Healing the Forest Ranger

by Leigh Bale

  The rest of the afternoon was an angry blur. Lyn discovered from the coach that Kristen had completed the forms and forged her mother’s signature, giving her permission to play soccer. To explain Lyn’s absence, Kristen had told her coach that her mom was always working and couldn’t make the practices or games.

  Lyn didn’t know what to think. Her mind fumed, but her heart billowed with pain. She’d always tried to be so supportive of Kristen in all her school activities. No matter what, she never missed a single choir or science presentation. Every evening, she reviewed the girl’s homework. She made cupcakes to share with the class on Kristen’s birthday and took time off work so she could chaperone field trips. Now, she could barely look at Cade as the doctor reassured her that Kristen would be fine.

  As she drove Kristen home an hour later, she felt hurt by her child’s deception and embarrassed that she hadn’t been attending her games. Until she could get control over her emotions, Lyn didn’t dare speak and make the situation worse.

  “I’m sorry, Mom.” Kristen’s voice sounded muffled from the white cotton balls protruding from her nostrils.

  Lyn bit her bottom lip, trying to keep her cool. Trying not to yell and scream and cry. Wondering why this was so difficult.

  “You lied to me,” she said, her voice trembling just a bit. “You told me to pick you up from school an hour later because you were working with Mrs. Wilson on your science project. Not because you’d forged my signature so you could play soccer after I said no.”

  “I know, Mom. But you wouldn’t let me play otherwise.” An edge of bitterness blunted Kristen’s tone.

  “And this is exactly why I said no. You got hurt today. Thankfully it was just a bloody nose. But what if it’d been more? What if you’d gotten a concussion, or worse?” A fire of apprehension sparked inside her.

  “But I didn’t. I scored the winning goal, Mom.” The girl’s impassioned voice filled the car. “I wish you’d seen me. I can run fast on my J-Leg prosthesis. Faster than any of the other kids. I’m not just the crippled girl anymore. Everyone wants me on their team. I have friends. They all like me now.”

  And Lyn could just imagine how important that must be to her daughter. To be appreciated and accepted. To be wanted. But Kristen didn’t realize her own mortality. Lyn couldn’t take chances like this. She couldn’t survive another tragedy like the last one. Kristen was all she had left. If something else bad happened, Lyn would never forgive herself.

  The way she hadn’t forgiven herself for her part in Rob’s death.

  “If you’d just come see me run, I know you’d understand,” Kristen said. “I’m fast. It’s like I’m no longer an amputee kid. Because of Dr. Baldwin, I have my leg back.”

  Regardless of Kristen’s disobedience, Lyn was impressed. Kristen was so resilient. She’d taken the running prosthesis and learned to run fast on it in such a short time. Very remarkable. And they had Cade to thank for it.

  But it didn’t change Lyn’s mind.

  “No. I don’t want to hear another word about it. I’ve spoken to your coach and you’re not playing soccer anymore, and that’s final.”

  Lyn glanced at her daughter. The girl was visibly shaking, her face harsh with rage. But she didn’t say another word. Lyn sensed that Kristen was much like an atomic bomb—silent and deadly. Just awaiting a fuse so she could blow.

  When they got home, the girl hopped out of the car so fast, Lyn couldn’t even keep up. And that’s when she noticed how well Kristen was walking on her new prosthesis. As if she had regular legs, with no visible limp whatsoever. The girl even navigated the porch steps, taking them step over step like a normal person.

  Definitely strong and independent. She never used the wheelchair anymore.

  Lyn steadied herself against the car, watching in amazement. Cade had made a tremendous difference for her daughter. In light of how well Kristen was doing, Lyn wondered if perhaps she should relent on the soccer.

  Inside the house, Lyn heard the door to Kristen’s bedroom slam closed. Lyn wanted to talk to her girl. To explain her fears. But it’d do no good. Not when they were both so upset. Not when the memory of the car accident was still so fresh in their minds.

