Ever Faithful

by Karen Barnett

“Then nothing more needs to be said, does it?”

  “I reckon not.” The fellow gave Val a quick nod before he wandered toward the rear of the group.

  It didn’t take long for the men’s focus to return. Old Faithful’s steam vent was puffing like a locomotive. Elsie knew they probably still had a little time before the show really got rolling.

  One of the fellows piped up from her left. “It’s almost ten o’clock. Does it go off on the hour, like folks say?”

  “Not on the hour, no. But it does go off fairly regularly. That’s what makes this geyser unique from the others you’ve seen.” She spent the next ten minutes reviewing with the group how the geology of Yellowstone worked. They’d gone over it in class, read articles, and even written a short paper on hydrothermal features, but there was something special about seeing them in person.

  Nate stepped forward, leaning against the railing. “What’s it doing now? Is that the eruption?”

  Water had begun burbling from the cone, jumping and falling in rapid surges. Elsie turned to watch. “It’s just warming up. It can do this for a long period before the true eruption.” She never got tired of the building anticipation that occurred as a crowd watched one of her favorite geysers. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes and gestured them forward.

  The men gathered along the wooden rail separating the tourists from the fragile ground around the feature.

  Nate, like most of the men, kept his gaze locked on the action, his smile widening a little more each time the water danced higher, teasing them in preparation for the main event. After about ten minutes, the spout rocketed upward, clearing the cone by a good twenty feet, spraying and steaming into the blue sky. The men applauded, hooting and hollering their appreciation for this fantastic natural spectacle.

  Their reaction sent a ripple of pleasure through her. After years of watching Old Faithful, she’d never grown bored with its performance. It was mind-boggling to think that Wonderland’s hot springs were completely natural features, intricate combinations of water, gas, and pressure—but not formed by the hands of man. God, You have filled our world with wonders.

  As the stream slowed, she couldn’t help noticing Nate’s countenance dropping along with the water. As his gaze lowered, emotion splayed over his face.

  She edged up close to the man. “What’s wrong?”

  “I…nothing.” He shook his head, as if shaking off his odd reaction. He lifted his attention back to the fading geyser. “I was just thinking about my family. My older brother. He would have loved this. Used to talk about seeing the world.”

  “Used to?”

  Nate swallowed. “Lost him a couple of years ago.”

  A wound in Elsie’s heart opened wide. “I’m sorry.” She touched his elbow. “I lost a sister. Many years back, but it still hurts to think of her.”

  He blew out a long breath, the animated conversations going on nearby seeming to nudge him back to the moment at hand. “Who’d have thought a geyser could make me melancholy?”

  “You’d be surprised how often Yellowstone’s features seem to trigger powerful feelings among onlookers. I think they reflect all the emotions we keep bottled up inside. And then, after a time—” She lifted her hands. “Whoosh.”

  Nate chuckled. “Whoosh?”

  She loved the sound of his laugh. It’s a shame Rose hadn’t fallen for the man. “What would you call it?”

  “I really couldn’t say.”

  The men had started moving along the boardwalk toward Upper Geyser Basin. She should be leading the way, but after Nate’s confession, she had no desire to hurry off. Instead, she and Nate walked side by side in the group’s wake. She pointed out some of the wildflower signs along the way. “Herma Baggley put those in. She’s the ranger who designed the trail.”

  Nate’s brows shot upward. “A woman ranger, huh?”

  “And a good friend. She has a master’s degree in botany, and she’s writing a book about the plants of Yellowstone.”

  “Sounds like a smart lady.” Nate stopped to study a bubbling pool. “Like you, I suppose. Have you thought of becoming a ranger—like your father?”

  Elsie paused beside him. She had, at one time, before the park service placed a moratorium on hiring women. “I’ve always felt God nudging me toward education. A good teacher can change lives.”

  “You’re already doing that, with these fellows.”

  His words warmed her heart. “But for some reason, you haven’t joined my class. Why is that?”

