The Bachelor Ranger

by Rebecca Winters

  “Sergei cut his back left paw on a piece of broken glass at the side of the road.”

  “Oh, no—”

  “I need to put in a few sutures. Naturally I can do it alone, but I thought if you came to my house and held his head, he’d deal with it better.” I know I will. Cal was determined to talk to her.

  She didn’t hesitate. “Of course I’d be happy to help. Let me run inside and tell Lonan. I’ll be right back.”

  He waited by the truck for her. If it hadn’t been for the dog’s accident, he knew in his gut she wouldn’t have agreed to come with him tonight. Until he explained certain truths to her, he’d never make any headway with her.

  Before long she’d rejoined him. Once he was behind the wheel, he thrust her a sideways glance. “Sergei has taken a strong liking to you.”

  “The feeling’s mutual.”

  “I could be jealous, but since it’s you, I’m not complaining.”

  “I’m honored,” she quipped. “What was broken glass doing by the road?”

  “It was part of a headlight, most likely broken by the fender of another car. The average tourist keeps driving and doesn’t stop to consider what he’s left behind.”

  She sighed. “One of the hazards of park traffic. Is the cut bleeding hard?”

  “I had to put a tourniquet on him.”

  “Oh, the poor darling. That means it’s deep.”

  “Sergei will survive.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  Cal had to admit her soft spot for animals and children was an endearing trait. He was discovering Alex had a lot of those, but before she’d come to the park this year, he’d purposely chosen not to notice her good qualities.

  After years of putting her off, he was now using any excuse to spend time with her. Tonight he had to face another truth. He’d never forgotten the taste and feel of her. In his arms, the girl had become a woman. She’d been so alive, it had taken his breath away. The problem was, he wanted to see if it would happen again.

  “You’re so quiet, Cal. Are you all right?”

  No. Even if he’d deluded himself into thinking he was over Alex, he would still have wanted her when she came to the park the next time, and the next.

  With clearer vision now, he realized she couldn’t help having been born a male magnet. She was simply one of those women who didn’t have to do anything to attract men. He pressed the remote on his truck visor and drove into his garage, aware of a growing unease at the idea of another man getting close to her.

  The string of admirers was growing longer. Telford for one. Thorn for another. As for Brock, it had taken all the willpower Cal had not to tell that loser to back off.

  “Cal? What’s wrong?”

  “Sorry, Alex. I guess I’m concerned about Sergei’s wound. I think the kitchen table will be the best place to stitch him up.” After shutting off the engine, he handed her the keys. “It’s the brass-looking one. If you’ll open the door, I’ll carry him in.”

  She moved fast to do as he asked. “Do you have a clean sheet?” She turned from the open doorway. “I could put it over the table.”

  Cal had already climbed into the truck bed. “Good thinking. You’ll find one on a shelf in the closet down the hall to the bedrooms.”

  By the time he’d carried Sergei through the house, she’d raised one side of the table and had folded the sheet double over the top. She’d also brought some clean towels that she put on the counter.

  “Hey, buddy. We’re going to take care of you. Alex is here.” Cal smiled to see his dog lick her hands as she helped support his head.

  “You’re going to be fine,” she crooned to him. “Dr. Hollis is on the job.”

  Chuckling, Cal reached in the kitchen cupboard where he kept his medical supplies. He took out a tranquilizer pill and a pain pill, then reached in another cupboard for the peanut butter. After finding a spoon, he scooped out a glob and put the pills in it before handing it to Alex.

  “If you’ll feed him this, I’ll get what I need.” When he had everything ready, he washed his hands and put on sterile gloves.

  “I love your dog. He makes a great patient.”

  “I agree.”

  “Mmm, you like this stuff, don’t you,” she crooned to the dog. “You’re being so good and courageous. Yes, you are.” She smoothed the top of his head with her hand. He licked the spoon clean, then licked her fingers while Cal performed the surgery. Sergei had to be in heaven with attention like that.

