Chapter One: Samantha

"Wow, that was some storm last night." Samantha followed the queue of traffic as the fallen tree that had blocked the road was hauled away, allowing them to pass at last.

"The rain was so loud on my window it kept me awake." Lewis yawned widely.

"I thought the wind was going to take the shingles off the roof," Tilly agreed as she looked up from the book on mountain wildlife she had been reading.

Samantha smiled to herself as she glanced in the rearview mirror. The digital age might be upon them with iPads and e-readers, but her daughter still preferred the look and feel of a book in her hand. A trait she'd inherited from her father.

The thought of Donald, the man she'd fallen in love with, the man who had lost his life trying to protect endangered animals, brought a familiar ache to Samantha's chest. She pushed the feeling aside, focusing instead on the winding road ahead.

Despite the passing of time, and it had been two years since she'd been given the news that he'd been killed by poachers, the pain often caught her off guard. But over the last couple of weeks, as she'd packed up their old life in preparation for their move to Bear Creek, it was as if she'd felt his presence more.

She liked to think he was watching over them. Keeping them safe.

"Well. I'm sure our new house will be fine," Samantha said, but as she steered the car around someone's collapsed yard fence, she could not stop a seed of doubt from planting itself in her mind.

This was their big new start, and she didn't want anything to spoil it. The upheaval of uprooting their lives and moving from their hometown across country was huge. But Samantha was convinced it was worth it.

At least, that was what she had been telling herself until they had gotten in the car and driven away from their house.

As the miles went by, the lump in the pit of her stomach grew. Why hadn't she stayed in her old job, held onto their old life, their old memories?

Because her new job was her dream job, and it was too good to miss.

And as her mom had told her, with her usual tact and kindness, it was time to move on. As Samantha mulled over her mom's advice, she'd realized that would never happen if they stayed in the house where every room, every piece of furniture, seemed to hold a memory of Donald.

"Are those the mountains?" Lewis pointed out of the window into the far distance.

"Maybe." Her brow creased as she stared ahead. Her eyesight was good, but the mass Lewis pointed at could just as well be a cloud bank, bringing more rain and strong winds.

Samantha shuddered. She'd checked the forecast before she left and although they were following in the storm's wake, it should have moved on over Bear Creek a couple of hours before they arrived.

She flexed her hands on the steering wheel, realizing she'd been gripping it so hard her hand had cramped. There was no turning back. Their house was sold. It would soon be home to a new family.

All she could do was look ahead.

"Grandma's asking if we are there yet." Tilly held up her cell phone.

"Tell her we should be there in about half an hour," Samantha replied. "Oh, and don't tell her about the fallen trees. She'll only worry."

Her mom had been so supportive of her move. She smiled. As a child, her mom had always been her biggest cheerleader.

Samantha knew how much it had cost her to see her daughter move away with her grandchildren. Tears pricked her eyes, but this was not the time for tears. She had to keep her eyes on the road.

"You're right, they are mountains," Samantha said, and a wave of excitement swept over her, pushing back her sadness.

Slowly the landscape changed, the flat open fields giving way to rolling hills as the distant mountains grew bigger in the windshield.

Samantha clenched her jaw. How crazy was she to agree to move to a town she'd never visited with her children? But it had all happened so fast. She might have said no, but the job came with a house. Which meant she could finally get her finances straight. Finances that had been left with a large black hole in them when Donald died. She'd tried not to hold it against him, but there was a part of her that had slowly grown bitter toward him. Angry that he hadn't put as much thought and care into his family's survival as the animals he wanted to protect.

So, when the job offer came through, it all seemed so perfect, the answer she'd been searching for.

The only drawback—they needed her to start in two weeks. Two weeks to pack up their old lives had not left enough time for a visit to Bear Creek.

Her mom had insisted it was fate. An opportunity that didn't come along very often and one she should grasp with both hands.

But maybe the storm was an omen that this was all wrong.

As they turned off the highway at the sign for Bear Creek, tall pine forests flanked the narrow road, dusted with pine needles from the previous night's storm. Tilly wound down her window and craned her neck to look up at the tips of the tall pines and the scent of rain-sodden earth and pine filled the car, mingling with the slightly stale aroma of fast food from their last pit stop.

"The trees are so tall!" Tilly said in awe. "So much taller than they look in my books."

Lewis pressed his face against the window, eyes wide with wonder. "Wow!"

It was wow! Samantha had to agree. As she stared up at the tall pines, she began to let go of some of her doubts. The towering trees stood like sentinels watching over them as they drove beneath their canopy, toward their new beginning.

Boy, that was deep. She sure needed a coffee and something to eat other than the snacks they had brought with them for the journey.

That was the first thing she planned to do when they arrived at their new house. Brew a pot of fresh coffee. Thankfully, their furniture had arrived at their new house two days before, since the moving company had been aware of the storm and did not want their truck on the road during the high winds.

So, that coffee pot would be the first thing she unpacked before she tackled making up beds and getting all their stuff out of the packing boxes.

The pine trees thinned, revealing a sky bruised by the remnants of the storm, streaks of golden sunlight peeking through the clouds. It added an eerie quality to the light around them as ahead, she spotted the first of the houses that lined the road leading to the town itself.

She might not have visited Bear Creek, but she had been on Google Maps and had a good idea of the layout of the town and the surrounding area. But the images online did not do justice to the quaint houses with pitched roofs and charming porches that lined the streets, some filled with blooming flowerbeds and bordered with picket fences, others with large plots that had a few sheep, or horses, or…

"Alpacas!" Tilly pointed at a small paddock where the fluffy creatures grazed, seemingly oblivious to the previous night's storm.

