by Gail Sattler
She didn’t know anything about him, nor did she know what Molly had told him about her, or if Molly had told him about Mike.
After Mike made all the right moves to earn her trust, Roberta wasn’t so sure Garrett wouldn’t do the same. Pretending to be a committed Christian had done wonders for Mike. She wouldn’t fall for the same thing again.
“I like this brand of potato salad. I buy this kind too.”
Roberta made a mental note to ask Molly more about him, just to satisfy her curiosity. Until then, for safety’s sake, she planned to keep her distance.
“Did you bring any marshmallows? If not, I can bring a bag from our stash at ranger headquarters.” His sly little grin told her there was more to the story, but she didn’t ask for more details.
She shook her head.
Garrett checked his watch. “It’s time for me to get back. I’ll check in on you when I make the rounds. Catch you later, and thanks for supper, Robbie. I always love a home-cooked meal.”
Roberta stared at the cooler. The only thing about their meal of flame-blackened hot dogs and store-bought potato salad that could be considered “home-cooked” was that she had sliced the carrots by hand. “You’re welcome.”
She remained seated in the lawn chair as Garrett left the campsite. Instead of walking to wherever he was going, he drove away in a small pickup truck emblazoned with the Parks and Recreation logo on the door.
At home she would have simply put the plates in the dishwasher. Out in the middle of nowhere, first Roberta had to pump some water out of the tank in the camper, heat it in a pot, then wash everything using plastic tubs on the small counter. She poured the water down the sink, but it didn’t occur to her until she heard water splashing on the ground beneath the trailer that there was no plumbing system. She was merely dumping the water on the ground under the tent-trailer, which she thought rather disgusting. When the dripping sound finally stopped, Roberta froze, wondering where the water would go and hoping that she had not created a dirty river that would run through the campsite, where she would be walking.
Next time, instead of using the sink, she would have to carry the water outside and dump it in the bushes, to be safe.
Now that she was done, Roberta walked outside. She’d never taken so long to wash two plates and a handful of cutlery in her life. By the time she settled into the hammock with her book, the daylight had diminished considerably. As well, it was slightly darker being tucked inside the hammock. After reading only a few pages, Roberta laid the book down on her stomach and rubbed her sore eyes.
She looked up into the ever-darkening sky. It was never really dark in the suburbs of Vancouver. But here, with no electricity available for miles, and without the glow of the city lights, she suspected the dark of night would be very dark.
Slowly, Roberta maneuvered herself out of the hammock. While on her mission of discovery she had unearthed an old lantern. The time to light it would be now, before it got too dark to make out the instructions.
The instructions were worn but not impossible to read. Although she turned all the knobs and things to the right place, she wasn’t positive she did everything exactly right. Therefore, as a precaution, she carried the camper’s fire extinguisher outside.
Before attempting to light the lantern, she walked to the entrance of the campsite and looked both ways down the road. Naturally, since this was the one time she was actually hoping to see Garrett, she didn’t.
In the few minutes it took to check down the road, the sky darkened even more, telling her she couldn’t wait forever. Earlier, she recalled yelling at Garrett that she didn’t care if she blew herself up. This was her chance to prove it.
With the lighter in one hand, the flashlight in the other, and the fire extinguisher at her feet, Roberta read the instructions one last time. She pumped the lantern till her best guess thought it was right, flicked the lighter on, and stuck the flame inside the little hole with the arrow pointing to it.
A poof sounded as it caught. A small flame burned on the outside casing where she had dribbled some fuel, but no explosion ensued. She watched as the thing sputtered and hissed and flickered ominously. Hoping for the best but expecting the worst, Roberta lifted the fire extinguisher, pulled the pin, and aimed.
“Let me guess. You’ve never worked a lantern before.”
The sudden deep timbre of Garrett’s voice nearly made her pull the trigger. She lowered the fire extinguisher to her side and glared at him. “What gave me away? My shaking knees or the fire extinguisher? Would I be correct to assume that since it hasn’t blown up yet, I’m probably safe?”
Garrett laughed so hard he had to wipe tears from his eyes, which made Roberta notice he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses. Of course, it was dark so he didn’t need them, but by now she was beginning to wonder if he slept with them on. He had also changed out of his shorts and now wore uniform pants. The stripes on the side emphasized the length of his legs.
He laughed as he spoke. “Sorry for laughing. The fire extinguisher was actually a good idea, especially with your track record today.” He paused and wiped his eyes again. “More people should do that. I’ve seen a couple of those things catch fire. Congratulations. You’ve got more sense than some of the jokers that come through here.”
Roberta wasn’t sure if she should take that as a compliment or not.
He continued to laugh. “In fact, I could tell you stories about what people have set on fire out here.”
She wasn’t amused. She didn’t want to hear about it, but she knew that by the end of her camping vacation, she probably would anyway.
During the course of his laughter, the flame on the outside of the lantern burned itself out. “Here. Let me set that for you.” He pumped the unit up a bit more to brighten it and adjusted one of the knobs. The annoying hissing faded to an acceptable level. “There. How’s that?”
While bright enough to cast some questionable shadows among the trees, the light wavered, making it little better than a glorified stationary flashlight. “Is that as bright as it gets?”
