Wildfire

by Lynn James

  Elaine looked around outside before pulling the truck under the deck. The building had been built into the side of the mountain with tall beams that supported the deck and formed a carport. The last ranger had provided a dry stack of wood before departing his post. She noted that she would need to remember to return the favor before she left the cabin. The propane that was remaining combined with the emergency supply she had brought would be more than enough to run the generator until she met up with Donovan to replenish her supplies. Donovan had been part of her crew the longest and he would be her direct correspondent should she need any unexpected supplies. He would also be working the area north of her cabin searching for the poachers by day, while returning home at night. His wife and five kids wanted him home at night and Elaine completely understood and issued him evening or overnight duties only when necessary.

  She pulled one of the fuel tanks out of the back of the truck and toted it into the adjacent storage area housing the generator. Once she’d checked the gauges to be sure there had been no tampering and leaks, she started the generator with little effort. She knew she could count on her crew to follow not only her orders, but the directives set by the U.S. Forest Service when it came to maintaining their equipment. All her crew members balked at the task, but it was better than answering to the captain if it wasn’t done. Elaine found it amusing that the men on her crew complained more about it than any of the women. But they all knew that in an emergency situation, it was essential that all cabins be ready.

  After carrying the rest of the propane tanks into the storage area, she replaced the padlock on the door, gathered an armful of wood and returned to the cabin. There was still a small pile of wood inside and with the armload she had carried in, she was confident she would have plenty to keep the cabin warm all night and well into the next day.

  Once settled in, she turned on the radio. She checked in with the ranger station letting them know that she had arrived. She left the radio on and gave it a cursory glance before moving back out onto the deck. Walking to the edge she rubbed her hands along the railing enjoying the rough wood beneath her hands.

  After another deep breath, she felt the pressures of her everyday life fade. A narrow trail led down to the river below and about a quarter of a mile from where the trail ended was Big Rock Natural Spring. She thought that if the weather held she would hike down and take a swim tomorrow. She knew that the water would be cold, if not freezing, but it would be refreshing and she looked forward to it. She looked out over the rolling greens darkening as the sun began its descent and accepted the reality of how their relationship had evolved and realized that they were simply not meant to be together.

  One of the hardest parts for Elaine would be to forgive herself for not ending the relationship the moment she recognized she wasn’t happy and wasn’t in love with Grace. She would spend this time of isolation trying to forgive and move on.

  The last glimmer of sunlight disappeared, leaving the horizon painted with a thin line of orange. As the full chill of the evening air finally penetrated her clothes, she realized that she had been single for a very long time, but had been unwilling to admit it to herself or anyone else.

  Tomorrow she would take her swim in the fresh mountain spring and let nature cleanse her body, mind and soul. Tonight she would be content to sit by a nice warm fire, snuggled in her favorite pajamas with a cup of hot tea.

  Devon heated water over her campfire and opened one of the freeze-dried packets she had brought. Reconstituted noodles weren’t really food and it didn’t sound the least bit appetizing, but tonight it would have to suffice if she wanted the grumbling in her stomach to cease. She had learned to tolerate the tasteless packets out of necessity. They enabled her to pack plenty of meals and she didn’t have to worry so much about attracting animals, but the freeze-dried meals always made her look forward to going home and eating real food.

  She forced down her so-called dinner and secured its packaging in an airtight bag. Since this was a restricted area, unfortunately there were no bear resistant garbage cans or food storage lockers which forced her to be creative. After checking her campsite one last time to make certain that everything was secure and she hadn’t left anything out that might draw curious animals, she crawled into her tent to don the sweats she would sleep in. She really wished that she could shower, but that would have to wait until the next day when the sun could warm her solar shower. She was in no mood for an ice-cold shower tonight. Leaving her moccasins in the vestibule of her tent she secured the door flap before crawling into the warm bedding.

  After fulfilling her promise and checking in with Stacey and getting a tinny and crackling but understandable update on Raine’s prenatal checkup, Devon snapped her phone closed and with a long yawn snuggled in for the night. She listened to the nightlife of the forest come alive, the sounds of nature calming her with their peaceful rhythm until she was lulled to sleep.

  As she stood on the deck and drank a cup of cocoa, Elaine surveyed the area one last time before retiring for the evening. The night was peaceful and the stars bright and so clear that she had opted for a cup of cocoa on the deck rather than tea next to the fire. She couldn’t get enough of the cool crisp nights that allowed her to enjoy her flannel pajama pants, huge comfy sweatshirt and fuzzy bear slippers. The cold temperature had forced her to wear her parka which she pulled tighter around her. Only after several years of wear had the government issue parka become a favorite, transforming from stiff and abrasive to being silky-soft and broken in perfectly.

  As she let the cold air fill her lungs she could tell there was another storm on its way. She could smell the moisture in the gentle breeze. The moon was bright and reflecting off the top of the pines.

  What the hell? She scanned the basin again. The moonlight was sufficiently bright for her to see the plume of smoke wafting up from the trees. It was obviously from a campfire.

