Ranger's Legacy

by Vella Munn

  Garret was naked, his wet hair dripping onto his shoulders. They had exactly twenty-three minutes until they had to leave for work. Three weeks had passed since they’d exposed their hearts, and if her memory was right, which she was certain it was, they’d made love every one of those days. Most times they barely made it here after work before they started in on each other’s clothes. It had been like that last night and considering the gymnastics they’d indulged in, she should need more time to recover.

  It was his doing, his not so subtle way of turning her on. The man knew what seeing him in the buff did to her, which undoubtedly was why he hadn’t bothered getting dressed before joining her in the bedroom. Morning light streamed in the oversized window and did impossible-to-ignore things to his flesh.

  “I don’t think I’ve wrapped my mind around how fast everything is happening job-wise.” She debated getting out of bed, but if he kept studying her like he was, it would be wasted effort. “A couple of flights with nothing to do but stare out the window might be what I need for it to become real.”

  “Then let’s do it.” He shook his head.

  “Hey.” She made a show of trying to punch him. “You’re getting me wet.”

  “Am I? So sorry.”

  “I don’t believe you.” She smiled and lowered the sheet she’d tucked under her chin so he could see that she was still as naked as she’d been when they went to bed. “What time is that meeting you’re part of?”

  He pretended to ponder the question. “Not until nine. Why? Did you have something in mind?”

  “I might. You know, if you’d put up a badminton net, we can play in our spare time.”

  He placed his knee on the mattress. “That’s a lousy suggestion, considering we already have a perfectly acceptable hobby.”

  “And what would that be?”

  Shaking his head as if she wasn’t quite bright, he tossed the sheet to the floor and took her cell out of her hands. “Looks like I’m going to have to demonstrate, unless you’re in a hurry to get to work.”

  She sat up straighter but didn’t reach for him because once they touched, things rapidly went from neutral to overdrive.

  Not long ago she’d been struggling to accept that things had come to a painful end between them. But they’d been honest in ways she hadn’t known were possible. As a result, her clothes were next to his in the closet and her toiletries took up half of the bathroom counter space.

  That wasn’t all.

  She’d been surprised when Lisa Hendrix called to ask if she could attend a city council meeting but had agreed even though doing so meant having to delay the nightly gymnastics session with Garret.

  Did she remember what the council members had said about wanting to come up with something that would bring visitors to Sweetheart, Lisa had asked after Amber had stepped into the meeting room. Yes, she had.

  Good, because shortly after she’d given the overview of her job, the council members had had a study session about how the town might capitalize on the concept of bringing the past into the present. No hard and fast decisions had been made but everyone agreed there was a lot of potential in highlighting Sweetheart’s history including the vital role Native Americans had and continued to play.

  Would Amber be interested in a job that was largely of her own making, which focused on revealing Sweetheart’s human heritage?

  “Absolutely,” she’d responded.

  Even as she continued with her soon-to-be former job, she made lists upon lists of what she wanted to do. She was looking forward to talking to the town’s oldest residents, reading early newspapers, exploring the museum and, most exciting to her, relying on Hunter to give her access to those who lived on the Flathead Indian reservation. Because she’d be working with a limited budget, she’d have to rely on volunteers and donations to fill a vacant building with maps, diagrams, diaries, letters, photographs, and family histories. She was particularly excited about her plans for a living scene that showed a Salish Indian standing next to Flathead Lake praying to his spirit guide.

  “I’ll tell my folks about the job change when I see them,” she said. “I want to see their expressions.”

  “It would be easier if you did it over the phone.”

  “I’m not looking for easier anymore.”

  “I know you aren’t.” He raked her hip. She yelped and swatted his hand. “Scoot over. You’re a bed hog.”

  “And you snore.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “How would you know? You’re asleep.” She placed her hand over his belly and stroked him. “Hmm. I just realized I have no idea if you’re ticklish.”

  “I am.” He seized her wrist and brought her hand to her left breast. “You know, I think I have enough time to learn the same about you.”

  “What’s this?” She indicated her hand. “Are you trying to make me massage my own breast?”

  “What I’m going to do starting in three point five seconds is demonstrate how good I am at the task.”

  He was wrong because it didn’t take him that long to make her sigh and reach for air. She gave him free access to her body until she was so turned on she couldn’t remain still. Then she scrambled onto her hands and knees, pushed him against the mattress, and licked the tip of his cock.

  After that, things went into overdrive and when they finally showed up at the office, they were nearly an hour late.

  In love, she silently admitted as they went their separate ways.

  Alone in her office, she accessed her cell phone’s list icon and inserted the words, “Tell him how much you love him.”

  The End

  Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from

  Ranger’s Courage

  Book 2 in the Montana Rangers series

  Excerpt copyright © Vella Munn

  Get Now!

  “A new dog and its handler are on their way. You might want to hold off starting the search until they show up.”

  Jake frowned. “New?” he asked the forest ranger on the other end of his cell phone call. “The dog’s trained, right?”

  “I’ve been told it is,” Hunter said. “They’re coming to us complements of the Bob’s group.”

