Regret had turned the three bites of hamburger he’d taken into a lump in his stomach.
It was too late to undo it now. If he didn’t want Sam Blackburn to know how much he thought of Macy, he certainly didn’t want the chief ranger or Whit Callaway to find out. Withdrawing his transfer, either before or after Macy reacted, would betray his feelings.
When neither woman had anything to say to that, Ash had to swallow hard to clear his throat. He was gulping his drink and ignoring the pitying looks they shared over his head.
“You know, I’ve had to learn this lesson myself, so maybe it will help you.” Avery leaned closer as jukebox music kicked up in the opposite corner. The Branch never got truly out of hand, but it was the only rowdy entertainment in town. It was good they’d gotten there when they did. They should be finishing up before the dance crowd arrived.
“You can’t plan every step, Ash.” Avery reached across the table to touch his hand. “Start with the first step. And you can’t make it about her. It has to be about you.”
Ash looked at Avery and was reminded again of how much steadying she’d needed that night in the hospital. She’d been there for Sam—hurt while fighting a forest fire that’d gone bad—even though it was hard and even though she’d been uncertain what their future could be. Sam had followed his career across the country; Avery had managed to figure out that what she wanted could happen in Colorado, maybe even better than Tennessee.
And she hadn’t let her fears stop her.
“So what do we do first about the lodge?” Janet asked. “When we were out at the campground diner last, Regina and I were shocked at how few people were there.”
“And I’m sure you know why.” Ash was certain Janet wouldn’t have missed the gossip in town.
That was Sweetwater. Everyone knew everyone. It was a tourist town, but it was also a small town. The connections were impossible to ignore, and they meant that news spread in an instant.
Janet shrugged. “TV reporter is saying Kingfishers are playing dirty politics to stop the lodge. People in town seem split between those that think the Callaways are pro-Sweetwater at heart and...” She glanced over at Ash. “Well, I’m not sure you have anyone exactly in your corner, but lots of people doubt that you’d intend to harm the Reserve. Kingfishers have been in town a long time. Just because nobody knows you anymore doesn’t mean the Kingfisher name doesn’t stand for something.” She paused, seemingly to replay what she just said. “People are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because of your last name. That’s what I mean.” She bit into her burger, obviously satisfied she’d given a nice recap of the gossip in town.
“They don’t know him?” Sam asked. “What does that mean?”
“Never in town. Never at the diner.” Janet shrugged. “Don’t know him.”
Ash had heard it from several different people now. At some point, he’d have to accept that it was true.
“After the accident, you sort of crawled into a cave.” Sam watched him. “I dragged you out now and then, but I left.”
Before dinner could turn into a mushy intervention, Ash said, “I’m a grown man, Blackburn. I can take care of myself, no dragging needed.”
No one agreed with him.
“What happened?” Avery asked and then bent closer. “You don’t have to tell me, but I’d like to know.”
Ash mangled a few french fries. “I grew up on Otter Lake, and I was certain I was invincible there. I used to be like Blackburn, testing the limits to feel alive, except I got caught. Slipped in a climb without the safety equipment. That’s it. We were injured, but nothing tragic happened. It’s not a story worth telling.” Satisfied he’d covered everything, Ash gulped his root beer.
“Except...” Sam raised an eyebrow. “Your career...”
Ash tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling, dull wood beams overhead. “I made a great law enforcement ranger when I started. When you’re really good at something, you never imagine it’ll go away. Some parts of it haven’t. I can name plants and tell you about the winter feeding habits of the black bear, but I can’t...do what I did. Physically. I’m embarrassed because I did something stupid to throw it away and determined to fulfill the post I have now to the best of my ability. I’ve built new educational panels for the visitor center. I’ve hired the best talent for all areas of the park. I have studied until I know the place inside and out. And I’ve stayed out of trouble.” Ash cleared his throat, realizing his voice had risen as he spoke. “But I’m still about to lose my job.” He took a big mouthful of his burger and chewed angrily until everyone else concentrated on their own dinner.
Then Janet wiped her mouth. “Here’s the thing. I’m not sure I have a game plan for the girlfriend. You’ve fouled that up, unless I miss my guess, and you should try to straighten it out.” She tapped him on the shoulder. “Brett Hendrix did it. You can, too. Nobody messed up romance like that boy, and look at him and Christina now.” She shook her head. “No, I cannot help with that,” she said definitively and unaware of how Avery’s lips were twitching. “But I can help you with your image problem. I have two suggestions. First, I hear through the grapevine that your father is an artist. Baskets.” She raised an eyebrow and Ash was forced to nod. Even when his father wasn’t around, the baskets dominated conversation. “We’re going to put some of his baskets in at Sweetwater Souvenir. You can help me get that done, right? Macy told me she’d introduce us at the open house. I’ll be there. Regina, too. The lovebirds will be smoochin’ it up in front of whatever fancy ‘photographic backdrop’ it is Macy’s advertising. We can get Sweetwater to show up if you’ll do the same. In exchange, you get me a deal with your daddy. Macy said he’s the key to a successful art showing at my as-yet-unnamed art gallery.”
