by VK Powell
“Can we help you?” Carter asked.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, trying to stand with some degree of grace despite her tumbling entry. “I was…I’m…” She had no words and no excuse.
Carter turned back to the children. “Guess we’re done for today. If you need to talk to me privately, I’ll be here for a while.” She high-fived each child and watched them leave before facing Emma. “Eavesdropping?”
Warmth raced across her face, the embarrassment too deep for a slow crawl. “I didn’t intend to, but it just happened. I finished my work for today, came to find you, and voilà. The children’s laughter pulled me in, and when you started talking, I…it was too late. You’re not going to help me out, are you?”
“Not at all. I believe people should take responsibility for their actions.”
Carter’s candor caught her momentarily off guard. The woman didn’t say much, but when she did, it was a zinger. “You’re exactly right. I’m sorry. I should’ve had the courtesy to ask if I could watch the game and the decency to leave when it turned into something more serious. What was that anyway?”
Carter started collecting the basketball and other equipment scattered around the gym, and Emma thought she might not answer. “FACES.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The school allowed me to develop my own program, with emphasis on children’s behavioral problems and social skills. I focus on preteen, at-risk students. We call it Kids’ FACES. It’s an acronym for fitness, abilities, confidence, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem.”
Emma watched Carter until she finished tidying up and met her gaze. “You created it?”
“Is that so hard to believe?”
She hadn’t imagined Carter around children, much less teaching them or crafting programs for their development. “I’m just surprised.” Challenging children needed the kind of quiet temperament and patience Carter had just demonstrated. Emma sensed something damaged inside Carter that helped her relate to these kids.
“I’ve always wanted to help kids, especially those without adequate resources.”
Emma felt as if her heart had suddenly opened and absorbed the healing warmth of the sun. The depth of her emotions surprised her. Carter’s honesty and the tenderness she’d displayed with the youngsters moved her. Carter might pretend feelings at other times, but the emotions Emma had just observed were genuine. “Do you have some kind of training?”
Carter secured the equipment locker and pointed toward the back door. “I’ve almost completed my doctorate in child psychology.”
Emma stopped so abruptly that Carter almost ran into her. “You’ve what?”
Carter’s brown eyes tunneled into her soul. “I see. You thought I was just a dumb jock ranger with no other professional aspirations.”
“That’s not it at all. Rangers are usually well educated and dedicated, though not very well paid for their efforts. And I know the competition for job openings is fierce. I just wouldn’t have imagined you with children. This is a different side of you, a very attractive and impressive side. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“No need to be impressed or to apologize. I’m used to people underestimating me.” Carter turned abruptly and walked out of the gym toward the Jeep.
“Carter, wait.”
“Let’s go. It’s getting late.”
Chapter Four
Carter was quiet for the first half of the trip back to the park but slowly seemed to come out of her funk. “Productive day?”
“Sort of disappointing really. I don’t want to bore you with the details.” Emma just didn’t know how to engage with Carter or to understand the unexpected feelings she provoked.
“I doubt anything about you would be boring, but as you wish.”
“Did you have a good day?” The least she could do was be civil.
“Yes, thanks.”
Emma was amazed at how comfortable Carter seemed in the ensuing silence. Many people preferred to talk when alone with another person, to fill the gaps with mindless drivel. But Carter wasn’t like that. Emma was the one struggling to keep her mouth shut. Her natural instinct was to ask questions, because she wanted to know everything about this woman who’d invaded her thoughts without really seeming to notice her.
Emma took every opportunity to feign interest in the scenery while stealing glances at Carter’s profile, the set of her jaw, her long fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, and the muscles that undulated along her forearm when she shifted gears. She couldn’t remember ever being so interested in the small details of a woman’s appearance, but she’d never met anyone quite like Carter West. Everything about this woman of few words intrigued her.
“Would you like to take a walk?”
Emma hadn’t been expecting an invitation, especially after her eavesdropping episode, and was momentarily stunned. “Sorry?”
“I asked if you’d like to take a walk with me. Lookout Pointe is really beautiful this time of year. Ann said I should show you around.”
Maybe she was feeling guilty about her earlier behavior and didn’t want to seem rude, or maybe she really wanted to spend more time with Carter. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
When they arrived at the office, Carter popped out of the truck. “I’m going to tell Ann. Be right back.” A few minutes later, she reappeared with two bottles of water and a walkie-talkie. “All set?”
Emma nodded, took the water Carter offered, and followed her onto a path that seemed from their vantage point to go nowhere. “I’m really sorry about earlier. I’m just—”
“Curious. You’re a reporter. You get paid to be inquisitive.” Carter smiled and waved for her to go first around a huge boulder in the middle of the path. They walked in silence for a while, and then Carter stopped to lean against a tree trunk and take a drink of water. She studied Emma’s face as if trying to make a decision. “Last night you said you apologize so much from force of habit? What did you mean?”
