by Renee Hart
At that, Trey gave a hoot of laughter and turned around to join in the conversation. Ryan looked at the two of them with a questioning look on his face. Lissa just shrugged and took another bite of her sandwich.
“Am I the only one that doesn’t know what happened to your first partner?” Ryan asked.
Trey was happy to fill him in on the story adding, his own embellishments as he reenacted Mr. Shilling’s swift exit from the boat with a somersault and several loud moans much to their amusement.
When he was done, three pairs of eyes turned to Lissa expectantly.
“And none of you know that I accidentally shot my second partner, well, my backpack shot him….with a tranquilizer gun. That story actually made the evening news last night. Too bad nobody got to see it, including me.”
After a moment of stunned silence, the questions came hard and fast as Lissa tried to fill in the missing pieces of the story for her eager audience. Soon, the four of them were choking with laughter as they realized the outcome was far less awful than it might have seemed at first.
“That’s not everything,” Lissa hesitated. “I also hit another field agent in the nose with my elbow. It was an accident, as was pouring coffee on my boss, but the way I figure it, I’ve either got two strikes or maybe four strikes against me at this point. I just can’t figure out why I haven’t been fired.”
At the downcast look on Lissa’s face, the other three fell silent.
“Actually, since they were all accidents, I’m not sure how they could be counted against you,” Jessie ventured to say. “Besides, you only had to fill out two accident reports, so I’d count that as two strikes, nothing more.”
“So, you’re saying the bear got away,” Trey asked with a grin.
“Yep! We never saw hide nor hair of him again,” Lissa grinned back.
“I’d say that was one lucky bear,” Ryan teased. “Who knew you were such a good shot?”
“Rick Johnson knows!”
The four of them crowed with laughter for a moment. Lissa was the first to fall silent as she struggled with her guilt. She knew Rick wouldn’t be laughing when she saw him again tomorrow morning. He would probably be more interested in shooting her himself.
***
It was late in the afternoon when they left the zoo and headed for home. Trey was satisfied to learn his favorite wolf had been relocated to the wild and was wearing a tracking collar. He knew the wolf would be far happier with a normal life in the wild than being confined in the zoo. Most of the animals didn’t get a second chance once they’d settled down to life in captivity.
Lissa left the zoo with several contacts courtesy of Ryan that might prove to be helpful in her own job. She thought she might even find them beneficial in case she needed to find another job. If there were any openings at the zoo, she’d be more than willing to consider a career change from Fish & Game. The pay probably wouldn’t be as good, but the work would definitely be more satisfying.
When Trey forgot and climbed into his usual seat up front next to his mother, Lissa was content to find herself sitting in the back with Ryan. The two of them made small talk all the way home as Jessie focused on the drive and Trey listened to the radio. Comforted by the day’s feelings of comradery, Lissa enjoyed Ryan’s nearness and attention. It was rare to have him all to herself and she found herself wanting more.
“Would you like to come over for dinner?” she blurted out without thinking.
Ryan hesitated a moment before answering.
“I’d love to, but I’m not free this evening,” he finally said quietly. “How about you give me a rain check for another time?”
Ignoring his sister’s steely look in the rear view mirror, Ryan waited for Lissa’s response.
“Oh, of course. You can have a rain check for whenever you’re available,” Lissa said feeling embarrassed. Fearing her response sounded a bit desperate, she tried to change the subject.
“Hey Trey! I was wondering how you got your name,” she called out. “Trey means ‘three’, right?”
“Yeah, my mom named me Trey because she said I was her third strike.”
Lissa frowned and scratched her head.
“No. No. You’re thinking ‘third strike’ like it’s a bad thing,” Jessie said watching her face in the mirror. “I don’t see it that way. The world says, ‘three strikes and you’re out’, right?”
Lissa nodded.
