A Ranger For Christmas (Linda Lael Miller Presents; Men 0f The West Book 40)

by Stella Bagwell

  “Good,” he said. “I didn’t come here to Lake Pleasant to cause you problems.”

  No doubt he’d caused many a woman problems. Most all of them heart related. The very kind of problems she didn’t need.

  “I’m going to make sure that you don’t,” she said primly.

  He laughed and the sound relieved the tension that had been building ever since they’d left headquarters.

  “I told my grandmother that you’re a good woman. So far you’re definitely not making a liar out of me.”

  The urge to pull the SUV over to the side of the road and stare at him was so strong, she had to force her hands to remain steady on the steering wheel.

  “I suppose you meant that as a compliment,” she stated in a voice that was meant to be casual, but even she could hear a quaver in her words.

  “Nothing else.”

  She let out a small breath as she steered the vehicle onto a graveled drive that circled an open pavilion. “I can’t believe you mentioned me to her.”

  “Why not? You’re my new partner.”

  “Yes, but...”

  “But what? You don’t like me saying something nice about you?”

  “You don’t know that I’m a good woman. You only met me yesterday. That’s not enough time for you to know what kind of person I really am.”

  “Mort likes you. That’s good enough for me. Besides, my grandmother has a gift for seeing right into people. I think I inherited some of her gift.”

  She arched a brow at him, but said nothing until she parked at the end of the pavilion and looked over at him. “Okay. I shouldn’t ask this, but what are you seeing right now—looking at me?”

  “I see a woman who’s sad about something in her life. She’s also annoyed with herself.”

  Dear Lord, the man was right on both counts. Which made her wonder what else he could see about her. Not wanting to delve into his first observation, she asked, “Tell me, Mr. Mystic, why am I annoyed with myself?”

  A lopsided grin lifted a corner of his lips and in spite of Vivian’s brain commanding her to look away, her gaze went straight to his tempting mouth.

  “Because you don’t want to like me, but in spite of yourself, you do. You’ve also been telling yourself you don’t want to kiss me, but we both know that isn’t true.”

  Yesterday, his bold remarks would’ve shocked her. But today she was only mildly surprised that he’d voiced such opinions about her. He was a flirt. A very confident one at that. And she needed to always remember that no matter what outrageous words came out of his mouth, he wasn’t serious.

  Forcing a playful smile on her face, she said, “I can’t believe you’ve pegged me so perfectly. You really must have your grandmother’s gift.”

  He laughed and after a brief moment, the happy sound had her laughing along with him. But when the laughter finally trailed away, she had to fight the urge to drop her face in her hands and weep.

  “It’s nice to hear you laugh, Viv.”

  With any luck, he wouldn’t notice the soft sigh that escaped her lips. “I’m sorry for being a crab, Sawyer. Truth is, I slept very little last night.”

  “I hope you weren’t lying awake worried about working with me,” he said. “We’re going to be great together.”

  She smiled at him. “Is that prediction coming from your soothsaying abilities?”

  “No. I’m not a soothsayer or anything close to it. My prediction is coming from firsthand experience.”

  With women, no doubt, Vivian thought wryly. Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted, “To be honest, Sawyer, you were right. I am a little sad. And I really have no reason to be. Except that last night at the dinner table, my oldest brother and his wife announced that they’re having a baby.”

  There. She’d said it. She’d gotten it out, but rather than feeling relieved, she realized she sounded like a petulant child. Or worse. What the heck was wrong with her, anyway?

  “And that made you sad? Why?” he asked curiously. “Is he unworthy of being a father?”

  She shook her head. “Blake is already an excellent father. He’s a strong, tender and loving man. I can’t think of anyone who deserves to have children more than him.”

  His gaze made a thoughtful survey of her face, and Vivian felt as though his brown eyes were kissing her cheeks and lips. The erotic sensation was like nothing she’d ever felt before and she wondered if she was suffering some sort of hormonal imbalance. This wasn’t normal! Nothing about the way she was reacting to Sawyer was remotely close to normal.

