The Chief Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  With those words her pain quadrupled. “That’s very kind of you and I promise I’ll think about it,” she lied. After glancing at her watch, she said, “Let me help you with the dishes, then I’ve got to get back to headquarters to pick up Nicky.”

  With that she started clearing the table, but Vance stopped her from stacking the dishes in the dishwasher. “These will keep.”

  He was too close to her. “In that case, I’d better go.”

  “Rachel?”

  She made the mistake of looking at him. The solemn expression in his eyes knocked her off balance. “Yes?”

  “If I’ve angered you again, it wasn’t intentional.”

  “Y-you didn’t anger me,” she stammered.

  He folded his arms. “But I touched a nerve. Was it because I mentioned Steven?”

  Time for a deep breath. “Not so much that. It’s the idea that Nicky knows way too much.”

  “That’s only natural. He loves you. You’re his lifeline. Anything that affects you affects him in triplicate.”

  She smiled briefly. “If I didn’t know it before we left Florida, I know it now. However, there’s something else.”

  “Go ahead. Let’s clear the air completely.”

  “Please don’t take this wrong, but you do too much for him.”

  “And you resent it? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Rachel bit her lip. “No, not at all, but his memory of his father and his relationship with you are all blended together right now. He’s confused.”

  “Believe me, I’m aware of that,” Vance said in a sober tone. “Once you’re back in Florida, he’ll get it all straightened out in his mind. For the time being, it won’t hurt if he’s a little mixed up. I’d rather he clung to me emotionally while I take him up on El Capitan in the morning.”

  She should have realized Vance had a reason for everything he did. If she was having problems, it appeared they had more to do with her overwhelming attraction to him and nothing else.

  Her moist eyes searched his for a timeless moment. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for him. You’re a remarkable man.” On impulse she kissed his hard jaw, then reached for her purse and hurried out of the kitchen.

  WITH HIS FINGERS, Vance felt the spot she’d just kissed. Though Rachel had meant the gesture to be a demonstration of gratitude, the touch of her lips sent sparks of desire through his sensitized body. Groaning inwardly, he raced after her, but she beat him to her car. They drove back to the visitors’ center in silence.

  “Wait here, Rachel. I’ll get him.”

  He walked inside headquarters. The teens were just coming out of the auditorium. Nicky saw him and ran over, his cute face wreathed in a smile. “I wish I was a junior ranger. They have uniforms just like you.”

  “You like those, huh?” Vance chuckled. “Did you have fun?”

  “Yup. The bears in that movie were really funny.”

  Vance reached for his hand and walked him outside, while Nicky chattered a mile a minute. Vance put him in the back in his car seat.

  “What are you going to do now?” Nicky asked.

  “He has work, honey,” Rachel explained before Vance could. “We have other plans.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “For a walk around Curry Village,” she said with determination.

  Vance would love to join them, but it would be like moving around in a goldfish bowl. The whole park would be watching. “They have great ice cream over there.”

  Nicky only eyed Vance mournfully. “Can’t you come with us?”

  He could feel Rachel begging him to back her up in this. “I’m afraid I have more park business to do,” he lied. Of course there were always things needing to be done, but he didn’t have anything pressing at the moment. “See you later, radiator.” He leaned in the back window to high-five him, but Nicky had no interest in perpetuating their little word game.

  Vance understood how he felt, because he was suffering from the same affliction. He waved to Rachel before heading back inside headquarters. It was going to be a long night.

  No sooner did he enter his office than Beth told him Ranger Nelson was on line one. He reached for the phone. “What’s up, Bob?”

  “A fire has broken out in the Laurel Lakes basin.”

  “How widespread?”

  “Maybe ten acres. We don’t know yet if the culprit was lightning or campers. I’ve given the order to clear people out now.”

  “Close it all off, including the trail leading up to it from Miguel Meadow, and keep in touch with me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Natural wildfires were good for the park, helping the forest regenerate. However, if they grew out of control, then the rangers had to send in air tankers. In any given year they lost sixteen to twenty thousand acres of forest due to lightning strikes or prescribed, scheduled burns. For the moment Vance wasn’t too concerned. Two other small fires were burning east of the Glacier Point area, but they were headed for containment and wouldn’t interfere with tomorrow’s flight to El Capitan. So far there was no undue cause for worry. At least not in that department.

  He turned to his computer, situated at the right of his desk, to check the latest e-mails from various ranger stations. The notice about a bear incident in the Lower Pines Campground drew his attention and would have to be investigated.

  As he scrolled down, his gaze fell on Timberwolf lying next to the keyboard. While Vance had been on the phone earlier, he’d let Nicky play on the Disney Web site. Rachel had taught him what to do. The boy was very computer savvy for one so young.

  Vance picked up the little action figure, fingering it absently as he mentally replayed the day’s events. Certain images filled his head and wouldn’t leave. Rachel was a great sport. When he’d dunked her in the pool, she’d done her best to dunk him back. He could still feel the contact of their arms and legs. Her laughter had been as spontaneous as her smile. It lit up her whole countenance so he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  While she’d done a backstroke race with Nicky, the lovely contours of her face and body had trapped the air in his lungs. Unaffected and ultrafeminine, Rachel possessed too many assets that spoke to Vance, making her unforgettable. He could still feel her kiss along his jaw.

