The Forest Ranger's Promise

by Bale, Leigh

  It did no good. For some reason, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Nor could he stop thinking about what she’d said about the Lord always being there, waiting for His children to ask for His help.

  If Scott ever needed help, it had been during his divorce. But Melanie was right. Allison had decided to leave him and abandon their daughter for another man. God hadn’t forced her to do such a thing. In fact, maybe the Lord had blessed Scott by letting him keep Shelley with him. If not for his little girl, Scott didn’t know how he would have kept his sanity. She’d come to mean everything to him, teaching him that family was more important than anything else.

  And maybe God had even sent the McAllisters into their lives. To help make things easier for them here in Snyderville.

  That thought caused Scott to pause. Could it be that the Lord wanted him and Shelley to be with Melanie and Anne? Certainly something to think about.

  Shelley hopped up and took off like a shot, waving her arms. “Anne! Anne!”

  “Looks like Shelley’s got herself a good friend,” Jim said.

  “Yeah, the girls are almost inseparable.”

  “The mother’s not bad, either. A beautiful woman. And she’s one of the few ranchers who seem to have accepted you.” Jim chuckled.

  Yeah, Scott silently agreed. As Melanie stepped out of her truck, the breeze swept wisps of hair around her face. Remembering her yesterday in her dainty dress, he stared at her slim legs encased in faded blue jeans and marveled at how lovely she looked no matter what she wore.

  “Guess I’ll go have a chat with Caleb, then we can head back to town.” Jim stood and headed for his horse.

  Likewise, Scott stood and brushed dust off his pants before stowing the remains of their lunch in his saddlebags. Then he walked over to meet Melanie.

  “Hi there.” She sounded a bit breathless, bracing an elbow against the truck.

  Pushing his hat back on his head, he couldn’t help returning her bright smile. “I didn’t expect to see you here on the mountain today.”

  “Actually, I came looking for you. Your office said we might find you here.”

  He tilted his head. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just wanted to give you this.” She handed him a paper. “Shelley said she wanted to play soccer with Anne. Signups are due tomorrow afternoon and since you won’t be bringing Shelley over to the house until Wednesday, I was afraid that she might not be able to join in time.” She cleared her throat. “I was hoping you would complete the form and I could turn it in for you tomorrow and then take Shelley with Anne when practice starts on Thursday.”

  “Ah, I see.” He scanned the enrollment application, her consideration touching his heart. Few people in this community would have done so much for him and Shelley. Reaching into his front shirt pocket, he withdrew a pen. He laid the paper on the front fender of her truck and quickly filled out the application, but paused when he reached the part about emergency contacts. “Do you mind if I put your name here?”

  She looked over his shoulder before shaking her head. “Of course not. I’ve taken you to the hospital before. I’m sure I could do it for Shelley, if the need arises.”

  He laughed. “I think you know my insurance number better than I do.”

  He reached into his back pants pocket to withdraw his checkbook, filled out a check for the required enrollment fees, signed the form and handed it all back to her. “Here you go. Thanks for coming all the way up here for this. Shelley mentioned it to me, but I forgot to ask you about it. She’s very excited about playing soccer.”

  “It’s no problem.”

  She glanced over at Caleb and Jim, who were deep in conversation as they gestured toward the mountain. When she spoke, Scott heard caution in her voice. “I passed by the Donaldsons on my way up here. Is everything okay?”

  Good. News would soon spread throughout Snyderville that Scott had kept his promise. “Yep. The backhoe started digging trench over at Three Creek and they were there to watch.”

  “I’m so glad.” She smiled. “Maybe that will shut them up. I’m tired of their constant whining. Next time, they’ll listen and trust you more.”

  He thought the same thing, but her vote of confidence reached into his very core. Why did this woman seem to trust and support him so much? He’d only known her a handful of weeks, yet he felt closer to her than he’d ever felt to Allison. He thought he’d never meet a woman like Melanie and now he feared it was too late. They each came with too much baggage. Too much hurt and distrust. Love had passed him by a long time ago.