  His posture went stiff as he turned away to take in the view rather than answering her question.

  “Nate, I’d assumed you’d already earned a high school diploma, but Mr. Kaminski assured me that wasn’t the case.”

  “Remind me to talk to Val about minding his own business.”

  Obviously, she’d touched a nerve. But she couldn’t let this slide. She needed to know why Nate was avoiding her. She circled around to his other side to look him in the face. “Is it me? You don’t want to take classes from me?”

  His green eyes widened. “No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

  “What am I supposed to think?” She gestured to the bubbling springs around them, the group continuing on without them. “You obviously have interest in the subject matter. You’re intelligent—I can tell from your questions. So it must be me.”

  “It’s not you.” His voice caught and a strange look fell across his face.

  Val hollered to them from up ahead, encouraging them to catch up. The group had gathered around the Giantess Geyser. Elsie needed to take control of the class again before they swept past some of the best springs without stopping to study them. She wanted to give them time to experience Jewel Geyser in Biscuit Basin. She knew they’d enjoy one of the rangers’ favorite crowd-pleasing tricks—tossing sweat-stained bandannas in the pool and watching them get sucked under the surface. The neckerchiefs would return a few minutes later fresh and clean, courtesy of the geyser’s spray. Whoosh.

  Elsie shot Nate a look she hoped said, “We’re not done here,” before walking off to join the milling collection of men. It was nice to have at least a few eager students.

  As rain pattered on the roof, Elsie sat at the small desk in her room and flipped through the papers. She’d given the men a week to write their observations from the trip. Their descriptions of the geysers were both illuminating and, at times, humorous. Most of them had come a long way in their ability to express themselves in writing, but their grasp of geology was still lacking.

  Mary sat cross-legged on her bed, reading a romance novel one of the girls had loaned her. She’d sighed twice in five minutes, so it must be good.

  A sudden pounding on the door made them both jump. Mary hopped up with a giggle. “Red or Teddy?”

  “I doubt it. We didn’t hear ‘man on the floor!’ ” Elsie capped her fountain pen just as Mary flung open the door, revealing Rose standing in the hall, tears dripping as fast as the raindrops trickled off her coat.

  Elsie stood. “Rose, what’s wrong? What are you doing here?”

  “I didn’t know where else to go.” She dragged her overnight case through the door. “I quit my job at Mammoth.”

  “What?” Mary’s mouth dropped open. “Why on earth—”

  “I can’t stand it. Without the two of you, and without Pete…” Rose covered her face with her fingers, stifling a sob.

  Elsie grabbed her other hand and tugged her inside while Mary collected her case. “Let’s get you dried off and warmed up.”

  Mary pulled off their friend’s coat and then wrapped a terry robe around Rose’s shoulders. “How did you get here? Did Graham bring you?”

  Rose crumpled onto Mary’s bed, hiding her face in the pillow.

  Mary glanced over her shoulder at Elsie. “Is that a no or a yes?”

 
Elsie sat beside Rose and rubbed her back. “I thought you were over Pete. You’ve barely said a word about him since the day you arrived.”

  The girl rolled to her side and curled her knees up to her chest. “I-I didn’t want to seem like a crybaby.” She sniffled and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. “But look at me now.”

  Elsie remembered her conversation with Nate about bottled up feelings. Whoosh. “We can only keep these things inside so long.”

  Mary sat on the foot of the bed. “I thought you were carrying a torch for Graham now.”

  “Graham said…He called me a little sister.” She let out another wail. “A sister—can you believe that?”

  The weight of her friend’s grief fell over Elsie. “So is this about Pete or Graham?”

  “Both. Neither. I don’t know.”

  Elsie glanced at Mary, at a loss for how to help.

  “You both have someone.” Rose mopped her splotchy face. “You can’t understand.”

  Elsie fought back a laugh. “I’ve gone my entire life without ‘having someone,’ and I’m not entirely certain I do now.”