  “Then the sister-in-law is not of your liking,” he replied. “Is that what worries you?”

  “No. Kat is like a sister to me. She’s a wonderful mother and human being. I love her and I’m very happy for the both of them.”

  He shook his head as though she’d lost him somewhere along the trail.

  “So you’re happy and sad at the same time. That’s what you’re trying to say?”

  “Crazy, isn’t it?” she said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I should be all smiles. Instead, I want to burst into tears. Believe me, Sawyer, I don’t normally behave like an emotional female. And starting right now, I’m going to put this all behind me. So let’s get out and look the pavilion over. This is where Mort has scheduled the Christmas bingo party and we need to decide how many tables and chairs we can set up without crowding everyone.”

  “We’ll get to work in a minute,” he agreed. “Right now, I want to ask you something.”

  Determined to show him she wasn’t a weak-willed sniveling female, she straightened her shoulders. “Okay. What is it? That you want to swap places with another ranger so that you can get the heck away from me?”

  Clearly amused by her question, he chuckled. “No. I’m just wondering if this sadness you’re feeling is really envy?”

  There he went again, she thought desperately. He was putting his finger right on the sore spot in her heart.

  Glancing away from him, she focused on a far distant rise, where a young couple had spent the night in a tent. At the moment they were standing at a portable grill, laughing at their feeble attempts to start a fire. Garth had never done anything outdoors with her, Vivian thought dully. But unfortunately, she’d not discovered he’d been a man averse to getting his hands dirty, until after she’d married him.

  “I suppose that is what I’m feeling. You see, I always wanted a big family of my own—just like my parents had. It didn’t turn out that way for me. And sometimes, well—it’s hard to accept that life can be so different from what we plan.”

  Chapter Four

  She wanted babies. Her heart was pining for a big family. The facts should’ve turned his red-hot attraction for Vivian into an iceberg, but nothing was freezing, especially his heart. Right now it felt like a piece of warm putty, just waiting for her to mold into whatever shape she wanted it to be.

  Oh, man, if he didn’t get a grip, he was going to be a goner, Sawyer thought. Everyone on the res, everyone at Dead Horse Ranch, anyone who’d ever met him for more than five minutes, knew that he wasn’t stacked up to be a family man.

  Hell, how could he be? For the first eight years of Sawyer’s life, his father, Baul, had been too busy working to put food on the table and trying to pacify a demanding wife to pay too much attention to his son. And after he’d died, there had been no man around to teach Sawyer about being a father or husband. Besides, from what he remembered about his parents’ marriage, he wanted no part of it.

  Forcing his gaze away from Vivian’s lovely face, he gazed out the windshield to the young couple with the tent. If the man would keep his hands to himself, the woman might be able to cook breakfast. Bet he wasn’t her husband, Sawyer thought. The pair was having way too much fun to be married.

  He said, “I wouldn’t be feeling sad about that, Viv. You have plenty of
time to find the right man and have more children.”

  The right man? Who was he kidding? Just saying the words had felt like he was coughing up mesquite thorns. He didn’t want to think of this beauty making love to any man, except him.

  She continued to look at him for long moments and then a wide smile spread across her face. “You’re so right, Sawyer. I have a wonderful daughter and my life is going just fine. It’s not like I need a man in my life. They’re really just a nuisance, anyway.”

  “Thanks,” he said drily.

  She laughed and, though he didn’t exactly know what had caused her mood to lift, he was thankful for the change.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean you, Sawyer. You’re my coworker. I’m talking about boyfriends, husbands, lovers. I don’t need that kind of drama in my life again.”

  You’re my coworker. Clearly she wasn’t thinking of him as a potential lover, Sawyer thought. But sooner, rather than later, he was going to change her mind.

  “Never say never, Viv.” He gave her a playful wink, then opened the passenger door. “We’d better get to work.”