  “I’ll be a bit late tonight to do my chores at your place,” he said.

  She blinked. “You’re planning to come over tonight to work?”

  “Sure. I owe you for child care.” He leaned nearer, catching her warm scent and thinking himself crazy for enjoying it so much.

  “But I didn’t think you’d be there since you didn’t bring Shelley over today. You don’t owe me, Scott. In fact, I owe you.”

  “It was our agreement. I’d like to mow the hay in your south pasture tonight.”

  She waved a hand. “I can have Ernie Murphy take care of that. He said he can come on Friday to do it.”

  The thought made him feel a bit territorial. He’d moved the sprinklers and watched the hay grow. He wanted to mow it. “Nope, I promised to take care of it and I will.”

  “If you’re sure. I’ll call Ernie and tell him not to come. We’ll see you later.” She waved to get Anne’s attention.

  Scott and Shelley watched as the McAllisters climbed into Melanie’s truck and left, then Shelley released a long sigh. “I wish Anne was my sister and Melanie was my mom. Then we wouldn’t have to leave each other all the time.”

  Stunned, Scott stared at his daughter. “What about your own mom? I thought you missed her.”

  She looked up at him, his gentle, sensitive daughter’s eyes filled with sadness. A look that mirrored his own feelings. “I do, but I know she’s never coming back, Dad. Melanie’s different. She’d never leave us. And Anne’s my BFF.”

  “BFF?”

  “Best friend forever.”

  He smiled at that, thinking how wise his child had become. But making Melanie his wife and Anne his stepchild were a far stretch of the imagination. Up until this moment, he hadn’t allowed himself to even think about that. But hearing his own longings voiced out loud by Shelley almost staggered his mind.

  “I’m glad you and Anne love each other,” he said. “But I hope you realize there really can’t be anything more between Melanie and me.”

  “Why not? Karen married Mike after she divorced her first husband. They’ve been married for years and raised each other’s kids. Why can’t you do the same thing with Melanie? Then Anne and I wouldn’t be half dogies anymore.”

  Oh, man. Talk about a complicated question… “First, we would have to be in love. And second, Anne would need to accept me, which she doesn’t. And third, my career will eventually force me to make a transfer someplace else. You’ll have to go with me.” He gazed down at his daughter. “We won’t be living in Snyderville forever, Shelley. I hope you realize that.”

  He headed for his horse, hoping she’d drop the subject. Hoping she wouldn’t say anything that made him feel worse about the situation than he already did.

  “I don’t want to leave Snyderville. I want to stay here. Anne just doesn’t know you well enough yet.”

  Yet. As if more time might turn Anne’s animosity toward him into acceptance and not make him an evil forest ranger anymore. Scott couldn’t allow either himself or his daughter to dwell on this topic. It would bring them nothing but pain.

  “Look, honey. I don’t want you to think that Melanie and I can be anything other than friends.” He finished too abruptly, as if trying to convince himself.

  She frowned, not seeming to like that answer. He didn’t give her the chance to question him further as he lifted her up on her pony, handed her the reins, then turned to step up on h
is own mount.

  “It’s been a long day. Let’s go home.” He nudged his horse with his heels and headed off toward the Forest Service truck and horse trailer.

  Once they had the horses loaded, Jim drove them back to Snyderville. Shelley sat between the two men, staring out the window as she brooded on her own thoughts. She seemed lost and so vulnerable that Scott reached over and took her hand in his, but she jerked away. That hurt.

  What could he say to soften her dejection? He hoped she’d give up any ideas about him and Melanie getting hitched. Turns out they were both becoming too attached to the McAllisters. But deep inside, he couldn’t help asking himself some questions that seemed to haunt him lately.

  Like why did they ever have to leave? And why couldn’t they stay?

  Two hours later, Scott and Shelley arrived at Opal Ranch. He didn’t wait to greet Melanie before he headed out to the barn, forked hay to the horses and poured alfalfa pellets for the lambs. As he crossed the yard to the tractor mower, a soccer ball bounced against his foot. Looking down, he picked it up and turned. Shelley and Anne stood in the front yard watching him.

