by Gail Sattler
Glancing both ways, Roberta started to hear little noises in the bush. Holding back a shudder, she walked quickly back to the campsite. She didn’t want an audience when she talked to him. Besides, in the morning, being Sunday, she knew where she could find him.
At sunrise, Roberta awoke.
Molly snored away as Roberta tiptoed out of the tent-trailer, using as much stealth as she could. Not wanting to arrive breathless, she walked down the road, onto the nature path, then chose the fork to the lake.
As she approached the clearing at the shoreline, she heard his guitar and his voice as he sang quiet songs of praise. When she could see his face, she noted he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses, and his eyes were closed. Rather than intrude, she stood back in the bush and watched, thinking of what to say now that she was here.
His eyes opened as he changed songs, but Roberta remained frozen. Today his songs were different. While still reverent, it took her awhile to realize the connection. He was singing songs of trust, expressing his confidence that God was in control, and giving God complete reign in his life. Then he stopped and laid the guitar on the blanket beside him. Instead of closing his eyes, he slumped and buried his face in his hands to pray. Although he mumbled, she could still make out a few words, including her name and something about letting her go.
Roberta couldn’t watch. She could no longer intrude on his private moment with God. She forced herself to walk away slowly and quietly, then once she figured she was out of earshot, she ran the rest of the way to the camper. She quickly slipped back into her sleeping bag and lay there, her eyes open, staring at the top of the tent, until Gwen awoke.
Garrett did not show up for breakfast.
When all the dishes were done and put away, they started packing up the camper and taking it down, ready to go home.
Roberta couldn’t remember feeling more depressed. For every stage that was taken down, she remembered Garrett’s part in helping her set it up and, at the same time, the fool she had made of herself in front of him. Yet he had kept coming back. Now when she wanted him, he didn’t. Her eyes burned as she took down Garrett’s hammock.
Finally hooked up and ready to go, Roberta surveyed the campsite. This had been the best vacation of her life. She had a wonderful time, she had found herself—and true love. And lost it.
They drove to the dock, and Roberta helped heave the canoe atop Gwen’s car. Just looking to the side where Garrett sat every Sunday morning caused her throat to tighten, nearly choking her.
Back at the site, they made one last check for forgotten articles, then drove away. As they cleared the park entrance, Roberta saw Garrett standing almost hidden by the trees, his arms crossed over his chest, watching. He didn’t smile. He didn’t wave. He’d broken her heart—or had she broken his?
She reminded herself that the past week was just a vacation. Some time to get away from the troubles of life, and that vacation and all that went with it was now over. It was time to go home and get things back to normal.
Molly chattered constantly the entire trip home. Dutifully, Roberta thanked her for providing a much-needed escape and the chance to get her head together. As soon as she dumped her clothes on her bed, Roberta hopped in her own car to dash off and buy a few days’ worth of groceries before the store closed. While she was there, she dropped her film off at the one-hour photo department so it would be ready when she was done.
When she picked up her pictures, a large envelope was attached.
A giddy teenaged girl explained that she had won a free enlargement. Since Roberta hadn’t answered the page, the clerk had picked one of the photos to enlarge and told her if she wanted a different one, she could return it at no charge in exchange for a photo of her own choice.
Roberta wanted to go home, not hang around waiting for a picture. Being her camping pictures, she doubted she would need a 16 x 20 portrait of a squirrel.
With her groceries sorted and put away, all that remained was the envelope of pictures on the table. First, she opened the large envelope to see her free enlargement.
Roberta sucked in a deep breath as she pulled out a large photo of Garrett standing tall and erect, bare-chested, muscles flexed and ready, holding the large ax, poised to cut her firewood on the first day with him. Her brain froze as she stared at the photograph, bringing back with astounding clarity every event from when he backed the trailer into the campsite for her to the last sight of him as she left with Molly.
He had won her love without trying, by only being himself. Honestly. Naturally. She had rejected him out of her own fear and self-doubts. By the time she admitted to herself what had happened, it was too late. She couldn’t blame him for letting her go. She’d behaved abysmally.
Instead of looking at the rest of the pictures, she lowered her head to the table and cried.
Roberta woke up in her soft, warm bed at dawn. As much as she tried to sleep in, her internal body clock had not yet reset itself. Tossing and turning, she gave up, showered, and dressed.
She started to make herself a large pot of coffee, when a flash beside the stove caught her eye. On the corner of the counter, Mike’s engagement ring lay where she had tossed it the day Garrett had been there. Just looking at the expensive trinket turned her stomach.
She opened the lid to the garbage can, ready to toss it where it belonged when the phone rang.
“I want my ring back,” Mike demanded without any salutation or polite chitchat.
“You broke off the engagement, therefore the ring is legally mine. Everyone in the office heard the whole thing, so try and take me to court over it.”
“It’s worth a lot of money. If you give me the ring, you can have your job back.”
Roberta held the phone in front of her and stared at it, unable to believe what he said. According to what she heard with her own ears a few short days ago, Mike wanted more than just the ring before she got her job back. She hung up without replying.
