The Ranger's Secret

by Rebecca Winters

  Watching them together, Chase’s thoughts flew to a week ago last Monday when he’d been in such a severe depression he didn’t know how he was going to make it through the rest of his life. Then came the phone call about Annie, followed by the news that they had a daughter.

  Instant fatherhood. As if by magic a whole family came into being, illuminating his world. The only thing missing was his wedding ring on Annie’s finger and all that went with it.

  “Put the casserole here,” Rachel called to him. She’d placed a hot pad down on the round maple table. While he did her bidding, he noticed there were only four matching chairs. He’d seen two of Annie’s white chairs in the living room and brought them into the dining room.

  As he fit them around the table, his arm brushed against Annie’s, sending a rush of fresh longing through his body. She jerked away from him. Whether anyone else noticed her reaction or not, it left him pondering two possibilities. Either she didn’t welcome his touch, or it had electrified her because she still felt an attraction.

  It was a subject he intended to explore at a later date. Again he had to remind himself this was only her first day here. She might tolerate one accident, but he didn’t dare start to experiment with another one yet.

  When the kids came back to the house, he arranged for Nicky and Roberta to sit on either side of him. That way Annie couldn’t accuse him of purposely manipulating the situation to his advantage.

  Once the salad was passed around and everyone was served, Nicky lifted the binoculars to his eyes and surveyed each person.

  “That’s not polite. Put the binoculars in the living room for now,” Rachel admonished. Darting Annie a covert glance, Chase saw a smile break out on her flushed face. She found Nicky as funny and irresistible as the rest of them did.

  “Okay,” he said in a pretend grumpy voice and got out of the chair. In a second he was back to make inroads on his breadstick. “This is fun.” He munched a little more. “I wish we could eat together all the time, don’t you, Roberta?”

  While the others chuckled, Chase exchanged a private smile with his daughter. For the next half hour Nicky kept them laughing in his inimitable way. As Chase was thinking that he hadn’t known this kind of happiness since sharing all his meals and the aftermath with Annie, there was a knock on the front door.

  His first instinct was to answer it, but this wasn’t his home. He watched Annie get up from the table. Maybe her parents had decided to come after all.

  It had been so different back in Kabul. Though they’d had their own accommodations, they’d been like a married couple. To go from that kind of intimacy to this situation was killing him.

  Bill Telford’s voice preceded his eventual entry into the dining room. The mid-forties superintendent had a golfer’s build and most of his blond hair. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Annie. “I only came to welcome our new resident archaeologist to the park. I don’t want to intrude,” he insisted.

  The hell he didn’t. The man hadn’t wasted any time. The widow and the widower.

  “You know everyone here except my daughter. Roberta? This is Bill Telford, the superintendent of the park. He made it possible for your mother to have this job.”

  “Hi! It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Roberta.” He moved around the table to shake her hand. He hid his surprise well as his gaze traveled over Vance and Chase who got to their feet. “You’re in celebrated company.”

  “What’s celebrated?” Nicky piped up.

  “Very famous,” Bill explained.

  “Oh.” He wiped the milk off his mouth with a napkin. “Did you know Uncle Chase is Roberta’s daddy?”

  Nicky had just given Chase another reason to love him so much.

  Bill’s head jerked toward her. “Were we misinformed? I didn’t realize you were married.” The man looked as if he’d just been hit in the jaw by Tiger Woods’s line drive.

  Chase shot Vance a glance. This was a job he intended to leave for the Chief. Annie would appreciate Chase’s absence.

  “Bill? Why don’t you take my place and enjoy some of Rachel’s fabulous lasagna. I’m going to help the kids sneak around the tree outside and look for squirrels.”

  Nicky clapped his hands. “Hooray! Come on, Roberta. I’ll get my binoculars.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Rachel, after bringing over the delicious meal, I won’t have you helping me with the dishes, too,” Annie declared.

  “I want to. The guys are busy putting all your electronic equipment together in the spare bedroom and loving it. I’m afraid Nicky is driving Roberta crazy while she’s arranging her room. That leaves moi with nothing to do. If you’ll give me directions, I’ll empty a few boxes and start putting dishes and pans in the kitchen cupboards.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “Of course. That cast on your arm is there for a reason. If you’ll let us help, we’ll have you settled in no time. It isn’t as if you’ve just moved into the Palais Royal with a hundred rooms to fill.”

  Annie laughed. “No, but it’s cozy and it’s our new home for now.”

  “You don’t plan to stay here for long?”

  “I’ve signed a year’s contract. At the end of that time the superintendent will decide if the progress made warrants more funding.”

  Rachel eyed her speculatively. “I’m pretty sure that won’t be a problem. I’ve only met Bill Telford one other time, but if I don’t miss my guess, he showed an inordinate interest in you today. I heard him ask you to go to dinner with him next week. It might have been a purely professional invitation, but in case you didn’t know, his wife died of cancer last year.”

  “Thanks for telling me.” That missing piece of information hadn’t passed Chase’s lips, but in all fairness she hadn’t encouraged conversation with him. Her boss at CDF hadn’t mentioned it either.