  “All done. Now for some antibiotic spray.” Cal could see that Sergei’s eyes were heavy from the tranquilizer. “That took five stitches, buddy.”

  Alex kept talking to the dog. “Mean old piece of glass. Now that it’s out, you’ll have to be extra careful where you step. Do you know Cal has wrapped your leg better than a certified vet?”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  “It’s true,” she assured him. “You would have made a wonderful vet or even a doctor.”

  “You think?”

  “I know. Anyone with training can put in stitches, but it’s your bedside manner that distinguishes you. You made a huge difference for Mika and Lusio today. I’m very grateful.”

  Alex—

  “If you’ll steady him for another minute, I’ll bring a blanket and he can sleep in here tonight.”

  “Did you hear that?” The dog made little sounds as if he understood. Cal came right back and fixed a bed for him in the corner. Alex sat down on the edge of it. When he lowered the dog, she let his head rest against her leg. “There, Sergei. It’s all over and you’re going to be fine.”

  Cal filled the water bowl and put it near them. The dog took a few drinks, then plopped his head back on her shapely limb. Cal would sell his soul to trade places with Sergei. The day was coming soon when he knew he was going to do just that, but the timing wasn’t right.

  He put everything away and carried the sheet to the washing machine. When he walked back in the kitchen Alex said, “Whoa—did you feel that?”

  “What?”

  “A tremor.”

  His gaze shot to his drugged dog, who made a low moan and tried to lift his head. Cal hadn’t felt anything. He looked around. Nothing in the kitchen had fallen.

  “Stay where you are, Alex, in case there’s more.” He reached for his phone and called headquarters to report in. After a minute Chase came on the line.

  “The quake’s been felt everywhere, Cal. It was a magnitude three running through the Sierra Nevadas just outside the park about six miles south of Mammoth Lakes. The Mono County sheriff’s dispatcher says there have been no reports of damage or injuries.”

  Alex eyed him with a concerned expression.

  “None at my house, either. Do you need me?”

  “Not yet. For the moment we’ve got things covered. I’ll wait to get back to you until after the rest of the reports come in. If you don’t hear from me, then don’t worry about it.”

  “Any news from Sugar Pines?”

  “No.

  “I’ll call over there.”

  He hung up and looked at Alex. “Do you have Lonan’s number programmed?” She nodded. “Give me your phone.”

  She pulled it out of her jeans pocket. “Press two.”

  Lonan was quick to answer. Cal identified himself. “Are you all right?” He put the speaker on so she could hear.

  “Everyone’s fine. We’re outside listening to a talk by the park historian. Some of the kids felt a vibration, but not everyone. No problems.”

  “Thank goodness,” Alex whispered.

  “That’s the way it happens.”

  “Sheila wants us to wait out here. She’ll tell us when it’s safe to go inside.”

  “Good. She knows what she’s doing. I’ll bring Alex by later.”

  “No hurry. How’s the dog?”

  “His operation was a success.”

  “The kids were a lot more concerned about the dog than the earthquake. Now they’ll be able to settle down.
”

  A smile broke out on Alex’s face, erasing her worry lines.

  “Lokita’s been complaining of stomach pains again, but he refuses to do anything about it. I think he should go over to the clinic.”

  “He gets those every once in a while,” Alex interjected. “He might have an ulcer. Let’s cut out all spicy food for him. If it doesn’t subside by morning, I’ll take him to the clinic. Talk to you later, Lonan.”

  Cal gave her back the phone. “Except for Lokita, so far, so good, but we’ll just sit tight until I hear from Chase.”

  “I think you-know-who is going to sleep fast.”

  The combination of medicines had started to work. He nodded. “I’ll take a minute to run in the den and see if any of my staff has tried to contact me.”

  “Go ahead. We’ll be fine.”

  She looked so adorable sitting there with his dog, he had to suppress the urge to get down on the floor with her. The tremors shaking his body had nothing to do with the quake.

