“Awesome. So the trails will need maintenance too. We could be trail maintainers. They’re actually a real thing . . . people who’re responsible for certain sections of a trail. They make sure it’s clear, keep the trail markers maintained, watch over any camps in their area, and generally act as the experts on their particular section,” JJ said.
“You mean we could actually hike without worrying about being stealthy or who might be following, trying to kill our asses?” Bob asked. “I’m in.”
“Maybe we could even hire ourselves out as guides,” Chappy said. “I mean, I’m thinking we probably wouldn’t be busy nonstop with the tree stuff, so we could escort people who’re unsure about the AT or who’d just feel more comfortable having someone familiar with the area leading them.”
“And we could help if anyone got lost,” Cal added. “I have a friend who got out of the service and now lives in Virginia. He’s a search and rescue volunteer.”
“Remember that woman who got lost a few years ago?” JJ asked. “Geraldine Largay?”
“Yeah. She went off trail to go to the bathroom and got turned around. There was a huge search, but her body wasn’t found until two years or so later. She’d died of exposure and starvation.”
They were all silent for a moment, remembering the tragedy.
“I’m in,” Bob said firmly.
“Me too,” Cal agreed.
“Me three,” JJ said with a nod.
“Jack’s Lumber,” Chappy announced.
“What?” Bob questioned.
“That’s what we’ll call our business. As a nod to JJ, who’s always been our leader. And as a play on the word ‘lumberjack.’”
As the other three men discussed what services they might offer, how much they could charge, where they might want to live, JJ relaxed against the hard wall behind him, a lump in his throat. The plan to distract his friends had worked. They weren’t dreading when their captors would return. Weren’t thinking about how much pain they were in.
They had hope for a better future.
Now, all they needed to do was get out of this hellhole and make their plans come to fruition. It would take money—which the four of them had, since they’d had few chances to spend the cash they’d earned over the years—determination, hard work, and an open mind.
For the first time in years, and despite his current predicament, JJ realized he was excited for the future. Their captors had tried to break them. Demoralize them. Tear them down and beat them psychologically as well as physically. And there would probably be a lot more of the same coming their way. But for now, the four men had something to strive toward. A plan.
If JJ had his way, nothing and no one would keep them from getting to Newton, Maine, and starting their new lives.
Chapter One
Riggs “Chappy” Chapman smiled as he approached his cabin, instant calm descending. It was hard to believe it had been three full years since that day in a cold cell when he and his friends had decided their future. At the time, it had been a pipe dream. He was well aware JJ had been grasping at straws, desperate to help them think about anything other than their depressing situation. But the more they’d talked about Jack’s Lumber and moving to Maine, the more Chappy wanted it.
And they’d done it.
They’d been rescued by a team of men from the navy and army working together. The soldiers had swarmed in like the badasses they were, killed every one of their captors, then blown up the mountain where they’d been held captive.
Their rescuers entering the country in the first place had caused a mini-international incident, but because the terrorists had gleefully shared videos of the torture Chappy and the others had been put through, the country’s government couldn’t exactly protest the Special Forces teams coming to their rescue.
That was his team’s last mission. The paperwork for them to get out of the military was started long before their physical injuries had healed. Every one of them still dealt with the mental ramifications of what they’d been through, what they’d seen over the years, and the missions they’d participated in. But the choice to move to Maine had turned out to be just what they’d needed to soothe their souls.
Even more surprisingly, their business had taken off pretty much from the first day. If there was one thing Maine didn’t lack, it was forests. And having four more men willing and able to handle the physical labor it took to deal with any kind of issue involving trees meant they were constantly busy.