“That isn’t something we discuss in front of company,” Rachel admonished him from her spot on the couch next to Vance, who held their son, Parker. The baby was adorable and as dark-haired as Rachel was fair. Beneath those golden curls, she’d gone pink at Nicky’s comment.
Jeff caught the glint of amusement in Gabi’s eyes before she said, “I…bumped into the kitchen door.”
“Jeff bumped into it, too,” Nicky informed anyone listening.
At that point the adults broke into gales of laughter before settling down to a feast of ribs and corn on the cob. Later, after the children ate their watermelon and ran off to watch a movie in the den, the talk centered around the flooding. For once Sergei stayed by Jeff. He had an idea the dog was missing Cal. Out of compassion he gave him a doggy treat.
Vance handed Parker to his wife, then leaned forward to address Gabi, who sat in a chair opposite the couch. “Jeff tells us you two used to live next door to each other. What was he like when you were both in high school?”
Without looking at Jeff she launched in. “Well, for one thing, his father taught him a lot about the construction business. They remodeled their whole house and built a beautiful patio in the back. Jeff could fix anything.”
“That’s one of the reasons the park needs him,” Vance commented.
“For another thing,” Gabi continued, “he was the hottest Kawasaki cyclist around, and all the girls were crazy about him. My friend Kim begged me to put in a good word for her, but she had to wait in line for all the other girls dying to go for a ride with him.”
Chase nodded. “So far things haven’t changed.”
“That’s what Nicky tells me,” Gabi quipped.
“Uh-oh,” the chief murmured. “What did he say?”
A mysterious look crossed her face. “I’m afraid that’s classified.”
Everyone chuckled. Jeff got to his feet and took empty plates to the kitchen. Sergei followed him. As he was coming back, he heard Nicky’s voice.
“Mom?” He flew into the living room. “Can we have a sleepover? Roberta and Ashley want to stay here! We can put sleeping bags in my room.”
“I think that sounds like fun, if Annie and Gabi say it’s all right.”
Jeff held his breath, waiting for Gabi’s answer.
Ashley ran to her mother. “Please, Mommy?”
Gabi looked uncomfortable. “We don’t have a sleeping bag for you.”
“That’s no problem,” Annie interjected. “She can use mine. Chase will bring it over with Roberta’s.”
“Well, I guess, if that’s what you’d like to do.” Her permission was rewarded with a huge hug from Ashley.
“Hooray!” Nicky cried. “Come on. Let’s go finish our movie.” The three children ran out of the living room again.
“Hooray” expressed it, all right. That meant Jeff would have a whole night alone at his house with Gabi.
He got up to clear everything from the dining-room table and start the dishes. The need to keep his body moving was paramount while he waited for his heart to slow to a normal rhythm. Pretty soon the men joined him in the kitchen. They talked shop and made short work of the cleanup.
As Chase gathered the dish towels to go in the washer, he darted Jeff a glance. “Remember that favor you said you owed me? Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to be on duty at headquarters tonight, because I’m short a man on the roster.”
“Our skeleton crew is stretched too far,” the chief added.
Both of them spoke in a deadpan voice, throwing Jeff off guard for about ten seconds before they burst into laughter that reverberated off the walls.
Chase’s smile was a mile wide. “If you could see the look on your face.”
It was probably the first time in his life Jeff had ever blushed.
“What’s going on?” Rachel had come into the kitchen with the women.
Vance put his arm around his wife and baby. “A private joke, darling. But if—”
“No, no. I’m sure we girls are better off not hearing it. All I can say is, if it meant my dishes got done and everything is immaculate, I’m not going to complain.”
“It’s getting late. I’ll go get the sleeping bags. Be right back.” Chase kissed his wife’s cheek before disappearing from the kitchen.
Jeff turned to Gabi, who’d gone quiet. “Why don’t you say good-night to Ashley? I’ll be out in the car.”
Chapter Eight
Gabi felt Jeff’s eyes on her after they walked into his kitchen from the garage. He put away the plate they’d taken over to the Rossiters’. “You were quiet all the way home. Are you worried Ashley’s going to call you to come and get her?”
“No.” Gabi leaned over to pat Sergei’s head. “To be honest, I’m afraid she won’t.”
He got down the instant coffee. “Want some?”
“No, thank you.”
After he’d heated his mug in the microwave, he turned to her. “Is this the first time she’s ever slept away from you before?”
“Yes.”
“If you want to stay over at the Rossiters’, I’ll take you back. I know you’ll be welcome.”
“I have no doubt of it. They’re terrific people, but Ashley has taken a big step tonight. It’s good for her.”
“Unfortunately, Mom’s the one suffering separation anxiety,” he said with compassion. “It’s perfectly understandable when she’s been your whole world all these years. Let’s go into the living room.”