  “You make an excellent nurse,” he said on his way out of the kitchen.

  “Thanks, Doctor.”

  ALEX GLANCED AT SERGEI. He was down for the count. It felt a little cool next to the floor. She reached for one of the bath towels and laid it over him.

  When Cal came back in the kitchen, she glanced at him. “I don’t think he’ll wake up,” she said in a quiet voice. “Would you mind driving me back to camp? I want to check on the boys. If any of their families heard about the quake on the news, I’d like to reassure them before the night’s out.”

  “Don’t worry,” he said in a low voice. “Lonan will already have done that. We can’t leave yet. Chase told me to stay put.”

  “Did he give you any reports of injuries or damage?” When Cal didn’t say anything, she asked, “Any rock slides from the tremor?”

  “None. The park got off lucky this time.” His words sounded remote.

  “I’m glad of that for everyone’s sake. Luckily Sergei didn’t seem to be frightened.”

  “No. In any case, he was too drowsy.” Cal sounded far away. She wondered if the earthquake had brought back memories of his wife’s death in one of those natural disasters that struck the park on occasion.

  She watched in surprise as he went to the cupboard and got down two glasses and the wine she’d brought him. After popping the cork, he poured a small amount into each one and handed her a glass. “I thought this would be the perfect time to drink to new beginnings.” A change had come over Cal.

  “To the new chief biologist,” she purposely declared. Their fingers touched, igniting her longing for him despite her determination not to let him affect her. She drank it quickly. “That tasted good.”

  After draining his glass, he reached for her empty one and put both on the counter. Then he stared at her. “I was referring to us.” The huskiness in his voice raised the heat in her body.

  She had to say something to stop the uncertain thudding of her heart. “You mean my volunteer job. I guess in that regard we’ve both achieved something we’ve wanted for a long time.”

  She couldn’t imagine what was on his mind. For all she knew Vance had given Cal a secret job like he’d given Alex—one no one else knew about. While she’d been asked to spy for the Chief, Vance might have asked Cal to help ex-senator Harcourt’s daughter make a success of her project with the boys.

  It was all in the interest of the park, but the possibility that Vance could have put Cal up to this felt like another body blow. After learning Cal had been married when she’d come to the park last year, Alex couldn’t stand any more hurts.

  Cal sat down on one of the chairs with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. “We may have done that, but I’m talking about us personally. While we’re waiting to hear from Chase, there’s something important I want to talk to you about.”

  Like the seismic activity beneath the earth, there’d been a shift in her dealings with Cal. They’d never had a relationship and you could hardly call it one now. She no longer lived in a fantasy world where he was concerned. Her parents would be relieved to know that, much as she might find Cal the most desirable man alive, she’d discovered that she’d never been even a blip on the screen of his life.

  Those honors had gone to Leeann. It took two hands to clap. All along she’d tried clapping with only one. No wonder there’d been no sound, but she’d been a late bloomer and a slow learner…until now.

  “What did you need to talk to me about?” Being in his house now didn’t seem quite real, not after all the years she’d hoped in vain for the slightest sign he wanted her company.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  That surprised her. “Apology? For what?”

  “For some of my preconceived notions about you.”

  “You mean about my being the willful, spoiled rotten, pampered, empty-headed blond daughter of the senator from New Mexico that you got stuck with whenever the Chief asked you to show my father around? It was the truth.”

  “No…it wasn’t. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

  “Cal, we’ve been over this ground already.”

  “Not the ground I want to talk about,” he asserted. “Did I ever tell you why I became a ranger?”

  His question threw her—he’d never confided in her before. “As I recall, you said something about being tired of never seeing anything but flat horizon everywhere you looked from the farmhouse window.”

  “I’m afraid that was a lie,” he confessed, surprising her further. “I loved the farm. Growing up I couldn’t have imagined living anywhere else. I loved my family, my three brothers, especially my older brother, Jack. He was my idol. But a terrible thing happened the night before he got married, forcing me to leave home.”