  Her friend struggled to sit up. “But what about Teddy? He’s so sweet, Elsie. You two are perfect.”

  Mary smiled. “Yes, Elsie finally landed her ranger. Now she can stay in Yellowstone forever.”

  “You know I want more than that,” Elsie said.

  Mary shrugged. “So get married and go to school. Who says you can’t do both?”

  “But Teddy doesn’t want me to. He keeps talking about me staying here with him, or moving to a different park. How can I give up everything I’ve dreamed of?”

  Rose’s teary eyes widened. “How could you not? I would give up all my dreams to marry a good-looking man.”

  The words twisted in Elsie’s gut. Trade her dreams for love? Most women would choose like Rose, especially for someone as dashing as Teddy. But she’d worked hard to make college—and teaching—a reality. God had given her this dream, hadn’t He? Would He want her to give it up for marriage?

  “He said that?” Mary raised a brow. “He sounds like a man in love.”

  In love? An ache grew behind Elsie’s temples. How had this discussion gotten sidetracked with her problems? She turned back to Rose. “Why did you quit your job? What are you going to do now?”

  Rose folded her arms around her waist. “I talked to Mrs. Harris. She said there are a few workers who would rather be in Mammoth, so she’d see about making a trade. I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing Graham all the time, knowing he doesn’t care a lick about me. He passes through Canyon often, but at least he’s not based here.”

  “I know he’s fond of you, Rose. He just doesn’t…” Elsie scrambled for words.

  “He doesn’t love me. No one does. No one but you two, anyway.” She got up and wandered over to Elsie’s desk. “Where’d you get this?” She picked up the silver lighter and opened the lid.

  Elsie jumped up and moved toward her friend. “It’s a silly thing Teddy gave me when I left Mammoth. He must not have known I was deathly afraid of fire.”

  “It’s beautiful.” Rose flicked her thumb over the lever, a single flame popping out the vent at the top.

  Elsie took a step back. “Please, don’t do that in here.”

  “Well, he must have known,” Rose said. “Graham told me Teddy has asked him about the fire multiple times since seeing Graham’s scarred hands. In fact, Graham’s so worked up about it, he’s been ducking the man.”

  A shudder coursed through Elsie. Why was Teddy so interested? “What did Graham tell you?”

  “He says all he wants to do is forget it. Like you, he doesn’t talk about it much.”

  “But Teddy asked him, anyway?”

  “More than once.” She turned the silver case over in her fingers before lighting it a second time. “But I don’t want to think about Graham. Not anymore.”

  The flame sent a fresh tremor through Elsie. It made her queasy to see Rose playing with the gadget as if it were a children’s toy. “Can you put it back, please?”

  Rose met her gaze. “Certainly.” She closed the lid. “First, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  She held up the lighter. “When you were a child, Graham lit the fire that burned you both so badly. Is that the only reason you didn’t want me seeing him?”

  This was her not thinking about him? “He didn’t light the fire, exactly.” Elsie swallowed. “He was playing with firecrackers and one…” She struggled to finish the sentence as the memory’s cold fingers clamped around her. “One got away from him.”

  “So if it was an accident, why did you tell him to stay away from me?”

  Mary finally joined the conversation. It had been unlike her to stay quiet so long. “You told Graham to stay away from Rose?”

  Elsie touched her throat, a fluttering sensation in her stomach. “I never said that.”

  Rose’s eyes narrowed. “He said you blamed him for your sister’s death.”

  That was harder to argue with. “Yes. I hold him responsible.”

  She tapped the lighter on her palm. “But he saved you that day. Just like he rescued Mary and me when the fire broke out at the Mammoth Hotel.”

  Mary frowned. “He hardly saved us, Rose. The fire was in a garbage bin. It never reached the hotel.”

  “It could have,” she shot back.

  “It didn’t,” Elsie said. “And the thanks should go to Teddy, for spotting it in time.” She snatched the lighter from Rose’s fingers. She couldn’t stand seeing someone fiddle with the item as if it didn’t hold the power to change all their lives with one careless slip of the hand. Gift or not, she’d just as soon get rid of it.

