He wanted her here when he got back. He’d given her orders before he’d left the house with Jeff.
She’d heard a little residual fear in his voice and understood it because she couldn’t quite believe he was really hers until he returned and held her again.
Alex didn’t remember when she fell asleep, but the next time she was aware of her surroundings, it was morning. She came awake suddenly and sat up to discover Cal in a sleeping bag on the floor next to her, out like a light. He’d thrown the top part off him at some point during the night, probably because he’d gotten too hot.
Delight filled her. Only one other time had she seen him in navy sweats like the ones he was wearing now. That was when she’d surprised him in his tent, one of her more foolish escapades. But she wouldn’t dwell on that now. It was time to focus on the present.
She turned over on her stomach and crept close to the edge of the couch so she could look at him. He lay on his side facing her, one arm beneath his head, the other outstretched. His disheveled dark blond hair and five o’clock shadow only added to his rugged masculinity. She took in the long, hard-muscled length of him. Was he the most beautiful man in existence or what?
As she was studying each feature, his eyes opened. They glowed like blue suns. She stared into them for a long time while the two of them communed in breathtaking silence. It had been a painful journey to this point for both of them, but Alex could never doubt the love she saw there now. She was the first to break the quiet.
“I love you.”
“Marry me?” he asked in a voice an octave deeper than usual.
She smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”
He raised himself up on one elbow. “How would you like Chief Sam Dick to do the honors? He has the authority here in the park. We could have a small ceremony among the Sequoias with our families and the boys. I can’t promise to set us up in a tree to live. I’m afraid this house will have to do, but when our children come along, they can play among the big trees and dream the way you did.”
“Cal—”
“Is that a yes?” He still sounded anxious.
“You know it is. I love you more than life itself.”
“I don’t see how. I treated you horribly. Alex—”
“No more explanations are necessary.” She sat up. “No more saying we’re sorry to each other. I understand about Leeann. I understand it all. My parents worried about me coming back to the park again. I understood that, too, but it was something I had to do.
“I’ve been given more opportunities than most people could ever dream of and I wanted to share them with these boys, who never knew their birth parents. They weren’t given the great start in life I was. I also wanted to prove to you that I could handle being rejected by you with grace. If I couldn’t have you, I at least wanted to leave a better impression than I did when you first met me.”
“You impressed me years ago. I knew your love for the park was genuine and realized we were kindred spirits in many ways. I fell hard for you, Alex, but too many things got in the way.”
“That’s the difference between men and women. Once a woman sees what she wants, that’s it.”
“Then why aren’t you down here with me?”
“Because I need to thank you for what you’ve done first, and I can’t talk when I’m that close to you.” In a rush of words she told him about her conversation with Lokita. “You’re the one who turned this whole experience around for the boys. Last night you brought them into your home, made them feel important.”
“Because they are,” he declared. “While Jeff was in the kitchen with me, he told me Vance wants to honor Lusio and Mika. Telford’s hoping you’ll let him do a press release with pictures. I have to admit this is the kind of publicity the park could use.”
She smiled. “The boys would love it.”
“Because of them the case has been solved.”
“Solved?”
“You’ll be interested to know forensics dusted for fingerprints from Ralph and Brock’s rooms when they weren’t around. They matched the ones lifted off the knives and chisels. Last evening they were arrested.”
“So Brock was in on it, too. I can’t say I’m completely surprised.”
“Vance says your instincts are dead on, and he’s right. DNA samples have been taken. My hunch is, theirs will match up with the ones taken at the bear mutilation site last year. If so, those two will go to prison for a long time.”
“Good. The picture of those poor, torn-up animals will always be in my memory. What about Steve?”
“He was taken into custody, too. The investigators found out he has access to drugs through his mom, who’s a pharmacist. Steve was one of the at-risk students Ralph Thorn had been working with at the school.
“I understand his father abandoned him. In exchange for tranquilizers, Thorn probably promised him a share of the take. We don’t know how deeply he’s involved yet. That will be for the court to decide.”
He took a deep breath. “Are we through talking now, darling? There are other things I want to do and can’t wait any longer.”
“Just give me thirty seconds to text my mom.”
He checked his watch. “I’m counting.”
She reached for her phone on the end table and pressed the digits. When she’d finished, she slid to the floor and wrapped her arms around him, relishing the feel of him.
“That had to be the shortest message on record. What did you say to her?”
“Here.” She clicked the button so he could read what she’d sent.
“‘The best woman won’?”
Alex nodded before pushing the phone away. “She’ll know what I mean. Before I flew to Yosemite for the volunteer interview she hugged me and said, ‘May the best woman win.’ It was her way of telling me I was no longer a girl and she was rooting for me and my experiment.
“The message I sent back was my way of letting her know I’ve never been happier in my life, which says it all. Now kiss me and don’t stop. Once Lokita’s awake, Sergei will come bounding in here and want to play.”
“He’ll have to wait,” Cal said a little testily before he rolled her on her back, on fire for this remarkable, exquisite woman whose mouth and body were telling him she was undeniably his.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7978-4
THE BACHELOR RANGER
Copyright © 2011 by Rebecca Winters
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