He grimaced. “The first few years after the resort was built, we all tried to embrace the visitors. Welcome them, be helpful. Alaska is a friendly state. But at some point, the town ran out of patience.”

“Aren’t you dependent on tourism? That’s why I’m here, remember? To help increase the amount of tourism in the area.”

“Those are fighting words around here,” he told her, not unkindly but definitely not joking. “Do you know how many times I was asked for directions last year? Four hundred and thirty-two. The town had a contest, and I came in second.”

“I can’t believe people were brave enough to approach you that many times.” After some quick math in her head, River’s jaw dropped. “That’s one point two times a day all year long. Who won?”

“Jonah, poor guy.”

“I’m having a hard time feeling too sorry for him.”

Easton’s low laugh was comfortable as it filled the air around her. Scooting her chair closer to him was too easy. River leaned in to look at the notebook next to his maps. He’d marked down a list of the days they would be gone, with some numbers next to it.

“Negative forty?” she asked. “In July?”

“That’s the range, but most days won’t get that cold. A lot depends on the windchill.” Easton tapped a thumb against the notebook. “The sooner we start up, the more days we have in case something goes wrong.”

Glancing at him, River asked, “Do you expect there to be problems?”

“No, but I try to prepare for them if I can.”

That would have to be good enough. River had never been on a guided climb before, only outings with friends or alone, so she had to trust he knew what he was doing. Still, her need to understand everything made her steal the next in his pile of maps.

“Okay, so what am I looking at here?” Waggling her eyebrows at him, River added, “An X usually marks the treasure.”

“In this case, X marks where Ash is kicking us all out of her helicopter. You want to film the best parts of Mount Veil, right? We need to start here, low of the south face of the mountain. We’ll be below ten thousand feet here, but don’t be fooled. That’s some rough country.”

“Grizzly country?”

His eyes met hers. “We’re in Alaska. You’re going to have a hard time staying away from the wildlife. But I’d worry more about the moose. They kill more people here than bears or wolves ever do.”

“Wolves.” River took a deep breath. “Okay, I can handle this.”

“I’m not planning on letting anything eat you,” Easton said. “It’s harder to get paid that way.”

She flashed him a quick grin. “Half up front, half when I don’t die?”