“Well, I say when you’ve made three strikes, it’s time to head back to the dugout and find another way to win the game. Trey’s dad and I were in a serious car accident, strike one. He died because of his injuries, strike two and then Trey was born. I took that as a sign I needed to head back to the dugout, my parent’s house, and find another way. He was my third strike, see?”
As Lissa sat there trying to make some sense of this twisted logic, Ryan began to laugh at the look on her face.
“Don’t try to understand my sister’s strange way of looking at things,” he laughed. “She’s always been one to find a silver lining in any cloud. I never could figure her out even when we were kids.”
“So, you’re saying three strikes isn’t always a bad thing,” Lissa ventured. “It just means that you need to find another way….”
Jessie laughed.
“You’ve got it! It’s not that strange Ryan,” she said. “Maybe it’s a ‘girl thing’.
“Maybe! It sure doesn’t work in baseball,” he retorted with a snort.
With those words, the drive was over and everyone piled out of the car to head off in different directions. Lissa didn’t wait to see which way Ryan was headed. She scooted home after thanking Jessie and Trey for the outing and lunch. It was relief to have some quiet time to prepare herself for work the next day. She could only wonder what she would be facing in the morning.
Chapter Seven
Lissa got to the office earlier than usual and headed for the conference room. Monday mornings were reserved for staff meetings to share any relevant information or reassign jobs. She was sure to be given a new assignment after Friday. The funny thing was that this wasn’t actually such a bad thing. She and Rick would be happy to be rid of each other.
Grabbing a seat near the back of the room, she didn’t look up when Gary came in and sat down next to her. He barely had time to whisper a greeting before Mr. Burns took up his stance in front of the door. At that point, Rick Johnson walked into the room and several agents stood up and began clapping loudly. He looked surprised at first, but then his face broke into a huge smile.
“Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate your accolades,” Rick said loudly.
“Okay, hero. Why don’t you say a few words to your fans,” Mr. Burns said somewhat sarcastically. He quickly scanned the room to see where Lissa was sitting and then looked away.
“The truth is, guys….and girl,” he said with a smirk, “I don’t actually remember anything that happened on Friday. If Lissa hadn’t gotten the story on the news, I would still be wondering myself. You should see all the cards and flowers I got in the hospital. I never knew being a hero and saving children from dangerous bears could be so….rewarding.”
Several agents turned around and gave Lissa a thumbs up and a smile. She was sitting there dumbfounded by what had just happened. This was the last thing she’d expected or considered would be happening this morning. Even Mr. Shilling wasn’t looking daggers at her. He wasn’t smiling, but he almost looked….friendly, almost.
After Rick took his seat, Mr. Burns made a few general announcements and then pulled out a list of assignments for the week. There weren’t any surprises as Lissa waited to hear her name. When Rick was given a new partner, he actually turned around with a wondering look. It was clear, he really didn’t remember what had happened on Friday.
“And Lissa, you’ll be working with Gary there on road patrol duty,” Mr. Burns finished saying as he folded up his list and turned to go.
Lissa looked at Gary in surprise. His bruised face was much b
etter, but there was still some signs of their accident. He gave her a wry grin as he stood up.
“I hope you’re ready for this,” he said. “You’ve finally reached the bottom of the barrel on job assignments.”
“What do you mean?” Lissa asked. What is road patrol duty?”
“It means we’re the ‘clean-up’ crew when an animal gets run over or causes an accident,” Gary said as he headed for the door.
Lissa groaned as she followed him out.
While Rick didn’t remember Friday’s events, it was clear that Mr. Burns wasn’t swayed by her news spin. She was grateful he’d played along in front of the others. Since he hadn’t fired her, she should probably be happy that she still had a job. On the upside, at least Gary talked to her and wasn’t mad about his nose. Maybe things didn’t work out so badly after all, she thought following her new partner out to their truck. He might even let her do a bit of the driving.
Gary went over the checklist outside with Lissa and explained some of the gear they would be using. She listened carefully and noted where everything was stowed. When he pulled out the tranquilizer gun, she took a step back and he laughed.