Lewis leaned across the car to look out of his sister's window. "We should get some, Mom!" he said, pressing his face even closer to the window.

"Can we?" Tilly asked hopefully.

"I don't think there's enough room to keep any in the house we are moving into," Samantha said. "But we could see if there are some we can visit."

"I guess." Tilly slumped back in her seat. She'd always had a soft spot for alpacas ever since she met some on a visit to a petting zoo.

"I'm sure there are lots of animals around Bear Creek we could visit," Samantha said as they passed a field filled with goats. "And don't forget the wildlife sanctuary. There are plenty of animals there."

"But not alpacas," Tilly murmured.

"I want to see some bears and some wolves," Lewis said.

"Remember what we talked about," Samantha told him. "They are dangerous, and we have to respect them as wild animals."

Lewis sighed dramatically. "Yeah, I know, but it would be so cool ."

Samantha glanced in the rearview mirror. "I'm sure they stay as far away from people as they can. And you should do the same."

"Yeah, but there must be lots of them here," Lewis insisted. "Bear Creek got its name for a reason."

"It did, but the town was named a long time ago. When the mountains were probably filled with bears, only a couple hundred or so people were living here." She checked her GPS; another five minutes and they would reach the house.

"I wish I'd lived here then," Lewis said.

"We'll have to visit the museum and find out about the town and how it was founded," Samantha suggested as she steered the car around a left bend. This was it; their new home was just up ahead.

"Look, there's a fire truck." Lewis craned forward in his seat to take a look at the big red fire truck ahead with as much enthusiasm as Tilly had for the alpacas they had passed.

"There is," Samantha agreed, unsettled by the sight since it was stopped very close to their new house.

"Do you think there's been a fire?" Lewis asked as the truck loomed larger.

"I don't know, but I can't smell smoke, and there's no sign of a fire." Samantha glanced at the GPS and then at the truck.

They had reached their destination.

Maybe the truck was parked outside their new neighbor's house. But as she slowed to a stop a few feet behind the fire truck, she could see a firefighter coming out of their new house.

The same one she had stood outside last night on Google Maps' Street View.

But it wasn't the door that drew her eye. No, it was the array of branches splayed across the roof, the telltale sign of a tree that had succumbed to the storm. Samantha's heart sank as she took in the scene.

With a trembling hand, she put the car in park and turned off the ignition, then stared at the scene before her in disbelief.

"Mom, is everything okay?" Tilly asked, sensing her mom's unease.

Samantha forced a smile, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Everything will be fine. I'll go see what's going on."

"Can I come, too?" Lewis asked, already unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching for the car door, his excitement evident.

To him, this was an adventure. To Samantha, it was a disaster.

But maybe it was better if they all stayed together.

"You stay close, and no wandering off. Okay?" Samantha's stomach twisted with worry, but she held it together as she got out of the car.

"Okay," Lewis slipped his hand into hers and a lump of emotion swelled in her throat. Was he seeking comfort or offering it? She couldn't tell.

But as she walked closer to the house, her heart rate slowed, and the world seemed to narrow down to the comforting grip of Lewis's small hand in hers.

"It's okay, Mom," Tilly said with a small smile as she took Samantha's other hand.

Samantha forced a smile on her face, wanting to reassure her children, but it was hard when the extent of the damage became obvious. The roof had collapsed in places, shingles littering the lawn amidst the shattered branches. She could hear the distant hum of a chainsaw as firefighters worked to clear the debris.

But then, through the debris, a figure emerged, and her heart raced for a different reason. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and wore a smile that made her stomach flip.

"Hey." He raised his hand. "Samantha, right?"

She nodded, a little dazed that this stranger would know her name. "Yes," she managed to say as her eyes drifted from the man in front of her to the tree. "We were supposed to move in today."

"I know." His smile faltered. "Mabel told me. She didn't have your number on her, so she's gone back to the sanctuary to call you."

"To call me?" Samantha blinked a couple of times and then said. "Oh, about the tree."

"About the tree." He looked at her with some concern. "Are you okay?"

Her hands tightened around those of her children, and then she nodded. "I'm okay." She had to be. Because she needed to make sure Lewis and Tilly were okay.

"The tree came down about an hour ago, just as the storm was passing," the firefighter explained. "I think the ground was so sodden from the rain we've had over the last couple of days that its roots just couldn't hold on any longer."

Samantha jumped as her phone started ringing. No doubt that was Mabel, with news about the tree.

She let go of Tilly's hand and reached inside her purse. "Hello, Mabel."

"Hi, Samantha, I have some bad news," Mabel began.

"I know," Samantha said. "We're standing outside the house now."

"Oh, no, I was hoping to get hold of you before you got there," Mabel said, then paused. "I'm going to find you somewhere to stay."

"I…" Samantha nodded, even though Mabel could not see her.

"Don't worry. I won't leave you stranded," Mabel went on. "Just give me half an hour and I'm sure I'll figure something out."

"Are you sure?" Samantha said, not convinced anyone could rustle up another house for her and the children in half an hour.

"Yes, even if we have to get you booked into a hotel," Mabel said. "Half an hour. I'll call you back."

Then the call ended, and the world seemed to spin a little.

"Hey, okay there." The firefighter dashed forward and placed his hand on her elbow, supporting her as her knees went weak.

His touch was like an electric shock, jumpstarting her heart. And, perhaps, her life.