Out Of The Wilderness

By Andrea Perez

Brianna looks forward to her holidays and vacations with her father. When he calls and tells her their plans have changed, she's excited. Alaska sounds like the ultimate adventure.

 

Nash and Brewster aren't happy their holiday vacation is being interrupted by their dad's new marketing director and his daughter. The last thing Nash wants to do is entertain a girl who probably hates the outdoors.

 

When their plane crashes short of the cabin, the group must make their way through the Alaskan wild to the safety of the cabin. They must overcome obstacles and find the will to continue and live.

 

Young Adult Christian Adventure and Clean Romance

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrea Perez
• Release date: Apr 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215191354

Andrea Perez

Andrea lives in Ohio on a nine-acre homestead with her husband and two children.  She loves hanging out around the house with her family, homeschooling her kids, writing, reading, doing puzzles, and studying the Bible.  She's a Holy Spirit filled believer in Jesus Christ who died and rose again to take away our sins.  It is Jesus who set her on her writing journey and navigates the pages of her stories.

Book preview

1

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Hey, honey, it's Dad. Give me a call. There's a change of plans for our Christmas trip. I have exciting news. Bye. The voicemail from my dad sounds intriguing. We had planned on going to Miami this year, but it sounds like we might be going somewhere else.

I always look forward to my time with him. I live in Michigan, and he's in South Carolina. Every year, we choose a location to spend the Christmas holiday together. It's been our tradition for the last five years. I also spend summers at his place, but the trips are always fun because he's not working. This is our last year before college when things will change, hopefully for the better.

I push his icon on my phone to call him back, but it goes to his voicemail. Not unusual. He works hard at his marketing job. Hey Dad! Looks like we're playing phone tag. You're it! Anyway, I got your message, and I'm curious. I'm free all night. Talk to you then.

I sit down at the kitchen island on a stool with my after-school snack and my U.S. Government book. We are talking about political systems this week. I hate it. Politics is one reason my parents broke up and caused me headaches while living at home. I grew up a conservative. We go to church weekly. Well, I shouldn't say we. Me. My mom and stepdad, Chuck, no longer go with me. He doesn't believe in God. It's caused a lot of strife between my mom and I over the years.

She stopped going to church shortly after they married, and Chuck refused to let my half brother and sister participate in institutional indoctrination, as he calls church. It's left a barrier between my siblings and me too. I've had many conversations with my father about it. He's been very supportive even with the distance between us. Needless to say, my political beliefs like my religious beliefs aren't Chuck's and that means my mother’s too.

Neither talk much to me anymore especially after I announced my college choices were all in South Carolina and two were Christian colleges. Chuck has an opinion about that too, but I walked away choosing to ignore that conversation even as his voice rose the further away I got from him.

After school is my alone time. My brother and sister are young. My brother goes to elementary school while my sister is still in preschool. They won't be home for the next hour and a half. My phone rang.

Dad! What's up?

Hey honey. How was school today?

Boring. I'm already getting senioritis, I laughed, stirring my granola into my yogurt.

Oh, yeah? This is going to be a long year then.

I roll my eyes. No kidding. So, tell me about the trip. I listened quietly as he talked.

I know we agreed on Miami, and this is short notice since tomorrow begins December, but... you remember my new boss Tim, right?

Mmhmm.

We've become good friends. He offered me a promotion!

Awe, Dad! That's great!

Now the best part. As part of the new position, he takes his executives to his rustic cabin for working vacations. He usually takes his family over the Christmas holiday and offered for us to go along so we can brainstorm new ideas for the new year. It'll be so nice, honey.

How much will you be working? You know I like the time alone with you. I try to keep the disappointment from my voice.

I know, and I asked. He said it'll be organic conversations as we hang out.

Okay. I guess so. I want you to do well with this promotion. Yes, it'll be fine. Where are we going then?

Ready? Are you sitting? He chuckled. Now, I’m really curious.

Yes. Well?

Alaska!

What? Alaska? He's not pulling your leg? I squeak.

No. I got the itinerary already. I'm so excited.

I jump out of my seat to do a little dance in the kitchen. I squeal again, Dad! This is so cool!

He calls it a rustic cabin, but I saw pictures. Baby, wait until you see this place. It's in the middle of nowhere on a lake. He must fly us in! He has his own personal plane. It’s even the kind that lands on water.

What!? My dance stops as I take in the details.

Yes! We will fly to Michigan to pick you up and fly to Alaska. You'll miss your last Friday of school before your break. I'll tell your mom.

Dad, I love you. This will be epic! I need to dig out my snow pants! I need snowshoes. We totally need to snowshoe!

He laughs at my excited rambling. Honey, snowshoeing sounds great. He did say they have skis there. I need to get going. I have a meeting to get to. I'll email you the itinerary. Love you.

Love you. Alaska! No way! I text my best friend who will be completely jealous before scooping the last bite of my yogurt into my mouth. I need to inventory my snow gear. Alaska, here I come!