  “Earlier today Vance came home from headquarters and let me know you were gorgeous.” Annie shook her head. “I’ve discovered he was right, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be seeing a lot more of Bill. That is, if you want to. His house is only three blocks away.”

  “My boss at the CDF says he has impressive credentials.”

  “He’s attractive, too, if you’re partial to blond men.”

  Annie took a steadying breath. “If I could speak frankly with you for a minute, I’m sure you’re wondering about Chase and me.”

  “Listen,” she said in a quiet voice, “you don’t owe anyone an explanation, least of all me. Vance told me the whole story. To be honest, I would feel so betrayed if Vance had been alive ten years without telling me, especially if we had a child between us, I’m not sure what I would do.”

  Annie’s eyes smarted. “At first I was in shock and so hurt, I was convinced Chase couldn’t have been that in love with me.”

  “And now?”

  She lifted her chin. “Now I understand why he didn’t ever get in touch with me, but the fact still remains that after ten years we’re strangers to each other.”

  “Of course you would be,” Rachel agreed.

  This woman understood and could be a real friend to Annie. “Thank you, Rachel,” she whispered.

  “Just know I’m around if you ever need a shoulder to cry on.”

  “Careful.” Annie sniffed. “You may live to regret that offer. You don’t know how grateful I am over your being so candid. I’m aware you’ve been through a horribly painful experience yourself. Chase told me about your brother and his wife. Poor little Nicky. I understand he went through a terrible struggle.”

  “He did. My parents and I almost lost our minds wondering how to help him. Then I flew him out here and he met Vance.”

  Annie smiled. “I can tell they’re joined at the hip.”

  “One day I’ll fill you in on the details.”

  “I think I can guess. Your husband has the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen. When he looks at you, they glow.”

  “I love
him so much, it hurts.”

  Annie bowed her head. She and Chase had once felt that way about each other. Now that he was back in her life she hurt all the time, but that was because…because she wanted him to love her that way again, but she didn’t dare think it might happen. The difference in Annie’s and Rachel’s personal lives was off the charts.

  “Annie?” At the sound of Chase’s low voice, her pulse raced. It seemed her body recognized it whether she tried to shut him out or not. She turned around to meet a pair of shadowed gray eyes. No silver in them right now. “We’ve finished setting up your computer. Where do you want the television?”

  “I think against the wall opposite the couch. Thank you.”

  He glanced around. “It looks like all the boxes have been emptied. I’ll get my truck and we’ll cart them away. The kids want to go with us. Is that all right with you two?”

  They nodded.

  He made quick work of removing the cartons. After he left, she could breathe more easily. A few minutes later the kitchen had been put in order and the dishes were done.

  Annie turned to Rachel. “I can’t believe how fast everything’s been set in place. Without your help, Roberta and I would have been putting things away for days. Thank you for all you’ve done, including that delicious meal.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I owe you. If you’re free on Sunday afternoon and your husband isn’t on duty, I’d like you to come over for dinner.”

  “That sounds wonderful. When I know his schedule, I’ll call you. It changes all the time depending on emergencies.”

  “So I understand. Let’s go to the other room and take a break. You’ve worked long and hard enough for one day.”

  They moved through the dining room to the living room. Already it looked better, with her occasional pieces of furniture placed around and her framed prints hanging on the walls.

  Rachel went over to the Renoir. “I love this one of the mother and daughter.”

  So did Annie. “My mother gave it to me after Roberta was born.”

  “Roberta is so sweet to Nicky. I’m really glad you’ve moved here. He needs friends. I’m hoping to provide him with a brother or sister.”

  “Maybe that will happen one day.”

  “We’re trying,” Rachel confessed. “Vance’s first wife served in the military when he did, but she was killed during the war in the Middle East. They’d wanted children, but there wasn’t enough time.”

  A hand went to Annie’s throat. “I didn’t know he’d been married before.” Vance had lost his wife the same way Annie had thought she’d lost Chase.

  “That was a little over five years ago. He loves Nicky like his own, but he’s such a wonderful father I want him to experience the whole business of childbirth. Needless to say, I can’t wait to have a baby.”

  Annie took a deep breath. “There’s nothing like it.” Chase had missed out on it. He’d missed Roberta’s first ten years. It was time to change the subject before she broke down. “I understand you’re barely back from your honeymoon. Are you still moving in?”

  “Not in the way you mean. My father just had a heart operation which was successful. They’re moving out here from Florida right before Halloween and will be bringing my things in the van with them. Then Vance’s house is going to undergo a big renovation. It needs it.”

  They both laughed as they looked around Annie’s living room, observing its lack of a uniform theme or decor.

  “Will your parents live here in the park, too?”

  “No. Vance owns a house right outside the park entrance in Oakhurst. It was his grandparents’. They raised him. In June his grandmother passed away and willed it to him.”

  “That’s wonderful you’ll be so close to them,” Annie cried softly. “My parents live in San Francisco so it’ll be a bit more of a drive for all of us, but not impossible.”

  “Family’s everything. That’s why Chase—” She suddenly stopped talking. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring him up.”

  “Please, Rachel, it’s all right to talk about Chase. He and Vance are best friends so it’s inevitable.”