  “Right,” she agreed. “We need to be at the Indian Mesa trailhead at ten o’clock. And from the amount of campers we now have in this area of the park, I expect we’ll have a big group for the tour today.”

  Yesterday, before the workday had ended, Sawyer and Vivian learned that Mort had scheduled the two of them to lead a group tour this morning to the Puebloan ruins located on the north rim of the lake. The trek was something Vivian and her old partner, Louis, had done many times in the past. She knew the history of the park backward and forward, whereas Sawyer hadn’t yet had time to learn his way around the park, much less study its history.

  As the two of them walked toward the pavilion, he said, “Last night I took home as much literature I could find about the Hohokam ruins and crammed for a few hours.”

  She shot him a look of surprise. “That wasn’t necessary, Sawyer.”

  Oh, yes, it was necessary, he thought. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in front of this woman.

  “I wanted to be prepared.”

  She looked over at him and smiled and Sawyer felt an odd little tug in the middle of his chest. The tender pang was like nothing he’d experienced before, making him wonder if he was suddenly turning into a sap, or something worse.

  “Listen, Sawyer, don’t be worried about the tour. I’m not expecting you to expertly answer questions about the ruins. You only started this job yesterday. It took me months and months to learn the history of the park. Just help me keep the visitors corralled and safe. That’s all I ask.”

  She was trying to be nice by making it easy on him. Sawyer appreciated the fact that she wasn’t being demanding. Yet he didn’t warm to the notion that she considered him just a temporary ranger to fill a space until the real ranger returned. Maybe it was stupid for Sawyer’s male ego to be rearing its head, but he wanted Vivian to see that he was a quick learner and that he wasn’t going to spend the next six months trotting behind her while she carried the load.

  “Thanks, Viv. But I’d like to contribute as much as I can.”

  “That’s good. I just don’t want you to worry. You said we’re going to make a great team. And that’s what we’re going to be.”

  Her response put a grin on his face and he glanced down to see if he was actually walking on air, or if Vivian Hollister was only making him feel that way.

  “Now you’re talking my language,” he said.

  * * *

  That evening after work, Sawyer was about to climb into his truck to go home when a voice from behind caused him to pause.

  Looking over his shoulder at the graveled parking lot, he spotted Zane Crawford hurrying toward him. The tall, sandy-haired ranger had worked for a time at Dead Horse Ranch and during that time the two men had become friends. About a year ago, Zane had moved here to Lake Pleasant, but it wasn’t until this morning in the conference room that Sawyer had spotted his old friend.

  “Hey, Sawyer, I caught a glimpse of you this morning but I didn’t have a chance to say hello. What the hell are you doing here, anyway? You haven’t moved here permanently, have you?”

  “No. Just filling in for Louis Garcia until he can return.”

  Zane whistled under his breath. “That might be a while. From what I hear, he nearly lost his leg.”

  “I don’t think it was all that bad.”

  “That’s good,” Zane replied, then quickly asked, “Say, you want to go grab a bite to eat at Burro Crossing on our way home? Or do you have a date tonight?”

  Sawyer chuckled. “Date? I haven’t gone on a date in weeks.”

  Laughing now, Zane slapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t try to kid a kidder, Sawyer. The last I knew you had that cute little blonde who worked in the bakery at Black Canyon City. Don’t tell me you’ve already parted ways with her.”

  “Had to,” Sawyer told him. “She was getting babies and picket fences on her mind.”

  Zane rolled his eyes. “Still the same old Sawyer.”

  “Come on,” Sawyer said with a guilty grin. “I’ll follow you to Burro Crossing.”

  * * *

  Twenty minutes later, the two men were sitting at a window booth, sipping iced tea and waiting for their orders. Outside the bar and grill, darkness had settled over the desert hills. A trail of traffic flowing north out of Phoenix dotted I-17 with endless headlights.

  “So you’re working the east area of the park,” Sawyer said. “How do you like it?”

  Zane shrugged one broad shoulder. “Better than freezing my rear off up at the Canyon.”