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Do we really need to go to the cabin? I plead following Dad around a corner in his office building. It's winter, and the cabin is a summer place. What are we supposed to do for two weeks without bringing a friend like usual?

Gary is bringing his daughter. Hang out, hike, play board games, whatever. I'll be busy with Gary planning next year's gimmick for the company. We are getting awesome new survival products, and I want his thoughts on how to present them in a more masculine way. Men are our target audience and Ms. Jones didn't have what it took to get our numbers up. Gary has a history of high-performance ads. At least you get to play on this vacation. I'll be working.

He's always working, I think to myself as we enter the elevator to go home. What about Brewster?

Your brother is coming too, of course.

Brewster. My brother, the boy genius, hates Alaska. It never fails that he manages to hurt himself every time we're there. Last year, he accidentally found a beehive while climbing a tree. Needless to say, he was stung so many times, he is now allergic to bees. He carries his epinephrine everywhere. Even in the winter. Even after I've explained to him, more times than I want to count, that bees hibernate. It's not that the shot bothers me. It's the brown leather fanny pack he carries it in that screams dork. My mom says let him be because he's only twelve. But I don't want him to be the laughingstock of the middle school more than he already is.

It's not just the epinephrine he keeps in there either. It's like he's a seventy-year-old retired engineer. Inside the pack there's pens, mechanical pencils, extra lead for the pencils, a huge eraser that he writes on, a pack of tissues, and a fidget spinner. Kids laugh at his incredible mind already, and I hate that this gives them something else to poke at. He's an awesome kid, funny, cute, and wicked at video games, but that isn't seen when the kids can't get past his fanny pack. Taking Brew on this trip could be trouble if we get caught in a storm, and he's hurt.

What about Mom?

She's going to visit Aunt Sharon and Uncle Mel. My parents have been having some marital trouble. It's probably not good to go on separate vacations. So far, this trip seems like a bust. Not only do I have to babysit Brewster, but it also looks like I'll be watching Gary's daughter too. She better have a personality at least. What if she's one of those girly girls that refuses to do the Alaskan activities. I'm not locking myself in the cabin for two full weeks without snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.

I sit down on the posh sofa in his office as we wait for Brewster's school to let out. Dad finishes up some paperwork as I open my Bible app on my phone. Jesus, forgive me. I need to be more patient and less pessimistic about this trip. Oh, please save my parents' marriage. After reading the required passage for school I open my notebook to write my thoughts on Luke chapter four for class.

It's about time to leave. Ready? I nod and put away my notebook before following Dad back to the elevator. In the car, I could feel the Lord softening my heart toward this trip. I was automatically jumping to conclusions with this girl. Maybe she'll be as I imagined, but there's the possibility that she may be fun or enjoy outdoor winter sports. My biggest prayer, as usual, is that she's pretty. It's been too long since I dated. Maybe I could have fun with her.

Nash?

Yeah, Dad? I answer from the backseat of the expensive SUV.

Make a list of things we may need to take. Lists. That's my thing. Every trip, I'm put in charge of making the lists.

2

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I am so excited for the trip to Alaska that I woke up extra early this morning. I want to make sure I didn't forget anything or miss my flight at 11:30. Dad had already left a message reminding me to make sure I had my ticket ready on the phone app for the private jet's concourse. He sounds just as excited as I am, which is saying a lot since I'm not a morning person.

I shower and eat my usual oatmeal, fruit, and toast with coffee. When I return to my room, I sling my big suitcase onto the bed. It’s heavy. This suitcase contains all my clothes for two weeks. A girl needs to look good even while camping. Right?

I pack some cute outfits knowing my dad's boss's son is coming, just in case. You never know...maybe he'll like me. Maybe this will be one of those love stories we tell our grandkids. I shake my head to cast away my daydream. I don't even know his name, let alone if he's actually cute. My dad was the one who said he was cute. Ew, what if he said that and the guy is anything but cute? Now, I'm nervous thinking this guy will expect me to like him especially if he's ugly! Calm down, Brianna! What would Jesus do? Be nice to him no matter what. Friendly. I can do friendly for two weeks.

Returning my focus back to the task at hand, I place my overnight bag into the last tiny space in the suitcase. It holds the essentials, makeup, hair products, and lotions. I also pack my curling iron on top before zipping it up. I pull it off my bed, and it thumps to the floor. I am thankful it has wheels as I roll it down the hallway to the front door. Next, I check my smaller bag. It holds the new snowshoes Dad insisted I buy, a first aid kit- again just in case, my snowpants, boots, snacks, and my favorite blanket. Don't judge! I also have a small messenger bag for a carry-on that will hold my phone, chargers, and my tablet. My tablet goes everywhere with me. It's my journal, notebook for school, and where I write stories. I’ve published two short stories, but no one has ever read the ones on my tablet, but I tell myself someday. I drag the last two bags to the door just as Suzy comes out of her room rubbing her eyes.

Morn-an, she says in her four-year-old cuteness. "Where