  “Teddy.” Rose’s face flushed. “Graham’s far more courageous, Elsie. You just can’t see it. He’s walked into a fire—twice.” She shook off the robe and grabbed her dripping coat. “He’s much more of a hero than your Teddy will ever be.” She practically spit the words and stormed out the door.

  Mary shook her head. “What’s gotten into her? Melodrama is usually my game, not hers.”

  “Too much time spent mooning over my cousin.” Elsie dropped the lighter into the desk drawer and slammed it shut. “Graham has convinced her he’s a knight who can slay fire-breathing dragons. One of these days she’ll learn life isn’t a fairy tale.”

  Mary sighed. “Too bad. It would certainly be simpler.”

  * * *

  Elsie collected the day’s essay papers, exhaustion draping over her as the men filed out of the room, still debating today’s history lesson on the Constitution. The fragrance of baking bread made her stomach growl—just one of the distractions of studying in the mess hall. It was little wonder they’d been plagued with black bears breaking into the kitchen when the place always smelled so good.

  She sank into one of the chairs and lowered her head into her hands for a moment, her mind buzzing from all the activity of the day. It was odd how teaching both energized her and sapped her at the same time. During class, she flitted from one student to another, each one’s progress sending a wave of satisfaction through her chest. But when the room emptied, her strength seemed to go with them.

  Now to gather her things and trek back to her dormitory. An evening of grading and then up early in the morning to tidy the hotel rooms for the next day. The summer was flying past, what with working two jobs and keeping up with Mary and Rose. It was hard to believe that the season was half-gone already.

  And then there was Teddy.

  She stacked the books and papers. If there was one thing she didn’t want to think about, it was the brown-eyed ranger who now wrote her daily and had driven to Canyon to see her three weeks in a row—including today, when he’d stopped by during her lunch break, unannounced. Although his attention was nice, she never fel
t completely at ease around him. And every time he visited, he made some comment about her staying in Yellowstone. Every day the hollow in her stomach grew deeper. Lord, I don’t know what to do.

  The door opened and Val appeared, Nate on his heels. She hadn’t seen Nate Webber since the day at Old Faithful, but she’d thought about him all too often. His refusal to join the class other than for field trips troubled her. But what bothered her more was that she couldn’t seem to overlook it. Why should she care if one of the CCC men didn’t want schooling? She had more students than she knew what to do with as it was.

  Seeing him walk through the door stirred her troubling thoughts once again. A flush crept to her cheeks. She stood, lifting the stack of books like a shield.

  “Excuse us, Miss Brookes.” Young Val touched the brim of his slouchy hat. “We were just going to move the tables. We’re having a little entertainment tonight.”

  “And to think I wasn’t invited.” Elsie smiled as she headed for the door.

  His mouth dropped. “Would…would you come? I mean, we should have invited you!” He spun around to face Nate. “Nate, she should come. Why didn’t we invite some folks?”

  Nate laughed, placing his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Because they don’t need to see us embarrass ourselves.”

  “I was only teasing.” Elsie paused in the doorway. She should know by now not to bait the fellow. “You enjoy your evening.”

  Val rushed to her side. “No…please. I’d love it if you came.”

  “Val,” Nate’s voice lifted. “Let the lady go. She’s already had a long day, I expect.”

  Elsie glanced toward him. “So have you. Teddy told me you were up on Mount Washburn today.”

  Nate’s eyes darkened. “That’s right. And every day, pretty much. It was so kind of him to stop by.”

  The look on his face sent a tremor through her. Had something happened during today’s inspection? Her father had been careful to maintain good relations between the conservation workers and ranger staff. Hopefully having Teddy fill in for him hadn’t undone that rapport. She scrambled for a change of subject and focused on the leaflet of papers in Nate’s hand. “Are those programs for this evening’s performance?”