Liberated

She was the job and off limits, but his heart wanted so much more.

Heath Kubiak jumped at the chance when a Holt Agency job came up in the Apostle Islands. After years of working back-to-back missions all over the world, he longed to take some much-needed time off. He knew that area of Lake Superior extremely well. He’d take lead of the team this time, they’d find whoever was lost in the National Park, then he’d stay for a week or two, fishing and camping. Sounded like a perfect plan.

All Annali Frantz wanted to do for the summer was get away from teenagers, her parents, and Washington D.C. She loved teaching biology to high school students, but she also needed a break from them. When the opportunity arose for her to work at a research station—and get a full semester credit toward her second master’s degree—she couldn’t pack her bags fast enough. For the past two years, her mother had been on a mission to find her the right husband for when her father, the senator, made a run for the White House. Ali, who preferred her nickname, found trout more interesting than politics, the only subject discussed inside the Beltway. Avoiding boring first dates and spending time on the Great Lakes with other scientists and forest rangers was the perfect summer plan.

You know what they say about best laid plans. Will they work out right this time for Heath and Ali?