  Why was he telling her this?

  “It was the night before Cincinnati’s wedding of the year—merging two prominent families. When I pulled into the garage, his fiancée, Helen, was there. She’d been the high school beauty queen and was probably the most spoiled, headstrong female I’d ever known, but Jack had loved her forever.

  “I assumed she was waiting for him and told her he and my brothers were still at the hotel celebrating. As I was getting out of the car, she made her move and came on to me. She’d been drinking and threw her arms around my neck.

  “At first I thought it was some kind of joke, but when she tried kissing me and told me I was the brother she’d always had the hots for, I was so repulsed, I pushed her away and went in the house where I threw up.”

  Alex had already put two and two together and didn’t want to listen to any more. Carefully removing Sergei’s head from her leg so she wouldn’t wake him up, she got to her feet and started for the doorway, but felt Cal’s hands on her shoulders. She couldn’t stand for him to touch her now.

  “I knew this would be your reaction, Alex,” he murmured into her hair. “But you’re not leaving until you hear the rest, so you’ll understand.”

  She eased out of his arms to face him. “It’s okay, Cal. I get the picture. The lookout tower must have been déjà vu for you. Wrong woman, wrong man. Enough said. I’ll call Lonan to pick me up at headquarters so you won’t have to leave Sergei.”

  His eyes roamed over her features. “I’m not through yet.”

  “But I am. Does that mean anything to you?”

  Lines of strain bracketed his mouth. “If it’s what you want, I’ll take you back now, but one day soon I intend for you to hear the rest.”

  Not if she had anything to say about it.

  Once they were in the truck, he opened the garage door with the remote. She felt his covert glance on her. Before long they reached the Sugar Pines parking area. To her surprise there were some kids still outside, but it looked like they were starting to file into the lodge. “Isn’t that Bill Telford’s Dodge power wagon?”

  “So it is.”

  She frowned. “I hope nothing’s wrong.”

  Cal pulled to a stop. “Let’s find ou
t, shall we?”

  She jumped down before he could come around to help her and hurried toward the adults standing together.

  “There you are, Alex.” The superintendent stepped away from the group of chaperones to greet her. She noticed Ralph wasn’t among them.

  “Hi, Bill. Is there a problem here?”

  “No, no. I told Vance I’d drive over to reassure the volunteers. It provided me with an excellent opportunity to talk about park safety. I wanted to be on hand to answer any of their questions.”

  “Were there a lot?”

  “Yes. It made an interesting evening.”

  She smiled. “I hope they realize how privileged they were to have access to the superintendon, as Nicky Rossiter used to call you.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. “The park wouldn’t be the same without that little guy.”

  “With a dad like Vance, he’ll make some kind of a ranger one day.”

  “You can say that again.” As he studied her, the mirth left his eyes to be replaced by a more serious look. “I was hoping to find you here earlier, but it appears you and Ranger Hollis were otherwise occupied.”

  His gaze flicked to Cal, who stood a few feet apart from her in what she considered his on-alert stance—all that muscle and sinew tensed, ready for action. Cal wasn’t thrilled by the way their conversation had ended, but as far as she was concerned, there was no reason for a personal discussion ever again.

  “I commandeered Alex to help me,” Cal explained at last.

  She couldn’t understand why he wasn’t more forthcoming. “Sergei got a deep cut in his paw from a jagged piece of glass.”

  “So the boys were telling me. That’s not good.”

  “He needed emergency treatment,” Alex told him. “I helped hold the dog while Cal put in some stitches. That’s when we felt the tremor. I’m thankful everyone’s safe.”

  Bill let out a sigh. “We’ll all sleep better tonight knowing that.”

  Considering his heavy responsibility as government steward over the park, no doubt he was relieved, but Alex sensed an odd tension between him and Cal. It made her feel uneasy. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to check on the boys and phone a few parents who might have heard about the quake.”