The Chief Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  “Yes, except they’re not white, and their wingspan is four and a half feet.” He demonstrated the size by spreading his arms.

  “Whoa. I wish I could see one.”

  “Chief Sam Dick saw three young owls the other day.”

  “I thought you were the chief ranger.”

  “I am. Sam is a Paiute Indian chief who lives in Yosemite with his wife. He was my friend when I was a child.”

  “Would he tell you where they are?”

  “I already know.”

  Nicky’s eyes rounded. The tears had dried for the moment. “You do?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you show me?”

  “How long are you planning to visit Yosemite?” He asked Nicky the question, but now looked to the boy’s aunt for the answer.

  Their eyes held for an instant. “I—I’m not sure,” she said in a gentle voice. The change in her tone from this morning meant a temporary pax had been achieved, at least. Considering the depth of Nicky’s suffering, it was something to be grateful for.

  Vance slid his gaze back to the boy. “In case your stay is a short one, why don’t you come out to the foyer with me? There’s a mural of an owl you’ll love. Have you finished your hamburger?”

  “Most of it. Can I go with him, Rachel?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Vance got up. “We won’t be long.”

  When he put out his hand, the boy grasped it. That small trusting gesture tugged hard at his emotions. Together they made their way through the tables to the lobby, hand in hand.

  There were a lot of fathers in the room with their children. Vance’s protective instincts where Nicky was concerned gave him a strong hint of what it would be like to be a dad. Some people glancing at them probably thought they were father and son. Vance liked the feeling more than a little bit. Who wouldn’t love a child as cute and smart and tenderhearted as Nicky?

  RACHEL’S BACK WAS to the room, so she would have to turn all the way around to watch Nicky walk off with the head ranger—a man who wore a wedding band on his ring finger. If she’d tried to orchestrate the best scenario to help her nephew let go of his fears, she couldn’t have come up with anything as masterful as the way Chief Rossiter had handled the unexpected conversation.

  Everything had come out naturally. It was as if he knew exactly what was going on in Nicky’s psyche, and chose the perfect words to erase the terror of the unknown. His explanation of events tempered with his own admitted losses gave her nephew something else to think about besides his own grief. She had to confess that she suddenly viewed the ranger in a whole new light.

  Without attributing any blame, he’d provided Rachel with enough information to understand that Ben and Michelle had been the ones at fault for not heeding the weather warnings. Her brother had always been the type to push the envelope, always viewing himself as invincible. Shame consumed her for the way she’d harbored anger against the park authorities for something that hadn’t been their fault.

  Dr. Karsh had hinted that a lot of her anger was really directed at Steven, but to her chagrin she hadn’t listened. Instead, in her emotionally charged state, she’d stormed the chief ranger’s office this morning, and had virtually attacked him without any facts to back up her faulty assumptions.

  It took a big man to let her have her say without retaliating. No wonder he was in charge.

  “Are you all right?”

  Ranger Jarvis … For a minute she’d forgotten she wasn’t alone at the table. “Yes. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just that I’ve been so worried about Nicky.”

  “We’ve all been worried about him.”

  His comment surprised her. “What do you mean?”

  “That was a terrible day for the park. When we learned your brother and sister-in-law had a child at home, everyone grieved, but no one more than the chief.”

  Rachel’s stomach clenched when she thought of the way she’d treated him.

  “As he would tell you, the buck stops with him. In the two and half years he’s been in charge, there haven’t been any deaths due to negligence on the staff’s part. He took it particularly hard.”

  “Something tells me you did, too,” she murmured.

  The ranger nodded. “I’m the one who put out the alert that a freak storm was on its way. Those in late spring can be the worst. People outside the park died in it, too. We don’t get storms like that very often, but when we do, every measure is taken to protect the tourists. The huge drop in temperature meant gale-force winds and snow were imminent. Every climber and hiker had time to get off El Capitan.”

  She looked down. “My brother would have seen it as a challenging new adventure. He was a great sailor and weathered many a storm at sea.”