“Why do we need a tranquilizer gun for road clean-up,” Lissa asked.
“Sometimes, with the moose especially, accidents involve mommas with calves. We have to deal with them too,” he replied sadly. “Anyway, we’re ready to go. I’ll take the first leg. We have a short list today.”
Lissa got in and buckled her seat belt. They hadn’t gone very far before she realized Gary was pulling in the lot next to Java Nutz.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Gary said with a grin. “I’m a big fan of the coffee here.”
“Me too! They also have great donuts!”
“I know! This is usually my first stop in the morning,” Gary said, pulling up to the window.
Lissa was surprised to find Ryan looking at the two of them with a funny look on his face.
“You two seem very happy today,” he said. “What can I get for you, Gary? Your usual, Lissa?”
Gary and Lissa looked at each other and laughed.
“Hey, Ryan,” Gary said, “so you know my new partner here?”
“Your new partner lives in my parent’s house and comes here quite often, though not when I’m working usually?” Ryan said a bit curtly.
“Is that so,” Gary said looking at Lissa. “It seems we have a lot more in common than I realized.
As Ryan turned away to make their order, Lissa fell silent. Somehow the situation felt pretty awkward with Gary acting so friendly and Ryan seeming so tense about seeing the two of them together laughing. She reminded herself that Gary wasn’t her friend. He was her work partner. It was important not to let their relationship blur into something else. There could be a problem if she acted too friendly towards him.
Ryan handed them their coffees and took their money without further comment. His half-hearted “Have a nice day” even seemed a bit chilly to Lissa. Gary didn’t seem to notice anything amiss as he drove away from the window.
Lissa wondered what it was going to do to her chances with Ryan if he had to see her with Gary every morning. Her heart sank at the thought they might be through even before they’d taken a chance on each other. She pushed those thoughts away and turned her focus to the job at hand. After all, she was a professional.
***
By the end of her first week on road patrol, Lissa was deeply aware of two things. Traffic and animals don’t mix very well and this assignment was heart wrenching at times. Gary took charge of most of the more challenging clean-ups and tried to keep her spirits up when he could, but it was still sad. She felt guilty at times for not being tougher, but Gary told her she would get better in time.
The real question she faced was did she want to get better at this. There was very little about the job to look forward to every day. She realized this was something that had to be done and somebody had to do it, but did it have to be her? The only good thing was spending her day with someone that treated her like an equal.
Mr. Burns seemed content to leave things as they were and didn’t change their assignments the next week. Without speaking about it, the two of them were content in their own way. They worked well together with Lissa handling traffic or shuttling the tools Gary needed while he handled the hard parts. At least they got along with each other.
Gary had lots of funny stories about his life in Alaska and between clean-ups, he could usually find a way to bring a smile to her face. She found herself looking forward to seeing him. The one problem in the morning was that Gary liked to stop at Java Nutz for coffee and Lissa was aware of the look on Ryan’s face every time they drove up. She considered if there was some way to get Gary to stop somewhere else. If so, she didn’t really have time to figure it out. She felt the door closing with Ryan one cup of coffee at a time.
Chapter Eight
One Saturday morning, Lissa was trying to sneak in a little extra sleep when she was forced from bed by someone pounding on her door. She groaned in frustration, but headed for the door. From the excessive noise, she was pretty sure she’d find Trey on the other side of it. He was the only one persistent enough to go on knocking this long.
She’d barely gotten the door open before he’d pushed his way inside.
“What took you so long? I’ve been pounding on this door for an hour!”
“Not true! You might want to revise that statement a little,” Lissa retorted. “With all the noise you were making, it couldn’t have been more than five minutes or the cops would be here already.”
“You called the cops?”
“No! I’m just saying if it had been an hour with all that….never mind,” Lissa said. “What’s got you all worked up today?”
“We’re going fishing and I really want you to come along! You might enjoy seeing what it’s like on the other side of that badge you wear,” he said with a big grin.