  Inhaling sharply, he jumped up from the desk, needing to redirect his energy by doing something worthwhile. Before he went home, he might as well get a firsthand report from Ranger Hollis about the bear incident. After pocketing Nicky’s toy, he said good-night to Beth and left headquarters.

  When he entered the information center, it didn’t surprise him to see Chase still on duty. Vance walked over to his desk. “What are you doing here?”

  “What do you think?” Work was the panacea for both of them, but you couldn’t do it twenty-four hours nonstop. Not even Chase, who had the strongest work ethic Vance had ever witnessed.

  “I hear you.” Vance was doing the same thing, by putting off being alone with his own torturous thoughts. Since Chase’s divorce, the man had his own.

  “Hey, Chief!” Hollis called to him. “It’s all over the park how you took care of those inebriated college guys at the pool today.” The two younger rangers were grinning at him. “How about giving us a quick course in the Rossiter technique?”

  The park grapevine traveled faster than lightning. “You guys are full of it. How about you giving me the facts about the bear incident this morning.”

  “It wasn’t the park’s greatest moment. The bear and her two cubs climbed into a tall Jeffrey pine. They were up there quite a while. Then the cubs started to back down. When the sow realized she’d gotten separated from them, she began to get aggressive. We feared she would attack the campers gathered around, so we had to tranquilize her.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t have to do worse.” If her cubs were threatened, a mother bear turned killer. It was instinct. Rachel had that same instinct where Nicky was concerned.

  “Me, too. W
e called Fish and Game. They came and transported the family for release.”

  “I’ll make certain the official report reaches the superintendent, with a carbon copy to the park publicist. The newspapers will still print an animal cruelty headline and leave out the fact that lives were threatened, but I can always live in hope for the truth to be revealed.” He turned to Chase. “Want to get out of here?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” He shoved himself away from the desk and stood up. They left the other rangers in charge and walked outside. “Feel like tacos?” Chase was referring to Curry Village, across the road, of course.

  Bad idea. Little did Chase know the place was calling to Vance like a siren. “Why not come to my house? I have leftover enchiladas I can warm up for you.”

  Chase squinted at him. “You’re sure you want to do that tonight?”

  “It beats Nancy cornering us at the restaurant for another lecture on why bachelors don’t live as long as married men.”

  They headed toward their housing area near the village complex. “Maybe that’s because the women we want aren’t available.”

  “Nope.” Rachel was going back to Florida to be with her ex-fiancé. His proposition had been turned down flat.

  “You sounded like Nicky just then,” Chase observed. “I take it you two had fun at the pool.”

  “Yup. He’s a great little swimmer.” Vance started walking faster. They needed to switch topics. Soon the park would see the backs of Nicky and Rachel Darrow. He didn’t want to think about it yet.

  “I don’t envy you taking him up on El Cap tomorrow. Let’s hope the experience doesn’t add to his nightmares.”

  “I guess the family will find out after he gets back to Florida,” Vance muttered. Unfortunately, Rachel’s psychiatrist wasn’t infallible.

  Rachel …

  How long would that name resonate with him? He hoped and prayed not long, or the summer he’d been looking forward to would turn into early winter.

  THE SUN’S RAYS HADN’T YET penetrated the depths of Yosemite Valley, but Rachel felt relief that a beautiful, calm summer morning had dawned. Mixed in with the dread of reliving her brother’s tragedy was this undeniable excitement at the thought of being with Vance one more time.

  Nicky couldn’t wait to see him, and was too worked up to eat breakfast. Just in case he got hungry later on, she stashed some snacks and a juice box in her purse. They both put on a lightweight jacket over their Levi’s and pullovers, then left for the lobby. Nicky let out a whoop when he saw Vance through the glass.

  In full uniform, the chief ranger looked every inch the part as he lounged against the truck with his arms folded, waiting for them. The second Nicky shot out the doors, Vance was there to pick him up and help him inside the cab. Then he reached for Rachel. The sun hadn’t spilled its rays on them yet. In shadow, the eyes trained on her appeared a darker blue than usual.

  “Good morning.” For some reason his voice sounded an octave lower than she remembered. This was one mission neither of them had been looking forward to, but she sensed there was something else bothering him.

  “Good morning.” Her greeting came out more like a whisper before he assisted her in and shut the door.

  The drive to the helipad only took a few minutes. Thankfully, Nicky’s chatter covered over the awkwardness. Vance had an almost forbidding aura about him this morning. Naturally, he wanted this experiment to work, but in its own way this had to be hauntingly painful for him, too.

  Several rangers belonging to the search and rescue team were there to greet them. Nicky stood between her and Vance, gripping the hands of both. The pilot hunkered down in front of him. “Hi, Nicky. My name’s Perry. I’m the man who helped the chief find your parents. I’ll be flying us up to the top of El Capitan. Are you ready?”

  “Yup.” That little word had so many meanings. It could convey he was so happy he couldn’t talk, or he was bored, or he was terrified. If he felt like she did, the third definition covered it all.