  “I’m afraid hypothermia is the number one enemy here. He probably thought they had time to hike back to Tamarack Flats, where they’d started out, but the cold prevented them.”

  “I’m sure that when Nicky heard it was the cold that took their lives, and not some gruesome fall, he was better able to handle the news.”

  “Does it help you?” the ranger inquired gently.

  She smiled at him. He was nice. “Yes. I’ve lived longer, so my nightmares over what happened have probably been worse than his.”

  “Understood.”

  Suddenly another ranger approached and asked if he could have a word, saying it was urgent.

  “Excuse me,” Ranger Jarvis said. As they disappeared, she could hear Nicky’s voice behind her. Then she felt his hand on her shoulder.

  “You have to see the owl! It’s huge! Come on. I want to show it to you.”

  She half turned in her chair. Once again her eyes met the iridescent blue of Chief Rossiter’s. Set in such a rugged, hard-boned male face, they were exceptionally beautiful. By their glint, she had no doubt Nicky had charmed and amused him. Her nephew had a way …

  “I’m coming, darling.” She jotted their room number on their dinner tab and signed it, then followed him and Chief Rossiter through the dining room to the reception area.

  Rachel couldn’t help but notice people looking at the tall, imposing ranger. Those who knew him nodded. More than one female had her eye on him. His powerful physique would draw any woman’s interest and garner respect and probably envy from the men in the room.

  She wondered how his wife dealt with rival attention toward her husband. Rachel surmised they had children. It would help explain how he’d been able to talk to Nicky and comfort him with such ease at a crucial moment.

  Interrupting her thoughts, Nicky ran over to the large mural inside the foyer doors. “See the owl’s eyes? They look like two suns!”

  Trust her imaginative nephew to come up with a creative description. “They certainly do. I never thought of an owl as magnificent, but this one is.”

  “Did you know they are almost eggsteenkt? Vance says he’ll show me a real one tomorrow while he’s out doing park business. Can I go?”

  Already Nicky knew the chief ranger’s first name and was using it. Within minutes of meeting him and hearing an eyewitness account about his parents’ death from his lips, Nicky trusted him. That was pretty amazing for one brief contact.

  “I’m afraid we have to check out in the morning. We only have the room for one more night.”

  “That’s not a problem.” Ranger Rossiter spoke up. “They always keep a room free for an unexpected visit by a VIP. I can arrange it.”

  Nicky stared up at him. “What’s a VIP?”

  “A very important person. That’s you.” He reached out to ruffle his curls, and Nicky giggled. Rachel hadn’t heard a real giggle come out of him in over a year.

  The chief’s blue eyes settled on her. “I’ll tell the staff to move you to your new room when they come to make up yours tomorrow. That is, if your plans will permit you to stay another couple of nights.”

  “We don’t have any plans,” Nicky volunteered.

  “Nicky …” She bent down and w
hispered, “Of course we do, and that’s not for you to decide,” she lectured him. What had gotten into him?

  “I’m sorry.”

  The ranger eyed her intently before taking her aside, out of Nicky’s hearing. “If it would fit in with your plans, I’d like him to go with me while I work tomorrow. I have to fly to the Tuolomne Meadows in a helicopter. If we get an early start, we might be able to spot those fledgling owls I was telling him about. It’s my thinking that if he explores part of the park tomorrow, maybe he’ll remember this as a friendlier place after he goes home.”

  She couldn’t fault Chief Rossiter’s reasons for wanting to help Nicky. After what Ranger Jarvis had told her about the collective guilt on the part of the staff, it appeared the chief wanted to do something that would make himself feel better, too.

  The problem was Nicky. He might want to come back to the hotel an hour after they’d left, interrupting the headman’s workday. Then again … She turned to Nicky and told him what the chief had in mind.

  He looked as if he were going to explode with excitement.