“I was hoping you didn’t catch that.” An image of her parents’ dissatisfied faces at the dinner table flashed through her mind. She slowly unscrewed the cap from her water bottle and took a long sip. “My parents were…” How could she describe them without making them seem like overbearing ogres? “Strict and demanding. They expected me to be perfect and didn’t take disappointment well. As you can probably tell, I’m a deeply flawed individual.” She wanted Carter to laugh or at least sense her discomfort and move away from the subject.
“I wouldn’t say deeply flawed, just human. As I told the kids today, nobody’s perfect.”
“My parents and teachers wanted me to be, and I hated to fail them. So, I apologized a lot, trying to make amends. Good manners went a long way with my folks.” She’d tried her best, but her father’s military connections and her mother’s disciplinary streak always left her feeling she’d failed them. It had taken her years to shed their expectations, but the associated guilt clung as firmly as ever. “They had very high hopes for my future, and being a poorly paid journalist like my father wasn’t in the cards.”
“But you love what you do?” Carter’s stare held firm, and Emma couldn’t look away.
“Yes. It’s very gratifying most of the time, and in a way, it keeps me connected to my father, whom I loved dearly. He had a very successful and rewarding career in journalism.”
Carter took another sip of water. “Is that why you’re not in a relationship? Because you’re afraid you won’t live up to a partner’s expectations?”
“What?” Emma spat water across the trail and wiped her mouth. She hadn’t expected anything so personal or insightful from Carter. “Probably. Did you miss the part about me being flawed?” This conversation was making her very agitated. She was used to asking the probing questions, not answering them. “So, why are you still single?”
“Who said I was?” Carter dropped her water bottle into a side pocket on her pants and continued down the path in long strides, as if suddenly tryin
g to get away from Emma.
A good reporter was persistent. Emma hurried to keep up, but her steps faltered over the gravely terrain and through slippery moss. “You just seem like the strong, silent type who doesn’t get involved easily. Are you…single?”
“Mostly. I see someone periodically, but nothing serious.”
“Well…why?”
“Long story.”
“I’ve got time.” Emma tried to sound casual. She’d never felt so drawn to a woman so quickly, and if Carter was single and willing, why not explore a bit? “Does it have anything to do with Ann?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem devoted to her, which is admirable. Maybe you think a relationship would disturb that balance?” Emma was shooting in the dark. “Am I being too personal now?”
“Shush.” Carter stopped as she reached the top of a hill and motioned for Emma to join her. “You have to see this.”
Emma wanted an answer to her question. She could’ve cared less about some view from a hilltop in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly be worth walking this far? When Carter helped her up to the crest, Emma’s breath caught. Below them, between the soft hills, lay a small field of golden grain waving in the breeze. She’d seen pictures of places like this, but they didn’t do the scene justice. “What is that?”
“Hay at its peak, ready to be harvested. In a couple of weeks the field will be stubble. I love this view and the quiet swishing of the wind across the seed heads. It’s as soothing as the roar of the ocean.”
Carter’s brown eyes had a faraway look, and her face glowed in the afternoon sun. This view was worth every precarious step Emma had taken to the top. She watched Carter watching the hay and felt her first sense of peace and contentment in days.
She took Carter’s hand, and when Carter looked at her with questioning eyes, Emma said, “I’ve never shared anything this beautiful with another person. It’s magnificent. Thank you.”
“Emma, I—”
“Base to Ranger One. You out there, Carter?” Ann’s voice broke the silence, and Carter gently slid their hands apart and tugged the walkie-talkie off her belt.
“I’m here, Ann. What’s up?”
“We have a guest checking in to cabin nine. Can you go by and see if he needs anything?”
Carter looked toward the field one last time and then at Emma before answering. “On my way.” She returned the walkie to her utility belt and started back down the hill. Emma didn’t follow. “You coming?”
“I think I’ll stay a bit longer. You go ahead.”
“Can you find the way to your cabin? It’s a pretty straight shot. Just follow the path.”
“I’ll be fine, Carter. Go.”
“Don’t stay too long. It gets dark and cold in a hurry, and you’re not familiar with the area.” Carter seemed as reluctant to leave as Emma was to have her go.
“Take care of business, Ranger.” She shooed her away and turned back to the hayfield that glowed more brilliantly in the last golden rays of the sun. She missed the weathered texture of Carter’s hand and the way their fingers slid together as if they always had. How could something so simple and easy feel so special?
When the light began to fade, Emma reluctantly started toward home. The path looked well marked as far as she could see. Her knowledge of the outdoors hovered somewhere between little and nonexistent, but how hard could it be to follow a trail to the bottom of a mountain?
She settled into a steady rhythm of much-needed exercise, and the muscles in her legs burned from the rugged terrain. Ranger Carter, Jane of the Jungle, probably knew every tree, bush, flower, animal, bird, fish, and insect in this part of Fairy Stone Park. Carter herself was probably some wild variety of lesbian no one had ever discovered. She certainly had that exotic, untamed look. Think about something else, anything else.
