Eli knew at an early age that his family was different. Trudie had disregarded societal norms and raised her daughter on her own, working any odd job she could find to put food on the table. Annalise had left home at sixteen, dropping out of school to take off with a climber shed met at a local roadhouse. A few years later, Trudie wandered into the wilderness of the Rockies, built a rustic cabin on the edge of a mountain meadow and never returned to civilization.
She spent the rest of her life writing books about feminist empowerment and a womans connection to the natural world, turning herself and her little mountain home into a symbol for independent women throughout the world.
Most of the people around town, however, thought Trudie and Annalise were a bit crazy. There were times when Eli had to agree, although he preferred to think of them both as unconventional. After all, they were familyhis only familyand hed learned to accept them for who they were: two very confident, powerful women who didnt need a man in their lives to be happy or fulfilled.
Trudie had passed away seven years ago after a valiant battle with breast cancer. After a brief stint in the hospital, shed returned to her cabin to die. Annalise and Eli had buried her in the meadow, in a coffin Trudie had built herself. After her death, her cabin became a destination for hikers trekking into the Arapaho National Forest and a pilgrimage for women who had admired Trudies tenacity and her talent as a writer.
When Eli was home, he often spent time at the cabin, making sure the roof was still sound and the cupboards were stocked in case someone wanted to stay there, or it was needed as an emergency shelter by a lost or injured hiker. Though many other empty cabins had fallen prey to squatters or vandals, Trudies cabin, like her memory, had been revered by those who visited, and left untouched.
Annalise is on her way, Vanessa called from the far end of the store.
Thanks, Eli replied.
He found a pair of cotton cargo pants and a T-shirt on the sale rack. His mothers shop was a popular stop for tourists, but she still went on climbing expeditions all over the world and led treks for breast cancer survivors, in honor of her mothers battle for both equality and survival.
Annalise had also founded one of the countrys most successful breast cancer charities. She still served as the face of the group, though shed never been interested in the day-to-day business workings.
Eli walked to the back of the store, then past his mothers office to a narrow stairway. When he got upstairs, he wove a path through the boxes that littered the hallway, stripping off his travel-worn clothes along the way.
He found a pair of scissors in the kitchen, then made his way to the bathroom. Eli stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long moment. This was the first time hed been home without an exit strategy already planned. Usually, his visits had an expiration date, a day when he was required to leave so he could make his next adventure. Over the past few years, hed trekked the Andes, worked a fishing boat in Alaska, hopped a freighter for Taiwan, taught a series of workshops for Outward Bound and helped film a documentary about surfing in Hawaii.
Maybe it was time to reassess his choices in life, Eli mused. Though hed never wanted a traditional career, he felt as if he ought to be contributing in a more profound way. Both his grandmother and his mother had carved out legacies for themselves. What would his legacy be?
Some guys built powerful careers, and their lives were all about money and accumulating wealth. Others, like politicians, preferred to build their power. Others married and found their legacies in their children. And then there were those that set themselves apart by accomplishing impossible things, like climbing the highest mountain or finding a cure for a fatal disease or pitching a no-hitter.
When would he figure out his place in the world? And when would he be perfectly happy with his life? These questions always seemed to plague him at the end of one of his adventures, when he was left with just the memories and nothing more. Usually he was able to push them to the back of his mind by finding another adventure, but this time, he had nowhere to go and nothing to take his mind off of his murky future.
Eli carefully clipped off the beard, but left his hair a little long. Hed make a quick visit to the barber tomorrow. Rubbing his face, he turned on the shower and when the water was nice and warm, stepped beneath the spray and sighed.
He hadnt had a real shower, or bath, in almost two months. The luxury of hot, fresh water was almost more than he could bear and he groaned softly as he let the spray pound his back.
By the time hed scrubbed his skin and lathered his hair, he was starting to feel almost human. The lather dripped off his body and gathered around his feet as he rinsed, then he reached for the faucet and shut off the shower. Wiping the water from his face, he yanked the curtain back and reached for a towel. He wrapped the soft fabric around his waist and strode into the bedroom to grab the T-shirt and pants.
Look at you!
His mother was perched on the edge of his bed, her legs crossed in front of her, her wavy gray-streaked hair falling around her face.
Jesus, Annalise! He clutched the towel and made sure it was tightly knotted.
Oh, please. Ive seen you naked before. Many times.
Get out, he said, nodding toward the bedroom door.
She jumped off the bed, then threw her arms around his neck. Youre home! She gave him a kiss on the cheek, then rubbed it in as shed done when he was a child. So it will last, she murmured, as she always did.