  “We’ll have to leave at six in the morning,” the ranger explained. “I’ll bring breakfast and lunch for us,” he added. “We probably won’t be back until dinner.”

  Nicky raised imploring eyes to Rachel. “Can I go? Please?”

  The joy in those eyes blinded her. “I agree it sounds very exciting, but that means we need to go to bed early or you’ll be too tired.”

  “I never get tired.”

  Oh, Nicky. He wanted to impress the chief ranger.

  “Be sure and bring your camera,” Rossiter was saying.

  “I will. See you tomorrow.”

  “I promise to take good care of him,” the chief said sotto voce.

  After what Ranger Jarvis had told her, Rachel had no doubts on that score. “I know you will,” she whispered back. “Thank you.” Her eyes smarted. “I think you know what I’m trying to say.”

  He nodded slowly, then high-fived Nicky. “Later, sport.”

  “Later,” Nicky called after him as the man strode out the front doors of the lodge. No sooner had he disappeared than Ranger Jarvis joined them.

  “Guess what?” Nicky turned to him. “I’m going to see some owls with Vance tomorrow!”

  The other man smiled. “Well, lucky you. If anyone can spot them, he can.” His gaze flicked to Rachel. “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’m not sure. In fact, I’m worried it’s too big a responsibility for Chief Rossiter.”

  The ranger cocked his head. “He can handle it. How would you like to go horseback riding in the morning to pass the time?”

  Another goodwill gesture? They were all being very kind. “Won’t you be on duty?”

  “Not until lunch. Have you ever been?”

  “No.”

  “Then you’re in for a treat. I’ll show you a spot the average tourist doesn’t see. Can you leave by eight? We’ll be back before lunch.”

  “That sounds fun, I think.”

  He chuckled. Once he’d left, Rachel and Nicky started for their room. “You don’t sound mad anymore,” the boy said.

  “I’m glad you noticed.”

  “I can’t wait till tomorrow. I’ve never been in a helicopter before. Did you know Vance’s favorite treat is Kit Kats, too?”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, and he likes root beer, but he’s going to bring water, too, because he says root beer makes him thirsty. That’s funny, huh.”

  Very funny. The chief ranger probably had several children and knew instinctively how to please them. Nicky seemed happier than he’d been in a year. Bless you, Dr. Karsh.

  Chapter Three

  Rachel set the alarm for five-thirty, but the next morning woke half an hour before it went off. As excited as she was that Nicky couldn’t wait to go with the chief ranger, she knew her nephew. Since the accident, he’d always been with her or his grandparents. Their longest separation had been the three hours he spent at kindergarten. Even then she or her mother were always there at the start and end of class to help him with his anxiety.

  No matter how thrilled he might be at the prospect of flying in a helicopter and finding an owl, a moment might come when he would suddenly want to come back to the lodge. In fact, she could almost guarantee it, and would hate for that to interrupt Chief Rossiter’s business.

  Part of her still felt it would be wisest for her to go with them, but Ranger Jarvis had dismissed her concerns. Maybe it was because he knew the chief’s wife wouldn’t condone it. The best decision would be to call it off. However, Rachel might undo the very thing that would build Nicky’s confidence, not to mention the fact that he’d have a hard time forgiving her.

  When six o’clock rolled around, and she walked a euphoric Nicky to the entrance of the lodge, she was a nervous wreck. They’d filled his backpack with everything he might want, including his own little camera and extra film. He chose to wear his favorite Ninja Turtle T-shirt and jeans. His boots would be comfy for any hiking they might do. Rachel couldn’t think of anything else he’d need.

  “Is that his truck?”

  “I think so.” It looked like the standard government issue she’d seen on the park roads.

  Chief Rossiter met them as they came out the doors. In his uniform he looked … wonderful. “Good morning, sport.”

  “Hi, Vance! I’m ready to go.”

  ‘So I see. Right on time! You’d make a great ranger.”

  “Thanks!”

