“You mean they get to study in their own house?”
“Not exactly. Ranger Farrell’s wife, Kristy, is a professional teacher from the Mariposa County school district. You attend school at her house just like you go to school here. It’s about two blocks away from mine. If you end up living in the park, that will make ten students for this school year.”
“Are there kids my age?”
“Yes. Ranger Sims has a daughter named Carly who’s your age and Ranger King has an eleven year-old boy named Brody. You’d like both of them.”
At this point Annie had vacated her chair. “I’m afraid we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.”
Roberta ran over to her. “Mom—please say yes! Please! Grandma and Grandpa can come and stay with us all the time. I want to live by Daddy.”
Satisfied to have created this much chaos, Chase rose to his feet. “Roberta? Your mother was kind enough to let me come and meet you, but I’m going to leave now. This is a situation you two need to discuss in private. You can call me anytime.”
She looked alarmed. “Are you going back to the park?”
“Yes, but I’m only as far away as a phone call.” He turned to Annie, who couldn’t sustain his glance and had averted her eyes. “Annie? You’ll never know what this day has meant to me,” he whispered. “I’ll let myself out.”
He walked to the front hall. Roberta darted after him. “You promise you won’t go away from the park?”
“I promise, sweetheart. It’s my home.” As if he’d been doing it all his life, he hugged her hard and was rewarded with a surprisingly strong squeeze. It came so naturally to him, he marveled. When he raised up he caught a glimpse of Annie, whose tortured expression he carried with him as he strode swiftly to his car.
Chapter Five
After Annie heard the front door close, she hurried into the kitchen to get herself a drink of water. It was an excuse to gather her wits, but Roberta stuck to her like glue.
“Daddy said you could work in the park if you want to. Don’t you want to?”
She drained the glass she’d poured before turning to her daughter. “Actually I don’t.”
“Because of the accident?”
“No.”
“Then why?” she persisted.
“Roberta, I realize this is hard for you to understand, but your father and I have led separate lives since before you were born. The park is his home now. I have to respect his privacy.”
“Why? He wants us to come.”
“No, he doesn’t.” The bewilderment on Roberta’s face prompted her to sit down and draw her daughter to her. She brushed the tears off her cheeks with her free hand. “There’s something you need to know. After you left for school this morning, he came to see me.”
“You didn’t tell me that. Neither did he.”
“I know. He was trying to respect my feelings. We talked for quite a while. A lot has happened in ten years. We’re different people now. Everything has changed except for one thing. He loves you more than anything in the world and wants you in his life.”
Roberta looked heartbroken. “Don’t you love each other anymore?”
Annie had to be honest with her. “We have our memories, of course. No one can take those away from us, but we’ve both moved on. He said he never contacted me in all that time in order to keep me safe. I think that’s a wonderful, noble excuse, the best excuse there could be, but I don’t think it’s the real reason he let me believe he had died.”
Her daughter’s blue eyes implored Annie. “What’s the real reason?”
“If he’d truly been in love with me, I don’t think he would have been able to stay away from me. When two people love each other more than anything in the world, nothing can separate them.”
“Oh.” Roberta’s lips trembled.
It killed Annie to have to be this brutally honest with her, but it was the only way. “While he was rescuing me, he pretended he didn’t know me. Honey, he was ready to leave the park and go someplace else without ever talking to me again, but by then one of the rangers told him I had a daughter. That changed everything for him. You see, I didn’t know I was pregnant with you when I left Afghanistan, so of course he didn’t either.”
“I know. You told me that before.”
This was developing into a new nightmare. “It’s his love for you, not me, that brought him to the condo this morning, otherwise he’d be somewhere else far away from here by now. No one but his own little girl could have made him decide to call me at the hospital. That’s because he wants you in his life and the only way he can make that happen is to talk to me and work things out.”
Tears poured down Roberta’s cheeks. “But he wanted to marry you.”
“We said a lot of things to each other once. That was a long time ago. The fact that he hasn’t ever married proves to me he’s happy with his life the way it is and doesn’t want a wife.
“You have to understand that before he fought in the war, he was an archaeologist who traveled from China to Afghanistan. In many ways, it’s a lonely occupation. He lived in far-off places where the dig sites were hard to get to and he kept strange hours. Robert isn’t a man like Penny’s father, who has a normal kind of job with normal hours and time for his family.”
“He’s not an archaeologist anymore,” Roberta said. She wasn’t willing to let this go.
“That’s true, but as you can see, he still lives alone because it’s difficult to change old habits. In ways a ranger’s life isn’t that conducive to having a family either.” She needed to squelch Roberta’s hope that the two of them would get together.
“He said some of the rangers are married.”
Annie sucked in her breath. “I know, but the last thing he wants is to see me working in the park, wishing I weren’t around. He used the explosion that ended our relationship to make certain the situation remained permanent, but that was before he was told he had a daughter. We’ll work out visitation for you to see him.”
“Don’t you even like him anymore?”