The sparkle of the ring in the sunlight stopped her once more from tossing it in the garbage can. Holding it up into the sunbeam, she let the beauty of it catch the light. The ring was gorgeous, and she knew what it was worth. It would be a horrible waste to throw it out. She let the lid drop shut and dropped the ring into the bottom of her purse instead.
The second she touched the coffee can, the phone rang again. This time it was Molly, loaded with questions. “How are you, are you still upset, has Mike called, has Garrett called? Just checking to make sure you’re okay.” On and on.
After assuring Molly that she was feeling just peachy, she hung up. Everything she did made her think of Garrett. Seeing the ring made her think not of Mike, but of Garrett holding it in the light. Mike’s phone call reminded her what slime Mike was, in comparison to Garrett’s upstanding morals and unselfish ways. Even her dirty clothes reminded her of camping, which made her think of Garrett all the more.
She spent the day cleaning up and doing her washing.
The next day, she did the ironing and went out looking for a job.
The next day, she did the same.
All day, every day, she could think of only one thing. One person. Garrett. What was he doing? Where was he? What was he thinking? Was he wearing the sunglasses she had bought him? Was he thinking about her?
She depressed herself terribly.
Enough was enough. Roberta decided she had pined over Garrett too long, and it wasn’t going to get any better. She drove to the mall, marched into the jewelry store, and asked for the manager, where she presented him with Mike’s ring and the appraisal certificate.
She had no regrets selling it. The jeweler gave her a fair price on the ring, nowhere near what it was worth, but a decent price on a used ring. Now it could be a bargain for some couple somewhere who were truly in love.
After she made all her purchases, she still had plenty of money left over. Smiling, she patted her purse and headed home. She packed some suitable clothes, then left a message on Molly’s answering machi
ne not to worry. The second she hung up the phone, Roberta put her plants back in the kitchen sink and took off.
The hour-long drive to the campsite was the longest hour of her life. When she arrived, she managed to pick a nice, small, private campsite. Emptying all the paraphernalia onto the ground, she was ready to begin, but quickly became overwhelmed. In her excitement, she hadn’t realized the volume involved. The kind elderly man who owned Hank’s Outdoor Store had had his staff load up the car for her. Now that she saw the gear strewn about her feet on the ground, she couldn’t believe the volume of goods necessary for a short camping trip. A lot of it she was familiar with from Garrett’s family’s camping accessories, but beyond that, she had no idea what to do with most of this junk.
She had absolutely no idea how to set up her brand-new tent.
But she knew who she could ask.
She glanced upward at the position of the sun in the sky, then checked her watch. Garrett would have already started the afternoon presentation. Leaving everything as it lay on the ground, she headed for the amphitheater. Rather than disturb anyone by walking in late, she sneaked into a seat on the end near the back, where she sat and watched Garrett.
While he smiled at the crowd and presented his information in an entertaining manner, he lacked his usual enthusiasm.
In the back of her mind’s eye, she pictured him sitting alone and dejected, praying beside the lake. The loss of his cheerful disposition was her fault. Again.
At the close of his presentation, he followed his usual routine, asking if anyone had questions or comments, and politely if not enthusiastically answered every one of them. Finally, no more hands were raised.
“Is there anyone else?” he asked, scanning the crowded amphitheater for any stragglers.
Roberta raised her hand.
Garrett pointed to her. “Over there.”
She stood and faced him across the little amphitheater full of people. She saw him flinch momentarily as he recognized her, and then he stiffened his posture.
“Yes?” he asked.
Roberta gulped and clasped her hands in front of her churning stomach. “This has nothing to do with your topic, but I do have a question, Mr. Ranger. You see, I’m not a very good camper, and I don’t seem to be good at putting things together. I’ve got this tent and stuff, and I think I’m going to need your help.”
They stared at each other as a hush grew in the crowd.
He had no comment.
She swallowed hard. “I miss you, Garrett. And I’m sorry.”
Garrett’s face paled and his voice trembled when he replied. “Don’t do this,” he said, barely loud enough for her to hear.
Roberta blinked hard. Her voice started to crack, and she didn’t care. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I do love you, Garrett.”
“Robbie,” he choked out. He clenched his hands into fists and rammed them into his pockets.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she forced herself to keep them open. She knew everyone was staring, but she could only see Garrett, and he was fast becoming blurry.
All heads and eyes turned on Garrett as he stood at the front, constrained and ramrod-straight. She squeezed her eyes shut. She’d made a spectacle of him, and herself too. This was not the way she had meant for this to happen. She’d botched everything from the first moment she saw him, and now she had embarrassed him in front of all these people.
Roberta turned to leave, rejected by his silence and lack of response. She clenched her teeth, determined not to run until she was out of sight of Garrett and the crowd.
Garrett called out, his voice choked. “Robbie, wait!”
He ran up the center aisle and through an empty section, jumping over some of the seats in his haste.
Very gently he touched her shoulder with his fingertips. “Robbie, nothing’s changed. I still love you, you know.”
She knew he meant it. It was herself she wasn’t sure of.
“I love you too, and I’ve handled this badly, but I need more time. Can we take this slowly? Can we, you know, date and stuff?”