  “You kicked it too hard,” Anne told Shelley before reaching her hands toward Scott. “Can we have the ball back?”

  Hmm. Maybe this was a good time to be a father. The hay mowing could wait a few minutes.

  He tossed the ball into the air above his head several times and caught it, testing its weight. Then he dropped it to the ground and trotted toward the girls, nudging the ball along with his booted feet.

  “Who’s the goalie?” he called as he reached the front lawn.

  “I am,” Shelley called. “Anne’s teaching me how to be a good midfielder and make a goal. The flowerbox is the goal, but try not to trample Melanie’s flowers.”

  He glanced at the colorful pansies, mentally warning himself to be careful. “I’ll be a forward and help make a goal.”

  “Yay! Dad’s gonna play,” Shelley squealed. She then bent her knees, opened her arms wide and got serious. “I’m ready.”

  At first, Anne’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Then a determined look covered her face. “If you’re gonna play, you have to pass the ball sometimes. Soccer’s a team sport.”

  “You got it.” Scott chuckled, soft-kicking the ball over to her. He heard the screen door clap closed and saw Melanie out of his peripheral vision as she came down off the porch. It’d been years since he’d played ball as part of a family.

  Anne passed the ball back to him. When he got close enough, he gave a short kick and popped the ball over to Melanie.

  “I’m not playing.” She laughed, nudging the ball with her toe.

  “You are now. I’ll be a defender on Shelley’s team. You can help Anne score a goal.” Scott moved over to help his daughter block the ball.

  “Come on, Mom. Kick it.” Anne ran forward and Melanie had no choice but to join the game.

  Scott watched Melanie’s expression as she pressed her tongue against her top lip. She sidled the ball along with her foot before passing it to Anne. The girl caught him off guard with her speed and he barely blocked the ball as it shot toward him.

  “Nice kick,” he told her before retrieving the ball from the driveway and bouncing it back to her. “Go again.”

  She maneuvered the ball expertly, passing it to her mother, then back again. Scott panted as he chased after them, trying to steal the ball back.

  He came up behind Melanie, who whipped her head around and shrieked. “Oh, no, you don’t.”

  The woman wasn’t big, but she was agile and as fast as her daughter. She almost slipped past him, but her foot caught on his ankle and she tripped. He reached out to catch her, twisting his body to bear the brunt of the fall. They tumbled into the grass, laughing. He rolled, his arms around her as she lifted her head and smiled down into his eyes. The palms of her hands rested against his chest, her long hair spilling across his cheek, tickling his nose.

  “Did I hurt you?” she asked.

  He shook his head, unable to speak. He studied the oval slant of her beautiful green eyes, his heart pounding like a drum. She wore very little makeup, but she didn’t need it. Her natural beauty more than made up for the enhancements that other women sought in a bottle or jar.

  She blinked, her soft breath fanning against his lips. Without warning, she hopped up, breaking the moment as she chased after the ball. Scott followed more slowly, his brain groggy. With a flick of her foot, Melanie arched the ball over to Anne who drew back her leg for a solid kick. Seeing it coming Shelley squealed with fear and scrunched her face, arms and legs together so she wouldn’t get hit. The ball zipped past her and rolled into Melanie’s pansies.

  “Goal!” Anne lifted her arms in the air. “Shelley, you’re supposed to block the ball, not hide from it.”

  “But it almost hit me.”

  “That’s the idea, dummy. If it hits you, it won’t score a goal.”

  “I’m not dumb.”

  Bravo! Scott liked Shelley to defend herself.

  “Anne, no name-calling. Apologize right now,” Melanie said.

  Anne pursed her lips. “I’m sorry. You’re not dumb. You just don’t know how to play the game right. If you knock it away like this—” she showed the maneuver with her arms “—it won’t go into the goal and it won’t hurt because you’ll have padding on.”

