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"Are you sure this is a good idea, Laurie?" I asked as I opened Snickety's hatch and reached in for the food.
"You know you'll be the topic of conversation anyway, you may as well be here to tell your side of the story," Laurie said as she closed the hatch of my yellow Fiat.
"Shouldn't the Wilkins’ Gap Search and Rescue team have something better to talk about than my social life?"
"As an outsider, I can see how you'd think that, but since your social life of late has involved dating the SAR team leader and one of the other team members while pushing a third team member off a cliff, your social life is pretty much all they'll be talking about."
I knew she was right, but I didn't have to like it. I was hoping Chance Munroe, a local hunting guide and cryptid hunter, might decide to stay home. He was one of the leaders of the search and rescue team, but he's out of commission for a few months because I pushed him off a cliff. It's really not as bad as it sounds.
"Fudge. There's Chance's truck," I said as we walked past. When we made it to the door, Jim Stafford, the local lawyer who handled my Uncle Harry's will, was just pulling it open.
"Hi, Everly. Laurie. He held the door open as we made our way inside.
The three of us headed to the buffet table where there were already several casserole dishes, crockpots, and plates of food.
I moved to the small town of Wilkins’ Gap, Idaho when my Uncle Harry passed away and left me his business, Hairy's Cryptid Cafe. This was the second meeting of the local search and rescue team I attended. Jim invited me to the first one so I could meet some of my new neighbors.
There were many reasons why most people in my position probably would have avoided the SAR potluck. My new BFF, Laurie, who runs a consignment shop in town, convinced me to ignore them all. As soon as I put my tray of southern fried chicken on the table, Jim pulled me into a hug and gave me a quick kiss. "I'm glad you came. I thought you might be worried about what people were saying about what happened."
"I thought about skipping it, but Laurie convinced me I might as well hear the talk first hand. I see Chance is holding court," I said.
For reasons that still were not clear to me, Uncle Harry put a stipulation in his will that required me to spend a week in the wild with Chance. He runs his own guide business and is one of the three men I refer to as my guyumvirate. Chance and I ran into some problems in the wild, and I ended up pushing him off a cliff. He broke his ankle and had to be rescued by his SAR teammates.
I made my way over to where he was sitting surrounded by a bunch of people I recognized but didn't know. I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Hi, Chance. How are you tonight?"
He reached up and took hold of my hand. I swear I could hear the audible gasps of everyone in close proximity. "Hi, Everly. Can you stick around after the meeting? I need to talk to you."
I wasn't sure if the shock on people's faces was due to the fact that Chance was touching me in a very friendly way or that he was even speaking to the woman responsible for putting him out of commission for 12 weeks. Tom Beckett, Laurie's brother who was the Wilkins’ Gap Fire Chief and another leader of the search and rescue team, stopped by our table to say hello on his way to the front to run the meeting. Once the business was done, Chance stood up and thanked his teammates for coming to his rescue. Tom wrapped up with reminders about the schedule for the next few weeks.
As folks were gathering up their dishes and heading out, Jim pulled four chairs into a circle. He motioned me over. "Have a seat. I'll round up the others."
Chance hobbled over and took the seat across from me. Tom sat down on one side of me and Jim on the other. Several people cast curious glances at us over their shoulders as they left the fire station.
I wasn't scared of any of these men. I'd gotten to know each of them pretty well in the few weeks I'd called Wilkins’ Gap home, but this was just weird. "If this is some kind of hazing for the new girl in town or payback for me pushing Chance off the cliff, it's not going to work. Half the town knows I'm here with you three."
Just then Laurie walked out of the Ladies' Room. She looked at the four of us. "I rode with Em. I thought I'd catch a ride home with you, Tom."
He tossed her the keys. "Take my truck. I’ll catch a ride with one of these guys."
"OK." She didn't move toward the door. "You OK, Em?" she asked.
"Curious," I said, "but fine."
Looking directly at me, she said, "Call me later."
"Will do." She still wasn't moving. She caught Tom's eye and he nodded to the door. She left quickly after that.
Tom stood up, gave my shoulder a supportive squeeze, and said, "I'll be in the office when you're ready for me."
"Not making it better," I said.
"Sorry, Everly. Jim and I needed to discuss something with you. I pulled out my topo maps to see exactly where Harry wanted us to go," Chance explained. "You already know the location is in an area my dad told me was off limits since he and Harry encountered some aggressive grizzly bears in the area a few years back.”
I nodded.
"Jim and I got to talking and wondering why send us in there now? We felt strongly that we should check out the exact spot Harry put in the will."
"We talked about that before we were rescued. I'm game for completing our quest when you're able." I convinced myself that the reason Uncle Harry put the stipulation in his will that Chance and I had to spend a week in the woods was because he wanted me to experience his world. He wanted me to learn about cryptid hunting. I doubt he expected me to join the cryptid hunter's club, but I think maybe he wanted me to understand him. I've been thinking that maybe Harry hoped to take me himself, but since that never happened, he made sure I had the experience after he was gone.
"That's great, but I'm not going to be able to get out there for months," Chance said.
"I'd be happy to take you, but if there are aggressive bears out there, I'm not a great hunter," Jim said. "Besides that, I've agreed to help my dad prep a case for the Montana Supreme Court."
"We'll go as soon as Chance is able then," I said.
"We think it's important to go soon," Chance said.
"Why?"
"Lots of reasons. If you don't mind adding another person to our little secret club, Tom can take you," Chance said. "He can keep you safe out there and collect any data about what you find."
"Great. Send Tom then," I said, not understanding why they were making such a big deal out of this.
Jim reaching for my hand made me nervous. "Everly, I think it's important that you go. You have a vested interest in this."
I wasn't sure I understood my vested interest, but I did have a healthy curiosity. "I'll admit I would like to see what Harry thought I needed to see."
"Great," Jim said. "I'll go get Tom." He walked off to get Tom from his office in the back of the building.
"You OK with this?" Chance asked.
"Are you? If I have a vested interest in this, so do you."