Garrett bent his head, then brushed a lock of hair off her face. “Yes, I’d like that. But be warned. I intend to try my best to convince you to marry me.”
She smiled and bit her quivering lower lip. “I think I’d like that.”
“Robbie …” His voice trailed off, like he didn’t know what to say. He tipped her chin up with his fingertips, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. “Do you really have a tent you need help setting up? You came camping by yourself to come here to see me?”
She pulled off his sunglasses and gazed into the depths of his soft, dark eyes, seeing past the purple bruising to the kindness of his soul. “Yes,” she whispered.
Garrett’s eyes glistened. He blinked rapidly a few times, then smiled.
She opened her mouth to explain herself, but before she could say a word, he pulled her close until she was pressed against him from head to toe. He held her tight and buried his face in her hair.
Roberta opened her mouth to speak but gave up before she said a word. Any talking would have been drowned out by the thunderous applause around them.
Epilogue
Are you finished yet? How long have we been in this stupid duck blind, anyhow?” Roberta slapped her thigh in frustration. “It’s not a duck blind, it’s a raccoon blind. If there were any raccoons out there, they’re gone now!”
“Robbie.” In his cramped sitting position, Garrett rested his elbows on his knees and bowed his head to drag his hands over his face. “You’re in credit and collections. You work in the accounting department. If the real photographer got sick, they should have found someone else to do this if they were running on a deadline, not you.”
“Who? Mr. Mulderberry? I don’t think his wheelchair would have made it up the hill, do you?”
“Robbie …”
“Oh! I know! Kathy! She’s not due to have the baby for another week and a half. There’s plenty of time left to do a photo shoot, right?”
“Robbie …”
Roberta waved the camera in the air, accidentally hitting him in the cheek with the strap. He barely noticed. “I suppose Joanie could have done it if she came back from the Bahamas a few days early from her honeymoon. She probably wouldn’t mind.”
He held his palms in the air toward her to silence her. “I give up! I know it’s a small staff. I know you’ll take some wonderful raccoon pictures for the magazine. This just isn’t exactly my idea of what we’d be doing this weekend.”
Roberta sighed and sagged. Neither had she pictured them huddled together under a musty canvas covering deep in the woods, trying to take pictures of a family of raccoons who allegedly were taking the ceramic statues out of a wealthy gardener’s landscaping display and carrying them into the middle of the forest. She figured it was a stupid idea, trying to get pictures of them back at their den hoarding their treasure. However, the owners of the magazine she’d been working for during the past year and a half thought it would be a great story, but only if backed up by photographs.
“This is your fault they stuck me with this,” she griped. “Who else on staff is married to a wildlife biologist?”
Before she realized what he was doing, Garrett removed the camera from her hands and pulled her close. He nuzzled her cheek and gave her a gentle kiss. “Yeah, you are married to a wildlife biologist, and don’t you forget it.” He kissed her gently on the mouth. “Happy anniversary, Darling. We’ll go out somewhere special tomorrow.”
Roberta smiled. She loved it when he called her “darling” because it reminded her of when they first met, and her thoughts that one day the woman Garrett called “darling” would be a lucky woman. She was, indeed, a lucky woman.
After nearly making the biggest mistake of her life, God had directed their meeting, their courtship, and now here she was, married to her Mr. Ranger.
Using just her fingertips, she touched his chin, then ran her hand slowly down hi
s throat to rest in the center of his chest. Feeling the increase in his heartbeat following the path of her fingers, she smiled in feminine satisfaction. Instead of kissing him, she drew small circles on his breastbone, maintaining a short distance between them, enjoying his reaction.
Garrett smiled at Robbie, sitting before him in her favorite camping clothes; her khaki slacks with one patched knee, her gray sweatshirt dotted with holes from stray campfire cinders, and the most disgusting pair of hiking boots he had ever seen. To top it off, she wore one of his Parks and Recreation hats, and as usual, it was crooked. The other rangers always laughed when they saw her wearing it.
He covered Robbie’s hand with his own, pressing it against his chest, against his heart, where she belonged. He’d prayed for his perfect soul mate, and God delivered her.
“I love you, Mr. Ranger,” she whispered.
With his free hand, he tipped her chin up, then leaned forward to kiss her. “And I love you too, Mrs. Ranger.”
At Arm’s
Length
Chapter 1
Miss McNeil, could I see you in my office right away, please?” The intercom speaker echoed with a loud click as the company’s president hung up.
Molly cringed. Rumor had it that big changes would soon be happening, and that usually meant downsizing. Since she’d never before been called into the owner’s office, she suddenly worried that she was the first to go.
Her fears doubled when suddenly Janice appeared to relieve her when she hadn’t been the one to ask for someone else to answer the phones.
With trembling hands, Molly dug her notepad and pen out of the desk and walked to Mr. Quinlan’s office. She thought this would probably be a good time to pray, but beyond begging God to allow her to keep her job, her mind went blank.
“Come in. Sit down.”
She tried her best to smile, but it fell flat. Molly sat in the chair in front of his large desk, grateful for the chance to take her weight off her wobbly knees. Mentally, she started calculating how long she could survive on her meager savings before she found another job.