Emma replayed her conversations with Harriett Smoltz and Fannie Buffkin. Harriett had been forthcoming about the town and its history, even willing to provide other sources for Emma to interview. She’d be a solid resource going forward. But why had Fannie misled her in their initial conversation? What was she trying to hide, and why present the story as a public-interest piece if there was something more substantial?
She’d been too hasty in her retreat from Fannie’s, but she couldn’t abide dishonesty. She’d give Fannie time to stew over her error of lying, and then Emma would present her terms—no more lies if she reconsidered doing the story. She’d get back on Fannie Buffkin’s payroll, because she needed the money. Maybe that wasn’t the only reason, but it was a start.
When Emma finally decided on her approach with Fannie, she looked up from the path to find she was in a thick stand of trees and the sky had darkened around her. The well-worn path that had been outlined by regularly placed rocks and an occasional sign was nowhere to be seen. Making a three-hundred-sixty-degree turn, she studied each direction for something familiar. All the trees looked the same. Why hadn’t she paid more attention? Which side had the sun been on when they started? How did she think she could make this excursion alone with her awful sense of direction and aversion to anything outdoors?
*
Carter’s visit to the new occupant in cabin nine took longer than she expected. He’d asked questions about his neighbors and park rules regarding outside campfires and hunting. He worked for the construction company contracted to raze the old factory, had checked in alone, and was staying indefinitely. His muscular physique and rugged appearance made her think he could take care of himself in the woods. She wondered why a single man preferred the isolation of the park to the Riverside Hotel but was happy for the park’s bottom line.
On her way back to the office, she thought about her ride into town this morning with Emma and about their walk this afternoon. The two events had evoked very different feelings. Being in a confined space with Emma this morning had been stimulating and bothersome. Every time a breeze blew through the window, it had swept Emma’s long hair across Carter’s arm where it rested on the gearshift and left goose bumps. The tingling followed a familiar path up her arm, over her chest, down her middle, and all the way through her. She couldn’t have talked to Emma if she’d wanted to. Her mouth was dry, and she couldn’t think of one nonsexual thing to say.
She’d caught Emma glancing her way, eyes lingering on her arms and breasts, but she’d remained quiet as well. If they couldn’t even have a normal conversation, they probably shouldn’t consider anything else. How ridiculous. Neither of them was considering anything else. Were they? She wasn’t so sure after their walk.
They’d both asked personal questions, and Carter had seen a bit of the vulnerability Emma hid behind her professional façade. Emma’s face had flushed with the wonder and joy of a child seeing something magnificent for the first time when she saw the hayfield. And when Emma took her hand, the gesture felt beautifully spontaneous and natural. The softness of her skin and the possessive way she curled her fingers around Carter’s was both intimate and arousing. Carter had struggled not to pull her in and kiss her. On the walk down the mountain alone, she’d convinced herself they’d both been overcome by the beauty of the view. Nothing more. She shook her head and raked her fingers through her hair before heading into the office to check in with Ann.
“That sure was a long walk up the point. You and Emma talk about anything interesting?” Ann asked with a smug grin.
“You are in so much trouble. I told you not to push this woman at me, and what’s the first thing you do?”
Ann swatted at her and kept talking. “She was in no condition to drive this morning, and you weren’t doing anything else. You just getting back from the walk?”
“You asked me to go by cabin nine. The guy’s settled in.” Ann was dancing around something and would get to it sooner or later. Carter was always better served to let her arrive there on her own. In the meantime, she stripped off her gear and headed to the restroom.
When she returned, Ann started again
. “I thought you’d just come back from Lookout Pointe.”
“Why? Has something happened?”
“Are you messing with me, Carter? If you are, it’s not funny.”
“Why would I do that?” Ann was taking far longer than usual to get to the point, and it was starting to annoy her. “If I need to take care of something up there, tell me before it gets any darker.”
“Emma came in here this morning looking a bit on the peaked side, wanted something for a headache. You know she really is a nice person. We had a long chat about me and Cass and—”
“Ann, for goodness sake. Get to the point. What has that got to do with our walk?”
“She hasn’t come back yet. I thought she was with you.”
“What? She said she knew the way. Guess I better go find her. It’s already dark. Give me a couple of flashlights and another bottle of water.” She should probably be more annoyed that Emma hadn’t come back with her or at least admitted she didn’t know how to get back to her cabin, but the thought of finding her in the shadowy woods had a certain appeal. A lady in distress might be very grateful. She immediately regretted the thought. Emma deserved better.
Ann gathered the supplies, stuffed them into a backpack, and slid them across the counter. “Want me to call one of the boys to go with you?”
“Let me try first. She can’t be too lost, but be on standby in case I need help.”
“You’ve got it.”
*
Emma finally saw a small light through the woods that looked like a cabin. She prayed she was right and started to run, stumbled, and rolled the rest of the way down the slope. When she came to a stop, she was almost in front of the park office in a different direction than she and Carter had started. She stood, brushed leaves from her clothes, and headed to the office.