  Shelley nodded. “I’ll try.”

  While Anne drew back and kicked the ball again, Scott brushed at the grass stains on the elbow of his shirt. His gaze kept moving to rest on Melanie. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her as she chased after the ball.

  This time, Shelley flung out her arms and stopped the ball. It wasn’t a very graceful movement, but she’d tried.

  “I did it! I did it!”

  “Great job! Well done, honey.” Scott opened up the floodgates of praise, taking advantage of this opportunity to build his child’s confidence. He hugged Shelley, whirling her around on the lawn until she squealed with delight.

  “Much better,” Anne said.

  Scott liked his daughter’s willing attitude. He would never tell her that she was a bit of a wimp, but he was glad she tried so hard. The little girls were definitely good for each other.

  They all gathered together at the front of the flower box, laughing and offering more suggestions to Shelley. Scott rested his hand on Anne’s shoulder. “I didn’t know you were such a good player. Shelley’s got a good teacher.”

  At first, the girl smiled at his compliment. Then, as if remembering who he was, the smile slid from her mouth, replaced by a frown. She stepped away, withdrawing into herself.

  Shutting him out.

  Melanie must have noticed. “Okay, enough play for one evening. You girls have chores to do.”

  “Ahh, but I was just getting the hang of it.” Shelley picked up the ball.

  “We can practice again tomorrow. Come on.” Anne took the ball and raced toward the lambing shed. Shelley followed close on her heels.

  “That was fun.” Scott smiled at Melanie, enjoying the domestic feeling that settled over him. Except for Anne’s animosity, he felt as though he belonged here. As if they were a real family.

  But not quite.

  “Look at that sunset.” She pointed toward the western mountains where the fading sun lit up the sky with red and orange clouds.

  “Now that’s a sunset.”

  They stood close together, their arms touching. In those tranquil moments with her, Scott felt more content than ever before in his life. He turned to face her, his fingers twining with hers.

  “Melanie, I wish we could—”

  She moved her hand away. “Don’t say it, Scott. It’d only make things more difficult…for both of us.” She brushed her fingers against her chin and took a step toward the door. “I’d better get back into the kitchen and check on my chicken. I don’t want it to burn.”

  The magic bubble burst.

  He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. What had he b
een about to say? He wasn’t sure, but he knew she felt it, too. The attraction between them. Like a current of high-voltage electricity. “I’d better get out into the hay field.”

  “See you later.” She waved.

  “Yeah. Later.”

  Scott turned and headed toward the mower, wishing he could say something more intelligent. Wishing he dared ask Melanie out on a formal date. No doubt Anne wouldn’t like that. And Melanie wouldn’t feel comfortable with it, either. Too much censure stood between them. They were friends and nothing more. He had to keep reminding himself of that. But it was getting harder to remember.

  Melanie stepped out on the back porch of her house and took a deep breath. The evening air smelled of freshly cut hay. Crickets chirped from the side of the house. Except for the drinks of water and lemonade she’d taken out to him, Scott hadn’t stopped to take a break since he’d gone out to the fields. It was getting late and the girls should be in bed.

  Scott must be worn out.

  Taking a flashlight with her, she pushed her arms into the sleeves of her sweater and headed across the back lawn toward the south pasture. The sun had faded behind the western mountains, but she could see the headlight from the hay mower glistening at the end of the field. Scott had killed the motor ten minutes earlier and she hoped that meant he was finished with the mowing. She climbed over the fence and clicked on the flashlight as she walked the furrowed field.

  Long windrows of freshly mowed hay led the way. With the use of her farm equipment, she was able to rake the drying hay and even bale and stack it, but mowing always gave her problems. If there was an equipment failure, it required pure muscle to fix it and she just wasn’t strong enough. She owed Scott a lot for his help.

  “Hi there,” he called as she approached.

  Careful not to shine the light in his eyes, she panned the beam of the flashlight over him. He knelt on the ground, working to replace a blade on the mower.

  “Is there a problem?” she asked.