“Roberta, this doesn’t have anything to do with liking him. He was a part of my life. Of course I like him, but to find out he’s alive has been a great shock to me. I know you’ve always wanted your Daddy and by some miracle he’s here for you, but our lives are more complicated than that.”
“Daddy said he would protect us. Are you scared those terrorists are going to hurt you now?”
“Oh no, honey—”
She frowned. “Then I think you’re being mean.”
In Roberta’s vocabulary the word mean had many definitions depending on the situation, but she’d never used it against Annie before. It was like a dagger plunged in her heart. “In what way?”
“If we lived in the park, I could see him every day. I don’t want to live in San Francisco and have to wait all the time to be with him. He said he loves me more than anything.” Her body shook with emotion. “When I talk to him again, I’m going to ask if I can live with him.” On that note she ran out of the kitchen, leaving Annie absolutely devastated.
To her dismay the doorbell rang. Her parents’ timing couldn’t be worse. Thank goodness, Robert had already left. Attempting to pull herself together, she walked through the house to the entry, but a tear-ravaged Roberta had beaten her to it.
“Daddy?” she cried as she flung the door open. Obviously she thought he’d come back for some reason.
Caught off guard, Annie’s parents’ shocked gazes traveled from their granddaughter to Annie, who groaned in reaction. With that one telling word, the water had spilled over the dam, never to be recovered.
While her father stood there holding a sack of Chinese takeout food, her mother bent over Roberta. “What’s going on, dear?”
“Daddy didn’t die in that explosion!”
She cupped Roberta’s face in her hands. “I don’t understand.”
“Grandma—Daddy’s alive! He’s the assistant head ranger at Yosemite who helped rescue mom. He wants us
to live in the park!”
Her father shut the door. He shot Annie an inquisitive glance mixed with hurt surprise that she hadn’t confided any of this to them earlier. “Is this true?”
More groans.
“Yes. I—it’s a long story,” she stammered.
AFTER THE DRIVE from Santa Rosa, Chase let himself in the rear door at headquarters and entered Mark’s office. Since he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he’d phoned Mark to tell him he would cover the Saturday night shift so the chief security ranger could have some much needed time off.
Vance had told Chase to go on vacation, but being alone in a motel waiting for the phone to ring was the kind of torture he couldn’t tolerate.
The other man tried in vain to hide his excitement. “You’re sure you want to do this?”
“Get out of here, Mark.”
He grinned. “I’m going. I’ll be back on duty at noon.”
“Show up at two instead.” While Chase waited for Annie to make the next move, the only panacea was to stay too busy to do a lot of thinking.
“You’re on!”
Ten minutes after he left, the rangers stationed around the park phoned in their status reports. The last one to come in was Ranger Farrell on duty at the base camp of the Tuolumne Meadows.
“We’ve got a situation, but I don’t know how serious yet. There’s been an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness.”
“Who’s been affected?”
“Some of the lodge employees and hikers.”
“How many?”
“At least thirty so far. Three people were sick enough to be taken to the hospital in Bishop.”
“I’ll get right on it. Give me an hour-by-hour report.”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, Chase phoned the hospital to talk with the lab. In a few minutes he learned they suspected it was a norovirus infection illness. So far no fatalities. They didn’t expect any.
Chase asked them to phone him when they had more information, then he left word for the county health inspector to get busy on it. He made a third call to the lodge to offer any assistance they needed, then he phoned Vance.
“At last! I’ve been waiting to hear from you. Have you met your daughter yet?”
“I’ll tell you everything in a minute. Business first.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I gave Mark the night off.”
“You’re here?”
“Drove in about a half hour ago.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Within five minutes Vance walked into Mark’s office. Chase was on the phone with one of the rangers reporting on a deserted car found on the road near Wawona. While he told the ranger to impound the vehicle and send out a search crew for the missing driver, he handed Vance the faxed report from the lodge about the outbreak. Once he hung up, Chase brought him up to speed.
“Okay—” Vance sat back in the chair facing him. “Now that we’ve got business out of the way, I want to hear it all.”
It was a relief for Chase to unload. “My Roberta is adorable. Perfect.”
“Yeah?” Vance was grinning. “Has she called you Daddy yet?”
Chase nodded, still incredulous he was a father.
“So how soon can we expect her and her mother? Rachel and I are dying to meet them.”
His smile morphed into a grimace. “That part isn’t resolved. Annie’s fighting it all the way.”
“Is there another man?”
“No. I’m dealing with something much more formidable. She won’t consider taking the job. We’re down to visitation rights.”
Vance sat forward. “Your daughter holds all the power right now. Do I have to remind you that Nicky was the one who brought Rachel back to the park a second time when she had no intention? Give it time.”
Chase needed to hear that about now.
“You’ll hate me for saying this, Chase, but patience is the key. I know because I’ve been there.”
Chase shook his head. “After ten years, I don’t have any.” Just then the phone rang. “Let me get this.”
“I’ll go find us a couple of sodas.”