  “Who would be stupid enough to be up here this time of year and camping, no less?” The botanist hadn’t checked in yet so Elaine knew he couldn’t be the culprit. Those geeky lab guys weren’t exactly known for roughing it.

  “Of all the stupid idiotic things to do. I swear if that is those fucking poachers, their asses are mine! Why in the hell would they draw that much attention? Why not just send me a map to their whereabouts?” Nobody answered, of course and Elaine gave herself a self-conscious shake—talking to herself was a habit that came with the job.

  They are slaughtering animals on federal land, she reminded herself furiously. As if courting federal charges isn’t stupid enough. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She would check it out tomorrow when she hiked down to the stream. If it was her poachers, she wanted to be safe and nab them in the light of day. At the very least, whoever it was would definitely receive a citation for an illegal campfire. That’s for damn sure!

  She was almost certain the smoke was coming from the area surrounding the environmental spill site that she and her crew had worked the year before. She knew the area well having spent weeks there in the aftermath of the accident.

  If the woods weren’t still wet from recent rainfall, she would be more concerned about a fire, but it was highly unlikely that anything would ignite. She decided this was a problem that could be handled in the morning as she pulled her arms tighter across her chest and took another sip of her cocoa.

  Chapter 2

  Elaine awoke just as the sun crested Somerset Peak behind her to the east. It was late for her to start her day—she would have to set an alarm since the shadow of the mountain made sunrise artificially late and she couldn’t always depend on her internal clock to wake her. Filling her cup to the brim with coffee, she stepped out onto the deck. An appreciation for the strength of her coffee was lost on everyone else, but for her it was perfect. It was the only way to jumpstart her day. She looked back in the vicinity of where the smoke had been the night before and the morning sky was clear. Whoever had been there had probably pulled out by n
ow. She took a sip from the steaming mug and sighed appreciatively. She usually had to get her coffee on the run in a travel cup. This morning she mindlessly fingered the ceramic cup with the chipped handle and appreciated the peace.

  While Elaine dressed she caught a glimpse of herself in her complete ranger’s uniform in the mirror and was reminded of why she had become a ranger. It wasn’t necessarily the uniform, although she felt a profound sense of pride when wearing it, especially now that she was captain, but it was more for what her uniform represented. The Cascades were in her blood. They had been here for thousands of years before her and they would continue to be here long after she was gone, but while she was alive, she would help to protect them from people who didn’t appreciate their majestic beauty.

  Elaine finished her second cup of coffee and set it gently in the sink. She chose to leave her rifle at the cabin and opted for her holster instead, attaching it firmly to her belt. She slung her pack over her shoulder, already filled with a towel, brush and bottled water and headed out the door into the crisp new day.

  There wasn’t much more than a deer trail leading down into the basin and she was thankful for the thickness of her uniform. The underbrush was still a little thin but it tore at her. This summer, hundreds of thousands of these acres would be a prime feeding ground for wildfire. Elaine knew that she should search for the campsite, but no evidence of fire in the morning made it likely the culprits were gone, so there was little urgency.

  The area where she had seen smoke was in the opposite direction of the spring. She had built up a slight perspiration and the fresh cold water was calling for her. She had been anticipating this swim since her arrival the evening before. She wanted to wash away all thoughts of the old and embrace the new.

  From the edge of a large boulder above the sparkling natural spring, she shed all of her clothing and plunged into the water. The cold was a welcome shock. After a few minutes her teeth quit chattering and the goose bumps faded from her nude body. She dunked her head in the water and as she came up for air she could feel all the worries and tension that she had been harboring wash away and with it the heaviness that she hadn’t even realized had been resting upon her.

  She spent several more minutes in the water before pulling herself up onto a rock to let the air dry her. The sun felt good on her naked body although the breeze was cool. In a few months it would be the perfect temperature to skinny dip and then sunbathe. Just the thought made her smile. Sometimes it was the simple pleasures that made life so wonderful.

  A quick search of her bag produced her towel and brush. She ran the brush through her hair and looked up at the afternoon sky. As she dressed she could feel the temperature dropping. She would have to get a move on if she was going to locate the illegal campsite from the night before, make sure it was vacated or cite the idiot for the campfire and get back up to the cabin before the cold front arrived.

  She felt fresh and new, alive and wonderful for the first time in…well, she couldn’t remember how long. She felt like her old self again; the Elaine that had existed before Grace. Feeling completely alone on the mountain and a little bit impish, she chose to leave her undergarments off and enjoyed the soft, worn material of her uniform against her flesh. She was due for new uniforms but there was nothing like a good old-fashioned pair of broken in pants, making it hard for her to part with them. It was like when she slipped on her favorite pair of Levis. They were faded and had holes all over, but as far as she was concerned, they were perfect.

  She secured her pack to her shoulders and set out in the general direction that the smoke had come from. As she approached the spill area, she was pleased to see how well the foliage was recovering. The land between the Entiat River and Chiwawa was coming back to life. It had changed, maybe forever, but in her heart she doubted it. In her experience, nature always seemed to find a way to heal itself. A few years before, there had been a similar spill on the upper Sacramento River. Hazmat crews and rangers had worked tirelessly to clean the area. It had taken years to see even a partial recovery and it still had not returned to what it once was. Man’s assault on nature, accidental or not, broke Elaine’s heart.

