The Chief Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  “I wish I had a dog. Vance loved Samson so much he buried him under that big tree in his backyard. He told me he saw a cemetery in France that’s just for dogs.”

  “I’ve heard of it.”

  “How come we don’t do that here?”

  “Maybe we do.”

  “If I lived with Vance he’d let me have a dog.”

  “Papa would let you have one if he weren’t allergic to everything. You know what? We need to call your grandparents. They’ll be up eating breakfast by now.”

  “Yeah. I’m going to tell Papa Vance loved the flies! We’re going hiking and fishing tomorrow. After we get back he says we’re going to have a fish fry. Do you like trout?”

  “I love it.”

  “Vance says we’re going to really love it ‘cause he has this special way to cook it. He filluts it.”

  “You mean ‘fillet.’“

  “What does that mean?”

  “You take out all the bones first.”

  “Is that hard to do?”

  “Not when you know how.”

  “Vance knows how to do everything.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I want to stay here forever.”

  “I know.” She put the last stack of clothes in the drawer and carried the empty suitcase to the closet.

  Vance had offered her a job that could make Nicky’s dream come true. If her parents weren’t alive, she might consider it, even knowing the risk of permanent heartache. But there was no way she could leave them. They needed her and Nicky too much.

  “I told Vance I miss my mommy.”

  That comment took her breath away. He rarely talked about Michelle. Dr. Karsh said he would when the time was right. Rachel sank down on the side of the bed. “What did he say?”

  Nicky wandered over to her and stood in front of her. “He said he misses his mommy, too, but we don’t need to worry ‘cause they’re watching over us from heaven.”

  Her eyes stung from tears she was fighting. “I know they are, darling. You and Vance are their boys. They love you more than anything in the whole world.”

  He looked into her eyes. “You love me more than anything, huh.”

  “More than anything!” she cried, before pulling him into her arms.

  “I love you more than anything. I love Nana and Papa, too.”

  A new Nicky was emerging. Rachel knew exactly who to thank for this miracle. She wiped her eyes. “Let’s get them on the phone so you can tell them that.”

  She got up and reached for her cell on the dresser. After she punched the number she handed it to Nicky. This call was going to make their day. Since he would keep them riveted for at least ten minutes, she picked up the phone by the bed and rang the Ahwahnee Hotel.

  It was the most famous and expensive place to stay at the park. In the brochure she’d read that the historic landmark had thirty-five-foot ceilings, full-length stained glass windows, giant stone fireplaces, massive hand-stenciled beams and rich tapestries. Some U.S. presidents had stayed there, even the Queen of England. She and Nicky had plans to explore it, but not while her ex-fiancé was staying there.

  After leaving a message for Mr. Steven Dunmore, she hung up and gave her attention to Nicky, who was still recounting yesterday’s adventures to her parents.

  Finally he handed the phone to her. “They want to talk to you.”

  “Hi, you two.”

  “Oh, Rachel, honey. He sounds like our old Nicky,” her mom said.

  “I know.” Vance was responsible. “You should have seen him on that float with Vance, both of them in uniform. I can’t wait to show you the video! You’re especially going to love it, Dad.”

  Rachel couldn’t wait to see it on a big screen. During the long hours of the night she’d replayed the footage on the camera. She needed to get it on disk in case something went wrong with the camcorder.

  After more tears and laughter they hung up. Rachel patted Nicky’s shoulder. “Let’s go downstairs and eat lunch. Steven might come while we’re eating. Maybe not. It doesn’t matter. We’ll go swimming after.”

  “Goody. I want to float with my new water wings.”

  As she reached for her purse, the hotel phone rang.

  Steven didn’t waste any time. Steeling herself to be civil in front of Nicky, she picked up. “Hello?”

  “Rachel? It’s Chase Jarvis.”

  “Oh—Chase, how are you?”

  “Good. I understand Nicky had a great Fourth.”

  “It was the best, but I’m sorry to hear my ex-fiancé showed up to bother you.”