  For a while Zane had worked the Grand Canyon Park and Sawyer hadn’t envied him. Big crowds, along with freezing temperatures in the winter months, wouldn’t be his thing.

  “So are you and Melinda about to set the date?” Sawyer asked his friend.

  The other man snorted cynically. “She returned my ring about six weeks ago. Said she needed to find herself and mentally grow before she stepped into marriage. Hell, she found another guy with a heck of a lot more money than me. That’s the kind of growing she had on her mind. Guess I can just count myself lucky that she returned the ring. At least I got a hunk of change when I sold it at the pawnshop.”

  “Oh. Sorry, buddy. Why didn’t you let me know?”

  He grimaced. “It’s not something I’m exactly proud of. But I’m getting over it.”

  “At least you didn’t lose a wife,” Sawyer said in an effort to comfort him.

  Zane grunted. “I lost my mind for ever believing Melinda could be trusted.”

  “You’ll get it back,” Sawyer said. “Your mind, that is.”

  Zane looked at him, then chuckled. “Yeah. Eventually. And speaking of women, I noticed this morning that you were sitting next to Vivian Hollister. You’re not trying to date her, are you?”

  He planned to do more than date her, Sawyer thought. He was going to get her into his bed and keep her there just as long as he could.

  “No,” he answered, which was partly the truth, since dating wasn’t on his mind at this very moment. “I was sitting with her because she happens to be my partner.”

  As Zane put two and two together, his jaw began to drop. “Oh, I must be getting slow. It’s dawned on me now. I mean, about you taking Louis’s place. He was Vivian’s partner. Now you’re working with her. Man, what’s that like?”

  Not knowing exactly what his friend was trying to imply with that question, Sawyer slanted him a skeptical glance. “So far, so good.”

  Zane’s brows arched with disbelief. “That’s all you have to say?”

  Sawyer shrugged. “I only met her yesterday. I’ve not had time to get to know her.”

  Who are you kidding, Sawyer. You already feel like you know all the most important things about Vivian. She has a w
arm smile and a soft heart. She has skin that begs to be touched and lips that have you dreaming about long, hot kisses.

  “Hah! You’ve certainly slowed down since we worked together at Dead Horse Ranch. In those days you would’ve already asked her out on a date. Course, she would’ve already turned you down, too,” he added smugly.

  His interest piqued by that last comment, Sawyer said, “You sound awfully sure about that. You have specific information about her that I don’t? Like a special man lingering in the background?”

  Zane shook his head. “I don’t have any information about her personal life. As best I can tell from the few months I’ve worked at Lake Pleasant, she pretty much keeps her private life private. Guess that’s because she’s not like us regular folks. Frankly, I don’t understand why she’s working as a ranger. With a family like hers she could do most anything she wanted to do. Or not do.”

  Sawyer was trying to digest Zane’s comments when the waitress arrived at the booth with their burgers and fries. He waited until she’d served them and moved away, before he picked up the conversation where they’d left off.

  “Not regular folks,” he repeated blankly. “I’m not understanding anything you’re saying, Zane. Is Viv’s family dysfunctional? Or criminal or something?”

  His expression comical, Zane stared at him for several seconds and then he began to laugh and didn’t stop laughing until Sawyer stabbed him with a disgusted look.

  “Would you mind sharing the joke?” he asked crossly.

  Quickly sobering, Zane shook his head. “Sorry, Sawyer. I couldn’t help it. The fact that you honestly don’t know—it blows my mind.” He looked around to see if anyone was within hearing distance before he finally leaned forward and said, “It’s hard to believe you haven’t connected her name yet. Hollister. Think, Sawyer. The family owns and operates Three Rivers Ranch, one of the biggest ranches in Arizona.”

  Three Rivers Ranch. Yes, Sawyer had heard of the place. He doubted anyone living in the state wouldn’t recognize the name. Still, when he’d been introduced to her, he’d not made the giant leap from her name to those Hollisters. After all, working as a park ranger was the last thing he’d expect a woman of that stature to be doing.