  “Then let’s be off. The chief will strap you in.” Perry stood up and looked at Rachel. “Ms. Darrow? If you’ll climb in back first and buckle up.”

  She did his bidding, followed by Nicky, who kept his eyes on Vance’s face and listened to every word while he was being buckled in.

  “I have to sit in front, but once we get up there I’ll keep hold of you every second. Is that okay with you?” the chief said.

  Nicky nodded.

  “You’re going to see the whole Yosemite Valley. It’s a sight not many six-year-olds get to see from that vantage point.”

  “Did you go up there when you were six?”

  “Nope. Not until I was ten.”

  The wheels were turning. “Was it scary?” he asked in all earnestness.

  Rachel saw the difficulty Vance had in swallowing. “Yes, but it was so awesome I forgot to be frightened. Your parents thought it was so awesome, they didn’t want to come down.”

  Nicky’s hazel eyes suddenly brightened. Vance had found the right words. “Yeah.”

  “Yeah.” His hero smiled.

  Like the tiny leaves of a seed that suddenly sprouted from the ground, admiration, even love for the chief ranger sprang into Rachel’s being. There was an innate honesty in him tempered with a goodness and uncanny insight that was on a higher level than the people around him. She saw it in the respect everyone who worked in the park had for him. In Nicky’s case he inculcated absolute trust.

  “Are you ready, sport?”

  “Let’s go!”

  “You heard the man, Perry.”

  Once Vance strapped himself in the copilot’s seat and put on headgear, the rotors started to turn. Rachel hadn’t flown in a helicopter before. She’d confided as much to Nicky last night. He must have remembered their conversation, because he looked over at her. “Don’t be scared, Rachel. Vance won’t let anything happen to us.”

  “I know.” I know.

  Plucked from the ground like an eagle’s prey, the helicopter carried them off, leaving her stomach behind. Her hands gripped the armrests. She didn’t think she took another breath until they were heading straight across the open valley for El Capitan. The sun gilded part of its face, making the moment surreal.

  “Whoa. It’s huge!” Nicky cried. He’d used that word often in connection with the park.

  Vance turned on the microphone. “We’re almost there. If you look closely, Nicky, you’ll see people climbing with ropes.” Rachel strained to pick them out. She couldn’t imagine attempting to scale anything that sheer.

  “They look like ants! Did my mommy and daddy do that?”

  “No,” he answered. “See that trail on your right? Like a ribbon coming along that high ridge?”

  “Yes?”

  “That’s the path they took to hike over from Tamarack Flats so they’d be right on top. We’re going to land where they were camped.”

  Like a tuft of cotton coming to rest, the pilot set them down on the enormous, flat white rock. Being there wasn’t as frightening as she’d anticipated. That was because they weren’t near the edge.

  Vance carried Nicky in his arms. So far her nephew seemed fine. “What do you think?” the chief asked him.

  “Are we at the top of the world?”

  Both men smiled.

  “It feels like it,” Perry commented. “What else do you want to ask us?”

  Nicky cupped Vance’s face. “Can I get down and walk around?”

  “As long as you hold my hand.”

  “I will.” Once he was lowered to the ground he looked at Rachel. “Will you hold my hand, too?”

  Her heart melted as she grasped it. Together the three of them moved wherever Vance led them. He was careful to stay away from the edge. In the distance they could hear the occasional shout of a climber calling to a companion. The sun was out in full force now. Rachel looked around in wonder, feeling as if they were standing at the edge of creation.

  “How come it’s still cold?
” Nicky asked.

  Vance stopped walking. “Because we’re up seventy-five hundred feet. It’s always twenty degrees cooler up here than at the valley floor. That’s why the storms on top are so much worse when they move in.”

  Nicky grew pensive. “I bet when it snowed my mommy and daddy got really, really cold.”

  “They did, but remember they had each other to help them stay warm until they went to sleep.”

  Vance …

  “That’s ‘cause they loved each other, huh.”

  A wealth of emotion forced Rachel to hug him hard. “Just the way they loved you.”

  He hugged her back. They stayed that way for a long time. When he finally let her go, he turned to Vance. “Where did you take my mommy and daddy?”

  “Perry flew all of us down to the village. Then a special car took them to the airport, where they were flown back to your grandparents in Miami.”

  His head whipped around. He stared at Rachel. “I didn’t see them.”

  “Neither did I, darling. Nana and Papa had them buried in the cemetery.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You don’t remember going there?”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll visit their graves as soon as we get home.”

  Vance picked him back up. “Tell you what. Since you’re leaving for Merced, I’ll ask your aunt to take the route through Oakhurst. We’ll stop so you can see the cemetery where my parents and grandparents are buried. I want to put some flowers on my grandma’s grave. You can help me decide what kind.”

  Nicky’s face brightened. “My nana loves yellow roses the best.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll buy.”

  “Is Katy buried there, too?”

  “No. Her grave is in Fullerton, California, next to her grandpa’s.”

  “Do you put flowers on her grave, too?”

  Rachel’s heart lurched.

  “Whenever I get the chance to visit.”

  “Is it a long way?”

  “Not as far as it is to Florida.”