  Instead, Lyn plopped down on a kitchen chair and sat there shaking for almost twenty minutes while she tried to sort out her feelings. Tried to think of a way to make Kristen understand she was only doing what she believed was right for both of them.

  To protect Kristen. To keep her safe.

  When Lyn knocked on the girl’s door an hour later to announce dinner, there was a long pause.

  “Go away!”

  Lyn opened the door and stepped inside. Kristen lay on her bed still wearing her prosthesis, a pillow supporting her stump. She wiped her red, puffy eyes and glared.

  “What do you want?”

  “Honey, I hate this rift between us. We need to talk.”

  “No, there’s nothing more to talk about.” Kristen flounced around and faced the wall before jerking a second pillow to her chest.

  Lyn couldn’t leave things like this. Not with her precious daughter, the most important person in her life. She stepped over to the bed and would have sat down, but Kristen hunched her shoulders and jerked away.

  “I hate you. Go away.”

  Lyn froze. The pressure of tears clogged her throat. Though she knew it was Kristen’s anger speaking, her daughter’s words pierced her heart like an ice pick. Determined not to say something that would only make things worse, Lyn kept her voice smooth and calm.

  “Well, I love you. I always will. Maybe someday you’ll understand just how much.”

  Kristen didn’t respond. A horrible, swelling silence followed.

  Lyn turned and walked out, closing the door quietly behind her. She wrapped their untouched dinner in plastic and put it in the fridge. In her own bedroom, she stood for several minutes, gazing at Rob’s picture on her bedside table, not knowing what to do. How she missed him. How she wished he were here. Every fiber of her being felt as though it were ripping apart. Her husband was gone and her daughter hated her. How had things gotten so out of control? And how could they ever get back to some level of ordinary life?

  The mattress bounced as Lyn sat on the bed. A year ago, she and Rob had their entire lives together planned out. Everything was wonderful. They were so happy and in love. Now Lyn didn’t have any answers. Least of all how to help Kristen. They loved each other, of that Lyn had no doubt. But they were no longer friends. And that hurt most of all.

  Lyn stared at the red lights of the clock radio on the nightstand, wondering how she could heal the shattered divide between her and Kristen. Tears flooded her eyes. A lump rose in her throat, and her body shook. She covered her face with her hands and wept.

  * * *

  “You shouldn’t be helping that woman. She’s the enemy.”

  Cade glanced at Billie Shining Elk, one of the Shoshone tribal leaders. The two men sat facing each other inside Cade’s living room. Cade couldn’t wrap his mind around Billie’s words. Lyn was his enemy? How ridiculous.

  “I’m a doctor. This is what I do. I help people,” Cade said.

  “You shouldn’t help her. She’ll think she can run over us with the wild horses,” Billie insisted.

  “Her daughter is my patient. She’s just a little girl.”

  Billie shrugged and took a sip from the tin mug he held in his leathered hand. The aroma of coffee filtered through the air. “It’s the same thing. Lice have nits. They’re one and the same. Helping the daughter helps the mother.”

  Cade stared at the Shoshone chief, his insides broiling. He couldn’t explain why, but he didn’t like Billie referring to Lyn as lice or Kristen as a nit. They were human beings with feelings and troubles of their own. In spite of her profession, Cade had found Lyn to be a very thoughtful,
caring woman. He liked her. A lot.

  “They aren’t vermin. They’re good people,” Cade said.

  He wished the Indian chief hadn’t paid an early-morning visit. The tribal members knew he was communicating with Lyn. They liked the idea of him keeping their “enemy” close so they could find out what she planned with regards to the mustangs. They didn’t mind Cade spying on the ranger, but they didn’t want him to provide physical therapy for her daughter.

  Billie let out a derisive snort. “She’s already contaminated you with her thoughts. Your job is to protect the wild horses, not help the ranger get rid of them.”

  “Lyn is trying to save the mustangs, too.”

  “Lyn? You’re on a first-name basis with her?”

  “Of course. I’ve spent quite a bit of time getting to know her. She cares about all the wildlife on the range, not just the ranchers’ cattle.”