“When did you talk to Macy? She was home sick today.” Ash leaned back, ready to be shocked.
“She was up and down Main Street, hawking your open house.” Janet tapped the table. “In full Smoky Valley Nature Reserve uniform, I might add. She’s a credit, Ash. Unravel your knots, you hear me?”
He wasn’t shocked. She’d ignored his orders. That should never surprise him, so Ash inhaled slowly and exhaled. “Getting my father there is no problem. Neither are the baskets. Whatever you cooked up with Macy, she’s right.” If he texted his father right now, Martin Kingfisher would have the car loaded and parked in front of Sweetwater Souvenir before they made it out the front door of The Branch.
“What was the second part of the plan?” He’d lost track of the conversation. Probably because too many problems were swirling around and he’d somehow landed back at baskets.
“Easy. Operation We Love Kingfishers.” Janet’s smile was bright. “When I go into Smoky Joe’s, I will tell everyone there about the new plans to feature local artists like Martin Kingfisher. I will rave over the family and...” She made the voilà motion with her hands and seemed pretty pleased with herself.
Ash didn’t want to lose what little support he’d gained, but he had to know. “That’s it?” It couldn’t be that simple.
Janet nodded. “If you want to help, ask Macy out on a date. Show her off around town. Kiss her in the campground diner.” Janet nodded until Ash followed suit. “Win the town over. Show them who you are. Pretty young woman on your arm is a story everyone loves to tell.”
Avery joined in the nodding. “I don’t have as much ammunition as my mother, but I could stop in and talk to Astrid. She’s a big fan of Winter. I’m sure she would be happy to talk about how wonderful her work at the library has been. The kids eat her stories up.” When Sam choked, Avery elbowed him hard in the side. “Not everyone has the talent to keep a child’s attention, Sam. Winter has a talent.”
“Okay, so we’ve got the library and the schools covered.” Janet ticked off the places on her fingers. She was a volunteer secretary at the schools; since parents relied on the Reserve for entertai
nment, especially in the summer, reaching them could be a big help. “Local businesses will be your biggest targets. Odella over at the coffee shop. There’s the hardware store.”
“My barber’s on board. He only knows two words, but it’s nice to count on him,” Ash muttered.
“What you need is something big, Ash.” Avery propped her elbows on the table. “A love story...like my mom said.”
If he hadn’t shot himself in the foot with the only woman he’d be interested in spinning a love story with, fake or otherwise, Ash might be looking forward to that.
“I’ll talk to Macy, but to be safe, you better come up with a plan B.” Ash watched everyone at the table agree with him and wished for a little less ready capitulation.
“You were a good friend to me, Ash Kingfisher,” Avery stated. “So I’m going to tell you something my mother used to spout to me.” She glanced around the table. “Mountains move one rock at a time. Slow and steady, Ash, just don’t give up. As long as you’re moving, you’re still in the game.”
Sam’s kiss caught Avery’s attention, and Janet’s amused sigh barely registered as Ash considered Avery’s advice. He wouldn’t give up on Macy, not until she made it clear he had to move on. Convincing her could be akin to wearing down a mountain.
But the suggestion of moving a mountain made him think.
What if the new lodge at Otter Lake was no longer a yes or no proposition? The location of the proposed site was the biggest problem.
The Aerie was the most beautiful spot in the Reserve, but that would disappear when the lodge was built on top. If he could convince the Callaways that a lodge in the shadow of The Aerie, one built in the clearing around the old weather station, was the best of both worlds, everyone could win. A lightning strike had ignited a wildfire there almost a year ago. The grasses had almost recovered but the forests still showed the scars.
What if they could cover those scars with something beautiful, a lodge that would draw people to the Reserve for the beautiful views of The Aerie and Otter Lake? Construction on the gentler slope would be easier, faster, less expensive. The Reserve would still lose some habitat, but it had already been damaged by fire. With the lodge on site, restoration of the forests would immediately jump up the priority list within the Reserve.
It all made sense. Yes, it would mean delays, but the end would be an addition to the work of the Reserve, not destruction.
This was the answer.
Convincing the right people to ask the right question was the first step.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MACY FORCED HERSELF to slow down as she made the turn into the district office. If Monica Grey had seen the speedometer on Macy’s trip to Knoxville, she might have had some concern about Macy’s judgment.
She’d carefully ironed the uniform so that the chief ranger would find no complaint there.
And she’d forced herself to put down her phone every time she’d picked it up to text or call Ash Kingfisher.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t see through his plan. If the chief ranger was fooled by this transfer, Macy would be shocked. Still, she needed the ammunition of however this conversation went down before she marched into the ranger station and informed Ash that she’d made a few of her own decisions.
“Get your head in the moment, Macy Elizabeth.” Her grandmother would have been unimpressed by Macy’s sleepless night. To her, one job was as good as another. The important part was having a job.
Breaking the pattern of letting her grandmother’s joyless ghost stop her from doing what she wanted had started with a crazy camera purchase for a frivolous hobby. Today, she was going to expand that tiny crack by demanding Monica Grey override Ash Kingfisher.
Macy was ready to demand her spot in the visitor center. She’d built it herself.
If Ash didn’t want to work with her, he could just...transfer himself out.