  The Bob, as many Montana’s residents called the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, was precious to nature enthusiasts such as the group Jake’s fellow ranger had just referenced. The group had been looking for a search-and-rescue dog to sponsor since their previous one and its handler had retired. The forest service, his employer, relied on the animals for a number of things, including locating people who went missing in the mountains. Unfortunately, on this early October day, none of the dogs available to them were nearby.

  It was early afternoon, and Jake Pruitt was responsible for organizing the half-dozen volunteers trying to find a missing sixteen-year-old girl. Largely because it was a weekday, not many people had been able to respond, but those who had were eager to end the nightmare for the girl and her family. The right dog under the right handler’s control would go a long way toward making that happen, hopefully before night.

  “How long do you think it’ll be before they reach us?” he asked Hunter.

  “Shouldn’t be long. Sounds like she was basically ready to go when she got the call.”

  “She?”

  “That’s what Robert told me. Sorry. That’s all I know.”

  Jake’s frown returned. Massive as the national forest was, the majority of those who made their living in and around it knew each other. If the female handler had been around for any length of time, he, Hunter, and Garret would have heard about her. Much as he wanted to believe things were about to take a turn for the better and Bethany would soon be reunited with her parents and younger brother, life had taught him happy endings seldom, if ever, happened. Until he was looking at a living and uninjured Bethany, his stomach would remain knotted.

  Determined to concentrate on what he had a semblance of control over, he returned to where the girl’s family was and informed them a
tracking dog would soon be on scene. The Shermans, who lived in Chicago, had come to Montana for a family vacation. Their original intention had been to pitch their tents at the Swan Lake campground for three nights then go home, but, once they got here, the parents had decided bonding time was more important than getting back to school. Twelve-year-old Keddy had been all for it in large part because another family had a boy his age, but, although the parents insisted Bethany hadn’t objected, Jake wasn’t sure, especially when Keddy let it slip his sister had a boyfriend back home.

  He pictured a pouting teenager demanding they pack up and return to civilization. When she didn’t get her way, well, just about anything was possible.

  “This is crazy,” Bert Sherman said. “It’s going to be dark in a few hours and that girl of mine doesn’t know north from a chemistry test. The longer she stays lost, the harder it’s going to be to find her.”

  “Bert, stop it,” his wife warned. “This ranger knows what he’s doing. You’ve done this before, right? Found people.”

  “Yes.” Jake refrained from hugging Judee Sherman. He needed to focus on finding Bethany. Getting too close to the girl’s mother’s panic would get in the way of what needed to be done. “She’s young and healthy. That’s in her favor.”

  He didn’t mention that Bethany hadn’t taken her backpack with her. She had a jacket, but unless they found her today, the night would be hard.

  Holding Judee’s gaze, he explained what would happen once the search-and-rescue dog arrived. Keddy responded with a thumbs-up and a grin. In the boy’s world, the presence of a trained animal meant the adventure was real. He’d have a hell of a story to tell his friends and classmates.

  Let him think that for as long as possible. No reason for him to grow up any sooner than necessary. Life would kick him eventually. It always did.

  For maybe the millionth time in the past year and a half, Jake struggled to free himself from thoughts he wanted nothing to do with. Today was about locating Bethany Sherman, nothing else.

  He checked his cell phone for the time. To the uninitiated like the Shermans, early fall in the Bob was a time of multicolored leaves and crisp mornings. They probably didn’t know how quickly and cruelly nature could turn. He did.

  His phone buzzed. When Hunter’s number came up, he walked away from the Shermans before answering.

  “I’ve been talking to Robert,” the Salish Indian said. “He told me a little more about the dog handler. Apparently he’d watched her and her dog during a competition in Missoula. He was impressed by the bond between them. Figuring it was a long shot, he approached her about moving here. She asked him about employment possibilities. When she told him about the kind of work she’d done, he helped her get a job with the Polson Humane Society. He helped her find a rental in Sweetheart that has a dog kennel. I figure you know which one it is.”

  “I do.” The small house and sizeable kennel facility, like the town, was burned into his memory. “Did Robert say anything about her ability to keep up?”

  Hunter chuckled. “What he said was that he might be sixty plus, but he isn’t dead. Sounds like she’s easy on the eyes.”

  Jake wasn’t interested in that, something his friend should know. “So she’s in good physical condition?”

  “Sounds like it. Get going. I’ll talk to you later.”

  As he placed the phone back in his pocket, Jake pulled up a mental image of the powerfully built Native American he considered a brother. Brother substitute, he amended, since his only sibling was a sister ten years his senior. If he was asked whether he felt closer to Hunter or Garret, he wouldn’t be able to say. The three of them were a unit. They had each other’s backs, knew how the others’ thoughts, their strengths and weaknesses.

  Hunter and Garret had grown up together while Jake had moved to the area after becoming a forest ranger, but he never felt excluded. Things had shifted some since Garret had fallen in love, but the core remained. By saying he’d talk to him later, Hunter was making it clear he cared. Jake had no doubt he’d hear from Garret before the day was over.

