten-by-ten foot shelter she'd planned to build.

Her plans had undergone some revisions once she realized how heavy a twelve-foot tree could be. So she'd reduced the diameter of the trees she harvested to only those she could drag through the woods herself.

Though she was behind schedule, Lucy was certain that once her body got used to the specific labors involved, she'd pick up speed.

Her only companion in this adventure, her dog, Riley, was stretched out beside her on the old iron bed. When she sat up, he lifted his head. “I'd sleep much better if you'd stay on your side,” she muttered. He gave her a soft woof then leaped over her and scurried to the door.

She crawled out of bed, wrapping the old quilt around her to ward off the chill, then opened the front door of the cabin. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the amazing landscape around her. To the west were mountains—high, craggy, snow-covered peaks. To the east, thick forest and the foothills. The closest town was Stone Creek, twenty miles away by air, but hours by vehicle and foot. She'd come to the cabin via a helicopter that had landed in the wide green meadow to the south, a meadow now painted in the watercolor hues of the first wildflowers of the season.

Riley scratched at the screen door and she opened it. He ran out and she followed at a more leisurely pace. She'd put her watch away and sealed it in an old baking-powder tin, allowing her body to dictate the hours of the day. When she was hungry, she ate. When she was tired, she slept. And when it was time to work, she focused all her energy to push herself harder than she'd ever been pushed. She loved it.

Lucy drew a deep breath of the crisp morning air. Her year in the wild promised to be both a personal and a professional challenge, and she relished the chance to prove herself. She'd bounced around from job to job in television production for years, picking up jobs where she could and making enough to put herself through college. She'd read Trudie's books when she was a teenager and had dreamed of a life spent alone, with nothing but her strength and wits to sustain her.

An offhand conversation with another producer had resulted in a proposal for a new reality show. She'd spend a year in the wilderness, following in the footsteps of famous feminist Trudie Montgomery. Amazingly, her proposal had been accepted, a production budget had been secured and on April first, Lucy had been left in the meadow with Riley and twenty crates of supplies to get her through the next twelve months.

All she had to do was provide at least fifteen hours of video footage per week, chronicling her efforts to survive in the wilderness, recording her thoughts on Trudie, her feminist ideals and the challenges she'd faced. Meanwhile, the producers were working to sell the series to a network.

Lucy had been given a battery-operated two-way radio to call for help in case of an emergency, a laptop computer with a satellite uplink to upload her video footage each week and a generator to charge both the video camera and laptop.

Figuring it should be charged now, she walked back inside and grabbed the video camera, then sat down on the top porch step and turned it toward herself. Pushing the record button, she smiled. “Hooray, hooray, it's the third of May. I've been on the mountain for exactly one month and today, I'm going to have a visitor. Annalise Montgomery, Trudie's daughter, has agreed to stop by once a month to check up on me and bring me a few supplies. And to chat with us. Those of you who've read Trudie's books know that Trudie's friend and lover, Buck Garrison, used to stop by every month with necessities, but there will be no men visiting me.”

Rachel McFarlane and Anna Conners, her two producers, had decided that the entire project, from production on down, should be run by women. The pair had produced an award-winning PBS special on the all-women's America's Cup racing crew several years before and were certain that it would be a positive message to send to the public and a good way to market the show to the networks when it came time to sell it.

“What do I need?” Lucy continued. “A few extra lanterns for the very dark mountain nights. Another pair of long underwear. Some heavier socks. And a new washboard to do laundry. I could also use some chocolate, but I didn't put that on my list as I've decided to go cold turkey.” She paused. “Turkey. I'd also love a turkey sandwich. Canned meat has already lost its appeal.”

Riley's bark caught her attention and Lucy trained the lens on the meadow, hoping to catch Annalise as she approached. In the distance, she made out a lone figure moving toward her. She tried to make out the details of Annalise's face, then sucked in a sharp breath.

It wasn't the slender figure of Annalise, but a tall, lanky man who approached. She noticed the rifle slung over his shoulder. He also carried a large frame pack, yet moved as if it weighed nothing.

Lucy had been in the wilderness for an entire month and this was the first visitor she'd had. Though she felt a small measure of excitement, this wasn't the person she'd expected. Calling for Riley, she motioned the dog to her side and he sat down, his attention now fixed on the stranger. As the man approached the cabin, Lucy observed him more closely.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, wearing hiking shorts and boots, a faded T-shirt, sunglasses and a cap that shaded his eyes. Thick, dark hair curled out from under the cap and the shadow of a beard darkened his face.