Chase nodded and picked up. “Ranger Jarvis here.”
“This is the hospital lab in Bishop calling.” Chase was crushed it wasn’t Annie or Roberta on the other end. “What’s the verdict?”
“Our assumption about the virus was correct. It comes on fast but everyone should recover without problem.”
“I’ll get the word out.”
Good news for the park, but he needed even a modicum of good news from another quarter or he wasn’t going to make it. He hoped to heaven Vance was right about Roberta working on her mother. Like Nicky, who’d been Vance’s cheering section and had brought Rachel around, Chase’s daughter was the key to his happiness.
ROBERTA ALWAYS GOT in bed with Annie in the mornings, but not this Sunday morning. All the way around, last night had been a total disaster. After she’d sat down with her parents to explain the incredible news that Robert was alive, Roberta had been so upset with Annie for insisting they were moving to San Francisco anyway, she’d gone to bed utterly inconsolable. Not even her grandparents could get her to come out.
Every time Annie peeked in the bedroom, she heard Roberta crying into her pillow. With each quiet sob it tore her apart a little more and she tiptoed back to the living room to talk to her parents. Mostly they listened while she unburdened herself.
“Do you have any idea how hard it would be for me to live at the park in such close proximity to him after what’s happened?” Her voice throbbed in pain. “All these years I’ve kept a myth alive for Roberta. I’ve been such a fool.”
“No, Annie,” her father said. “He intended to marry you before terrorists destroyed his world. They could have destroyed you too if he hadn’t protected you the way he did. The way he still has to!”
Annie hid her face in her hands. Somewhere deep down her father was making sense, but the shock of seeing Robert alive had prevented her from taking it all in.
“Don’t blame him for deciding not to recognize you in front of the other rangers at the accident scene,” her dad continued. “He was trying to protect you until he got you to the hospital, but the moment he felt it was safe, he phoned you. I’d say he’s been perfectly clear about his intentions. He wants to be a father to Roberta now that he knows of her existence.”
“Your father’s right,” her mom agreed. “When he first saw you, he could have asked the witness protection program to hide him away at another undisclosed location. Instead he called his superiors and now he has told you he wants you and Roberta near him, but he can’t leave the park. My advice is to take the job. You have to admit it would make the problem of visitation a lot easier.”
She stared at her mother. “I thought you were on my side. Don’t you want us to live by you?”
“Margaret Anne Bower, that question doesn’t deserve an answer.” Her mother hadn’t called her that since she was Roberta’s age. “Do you honestly believe you’d be happy in San Francisco when you know how unhappy it would make your daughter? From day one you put her father on a pedestal and now he’s here to claim her. You’re changing the rules and she doesn’t understand.”
Annie didn’t want to think about her parents’ logic. She was in a kind of hell where there was no way out.
“All we’re suggesting is that you don’t let your pride get in the way of making such a vital decision where Roberta is considered,” her father reasoned.
“Pride?” Annie questioned in surprise.
“Isn’t that what this is all about?” He studied her for a moment. “If he’d come right out on the phone and declared that he was still in love with you, would you have given him the time of day…considering your frame of mind?”
The question went to the heart of the matter.
Her mother’s eyebrows arched. “Where you’re concerned, no one can presume to know what’s in his mind and hea
rt right now, but if I were you I’d show Robert you’ve matured into a woman who moved on a long time ago. He can see you’ve been leading a fulfilled life without him. Prove to him you’ll continue to do what’s right for your daughter. The future will take care of itself.”
“Let him spend time with Roberta,” her father said. “That will relieve you to enjoy yourself in the process. Have fun for the first time since you came home from Afghanistan. He’ll soon realize you haven’t lost that sense of adventure he was drawn to in the beginning. If you and Robert aren’t meant to be, don’t shut yourself off to other possibilities. You might meet someone exceptional while you’re working in the park.”
Annie wasn’t a complete fool. She knew that deep down they worried she would never get married. Thirty-one wasn’t an old age, but if she didn’t put herself in a position to meet men, opportunities would be missed.
Her dad got up from the couch and came around to kiss her cheek. “We’re going to the hotel, but we’ll be back in the morning. The offer still holds to drive you to the park tomorrow. Roberta’s never been there. It wouldn’t hurt for her to see if she even likes it.”
“Oh, Dad—with Robert there you know Roberta will love it.”
That salient fact had kept Annie tossing and turning all night. Needing to talk to her daughter before any more time went by, she moved carefully off the bed and headed straight for Roberta’s room.
She was still burrowed under her covers, but Annie knew she was awake. Her daughter was an early riser, always had been. When she was a baby, Annie would discover her in her crib in the wee small hours wide awake and playing with her toes. When she moved into the toddler years, she would be standing at the bars talking unintelligibly to herself before the sun was up.
Finally came the morning when Annie heard a loud thump and went running to Roberta’s room. Her little girl had climbed over the railing and landed on the floor. Instead of a cry, Annie had been met with a smile and it was only six o’clock. It wasn’t much past that time now.
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