Must-Have Husband

covered over with a tarp. Wasn’t easy to build a campfire when the logs were as soaked as this towering tree. Mac gritted his teeth and clambered up another few feet. He spotted the perfect branch overhead. Once he had this in place, he’d head back down and cozy up by the fire. Even in summertime, the nights here got pretty chilly. But Mac knew how to handle that. He was good with the outdoors and never missed a beat. Yessirree. He was a fellow who always knew just what he was doing.

    Connie forged ahead as Linda clung to her arm. “Remind me to kill you if we live through this.”
    “Oh, we’ll live, all right. Then you’re going to be the one who needs protection — from our entire family.”
    “Thanks.”
    Linda stumbled, but Connie shored her up. “We’ll need to watch our step.”
    “No kidding. Thank goodness that was just a stick and not a snake.”
    “Snake?” Connie stared at her in panic. If there was one thing Connie couldn’t stand, it was anything that slithered. Fact was, she didn’t care much for creepy-crawlies either. A weekend in the wild. How in the world did I let Linda talk me into this?
    “You blame me, don’t you?” Linda asked.
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “No, but you were getting all mysteriously quiet, like you do when you think I’ve come up with a bad idea.”
    “I’m sure it wasn’t your idea for us to get lost.”
    “No, but—”
    Connie held up her hand, scanning the woods ahead. She thought she spied a glimmer of light beyond a stand of pines. “Linda, look!”
    “Where?”
    “Over there. I think I see something.”
    Linda shivered, seizing her by the elbow. “You mean like something big, with long, sharp teeth?”
    “Stop being such a chicken,” Connie scolded. Night noises sounded all around them, and Connie gripped her sister’s hand.
    “Now who’s being the baby?” Linda whispered.
    “Shh!” She pulled Linda forward. “Come on, I think it’s a campfire.”
    “Are you sure we should go through that thicket? Could be loaded with scary things.”
    “There’ll be less of those around the fire,” she said, giving Linda’s hand a tug. “Let’s go.”

    As they made their way through the thick brush, Connie saw she’d been right. It was a campfire for sure. Neatly ringed by large stones and blazing in its glory. There was a tent set up nearby. A tin coffeepot sat on a flat rock by the fire, beside a single mug.
    “Where are the campers?” Linda asked under her breath.
    Connie whispered, her voice trembling. “Maybe the bears got them.”
    “Very funny.”
    “I wasn’t trying to be.”
    Just then, the two heard rustling overhead. The girls looked up with a start, spotting a dark figure shimmying down the tree and moving toward them.
    This was it. Connie knew it. She and her baby sister were about to become something’s dinner. How she wanted to run. Bolt like a streak of light straight to that fire and beyond. Pick up a club, weapon, coffeepot… Huh? Well, anything! Maybe one of those very big stones over there. Yeah, that would work. If only she could get her feet to move. But they were stuck like lead in quicksand.
    “Connie!” Linda said softly. “Let’s go!” She yanked on Connie’s arm. But Connie just stood there, mesmerized, transfixed by the fact that she was living out her final moments. Destiny had a way of catching up with everybody, so maybe it was time she met her fate. She’d deceived her family into thinking she was still getting married, letting them go to a lot of unnecessary trouble and expense. And now she was going, to pay…in spades. Maybe if the beast filled up on her, he’d be too full to gobble up her sister. “ Connie! ” Linda wrapped two hands around Connie’s wrist and tugged with all her might, yanking her up and off her feet.
    “Ahh!” Connie screeched as something loud bellowed from above.
    A split second later, heaven and earth came crashing down in a heap, landing in a huge mass in the very spot where Connie had just stood. She stared at Linda agape. “You saved my life!”
    “Yeah, but from what?”
    They stared down at the pile of branches and leaves shielding a groaning form. “Oohhh. Aahh.”
    Linda cupped her mouth with a hand.
    “What is it?” Connie asked.
    “A bear?” Linda offered uncertainly.
    “Since when do bears make those kinds of noises?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t speak bear.”
    Connie squinted through the darkness as rays of light from the campfire cast