A tiny tremor raced through her. There was a reason why the production company had hired Annalise Montgomery to make the monthly visits, beyond the show's premise. After a month of solitude, a single man—hell, any man—caused a riot of unsettling feelings inside of her, even if he might be a backwoods ax murderer.

Lucy suddenly realized how vulnerable she was, out here all alone. She set the camera down and grabbed the rifle from its spot just inside the door. Nestling the butt into her shoulder, she got the man in her sights. “Stop right there,” she shouted across the twenty yards that separated them. Riley growled softly.

Startled, he did as he was ordered, slowly raising his hands and watching her suspiciously. “Are you really planning to use that?” he shouted.

“I will if I have to.”

“Then nestle the stock into your shoulder and raise the muzzle up. Unless your intended target is the dirt five feet in front of me. Don't tell me they didn't even teach you to shoot properly.”

“What are you doing here?”

“The more appropriate question,” he muttered, starting toward her again, “would be what are
you
doing here?” He dropped his hands to the straps on his pack and hooked his thumbs beneath them.

She narrowed her gaze. “Who are you?”

“Annalise sent me,” he said. “I've brought some supplies. And I guess I'm supposed to make sure you haven't done anything stupid, like starve to death or get eaten by a bear. You look healthy and I don't see any teeth marks, so I assume you're all right so far?”

Lucy stifled a smile as she set the gun down beside her. She stepped off the porch, suddenly curious about the man who'd wandered into her orbit. He slipped the pack off his back, then stretched his arms above his head. Then, in one smooth movement, he pulled his T-shirt over his head and used it to wipe the perspiration from his face.

Lucy bit back a moan as she took in his finely muscled chest and impossibly sculpted abdomen. Her fingers twitched as she imagined running her hands over the tanned skin, pressing her lips to the smooth expanse of naked skin.

This was crazy. She'd gone far longer than a month without a man in her life before. Why was she reacting so strongly to this guy now? Yes, he was gorgeous. And she hadn't had any human contact for a month. But she should be able to control her reactions much better than this.

He cleared his throat and when she met his gaze, Lucy realized she'd been caught staring. “You shouldn't be here,” she murmured. “Annalise agreed to come.”

“She thought I'd enjoy the fresh air and a good, long hike.”

“We had an agreement,” Lucy said.

“Well, if you knew anything about Annalise you'd understand that she's rather flexible when it comes to promises and agreements.”

“We have a contract. This entire project is supposed to be run by women. Women producers, women editors. We want to make a statement. Exactly how Trudie would have wanted it.”

“How do you know what Trudie wanted?” he asked. “You never even met her.”

“And I suppose you did?” she asked, arching her eyebrow and leveling a cool gaze at him.

“I used to spend summers here with her,” he said. “I helped her put up the addition on the cabin and I built that outhouse all by myself.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Annalise had mentioned that she had a son, but she said he was away a lot and that they didn't see much of each other. Cursing beneath her breath, she strode up to him and held out her hand. “You must be—”

“Eli,” he said after studying her for a long, uncomfortable moment. “Eli Montgomery. I'm Annalise's son.”

“I'm Lucy Parker,” she said, sending him an apologetic smile. Of course the son of a woman like Annalise would be as handsome as she was beautiful. And he'd have to love the outdoors.

He took her hand in his and gave it a shake.

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” she said.

He took off his sunglasses, letting them hang from the strap around his neck, and she found herself transfixed by eyes so blue, they rivaled the sky above. They stared at each other warily, like two wild animals deciding between fight or flight.

“You must have left very early to get here before noon,” she said.

“I move fast,” he said.

A shiver skittered down her spine and she drew her fingers from his.

“For most people, it's a four-hour hike,” he explained. “I can do it in three. And if I'm going to make the round trip before sunset, I wanted to be here by noon.”

“You're going to leave right away?”

He frowned. “Yeah. I guess I didn't think you'd want me to stick around. Why? You need something? You want me to stay?”

“No, no. You're right. You really should go. The whole point of this project is for me to live life like Trudie did.”

“Trudie had lots of visitors,” he said.

“In that case, maybe you could you stay for lunch?” She gave him a tentative smile. “To be honest, it would be nice to have some company. Even for just an hour. And as long as you don't do any of the cooking, I guess it won't break any rules.”

“There are rules?”

“Guidelines, really. An entire notebook filled with them. I can't accept any outside help, beyond the monthly check-in.”