Page 3 of Protected By The Mountain Man

Standing up, I surveyed the cove. I didn’t see the kayak anywhere. But it couldn’t have drifted far.

A light rumble of thunder rolled overhead, and I looked up.

Damn.It looked like it was going to rain. The sky was dark and turbulent.

“What happened to my sunny day?” I asked out loud, speaking to no one.

I was fully awake now, the grogginess of sleep completely gone.

My little adventure had just turned into trouble.

Doing a quick mental inventory, I realized my clothes were in the kayak, along with the rental car keys and my phone. Even the towel I’d used to dry off after my swim was in the kayak. I’d spread it over the surface of the kayak to dry.

I was stuck out here, buck-ass naked, with only the remnants of my picnic lunch. And there wasn’t much that I could do with one water bottle, an apple, and a bag of chips.

Peering down the cove, I tried to see if the kayak was visible in the main part of the lake. Surely it couldn’t have gone far, right? But I didn’t see anything.

Don’t panic. There’s no reason to panic.

I wasn’t the type to fall into hysterics the second things got tough. I was a problem-solver and if I ran into a problem in my life, I took great pride in fixing it. This situation qualified as a puzzle to solve.

This place might be called Hidden Lake, but it wasn’tthathidden. There’d been two boats and a paddle boarder out earlier.

All I’d need to do is wait for someone to come by.

Someone will come by.

Surely they will.

A small drop of rain landed on my shoulder. It was chillier than I expected. Arkansas in the summer should be warm… but maybe up here in the mountains there could still be a cool rain even in July.

My nipples firmed up as another drop of rain splashed down.

Okay. So I was naked and stranded in a rainstorm. Didn’t mean I was about to die.

Maybe I should swim to the main part of the lake.

If I did that I might be able to find the kayak.

And then what? I’d paddle back to the main shore, naked and fearless?

I bit my lip. Worse things could happen than giving a few people an eyeful. Plus, if it was raining, the few swimmers I’d seen by the main lake entrance would have packed up and left by the time I got there.

And I didn’t have any other options. Plus, my clothes were probably still on the kayak unless it had flipped over. I could try to redress on the kayak. First step, find the kayak. Then worry about clothes after that.

Thunder rumbled overhead again.

Maybe staying here is the better option.

I could wait the storm out. I had food and water. It might get uncomfortable at night with no clothes between me and the flying, biting insects of the woods, but I’d survive.

But while I was pondering the hunker-down-and-stay-put approach to my problem, I heard the scolding, chittering sounds of squirrels followed by a loud sound from the forest behind me.

What the hell is that?

I turned to look, but couldn’t see anything through the dense foliage.

There was a loud grunting sound coming from the top of the hill, followed by the rustle of something moving through the underbrush.

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