  “It was no problem. I understand he’s still your ex and going to remain that way.”

  Since she’d told Chase she was going back to Miami to explore her feelings for Steven, evidently there were no secrets at this point. “As I explained to Vance, it’s definitely over. Nicky and I were just on our way downstairs to the dining room. If you’re free, please feel welcome to join us.” In a short amount of time Chase had become a good friend.

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  After he rang off she turned to Nicky, who’d put on his new cowboy hat. They’d bought identical hats and had walked all around downtown Oakhurst like cowboys who’d ridden in for the day. Nicky had enjoyed his first bottle of old-fashioned sarsaparilla, a form of root beer. He’d been in heaven. So had she.

  “Do you remember Ranger Jarvis?”

  He nodded while he tried to pop his balloon.

  “He’s going to eat lunch with us.”

  “How come?”

  “Because I asked him. Do me a favor and don’t talk about Vance all the time.”

  “Why?”

  “Because as you said, Vance can do everything bigger and better and greater than anyone else. It could make Ranger Jarvis feel bad. He and Vance are best friends.”

  “But I’m Vance’s best friend.”

  “Besides you.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  “Leave the balloon here.”

  “Can I wear my gun belt?”

  “If you don’t shoot off any caps. Now let’s go.”

  He fastened the buckle and they left the room. She’d bought him a pair of cowboy boots, too. The spurs jingled as he walked. No sooner did they reach the entrance to the dining room than she heard a familiar voice behind her say, “Wait up, Rachel.”

  She turned around to see Steven walking toward her. Nicky automatically reached for her hand. “You have an amazing amount of nerve,” she said in a low voice. “First you show up in Harry’s office uninvited, now here.”

  His eyes glittered. “You’re a cool customer, you know that? You act like I’m an alien.”

  “In a way you are, because you’re not the man I thought you were.” She started walking to an empty table. He followed and sat down with them. His gaze swerved to Nicky.

  “Hi, Tex.”

  “I’m Roy!”

  Rachel started to laugh. She couldn’t help it. At the pool in Oakhurst, Vance had pretended to be the bad guy chasing Roy Rogers.

  “What’s so damn funny?” Steven demanded.

  “Please don’t swear.” The minute the words came out, Chase came into view, wearing his uniform. His keen gray gaze surveyed the scene before he walked up to the table and sat down.

  After removing his hat he smiled at her. “Hi!”

  “Hi yourself.”

  Steven scowled and turned to Nicky. “Hey, Roy. This must be your sidekick.”

  Things were unraveling fast. Rachel spoke up. “Chase Jarvis, this is Steven Dunmore from New World Cruise Lines in Miami. Chase is the assistant head ranger of the park.”

  Chase nodded, but Steven just sat there staring bullets.

  The waitress chose that moment to come over and take their orders. Rachel and Nicky both picked chicken quesadillas and lemonade. Chase said he would have the same thing. Steven ignored their server.

  Once the waitress left he said, “I’d like to see you alone.”

  Ra
chel shook her head. “We have nothing to say to each other. I wish you’d go.”

  “Harry’s still holding your job open for you.”

  “Rachel’s not going on any more cruises,” Nicky piped up, bless his little heart. “She promised.”

  She patted his hand. “That’s right, darling.”

  “How are you going to keep up those high payments on your condo? A salary like yours doesn’t come along every day. Without me you wouldn’t have gotten that last promotion.”

  He was lying, but she refused to rise to the bait. Even for Steven he’d sunk to a new low. What on earth had she seen in him?

  “Are you through?”

  “Smoky the Bear here doesn’t make beans in comparison.”

  He was out of control. She couldn’t believe it. “You sound like a ten-year-old, Steven, and growing younger by the minute.”

  A ruddy color entered his cheeks. “You’re going to be sorry you walked away from me.”

  “I’ve had a year to find out if I was sorry. It never happened. You’re only digging yourself into a deeper hole. I’m busy right now. Do you mind?”