His glowing recommendation showed she’d done nothing wrong, and he was not the most popular employee in the Reserve. She might be able to pull this off.
All night long, she’d battled back and forth, taking different sides of the argument, and...
This was all she could live with. She’d back Ash Kingfisher in any battle that came, but he’d need to apologize for putting her through this meeting.
And he would.
As she pushed open the door to the district office, Macy tried to remember the last time she’d been inside. It had been a few years. In the beginning, she’d been a floater like Nicole, working part-time where she was needed. It had been great to see all the different kinds of work being done to protect Tennessee’s natural beauty at each reserve, but Otter Lake had stolen her heart the first day she’d turned up at the ranger station.
Was it because Ash Kingfisher had been there, even grumpier than he was now because his wounds were fresh and the disappointment had settled into his bones? Macy had never been able to turn her back on wounded animals.
Or people, either, for that matter.
Ash had needed her then. That had been some of the draw to the ranger station. Clutter had threatened to take over his desk, and the desk in the lobby had been a wasteland of empty boxes and a ringing phone. Carving out her space had been a challenge and she’d loved every minute.
Teasing him, poking him, making him mad...she’d had to learn her way. Maybe she wasn’t done learning yet.
“Macy, it’s good to see you in person. Monica’s running late but she’s almost here.” Kayla stood from behind the desk. Instead of the mannish Reserve uniform, Kayla might have been a clone of Winter Kingfisher in her dark suit coat and skirt. She had the same Reserve pin, and Macy realized with a flash that working in Knoxville would change more than her commute.
No one would think she fit here. Ash’s last-ditch effort had no chance of succeeding.
“Is Winter in today?” Macy asked before she thought it all the way through. The chance to abuse Ash to a friend was attractive. His sister might not be open to it, though, even if Macy offered to buy lunch.
Better to wait until they had a few girls’ nights under their belts.
Kayla frowned as she clicked away on her computer. “I don’t have her out of the office today, but with the news...” She shrugged and then put her hand to her ear. “District office, this is Kayla.” She listened and clicked some more. “The chief ranger is in a meeting right now, but I’ll be happy to take a message. Of course, Mr. Callaway. I’ll let him know.” Her eyes flicked toward Macy, but Kayla smoothly touched the earpiece to end the call. Macy was doing her best to see the note Kayla scribbled, but she’d never been good at reading upside down.
As a door swung open, Macy jerked back quickly.
“Miss Gentry, why don’t you come in? Monica’s caught in traffic, but she’ll be here any moment.” The chief ranger stood in the doorway, his broad shoulders nearly blocking the opening completely.
Nerves threatened to swamp Macy then. Maybe it was the uniform that heightened her anxiety. Or the way Leland Hall watched her, the careful stare of a police officer hard to meet head-on.
Or it might be the anger she felt about Ash’s situation.
Whatever it was, Macy’s temperature rose ten degrees and she was pretty sure flop sweat was imminent. The only way to handle that was...
She held her hand out. “I’d be happy to, Chief Ranger.” He shook her hand and turned to step into his office. “Kayla, could you bring us a couple of bottles of water?”
Had he noticed the sweat on her brow?
Kayla brought in the water and then stepped back outside. Macy could hear her speaking and crossed her fingers in the hope that she was actually talking to a live person like Monica Grey, instead of into her earpiece.
“I was surprised when I got the transfer paperwork from Ash yesterday.” Hall leaned back in his chair and studied her. “What happened?”
Because she’d been asking herself that ever since Monica’s phone call, Macy wasn’t sure she had a good answer. Still, Ash had his reasons, namely protecting her, so she’d support his play. “I know that Ash has spoken highly of Nicole in the past.” She glanced around the chief ranger’s office as if she were sizing it up. Instead, she wanted clues on the future of the lodge project or Ash’s job. Leland Hall’s desk was clear. There were no files, no binders, no ragged newspapers, no pens with bite marks or fish-shaped coffee mugs. Just bare, smooth, expensive-looking wood.
If she’d been on the fence about an opportunity to move to the district office before she got here, one look at his desk would have decided her.
“Sorry I’m late. Stalled school bus.” Monica Grey walked in, her pantsuit wrinkled but still sharp. “I hope you’re telling her about the opportunity we’re hoping to create here in Knoxville, Ranger.”
Monica handed Macy a piece of paper with a job description. “Executive assistant to the chief ranger.” She raised her eyebrows. “You would handle scheduling and communications, along with the other offices here, of course.”
“You called me in to talk about a promotion?” Macy asked as she slowly read over the short list of duties. “Or not. Is this a promotion?” The details were pretty thin, although she did some of her best work with the least established procedures.
“It’s a brand-new position, Macy,” Monica said, the cheer in her voice less than convincing. “Ranger Hall and I have been discussing his need for more help here in the office so that he can spend more time in the Reserve.” She shrugged. “This is coming together at exactly the right time. I’ve discussed my plans for this position with Ash. I expect he knew as soon as he heard me say I was looking that you’d be the natural candidate. You basically set up the visitor center at the ranger station with very little direction. This could be the next step up for you. What do you think?”
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