“Who’s we’re?”
“Everybody! Grandpa and Grandma, Mom, and Uncle Ryan and Jan. They all want you to come too!”
Lissa scratched her head wondering if this was a good idea. She wasn’t exactly skilled at fishing and her boating experiences…well, let’s just say they were less than stellar. On the other hand, maybe an outing with Ryan could repair some of the damage caused by her partner’s obsession with coffee.
“Okay. I’ll go, but I need a little time to get ready,” she said.
“No problem! You have ten minutes,” Trey said running for the door. “I’ll let them know.”
“Ten minutes!”
Lissa’s words were drowned out by the slamming of her door. She scrambled back to the bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans. Finding a shirt that didn’t really need ironing took another two minutes. Narrowing her bathroom time down to the bare minimum she managed to be back at the door with one minute to spare.
Pausing at the door, she just had time to wonder what she’d agreed to when she heard Trey running up the steps outside. She opened the door just as he reached out to start pounding on it again.
“I’m ready! Let’s go,” she said to his surprised face.
He hurried to catch up as she ran past him down the stairs. The two of them raced neck and neck towards the driveway. As they bolted around the corner of the garage, Lissa nearly ran down Ryan who was coming out of the garage with a large load of fishing gear. Trey snagged the end of a fishing net with an elbow and Ryan lost his grip. Fishing poles, nets and tackle boxes flew in every direction.
The three of them scrambled to regather the gear as bobbers began rolling down the driveway. It took them several minutes to get everything picked up and sorted out. In the heat of her embarrassment, Lissa avoided looking at Ryan. He seemed a bit put out with the mess.
“Sorry Uncle Ryan,” Trey said. “I was just trying to beat Lissa to the car.”
“No harm done,” Ryan said quietly. “I think we’ve got everything.”
Lissa retrieved the last of the
stray bobbers and turned to put them back into the tackle box. She found herself face to face with a cute blond dressed in a pair of short shorts with a matching top.
“Hi! I’m Jan. You must be Lissa. Trey hasn’t stopped talking about you,” she said. “I understand you’re from Texas.”
“Uh, yes. Right on both counts,” Lissa said.
Feeling under dressed in her jeans and slightly wrinkled shirt, Lissa suddenly felt shy. Jessie saved her from the awkwardness of the moment as she yelled for help with the picnic basket. Lissa ran over to lend a hand.
“Thanks Lissa! I’m so glad you’re coming with us. Trey’s been up since six asking if he could run over and wake you up. I thought I was going to have to wrap him up in duct tape!”
The two women laughed at the thought. Secretly, Lissa was glad Jessie had held him back for as long as she did. Sleeping in the daylight of the Alaskan summer took some getting used to and Lissa wasn’t there yet. Even with the blinds tightly closed, the birds singing and carrying on right outside her window made her aware that it wasn’t dark. She started to ask Jessie about Jan when Trey ran up to show her his new fishing rod.
“Look at my new rod, Lissa! Well, it isn’t exactly new, but it’s new for me. Uncle Ryan found it tossed in the trash bin at the transfer station. It hardly looks like it’s ever been used. Let me show you how good it works!”
Turning towards the street, Trey tried to cast a weight across the lawn. He was delighted as it flew well beyond the edge of the grass and nearly into the street.
“Isn’t that great? Here, you try!”
Pushing the rod at Lissa, Trey showed her the button to push to release the line and stepped back. Feeling everyone was looking at her, Lissa felt compelled to show off her casting skills. It wasn’t like she’d never cast a fishing line out before. Swinging her arm back, she attempted to follow Trey’s instructions. Unfortunately, her timing wasn’t exactly right.
The sound of breaking glass caught everyone’s attention. As Lissa turned around to see what had happened, her eyes followed the fishing line strung out behind her, right to the upstairs window. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were staring at the broken window. Ryan and Jessie were struggling not to break out laughing. Jan simply looked surprised.