  And yet, a nibbling doubt filled Cade’s mind. Though he’d listened to Lyn’s reasoning, he also knew she’d do what she had to in order to ensure the survival of all the wildlife out on the range. And Cade couldn’t blame her. Not after what he’d seen with her. If the Shoshone Tribe couldn’t come up with some other options, the horses would be rounded up. Right now, Cade found himself between a rock and a hard case.

  “It’s not your job to help the ranger get rid of the wild horses,” Billie insisted.

  “I’m not doing that at all,” Cade growled, feeling defensive in spite of trying to maintain his composure. “I’m a doctor. It’s my duty to help Kristen Warner for as long as she needs me.”

  The chief waved a calloused hand in the air. “Bah! Send her somewhere else. She can go to the doctors in Reno and good riddance.”

  Something went cold inside of Cade. The thought of not seeing Kristen and Lyn every week for the girl’s therapy sessions or when they came to his ranch to visit Lightning left him feeling hollow and empty inside. “Have you met the ranger and her little girl? They’re nice people. The girl is an amputee. She lost her father in a terrible car accident a year ago and has had a rough time of it since then. They both have.”

  And they needed Cade. Badly. Of that he was convinced.

  Billie stood and placed a gruff hand on Cade’s shoulder, looking down at him with an edge of condescension. “Don’t forget who you are, son. Your grandfather would want you to remember the things he taught you. Your mother threw away her heritage. She turned her back on her own people. I hope you won’t do that, too.”

  Something hardened inside of Cade. He also stood and met the elderly chief’s piercing eyes without flinching. “I remember very well. Grandfather taught me to care for all animals and people. To do what is right, no matter what. Just like my mother did when she married my father. That’s why I became a medical doctor. And that’s what I’m trying to do.”

  Billie dropped his hand away and stepped back. His creased face hardened with resolve. “And the tribal elders will do what they believe is right.”

  “Tell them they’re worrying about nothing. Our argument isn’t with a ten-year-old child,” Cade said.

  “No, it’s with her mother.” Billie spoke low.

  Cade shook his head. “It’s with legislation carried out by the BLM.”

  Billie’s mouth tightened with disapproval. Cade wished the chief could know Lyn the way he did. Thank goodness the tribal leaders didn’t know about Lightning. Cade doubted they’d approve of him keeping a little filly out here at Sunrise Ranch for Kristen to visit anytime she pleased. But it was more than that. The little foal’s story was something special that Cade shared with Lyn and Kristen alone. He didn’t want to expose that special tale to anyone else. At least not yet. And that confused Cade. He couldn’t make sense of his fond feelings for the forest ranger and her little girl. Not when Lyn was the one person in the world he should despise.

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Cade assured the chief. “I’m having regular discussions with Mrs. Warner, watching what she does and finding out her plans. I’ve provided that information to the tribe.”

  “Does she plan to call in the BLM for a horse roundup?”

  Cade paused, not wanting to speak the truth, but unwilling to lie. “Not quite yet, but the mustangs are starving. Eventually, I believe she’ll have no other choice.”

  The creases around Billie’s eyes deepened in a scowl. “That’s what I feared. We’ll have to do something about it soon.”

  The sounds of an engine came from outside. Cade didn’t need to look out the window to know the object of their discussion had just pulled into his yard with her horse trailer in tow.

  Great! Cade had hoped Billie would be long gone before Lyn arrived to pick him up for their next excursion into the mountains. Though it was just past eight in the morning, Billie had arrived an hour earlier. Cade hadn’t finished his chores, including feeding Lightning.

  “Looks like you have another visitor.” With a wave of his hand, Billie brushed the curtains aside. When he saw Lyn, his face tensed with displeasure. He glared at Cade, his eyes filled with accusation.

  “Thanks for stopping by,” Cade said. He urged the chief toward the front door. It’d be best to get the man out of here as fast as possible, hopefully before he insulted Lyn.

  As he jerked open the door before Lyn could knock, Cade felt as though he were riding a wild steer in a rodeo. When he got bucked off, he might get stomped into the ground.