  “I was only going to say that for him to discover you again has caused as dramatic a change in him as turning on a blowtorch in a pitch-dark room. He’s overjoyed to realize he has a daughter.”

  “It’s been a shock for all of us.” Annie’s voice trembled.

  “My husband told me Chase was in a depression when he came to work at the park three years ago. Over time it had gotten worse. When I met him in June, I liked him very much, but I sensed a deep sadness in him and thought it was due to his divorce.”

  Annie blinked. “What divorce?”

  “The one he manufactured as part of his fake persona once he was put in the witness protection program.”

  “I had no idea. Naturally he would have to create a background for himself.”

  Rachel nodded. “You know what’s odd? Even though it was fiction, I bought the emptiness I heard in his voice. Something was definitely missing. Now that I know the whole truth, I understand it. In order to keep everyone safe, he’s been forced to deny his whole former existence for years. I can’t imagine anything worse.”

  Their conversation was throwing Annie into more turmoil. It had only started to dawn on her he’d put his life in jeopardy every day while he’d worked undercover. He’d seen so much of war. It had to have changed him in so many ways and she hadn’t been able to share any of it with him.

  “What does Vance think now that he knows everything?”

  “The only argument Vance and I have come close to having is the one over whether it was wrong of Chase not to contact you from the hospital in Switzerland. If you’re asking me if Vance would have chosen to remain dead to his wife, Katy, under Chase’s circumstances, the answer is yes. He’s seen the evil of the enemy in the Middle East firsthand. It’s the warrior in them that vows to protect their women at all costs, I guess.”

  “Women can be warriors, too.”

  “You and I know that, but Chase and Vance are honorable to a fault. It puts them in a class by themselves. You should have seen how angry I was when I first met Vance. I blamed him for my brother and sister-in-law’s deaths. He was the chief ranger and they died on his watch. I was ready to prosecute him for criminal negligence.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “Afraid not. We got off to the worst start imaginable. I stormed out of his office in a fury.”

  “I can’t imagine it.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. Later that night he found me and Nicky eating dinner at the Yosemite Lodge with Chase.”

  Annie fought to hide her dismay. “You mean you and Chase went out together?”

  “Yes. It was all very innocent. He offered to watch Nicky while I was in with Vance. When I left, I was in turmoil and Chase knew it. He asked me if he could meet us for dinner at the lodge. I said yes, but Nicky didn’t like it at all.

  “Then Vance came walking into the dining room. Ignoring me, he got down in front of Nicky’s chair and started talking to him about what happened. I learned it was my brother who decided not to heed the blizzard advisory.

  “While I sat there feeling like the world’s greatest fool, Vance was able to explain things in such a way that Nicky broke down and they ended up hugging each other. From that moment on, my nephew started to heal and they bonded.

  “After Vance left, Chase asked if we’d like to go horseback riding the next morning. Nicky didn’t want to, but I accepted. A huge mistake. Nicky was positively atrocious to Chase. The reason I wanted to go was because he was easy to talk to. You see, I’d broken my engagement to my fiancé and he was begging me to get back with him.

  “Chase said he had the same problem with his ex-wife. We talked about our emotional problems. At the time I didn’t know he’d fabricated the story about his divorce. We commiserated. I told him I was going back to Miami and, on the advice of my psychiatrist, I was going to make an e
ffort to talk to my ex-fiancé and see if anything could be salvaged.

  “I knew in my heart it wouldn’t work because I was already attracted to Vance. What an irony when you consider we started off striking sparks against each other. He didn’t show me anything but professional courtesy, but the way he treated Nicky was another story.

  “The reason I’m going into all this detail is because I want you to know the truth of everything. I liked Chase a lot because I could tell he’s an exceptional man, but when I came back to the park a second time, it wasn’t just for Nicky’s sake. I couldn’t wait to see Vance again. I knew when he picked us up at the airport in Merced, that I’d fallen hard for him.

  “It took forever for him to reciprocate because he thought I hadn’t let go of my ex-fiancé. I, in turn, was afraid he would never get over Katy. Of course we were both wrong. During a hike in the mountains, Vance kissed me for the first time and suddenly we were pouring out all our feelings. That was a glorious day.”

  “I can imagine,” Annie murmured, but she was strangely conflicted. She already liked Rachel so much, but apparently Chase had been drawn to her, too. Even if it was one-sided, was it possible he still had feelings for Rachel? They were all exceptionally close.

  Swallowing hard, she said, “I’m so glad everything turned out for the three of you, Rachel. I—” She stopped talking. “Uh-oh, I can hear them in the driveway.” They both got up from the couch and walked out onto the front porch.

  With the boxes disposed of, the men helped the children down from the empty truck bed. Chase gave Roberta a long hug before lowering her to the ground. The part that had been missing in her daughter’s life was now complete. She had her very own father and a built-in set of new friends.

  Vance hoisted Nicky onto his shoulders. “Rachel? I have to get back to headquarters. What would you like to do?”

  “I’m coming.”

  Nicky frowned. “Do we have to go?”

  “Afraid so,” Rachel answered. “You still have a little homework to do for school in the morning.”

  “Is Roberta coming to school?”