  “What if I do?” he challenged. “I flew clear across the country to talk to you.”

  “No one asked you to come.”

  “Rachel—”

  “The lady wants you to leave,” Chase said.

  Steven’s eyes flashed in anger. “Butt out!”

  Chase calmly pulled the cell from his pocket to phone security. When Steven realized what was happening, he shot out of the chair, livid. “You two are welcome to each other!”

  On his way out of the dining room he narrowly missed the waitress bringing their food. Rachel couldn’t believe what a boy he was. She was embarrassed to think she’d almost married him.

  While they ate, a couple of rangers came over to Chase. After he had a brief word with them, they took off, no doubt to make certain Steven didn’t cause any trouble.

  Chase turned to her. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, thanks to you.”

  “Steven was mad, huh,” Nicky said.

  “Yes, but he’ll get over it once he’s home.”

  “I’m going to tell Vance,” the boy announced before taking another bite of food.

  Rachel had been waiting for him to bring up Vance’s name. He couldn’t help it. She tucked into her own lunch with gusto.

  “What are your plans for this afternoon?” Chase asked.

  “We’re going to swim,” she told him. “What about you?”

  “I’ve got business to take care of. Now that Steven’s gone, I hope you two will enjoy yourselves at the pool. It sounds fun.”

  “Thanks, Chase. You know what I mean.” Vance had probably asked him to run interference in case there was trouble.

  “You bet.” He got up from the table. “I’ll see you around, Roy.”

  “See ya.”

  He put on his hat and nodded to her before striding away.

  “Can we go get our swimsuits on now?”

  “Have you finished everything?”

  “Yup.”

  “Okay.”

  THREE FEDERAL AGENTS accompanied Vance to the region above Porcupine Creek. One of them whistled to see a carpet of spiky marijuana plants covering the area. “There must be fifty thousand at least.”

  Vance nodded. “Add the plants I found in the Tuolumne Meadows in June and we’re talking three hundred thousand, maybe more. This is hardly the sight John Muir described when he first came through here.”

  The famous Scotsman had worried the alpine meadows wouldn’t survive the twentieth century. Vance loved the area, too. It was beautiful, like a garden of flowers thriving at the high elevations.

  Tomorrow Vance yearned to show Rachel and Nicky this divine spot, even with its evidence of mankind’s encroachment.

  “Two weeks ago we confiscated a thousand pounds of fertilizer and at least twenty weapons,” he informed the other men. “I’ve hauled twelve suspects into custody so far. Ranger Jarvis will be heading up a team on horseback to search for the rest.”

  “We’ll get our people out here in the morning. The state is sending in aircraft for an aerial view.”

  “Anything else my office can do to assist, just let me know.”

  “You and the chief ranger over at Sequoia have done more to help in this effort than everyone else put together. Thank you, Vance.”

  They shook hands before making their way back to the helicopter, where Perry was waiting for them. It was 5:30 p.m. Once they returned to the village, Vance would be off duty. With Mark taking over, Vance would have the rest of the evening to entertain Rachel and Nicky. He’d been living for that moment.

  En route Ranger Baird called him on his cell. “Chief Rossiter here. What’s up?”

  “There was a van rollover near White Wolf Campground, a family of six. The area’s been cordoned off. Aid is being given at the scene. We’ve sent for Air Life Rescue support.”

  “Any known fatalities?”

  “No, sir. For once everyone was wearing a seat belt, but the mother is seven months pregnant.”

  Vance closed his eyes. “Keep me posted.”

  “Will do.”

  Before the chopper landed he had another call. He picked up. “This is the chief.”

  “It’s Ranger Thompson. There’s been a car fire two miles north of Wawona. It has burned through the shrubs

  lining the highway for close to a half acre, but should be contained any minute now.”

  “Anyone hurt?”

  “No, sir. We’re doing one-way traffic until the fire chief gets things cleared off.”

  “Keep a watch in case any sparks drift.”

  “We’re already on it.”

