"Behind every successful man is an amazing woman, and thank goodness Susan was there!" -- Ranger James Paul Clark. Susan, the wife of ranger Jim Clark has spent her whole life in the Maine woods. But Susan never realized just how resourceful she could be until her husband went to work on the Allagash Wilderness Waterway. Tag along with our lady-of-the woods as she learns early on in life about deadheads only to discover that there are many dangerous things in the Maine woods and every one of them could instantly make her a widow.This is the tenth book in the Allagash Tails Collection.This is the third book of a trilogy about Ranger James Clark. The first is Volume 6-SOLACE and the second is Volume 7-THE RANGER AND THE REPORTER. Relaxing on the porch of a remote log cabin, Susan Clark cradles a mug of tea. From out on lake a loon's primeval call expresses the loneliness she feels because husband Jim is away 'on river patrol.'Tonight the ranger's wife recalls that life in the woods began when very young. Such as the time her river-driver grandfather shrieked over the roar of an outboard motor, "Susan! I told you to watch for deadheads!" The five-year old froze on her seat and scanned the foaming water; terrified she'd see decapitated skulls bobbing like spoiled pumpkins.Then, again, years later when her husband transferred into the woods and the boss had warned: "If I were you Jim I wouldn't leave my wife alone without a handgun." The grandchild of a Penobscot River-driver and a grandmother-the first female cook for Great Northern Paper-Susan has spent a lifetime in the woods. But when she married wilderness Ranger James P. Clark, the lady entered a new realm. Living in Maine's northern forest, Susan soon learned that she needed to evaluate and adapt at a moment's notice. Physical demands are harsh, but how will she ever cope with the real life dangers that threaten her family? Sometimes it's ok to be alone. But then again-sometimes not!