Gabi moved to the other room and sank down in one of the chairs next to the couch. Jeff remained standing while he sipped his coffee, his free hand on his hip. After all the years apart, it was hard to believe they were alone together like this.
“You’ve found heaven here in Yosemite, haven’t you?” Gabi said.
“Almost.”
With that answer, she lowered her head. She wanted to ask him so many questions, but didn’t know where to start. “How did you end up here?”
“That’s a long story.”
She brushed some imaginary lint off her arm. “You’ve been listening to me for days. Now I’m anxious to hear about your life.”
“To answer your question with a short version, I worked in Hollywood as a motorcycle stunt rider. It paid me the kind of money I needed to make while I went to college for my construction engineering degree.”
“So you did get it.”
He nodded. “But I never started up my own construction company because I had too much else going on.”
“I knew you were a fabulous cyclist. No wonder you were hired.” After a pause, she asked, “When did you marry?”
“During my second year at college, but by the end of it, we divorced.”
A pang of jealousy spread through Gabi.
“I did professional stunt riding for about five years. The last film I worked on, they were shooting the scene with me near North Fork, just sixty-odd miles south of Yosemite. The crew was there close to a week. At the end of each day’s shooting, I’d ride into the park and look around. I fell in love with the place.”
“I can see why,” she murmured. “Ashley absolutely adores it here, too. Who wouldn’t?”
He put his empty mug on the coffee table and sat down on the couch near her, stretching his long legs. It was like déjà vu seeing him relax like that. Sergei settled at his feet.
“I chatted with some of the rangers, and before I knew it, I gave up my job and went to Georgia for a session at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.”
She took a deep breath. “You must have wanted it badly.”
“You have no idea. I got hired as a ranger and worked two years at two different parks, but kept trying to get on at Yosemite. One day there was an opening and I grabbed for it.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Six years.”
She started counting. He’d been divorced a long time. Longer than her, actually.
“In many ways our lives have paralleled each other,” Jeff
said, sending her a meaningful glance. “I was married less than a year, too.” He might as well be reading her mind.
Restless, Gabi shifted in the chair. “How did you meet her?”
Jeff sat forward, clasping his hands between his legs. “Fran’s father owns a company that builds sets for all types of stunt-riding exhibitions. When she wasn’t at film school, Fran helped at his office in L.A. We started going out and ended up married. She was a lovely person, but I’m afraid we were too different and the marriage simply didn’t take.”
Gabi heard genuine affection in his tone as he talked about his ex-wife. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Did she ride, too?”
“No. Occasionally I could get her to take a run on my bike with me, but her real interest was in film. These days she works for Pacific Pictures.” He smiled. “Now tell me what kind of job you took after you left Bev’s.”
Obviously, he wanted to change the subject. Maybe his divorce hurt him too much to talk about.
“Thanks to your mom, I developed a love for cooking and got hired by a catering firm in Los Angeles.”
Jeff studied her features through veiled eyes. “How did you meet your husband?”
“At a wedding we were catering. Ryan was one of the guests.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
He’d asked the question she’d wanted to ask him about Fran. It angered Gabi, but that wasn’t his fault. Jeff couldn’t have any comprehension of the permanent ache in her heart.
“I think that only happens to the young, don’t you? Ryan was attractive and he grew on me. I never saw the change in him coming.”
Talking about him caused her to shudder, and she stood up. Jeff rose to his feet and grasped her upper arms before she could turn away. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Gabi. I only wanted to catch up after all these years.”
“So did I,” she admitted honestly, “but it’s late and you have to be on duty in the morning.”
“Don’t leave me yet,” he implored. His compelling mouth was too close to hers. She felt the warmth from his body as he slid his hands around her and pulled her into him. “It’s been too long since we last kissed each other. I have to kiss you again. I need to kiss you, if only for old times’ sake.”
“Jeff!” she cried helplessly as his dark head descended and his mouth covered hers in the old familiar way. Fourteen years might have passed, yet her body seemed to know by instinct where to fit as she melted into him.
But the years had brought changes. He was kissing her with a man’s kiss now, hot with desire and an urgency that caused her to forget time and place.
“You always were so beautiful to me,” he whispered in a husky voice, slowly devouring her. His mouth roved over her face, kissing, tasting every inch of skin. Eyelids, cheeks, nose and chin…every part of her features knew his touch. Driven by her long hunger for him, she kissed his rugged face, finding the cleft in his chin before seeking the mouth that had set her on fire.
Somehow they ended up entwined on the couch. One of his hands found its way to her hair. She felt his fingers tug gently at her curls, just the way they used to do. Memories surfaced, so sweet and piercing, that she groaned from the exquisite pain of them, and a few tears escaped.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered, leaning over her. He wiped the moisture from her temple with his thumb. “I tasted those salty tears.”
Her body quivered. “I’m so full of emotions right now, I feel like I’m going to explode.”
His lips twitched. “Well, we can’t have that. What would Nicky say?”