He waited for her to close the bedroom door behind her, then cursed softly. Was it any wonder that hed never figured out the female mind? Maybe if hed had a normal mother and grandmother, hed be married with two or three kids by now. Instead, he survived on a series of short-lived affairs with women who seemed perfectly normal at first, but who strangely always ended up unsuitable or unstable.
When Eli finally emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the cargo pants and T-shirt, Annalise was waiting in the hallway with a hot cup of tea. She pulled him along to the kitchen table and shoved a stack of shoe boxes off a chair and onto the floor. Sit, sit. When Vanessa called, I was so surprised. I wasnt expecting you. Usually you call.
I didnt really have a chance, he said, picking up a pair of climbing shoes that shed pushed aside. Do these come in my size?
She smiled. Though shed reached the half-century mark last year, Annalise Montgomery still had a girlish exuberance that belied her true age. Her slender body, kept healthy by yoga and a vegan diet, moved with a grace and athleticism that made her hard to ignore.
Richard Baskill? he said.
Oh, stop. I dont need you to tell me who I can and cannot screw. She sat down across from him and tucked her feet up under her. Its just a thing. An undeniable sexual attraction. Im going through menopause and they say sometimes women just freak out and try to do it with any man who walks by. She shrugged, a coy grin twitching at the corners of her lips. So I did. And Ill have you know, hes quite an accomplished lover. Besides, theres nothing left to do about the resort. He managed to buy every politician that could have stopped it. I just figured it was time to go with the flow.
So the next best thing was to hop into bed with him?
So the next best thing was to hop into bed with him?
She giggled. We actually havent done it in a bed yet. He likes it when I get...creative. I couldnt beat him with the resort, but I do hold all the power in the bedroom.
Eli covered his ears. Too much information, he shouted, shaking his head.
All right, all right, she said, grabbing his hand and lacing her fingers through his. No more talk about my love life. Lets talk about yours.
Theres nothing to talk about, Eli said.
She gave him a sad look and sighed.
Is there some kind of sexual dysfunction that keeps you from
Stop! Eli said. Im not going to talk to you about my sex life.
A silence descended and she busied herself braiding a strand of her hair. As much as he loved his mothers rather mercurial personality, it often made simple conversation nearly impossible. She usually blurted out exactly what was on her mind, without the benefit of a filter. Though, truth be told, Eli had come to the conclusion that she enjoyed shocking people.
Is there some other topic we might discuss? Eli asked.
I suppose your inability to settle down and find a purpose for your life is off-limits as well?
The commitment gene is missing in the Montgomery family, he muttered. I take after you and Trudie. I make enough money to live my life. Thats all I need for now.
Well, in the interest of making money to live your life, I just happen to have a job for you, a good-paying job. They hired me to do it, but now that youre home, I think youd be perfect for it.
What kind of job?
I got a call from a production company in Los Angeles. Theyre doing a reality show, a girl-in-the-wild thing where they drop this woman into the wilderness and she has to fend for herself for a year. They wanted to rent Trudies cabin because theyre basing the concept on her life on the mountain.
You rented out my grandmothers cabin?
You wont believe what they paid, Annalise said. Its all very professional. This woman they got to host the show, Lucy Parker, shes read all your grandmothers books. Shes 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 isnt 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 thats going to stay with her. They wouldnt leave her up there all alone. He stared at Annalise. Well? Did you ask these questions?
Well...no. Im sure they know what theyre 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. Thats 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 dont eat cheese, he said. Youre a vegan.
Ive 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 youll be telling me that youre eating meat.
Bacon, she said. I mean, its really not meat. Its fat. And it smells like sex feels. At my age, I just dont think I should deny any of my urges. Life is short. We have to enjoy every single moment. Thats what Richard says.
Eli rubbed his forehead, wondering at the sudden knot of tension beneath his fingertips. Maybe a beeror fivewas exactly what he needed right now. It appeared that a lot of things had changed since hed last been home.
Leave it to his mother to involve them both in some silly reality show. The reality was that life in Trudies cabin was hard and lonely and it wasnt 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, shed want to run right back down the mountain.
* * *
LUCY PARKER ROLLED over on her bunk and winced at the ache in her shoulder. Shed spent the previous day stripping the bark from a tree shed felled last week. It was backbreaking work, but all part of the processthe 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 shed 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. Shed 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 shed planned to build.
Her plans had undergone some revisions once she realized how heavy a twelve-foot tree could be. So shed 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, shed 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. Id sleep much better if youd 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 mountainshigh, 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. Shed 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. Shed 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 shed 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. Shed 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. Shed read Trudies 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. Shed 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.