“It’s not exactly a quartz-halogen spotlight. This is a campsite, not an art studio. Most people only sit around the campfire and roast marshmallows and stuff. If you sit close enough, you may be able to read your book if the print size is okay. But if you pick up that book again, I’m afraid I’m going to have to keep my distance.”
“Really? Promise?”
Garrett almost looked hurt, but then he smiled, probably thinking she was joking. “No,” he replied.
It was just as well for the moment. She needed a favor. “I have to make a trip to the outhouse. Can you stand here and watch the fire for me? The sign said not to leave a fire unattended. Since you’re one of the park authorities, I figure you’d be a good one to ask.”
“I’d be honored,” he said solemnly. Garrett removed his hat and held it over his heart and bowed.
“Very funny,” Roberta grumbled. “I’ll be right back.” She made a hasty retreat to the ladies’ outhouse, which was a few sites down the road. Away from the fire, the air possessed a chill, convincing her to change into her jeans when she got back to the camper.
On her way out of the facilities, a man stood at the side, nearly scaring the life out of her.
“Hi there,” he said. His gaze drifted from her head to her feet, then he smiled.
She would have stepped back into the outhouse, except she didn’t want to appear frightened. Roberta looked around, hoping he was talking to someone else, but they were alone. Suddenly she regretted not bringing her flashlight, not for the light, but for a weapon. “Are you talking to me?” she asked, checking around one more time.
“Yes. I’ve been watching you. Are you alone?”
The hairs on the back of her neck rose in alarm. “Me? Alone? Of course not.”
He stepped closer. “Don’t be frightened. I’ll keep you company.”
Her heart stopped, then picked up in double-time. If this man only wanted
someone to talk to, he could have approached her during the daylight in the wide open spaces, not in the bush at dusk when there was no one else around.
Throwing dignity to the wind in favor of personal safety, Roberta stepped sideways, heading for the path to the open gravel road. She forced herself to speak louder than usual, trying her best to keep the tremor out of her voice as she backed up. “I’m not interested in any company. Come any closer, and I’ll scream!” Not giving him a chance to respond, she ran back to her campsite, where Garrett stood beside the campfire, his arms crossed over his chest.
“You took an awful long time. I was getting ready to come and get you.” He paused as he glanced down at her. “Are you all right? You seem a little out of breath.”
Roberta opened her mouth, but then snapped it shut. If she told him about the stranger who’d approached her, he would never leave her alone. She shook her head, then stared at the entranceway to the campsite to make sure she hadn’t been followed. “I’m fine, thank you,” she gulped.
Garrett frowned. “I’m off duty after we close the park gate at eleven. After everything is settled I’ll be back after midnight to check up on you, if you’re still up then.”
Roberta tried very hard not to check her watch to see how much longer that would be. Like a fool, she had run straight back to her own campsite for the strange man to plainly see where she was staying. If he didn’t already know which site was hers, he knew now.
For the first time today, she didn’t want Garrett to leave. But since he had to, she thought of her options. Either she could lock herself in the car until Garrett came back, or, if that was unreasonable, she could simply leave. Other people had set up their campers and then left to go back to the city, to return on Friday after work. Likewise, it would take her less than an hour to get back home, where she would be safe.
But she wasn’t going to let some stranger manipulate her. All her life, she’d allowed people to lead her and manipulate her for their own gain. Roberta steeled her nerve. That was about to stop. The stranger was probably harmless. Besides, if he became a real threat, any scream in the relative silence of the campground would carry for miles. Someone would immediately come to her assistance.
She smiled at Garrett. “Sure. I’d like that very much. See you then.”
Roberta expected him to nod and leave, but he didn’t. He narrowed his eyes and held eye contact. After a few very long seconds, he turned his head to the road, then back to her. She suspected she had taken too long to reply, or been a little too eager for his return, because he continued to study her strangely.
Instead of leaving, he once again turned his head toward the entrance to the campsite. “I’ll be right back,” he said curtly. Before she could reply, he walked to the road, hopped into the park truck, and drove away.
Roberta sat in the lawnchair beside the fire. Unable to read, and in an effort to calm her shattered nerves, she instead concentrated on the noises of the night. Frogs croaked and crickets chirped in the distance. She couldn’t hear any birds or squirrels like during the day, but every once in awhile she heard what was probably a coyote far in the background.
Most of all, the stars were phenomenal. Double, or even triple, the number of stars were visible, twinkling in the black night sky. The night was beautiful and peaceful.
And cold.
Roberta shivered, even though she changed into her jeans. She rubbed her arms, then chided herself. She didn’t have to be cold, she had a jacket in the camper. The second she slipped it on, she felt better. She smiled and started to return to the fire, but before she left the safety of the tent-trailer, she peeked outside to make sure the site was still vacant.
Seeing no one, she returned to the lawnchair, telling herself not to be so paranoid. Molly had been right. Sitting beneath God’s heavens was a great way to unwind.
Roberta leaned her head back to enjoy the stars, until she heard footsteps approaching. Despite the speech she gave to herself to calm her jitters, she squealed, jumped out of the chair, and turned to face the intruder, wishing she had the flashlight in her hand.