  He opened the passenger door and helped Nicky into the cab with his pack. Before he went around to the driver’s side he turned to Rachel and pulled a tiny notepad out of his breast pocket. “Give me your cell phone number in case I need to get in touch with you.”

  “I was just going to suggest that.” After he wrote it down, she said, “If Nicky gets difficult, let me know and I’ll talk to him.”

  He flashed her a searching glance. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I don’t anticipate any serious problem.”

  She wanted to believe that. “Do you have children?”

  “No.” After a tension-filled pause, he said, “Would you rather he didn’t come?”

  “Not at all,” she cried softly. “I trust you completely. It’s just that I know you have heavy responsibilities. A child can be unpredictable at the wrong moment.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted, turning her heart over. “Considering it’s Nicky Darrow we’re talking about, I’ll risk it,” he replied in his calm, deep voice.

  “Thank you,” she whispered, touched by the sincerity in his tone. “Since dinner last night he’s been living for this.”

  The chief’s eyes narrowed on her upturned features. “Would it surprise you that I have, too?”

  Clearly, he was a deeply sensitive man who’d been punishing himself for her brother and sister-in-law’s deaths. No wonder he wanted to make recompense by helping Nicky. It moved Rachel to tears.

  Hardly able to breathe for the flood of unexamined emotions running riot inside her, she stepped toward her nephew, who was half hanging out the open window. “Be sure to mind Chief Rossiter and do everything he says.”

  “I will.”

  As she kissed his cheek, the ranger climbed in behind the wheel. They were going to leave. She felt a wrench in her heart.

  “I love you, darling, and I’ll be right here when you get back.”

  “I thought you were going to go horseback riding with Ranger Jarvis!”

  “I am, but we’ll stay close to the village.” The engine revved.

  “Okay.”

  Still no evidence of panic. “Have a wonderful time.”

  “We will. Bye, Rachel.” He was positively glowing in anticipation of their outing.

  She waved until she couldn’t see the truck anymore. Or maybe it was the tears blurring her vision. Talk about separation anxiety! It appeared Rachel had a serious problem with it. Dr. Karsh would have a field day with her if he knew.

  E
xperiencing a new sense of loss foreign to her, she worked off part of her restlessness by taking a walk to the post office. She’d promised to mail the postcard Nicky had written to her parents. The other part of her restlessness she couldn’t do anything about.

  By the time eight o’clock rolled around, she tried to be excited about her own coming outing, but couldn’t hide her angst from Ranger Jarvis. Upon entering the foyer of the lodge, he took one look at her and asked what was wrong. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing.”

  “I won’t. The truth is, Nicky and I haven’t been separated like this before.”

  “Naturally, you miss him.”

  “Yes, but it’s more than that. Sometime during the morning or afternoon he’s going to realize he’s with a stranger. I’m afraid he’ll fall apart because I’m not there. When Nicky gets like that it’s no fun, believe me. Since Chief Rossiter is out doing his work, I would hate it if he had to stop in order to cater to my nephew.”

  “The chief’s a big boy and understands the stakes. He wouldn’t have made the offer if he hadn’t felt he could handle it.”

  She kneaded her hands together. “Nevertheless …”

  “Nevertheless you want to be on hand in case your worst fear materializes.”

  Rachel nodded.

  “We can go riding tomorrow and take Nicky with us. How does that sound?”

  “Terrific.” She drew in a deep breath. “You’re a very understanding man.”

  “A ranger’s job is to oblige. Have you eaten yet?”

  “No. I couldn’t before, but now I’m hungry.”

  “Then let’s go in the dining room. In case the chief sends out an SOS, you’ll be here to take care of it.”

  His suggestion lightened her mood. After a leisurely breakfast, their conversation about the park attractions turned to a more personal nature.

  He sipped a second cup of coffee, staring at her over the rim. “What happens when you go back to Florida?”

  “I’m looking for a new job. Before we flew out, I quit my old one, to be close to Nicky.”

  “Is there someone special in your life?”