Yellowstone Heart Song (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 1) Read Free

her he had traveled through time from 200 years in the past, she had contemplated calling for a psych consult. Nevertheless, his stories were fascinating. When he offered to send her to the past to experience “real” wilderness survival, she’d played along; even telling him it would be a dream come true.
    After a sleepless night, Aimee struggled through dense forests and mountainous terrain. She must be somewhere close to the Gibbon Canyon. The stream she’d been following had to lead to the Gibbon River. Her thigh muscles felt like lead from climbing over logs all day, and her stomach was constantly protesting the lack of food. She had found some edible plants along the way to add to her diet of granola bars, but none of it kept the hunger pangs away for very long. To keep herself entertained, she sang out loud. Hopefully, that would keep bears away as well.
     Emerging from a particularly forested area, a wide canyon yawned before her. Her eyes scanned the scenery in wonderment. As far as she could see, mountains blanketed in pine forests stretched toward the horizon beyond the deep scar in the earth. The flowing water at the bottom of the canyon looked like a tiny blue ribbon from her vantage point. This had to be the Gibbon River. Relief washed over her like a warm ray of sunshine. She should reach the Madison River - and hopefully her destination - the following day.
    A foul, sour odor filled the air, and she curled her nose in protest. Her heart rate increased. The smell could only mean one thing. Her eyes darted around frantically as her legs went rubbery from the jolt of adrenaline that flooded her system. She spotted the carcass of a partially eaten elk half-buried in dirt, confirming her worst fears.
    “Oh, crap!” Her feet remained rooted to the ground in a paralyzing fear. When she finally willed her legs to move, a huge grizzly came charging at her from the woods. The beast let out a loud roar, baring huge yellow teeth as drool hung in long strands down its mouth. The breeze carried the stench of rotten flesh that emanated from the predator’s jaws, and Aimee backed up quicker. Hopefully the bear was just bluffing, and it would realize she wasn’t any threat to its food. Her heart pounded violently and her whole body shook.
    Stay calm. Don’t turn and run or you’re dead . She had to force herself to heed her own words while every survival instinct in her body screamed at her to run away as fast as possible. She’d gladly give her right arm at the moment for a can of bear spray.
    The bruin stopped its charge. It scratched at the ground with enormous paws, moving its head from side to side. Its large nose twitched back and forth, sniffing the air. The bear huffed several times, and then let out another earsplitting roar.
     Realizing the grizzly geared up for another attack, her eyes widened. She stumbled backwards, nearly tripping on a rock. Just as she envisioned huge claws ripping her apart, the ground suddenly dropped out from under her feet. Her arms flailed wildly and she groped for any kind of hold on a rock or protruding tree root. Her throat tightened, and her jaw clenched. Her efforts prevented a complete free fall, but the downward momentum proved too great to get a solid grip on any object. Her ribs jutted against unyielding rocks, knocking the air from her lungs. Roots and small trees cut into her arms and hands.  When would she stop falling? It felt like an eternity, like she’d been sinking all her life. Her limbs became numb to the sensation of slamming against hard rocks. She stopped hearing the debris falling along with her. Her momentum increased, and her stomach rose to her throat. The sensation of floating through the air, then a sudden hard impact.
    Coughing and spitting dirt, she gasped and sucked in several shallow breaths. Her lungs refused to expand for the air she so desperately needed. She lay still for a moment, listening, trying to calm her heart and trembling body. Had