  “Where are they?” Bert Sherman demanded when Jake rejoined them. “I don’t understand why you didn’t bring the search dog with you.”

  Instead of trying to explain and risk more of the father’s misdirected fear, Jake asked Bert to again explain how Bethany had gotten separated from the family.

  “You’re too young to have a daughter that age. When you do you’ll understand how impulsive they are. They think they know everything, certainly twice as much as their parents ever will.”

  “That isn’t helping,” Judee snapped. “Jake, I apologize for my husband. Things have been strained between him and Bethany. We were hoping getting her away from her friends and the boy she’s seeing would make it possible for us to reconnect.” She pressed an unsteady hand to her forehead. “I should have known it wouldn’t work. Maybe all we can do is wait for her to come to her senses.”

  Listening to her, Jake considered the difference between youthful fantasies about what it meant to be an adult and reality. When Bert and Judee got married, they’d probably never envisioned their life together would include a chapter like this one.

  An increase in the sounds coming from the volunteers and other campers turned him toward a well-used Jeep pulling into the parking area. The driver’s door opened and a woman and dog got out. The woman reached into the rear seat and extracted a backpack. Good. She’d come ready to go to work.

  Shadows made it difficult for him to see what she looked like beyond her slight stature. The dog was another matter. It was tall, nearly waist-high to his owner with a big head, wide shoulders, long legs, and lean body. As the two headed for the campers, he placed the dog’s weight at around one hundred pounds. Most of the search-and-rescue dogs he’d worked with were purebreds. This animal was a mutt.

  “A woman,” Bert said. “You didn’t tell me.”

  Judee snorted. “What difference does it make?”

  “What if she can’t hold up?”

  “Damn it, Bert. Give it a rest.”

  Silently applauding Judee, Jake continued to study the newcomer. She’d corralled her long, dark hair in a single braid down her back. Despite her substantial pack, she had no trouble standing upright. A white T-shirt clung to a slender frame and smallish breasts. She had on jeans and boots.

  Because he was wearing his forest service shirt, he wasn’t surprised when she veered away from the group and headed for him and the Shermans. She stopped a few feet away with the dog at her side and held out her hand. “Sari Dunham. Hopefully you knew I was coming.”

  Right now, the only thing he cared about was she believed in a firm handshake, her smooth skin was tanned, she wore no makeup or jewelry, and her hazel eyes were large and bright. He guessed she was nearing the end of her twenties.

  “A coworker gave me a heads-up,” he said. “That’s the first I’ve heard about you.”

  “Is it?” She rested her hand on the top of her dog’s head, drawing his attention to her short nails and lack of polish. “I understand there’s a missing teenage girl.”

  “My daughter,” Judee said. “Bethany is sixteen. She doesn’t know anything about the wilderness.”

  “She would if she paid attention,” Bert broke in.

  The look Sari gave him said she wasn’t sure how to handle the parents’ relationship. If she’d been involved with search and rescue for any length of time, she’d know stress did different things to different people, none of it easy to deal with.

  Determined to get Bert and Judee to stop going after each other, Jake asked Sari how her dog worked.

  “He thrives on praise, which I lavish on him when he does his job.”

  “Don’t you give him treats?” Judee asked.

  “No, because praise reinforces our relationship.”

  “How do you keep him from getting distracted?” Bert asked. “With so many people around and all those smells—”

  “Kona’s sen
se of smell is what made me decide he’s the one I wanted to work with. Also, from the first, he keyed into me and that keeps him on task.”

  She wasn’t bragging, simply stating what she believed to be a fact. Her voice was low both in tone and volume, making it necessary for Jake to stay close. Judging by how she leaned back a little, he had the feeling she wasn’t comfortable with his nearness, but if she didn’t want it, she’d have to speak louder. Maybe she was accustomed to being alone.

  Not knowing what to do with the random and maybe wrong observation, he asked if she was ready to go.

  “As soon as my dog gets a drink.”

  Nodding, he pointed toward the Shermans’ campsite. “Is there a bowl you can fill with water for Kona?” he asked Keddy.

  “Sure thing. Should I bring it to him? Maybe he’ll come with me,” Keddy said.

  Sari nodded. “If I tell him to. Like I said, he’s bonded to me.”

  And you to him, Jake concluded judging by how the dog stayed by her side.

  “I’m going to need an article of your daughter’s clothing,” Sari said after saying “go” to Kona and pointing at Keddy. “One she recently wore.”

  Eyes tearing, Judee withdrew some bikini panties from her pocket. “So it really is like it’s done in the movies? That’s how your dog works, I mean.”

  “It depends on which movies you’ve watched. How long have you been holding these?”

  “Since the ranger told us about the dog. I figured—there’s nothing more intimate than underwear.”

  “True.”

  As he waited for Sari to continue, he noted how infrequently she met the mother’s stare. He, too, separated himself as much as possible from emotion at times like this, but Judee needed to connect with the person she prayed was going to save her daughter. Surely Sari understood that.

  “I’d prefer something with just your daughter’s scent,” Sari said. “That way he won’t get confused.”