  Cade couldn’t deny the values he shared with his Shoshone people. Neither could he ride the fence rail without getting hurt. Eventually, he would be forced to pick a side. He just hoped he didn’t get gored in the process.

  Chapter Eight

  “Hi, there.” Lyn greeted Cade and the older man with him. She gave them a friendly smile as she scratched Gus’s neck. The dog panted blissfully. And that made Lyn happy on a day when she needed cheering up.

  A lot of cheering up.

  It was her birthday, and no one knew. Except her. She wasn’t about to walk around telling people. Not even Kristen remembered, although Lyn couldn’t fault her daughter. The girl was still too young to think about special days other than her own. In fact, Lyn wished she could forget it, too. Without Rob here to share the occasion, she didn’t care. It was just an ordinary day like any other.

  At least, she tried to pretend it was.

  “Good morning,” Cade responded.

  The other gentleman glowered. Lyn recognized him from the doctor’s office. The long, black hair with an eagle feather. His piercing gaze swept past her like she wasn’t there. He’d been the man whose wife Maya had threatened to call if he didn’t take his medication.

  Billie. That was his name.

  “Lyn, this is Chief Billie Shining Elk. One of the tribal elders. He was just leaving.”

  “Oh! You’re Mr. Shining Elk. I’ve called your office several times. I’d like to meet with you and the other tribal elders to discuss the wild horses, if that’s possible. Did you receive my letter, by chance?” Lyn asked politely.

  Billie grunted and brushed past her without acknowledgment. Lyn stared after him in stunned silence.

  “Thanks for stopping by,” Cade called to the man.

  “You think on my words,” Billie said over his shoulder before hopping off the wraparound porch.

  Lyn stepped to one side, trying to keep her face devoid of expression. But she understood the situation without Cade uttering a single word of explanation. She’d seen this before. The chief didn’t like her because she was the forest ranger. A potential threat to the wild horses. No doubt he’d been voicing his concerns to Cade. It was that simple.

  Billie placed his cowboy hat on his head and sauntered over to his rusty truck. His high cheekbones and regal bearing spoke of pride. A commanding presence she couldn’t deny. She respected him for who he was and what
he represented. She just wished he would extend her the same courtesy.

  “Well, that was rude. Did I do something wrong?” She stood beside Cade on the front porch, staring after Billie as he started his truck and pulled out of the front yard.

  “Not yet.”

  “He doesn’t like me.” She sensed it with every fiber of her being.

  “He fears you.”

  She glanced at Cade in surprise. “He doesn’t even know me.”

  “He’s afraid of what you’ll do to the wild horses.”

  “I don’t want to do anything to the mustangs, except help them.” She reached up and touched the bronze shield pinned above the front pocket of her Forest Service shirt. It gleamed in the morning sunlight. A subtle reminder of her job and some of the uncomfortable tasks she must perform, whether people liked it or not.

  “Apparently the members of the Toyakoi Tribe don’t like me providing physical therapy to Kristen, either,” Cade said.

  “I see. They don’t want you treating the forest ranger’s daughter.”

  “That’s right.” He slipped his hands into his pants pockets, still gazing at the billow of dust rising along the dirt road to herald Billie’s passing.

  Lyn stood there thinking, wondering if Cade would refuse to treat Kristen anymore. She had to know in case she had to make arrangements for another doctor. “So what do you intend to do?”

  She couldn’t forget the animosity fogging Billie’s dark eyes—hostility toward her. Now was a moment of truth. She’d find out what Cade Baldwin was made of. If he’d refuse to serve Kristen because the tribal elders told him to, or stand his own ground.

  He met her gaze without flinching. “I’ll continue to treat Kristen, of course.”

  “Thank you.” She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great deal of admiration for the handsome doctor. The nearest prosthetics specialist lived in Reno, a good four-hour drive away. It’d pose a hardship on Lyn to drive Kristen there every week to receive her physical therapy. Time away from work and school, not to mention the added expense for travel. Thankfully she wouldn’t need to do that.