  As she followed the path, she suddenly heard a voice. She couldn’t ascertain what was being said, the words weren’t clear enough, but she followed the sound. She was surprised to realize that it was a woman’s voice. She seemed to be having a one-sided conversation, because whoever she was speaking to wasn’t answering.

  Elaine homed in on the voice. She had every intention of finding out why this woman was out here. Did she not understand that this was a protected area? Was she illiterate and incapable of reading the warning signs? Did she not get that just by being here she was endangering her own safety? Whatever the situation, Elaine was going to get rid of her.

  She caught sight of a slender figure as she approached, back to her. She glanced around and, not seeing anyone else, assumed the woman was alone. She heard the woman continue talking to herself and watched as she stood for a moment, running her hands though dark hair that just brushed her shoulders.

  She must have made a noise because the woman suddenly became aware of her, spinning around on her heels with a startled gasp.

  “Hey! What the hell are you doing? Do you know what kind of damage you may be causing? Watch your step!”

  Dumbfounded, Elaine quickly glanced down at her feet and saw that she was standing on good old-fashioned soil without so much as a leaf trampled beneath her feet. Once she was certain that she was being berated by a crazy woman, she looked up again. This time her breath caught.

  Surely this had to be some kind of apparition or maybe a hallucination. This woman was far too beautiful to be real. She blinked, looked again and couldn’t stop her gaze as it slowly traveled up her long legs, past her flat stomach and then higher where it rested on her breasts. Even through her fleece and blue jeans, Elaine could tell that she was firm in all the right places and all of her curves were in perfect proportion to her body.

  When Elaine finally met the woman’s stormy gray eyes, she felt like a small child being chastised for having misbehaved. She was chagrined for having so thoroughly ogled the woman instead of getting right to business and maintaining her professionalism. Did this woman not see her uniform and realize that she had every right to be in these woods? Elaine tried to pull her gaze away, but in spite of her greatest efforts, she felt paralyzed.

  Devon held out her hand and snapped, “My name is Devon McKinney and you are?” The husky voice that answered, however, rolled over her senses, disconcerting her.

  “Captain Elaine Thomas.”

  The woman exuded quiet confidence. It was obvious that she was comfortable with her surroundings and her authority and Devon was impressed at the captain insignia on the worn uniform. It was obvious that this woman had been doing her job for a while.

  Unbidden, she also realized the uniform was worn in all the right places. The open collar of the ranger’s shirt framed a long throat tanned to a delicate gold. It would have been rude to openly stare at the ranger’s breasts, but she found it impossible to ignore the taut nipples pressing firmly against the fabric. Her legs, even encased in pants, were clearly tight and muscular. Devon’s mouth went suddenly dry when she glanced up only to be met by the darkest eyes and fullest lips she had ever seen. Her pulse quickened as she took in the powerfully attractive woman standing before her with hands on hips.

  Noticing her slightly damp auburn hair, she wondered if the ranger had been swimming. In these water temperatures? That was slightly nutty, in her opinion, though there was something to be said about a refreshing dip in frigid waters.

  She saw Elaine take notice of the open notebook with her sketches, then her eyes traveled to the tape measure, boring rod and knapsack full of instruments.

  “What are you researching?”

  Devon withheld her mild amusement of the very perceptive observation. “I’m examining the growth in the area. There is still poisoned pla
nt life from the toxic spill, but the levels do show a marked decrease.” She stopped herself before saying more. It had been her experience that not many people were interested in hearing about her work.

  “So you’re the botanist?”

  She searched Elaine’s eyes for mockery or skepticism. They seemed to convey respect for her and her work. She was shocked because it wasn’t something that she was accustomed to seeing, except in Stacey or Raine. Most people could care less about botany, but she got the impression that this woman was different. Obviously, being a ranger, her job was to take care of these mountains, but that didn’t automatically mean that she gave a damn about the details.

  “That’s right. I was informed that you were expecting me.”

  “Yes, but you didn’t check in with the ranger’s station so I wasn’t sure of your arrival time or camp location.”

  She gave herself a mental slap. Yes, she had forgotten that bit of professional courtesy.

  Elaine looked up at the sky between the trees. “There’s a storm rolling in. It doesn’t feel like snow, but you should probably be careful.”

  She wanted to bristle, but she squelched the feeling. She reminded herself that this woman was simply doing her job. She didn’t know that Devon could take care of herself. She had no idea that Devon had been out in the field more times than she could count.

  “There are reports of poachers in the area, so I’ll be back to check on you. If you need anything,” she turned and pointed, “I’m just up the hill at the cabin.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  She watched Elaine walk away, hoping she wouldn’t turn around and catch her staring. In the slant of the late afternoon sun, Elaine’s hair was bronze as it swayed. She gazed at the spot where the woman faded from sight, then with a shiver, finally noticed the dropping temperature. She wasn’t sure if the rapid cooling of her body was because the ranger had left or if it was actually the weather. Captain Thomas was right. There was a storm rolling in and judging by the moist air it was most likely going to bring rain.