“Hi there. Miss me?”
Her breath released in a whoosh. “Garrett.” Not that she actually missed him, but she was actually happy to see him. “Have a seat. After all, they’re your lawn chairs.”
Instead of joining her at the fire, Garrett walked to the camper and threw in a duffel bag that had been slung over his shoulder.
“What was that?”
“Just my stuff.”
“Stuff?” Roberta narrowed her eyes. “What kind of stuff?”
“Just my toothbrush and sleeping bag and stuff.”
“Why?”
“I don’t feel comfortable about a woman spending the night all alone out here. Besides, Molly asked me to keep an eye on you.”
The meaning behind his actions suddenly dawned on her. “You’re not serious,” she demanded more than she asked. “You’re not staying here tonight.”
“Yes, I am. It’s my family’s camper. You can get the registration out of the drawer. My name is on it.”
Roberta tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “That’s beside the point.”
Garrett raised one arm in the direction of the entrance to the campsite. “I know something frightened you earlier, even though you won’t admit it.”
She couldn’t deny it, so instead she gave him her best menacing look.
His frown deepened. “I knew it. Remember, Molly told me to look after you. You don’t want to cross Molly, do you?”
She opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t care what Molly thought, but he interrupted her.
“This is no big deal. When I’m not working here, I live with my mother and my sister. I can respect your privacy if you can respect mine.”
“No.” She didn’t care what his living arrangements were, nor did she care about mutual friends. She wasn’t sharing accommodations with a man.
“It’s a camper—a combination living room, kitchen, and everything else rolled into one. You get one side, I get the other. It’s okay.”
“No way.”
“Fine. Then I’ll sleep in my pup tent, but I’m staying in this campsite tonight.”
Her mouth opened, then snapped shut. Up until that strange man approached her near the outhouse, she had been nervous but perfectly willing to spend the night alone. Now she wasn’t so sure. If Garrett, an official park ranger, and a big one at that, stayed in the campsite, she would be safe. Her only alternative was to go home, but that would be admitting defeat.
“All right, but you’d better not snore or walk in your sleep or anything bizarre.”
He placed one hand over his heart and lifted up the other arm elbow height in the form of a pledge. “Not me. Scout’s honor.”
Roberta crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Have you ever been a scout?”
He grinned. “No. But I’m the park ranger. Does that count?”
“Maybe,” she grumbled. If he had said anything about being a born-again Christian as evidence of his virtue, like Mike had, she would have screamed and left.
“Good.” He dropped his hands to his sides, threw a few more logs on the fire, and sat in the lawn chair beside her. Not knowing what else to do, Roberta leaned forward to warm her hands.
“I thought you were working until after midnight.”
“I booked off. Someone’s covering for me. They know where I am if they need me.”
“Oh.”
The fire snapped and crackled as it burned. Sparks flew upward into the night, flickering as small particles of light until they darkened and floated to the ground as ash. The lantern, hissing slightly on the table, illuminated only the immediate area. In the blackness, the night seemed more still and peaceful than the most deserted city street.
Garrett’s voice seemed unnaturally loud in the pristine night. “Want to talk?”
She knew the golden silence couldn’t last. “About what?”
Bent over in th
e chair with his palms raised to the fire and elbows on his knees, he shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, anything. The weather. Cars. Your love life.”
Her love life.
Frogs croaked somewhere in the background. Probably momma frogs and baby frogs. She’d never have baby frogs. “I don’t have a love life. Not anymore.”
“I heard.”
Roberta sighed. “I don’t know what Molly told you.”
Thankfully, he continued to stare into the fire. She couldn’t have faced anyone right then. “Molly told Gwen who told me that you caught your fiancé cheating on you, and then you got fired. That’s all I know.”
“Something like that.” Roberta snorted. The more she thought about it, the stupider she felt. She should have seen it coming, yet she hadn’t. “You don’t want details, do you?”
“Only if you want to tell me. I’m a pretty good listener.”
She didn’t know why, but she told him. She hadn’t even told Molly, her best friend, all her deepest inner thoughts.
Her concentration didn’t leave the fire as the whole story poured out. She told him how Mike was the boss’s son, about how after years of working there how flattered she’d been when he started paying attention to her. She’d been so excited when Mike started to attend church with her, doing and saying all the right things, claiming to share her beliefs and faith in God. How when Mike talked of family, children, and then marriage she’d been thrilled. She didn’t want to be a society wife, but when the time came for Mike to take over his father’s company, as his wife, she would uphold the social position and do her duty. She was happy, and she would have done anything for him.
But soon after their engagement became official, Mike started missing church. At first she went alone, but soon he convinced her to start skipping services until she hadn’t been to church for months. All the while, Mike kept pressing her to sleep with him. She refused.
Then she started picking up on little rumors. With her head in the clouds, she ignored them, which led to this morning, when she caught him making out with Suzie. She even told Garrett of her humiliation when they argued in the women’s washroom, screaming for everyone in the office to hear. Following that, she was fired. Now here she was, staring blankly into a fire in the middle of nowhere, pouring her heart out to a stranger.