  “I’ll be back at headquarters in ten minutes. Give me another update then.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Sometimes trouble came in threes. Instinct told him there’d be another call before he hurried over to the lodge to collect Rachel and Nicky. He was almost breathless thinking about them.

  After leaving the military to become a ranger, how had he lived and functioned every day without them?

  As they neared Yosemite Village, Perry got on the speaker. “Chief? Ranger Sims wants you to know a 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit the Mammoth Lakes area a few minutes ago and was felt strongly at headquarters.”

  That was over sixty miles away. “Any collateral damage reported from the hotels yet?”

  “He’s still assessing. Every ranger’s expected to call in, but he said there was a lot of rattling.”

  Vance broke out in a cold sweat. Rattling was all Nicky needed to be terrified. There could be aftershocks. He’d never want to visit the park again. This was one time Vance was thankful Chase was with them. No one kept a cooler head in a crisis than his friend.

  Stuck in the air until they landed, he phoned Chase, who picked up on the second ring. “Vance? I take it you’ve heard the news.”

  “I’m still in the air, coming back from Porcupine

  Creek. Perry just got the word from Mark. How are Nicky and Rachel?” His voice shook. He needed to talk to them and reassure Nicky.

  “I don’t know.”

  He clutched the phone tighter. “What do you mean? I thought you’d be with them.”

  “I joined her and Nicky for lunch. Steven was there. She told him to leave, that it was over for good. When he refused, I called security and he took off. He won’t be back, Vance. After that I left, because Nicky didn’t want to do anything with me. He made it clear he and Rachel were going swimming. That’s all I know.”

  Vance couldn’t have heard better news, but he needed to know if Rachel and Nicky were all right now. “Are you home?”

  “No. I went horseback riding with a couple of the guys, to check fishing permits. The minute we got the call from headquarters I phoned Rachel, but her voice mail was on. We’re checking campgrounds now on our way back. I should be there within a half hour.”

  “Did you
feel any tremors?”

  “Nothing, but I would imagine Nicky was scared out of his wits. California’s not Florida. This isn’t going to help his nightmares any. Rachel’s, either.”

  Vance’s thoughts exactly. “You’re right.” He took an extra breath. “We’re about to set down. I’ll stay in close touch.”

  The second he hung up he called Rachel’s cell phone. Adrenaline was rushing through him. Pick up.

  “Rachel?” he cried when she answered after the first ring.

  “Oh, thank God, Vance …”

  She took the words out of his mouth. The concern in her voice was gratifying, to say the least. “How are you and Nicky?”

  “We’re fine now that I’m talking to you.”

  “Where are you?”

  “At headquarters, in Beth’s office.”

  His heart couldn’t take much more. “What are you doing there?”

  “We’d just finished swimming, and Nicky was in the tub when everything started to shake. It didn’t last very long and nothing broke, but it made the water swish back and forth. That’s when I realized we’d just felt our first earthquake.

  “Nicky looked at me for an explanation. When I told him, he climbed out of the tub determined to find you and make sure you were all right. We both got dressed and hurried over to your office. He wasn’t frightened until he found out you were somewhere else in the park and might be hurt. H-he loves you so much, Vance.”

  Tears stung his eyes. When he could swallow again he said, “Put him on, will you?”

  “I would, but Cindy could tell how upset he was that you weren’t here, so she took him to get a soda. They’ll be back in a minute.”

  “I’ll be there inside of five.” He wiped his eyes. It was no use pretending the federal agents looking at him weren’t aware something significant was going on.

  “Ranger Sims just came in and informed Beth you’re on your way back in the helicopter. Please hurry.”

  “You can count on it,” he vowed before clicking off. Right then she sounded as if she was anxious to see him, too, but maybe it was wishful thinking. His emotions were so off the charts, he couldn’t trust anything.

  For the next couple of minutes he chatted with the agents. After they landed, he said goodbye before racing toward the visitor center in the distance. He let himself in the back entrance.