The following days flew by and Sloane spent quite a bit of time hiking, getting to know the land better. Carter worked on orders and created new items for the upcoming festival.

One morning while they cooked breakfast together, he asked if she wanted to go with him to his workshop, to see him work.

"Not gonna lie. I'm kinda surprised you said yes to coming." A sheepish expression was plastered to his face as he cleared out a space for her to sit.

"Why not join you? I've been interested to see what goes into your masterpieces." She flashed him a beaming smile before perching on the edge of the stool he placed in the middle of the workshop for her.

As if it were a class and she was his star student, he explained what he did as he worked. After a few minutes, Sloane was leaning over the massive table to get a better view. His fingers moved with grace and precision, sometimes quick and sometimes slow.

Sloane watched in awe, curiosity holding her in place. "Can you teach me?"

Carter looked up to see that she hadn't taken her eyes off of his hands and her lower lip was caught between her teeth. He was reminded of a child, focused on a task. "Of course. Come over."

At the gesturing of his hand, she moved to his side, awaiting further instructions. Strong and gentle hands encased hers, guiding where to go.

They spent the rest of their night creating a knick knack.

"Are you going to try to sell it at the festival?" While she stared at the work she had created, he watched her.

"No. I want to keep it." She turned to him, a huge smile on her face. "It's my first masterpiece."

Her excitement touched him and he felt pride. It had been his hope that she would want to keep the little bear.

"I know just the place to put it." Without waiting for a response, he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the house. As if a beacon called him, Carter went straight to the mantle and placed the wooden bear in the middle. "Perfect."

It looked as if she were about to cry from sheer happiness. Her hands were clasped together, held under her chin as she grinned at the sight of her trinket sitting in a place of honor.

"You can make some more to take to the festival, if you'd like." A glimmer came to his eyes and gave her a playful smile. "Or, we can hoard everything you make."

Sloane's laughter filled the room and she stepped closer to him, placing her arms on his shoulder. "If you wanna hoard my little knick knacks, we will. But I wouldn't mind trying to sell something."

"Then you're gonna have to go to the workshop with me tomorrow. That'll be the last day to get anything made before we leave. You need to get busy." With that, he gave her butt a small pinch.

"Well, I guess I better get back down there and get to work." With arched eyebrows and a teasing look of nonchalance, she turned away from him.

Two steps away, Carter reached out and spun her back into his arms. "I have a different kind of work we both need to get to right now."

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Carter woke Sloane early to eat before they left for Kowler. The truck was already loaded with the crates holding their various carvings. Not sure what time they'd head back home, he even had an overnight bag packed up and stored behind the driver's seat.

"Come on. We need to get going." Carter gave her a gentle smack on her naked hip before going into the kitchen.

Sloane groaned but he heard the covers rustle as she sat up and stretched. After a few minutes, she joined him in the kitchen.

They slurped their coffee and devoured the food then rushed to the truck.

"Why do we have to hurry?" A frown creased Sloane's forehead as she buckled her seat belt.

"It's about a three hour drive. I want to have time to set up our booth. I don't wanna rush."

"Oh. Okay." She turned her attention to the view and decided that there was an odd serenity to the atmosphere. Resting her arm on the door rest, her head against the door, she lowered the window and let the breeze blow through her hair.

Before they got on the interstate, Carter stopped at the gas station to fill up the truck and get them a few snacks. He hadn't expected to feel so giddy about the mini road trip, but he found himself imagining longer ones in their future.

They chatted and ate their snacks, time flying by. Once they got to Kowler, Carter found where he'd been instructed to park. The booth reminded Sloane of a lemonade stand a child would have set up in the front yard.

It didn't take them long to unload the truck and arrange the wooden art pieces in what Carter thought would capture potential customers' attention. He hung a banner advertising the name of his business on the front of the stand and then stood back to admire what they'd accomplished with such bare bones.

There was still ten minutes until the festival opened, so they relaxed, sitting on the lowered tailgate and watching a few of the last stands get set up.

The morning started off steady, people filing by to view the offerings laid before their wandering eyes. Sloane watched Carter work his magic, show his catalog to those curious of what else he could make, and stepped up when people asked about the things she'd made.

Compared to what Carter had created, she felt her things resembled something a toddler would produce. But there was an older woman that fell in love with her various woodland creatures and bought them all.

"That's amazing." Carter praised her, his lips close to ear.

"Thanks." She knew she was blushing and she didn't care. It was exciting to know that someone appreciated her first works.

Carter did well, as usual. He sold plenty of figurines and statuettes, but he gained a lot of orders from the ones that viewed the catalog.

After a while, Sloane told him that she wanted to walk around, see what other things there were.

"Okay." He started to wave her off, but then grabbed her wrist. "Here. I'm sure you'll want to buy something."

She looked at the money he'd placed in her hand before giving him a wide smile. "Thanks."

In response, he leaned forward and claimed her lips. "Have fun."

There were several long rows of booths and she wasn't sure where to begin. After a few seconds, her feet took her to the left. Her head swiped back and forth as she strolled along.

At the end of the second row, there was a concession stand. Her throat was starting to dry and she figured Carter could use a bottle of water too. While standing in line, she overheard a frantic young woman, not much younger than herself, begging a couple to answer her questions.

"Please. I need help. I've been asking around all morning. I'm looking for my best friend. We were supposed to meet and go hiking together a few days ago and I haven't seen or heard from her. Please. You have to help me."

She looked over to see that thick tears streamed down the pale face of the pleading woman. At first glimpse, Sloane questioned if she knew the first thing about hiking.

"This is her." Continuing without a breath, the woman shoved a phone in the couples faces. Her eyes showed terror at the thought of her losing her best friend.

"No. I'm sorry. I haven’t seen her." The man used a gentle tone as he shook his head.

"Are you sure you were supposed to meet here? There aren’t any well known hiking trails near here." The other woman placed a hand on the other's trembling one.

"Yes." She sniffled as more tears fell. "She said there was a trailhead almost two hundred miles from here. But no one knows what I'm talking about."

Sloane's heart broke as she watched the poor girl dissolve into hysterics.

After catching her breath and calming down a little, she continued. "She said it isn't a known trailhead. She just happened to pass it on her way home from school once. We were going to check it out."

This caught Sloane's attention.

"Somewhere in the mountains." Sloane had to struggle to hear that last part.

"I'm sorry, honey. Maybe you should go to the police." The other woman suggested before she and her husband walked away.

The troubled girl stood, staring at the ground for a while before trudging away, shoulders slumped in defeat.

As the line moved up, Sloane's thoughts whirled around. Why would her friend go on without her? Could she be talking about what I thought was an entrance? If so, is the missing friend what is down in the cellar?

An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach as she grabbed the waters and went back to Carter.

He was busy selling and taking orders, but smiled when he saw her. Despite the way she felt, she smiled back and tossed him a bottle. "Thought you might be thirsty."

"Thanks." Without waiting a second, he twisted off the cap and took a long gulp. "Just what I needed. All this talking is wearing me out."

"Sure." She scoffed, hip bumping him as she took her place at his side.

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