Brandon Jones stood at the scenic overlook on Tanner’s Ridge, his gloved hands wrapped around a cup of hot coffee, his eyes drinking in the jagged San Juan Mountains that rose high above the valley floor and surrounded Phantom Hollow like a pure white fortress.

Directly below he spotted the log buildings at Three Peaks Christian Camp and Conference Center. “Honey, look. There’s our house. To the right of the dining hall. See it?”

Kelsey Jones nodded. “Looks small from up here.”

“It still hasn’t hit me that I’m camp director and actually get paid to do what I love doing–plus have access to all this natural beauty. There’s no way we’d be here if you hadn’t gone to college with Jake Compton.”

“It never hurts to have a connection, but Jake hired you because you’re exactly what he was looking for in spite of the fact that he considered me a ball and chain.”

“Oh, come on, Kel. He never said that.”

“No, but Jake never thought I would adjust to the idiosyncrasies of a small town. I don’t deny that moving here was a culture shock after Raleigh, but now I love living in Jacob’s Ear…What are you grinning about?”

“Jacob’s Ear sounds more like an ailment than a town.” Brandon rested his elbows on the railing and looked out beyond the camp at the mining town-turned-tourist attraction that still bore the distinctive character of the gold rush days. “Too bad they didn’t give it a name like Gold Town or Jacob’s Mine.”

“Oh, I think Jacob’s Ear is much more intriguing. Besides, the touris...