In her emotional hysteria, Gabi giggled, just as her daughter would have done.
“What do you say we lie here for the rest of the night and just hold each other? For old times’ sake.”
This was a moment for honesty. “I need you to hold me so I’ll believe we really met up with each other again.”
He stole a kiss from her parted lips before pulling her against him so her face was buried in his neck. “Do you know how many times I would have killed to spend a night with you like this?” he whispered into her hair. His hand slid up to the back of her neck and caressed her there.
She could only admire his control because she didn’t have any. “I don’t want to think about the old days. It’s too painful.”
“Then we won’t. We’ll concentrate on the present and make the most of the time you’re here.”
The time I’m here.
Those words reverberated in her head. The walk down memory lane was all he was offering. Nothing more. What could she expect, when she sensed he might not be over his feelings for his ex-wife? Had she been the one to reject him? Gabi couldn’t imagine it.
Maybe it was a case of them not being able to live together, or without each other. Whatever had happened, some inner demon had kept him single since his divorce.
Grab tonight, Gabi. It would be the only night without Ashley. Gabi would take this gift and stay in his arms until the sun came up. “I won’t move if you won’t.”
“I’m not going anywhere unless there’s an emergency.”
“That’s good.” Knowing in her heart he would keep her safe from anything and anyone, she nestled closer. “I have so many questions, I don’t know where to start. What movies were you in?”
He named several dozen titles.
“I’ve seen at least half of them! I can’t believe I was watching you and didn’t know it.”
His lips grazed her ear. “Every time a film came out, I wondered if you’d see it.”
“When I get back to Rosemead, I’m going to rent all of them.” His soft chuckle curled through her body like a warm electric current. “What’s that work really like?” she asked.
“I can tell you it’s not glamorous. Sometimes the days last fourteen hours or more, in uncomfortable situations.”
“Like what, for example?”
“Having to stay submerged in water. Some locations are on mountains in a snowstorm, or out in the desert.”
“Did you make a good living?”
“In time I drew a six-figure income.”
“The way you put your life in danger, it ought to have been a lot more!”
His mouth roved over her cheek and neck, sending thrilling sensations through her body. “You should have been my press agent.”
“Did you have one?”
“Oh, yes. Arnie Freeman.”
“I’ve heard of him.”
“He’s a pain, but he’s good. I needed him to negotiate contracts for me because I was in school and had to balance my time in both places.”
Gabi cupped the side of Jeff’s face. “What were the most dangerous stunts you ever did?”
He kissed her palm. “The pyrotechnic scenes. It takes hours to set up the charges for a scene with explosions. Most stunts involving motorcycles require careful measurements and the construction of ramps and crash barriers. All my scenes had to be rehearsed as closely as possible to the actual stunt, without any of the risk factors.”
She groaned. “It sounds so hard.”
“What was hard was having to film stunts multiple times to catch additional camera angles, or because something wasn’t right the first time through. But it isn’t practical to reshoot the scene. If the chase culminates with an explosion and a motorcycle crash, doing it over becomes too expensive. That’s why the film crew wants to be sure the shot is captured right the first time, to avoid costly and dangerous second takes.”
“You were lucky to get out of the business before you got permanently injured.”
“That was the idea. I’d made some sound investments and was ready to move on to what I really wanted to do. As you know, a person doesn’t become a park ranger to make money.”
“Neither does a schoolteacher, but like you, I love my work. Ashley goes to school with me and we eat lunch together and go home together. It’s been a perfect solution for us.”
“She’s a perfect little girl.”
“I think so, but
I’m so frightened now that Ryan’s back.” She burrowed instinctively against Jeff. He wrapped his arms tighter around her.
“Do you trust your attorney?” She nodded. “Then let him worry about it. You’re on vacation with Ashley. With you here, I feel like I’m on one, too. We’ll make the most of it. What do you say?”
“You’re a very special person,” she whispered against his throat. Full of emotion, she felt tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.
“You’re crying. How come?”
“Because I know this contentment can’t last. Just keep holding me.”
“I have no plans to let you go.”
At those comforting words, she gave in to her emotional exhaustion and let oblivion claim her.
The next time she became aware of her surroundings, the sun was streaming in the living-room windows and she was alone on the couch. No Sergei. Jeff had thrown a light blanket over her. Was it nine already?
She rolled off the couch and got to her feet. He’d made her feel so secure, she’d fallen into a deep sleep and hadn’t heard him leave. What if Rachel had called because Ashley wanted to talk to her?
Before she did anything else, Gabi hurried into the kitchen with her cell phone to find the numbers Jeff had written down for her. Next to the pad, he’d left her a note, with a key lying on top.
“Hey, Gabs—” his old nickname for her almost tripled her heartbeat “—good morning! I don’t know about you, but I got the best sleep I’ve had in ages. Sergei and I will be out checking different campsites for damage since the flood. If you want to go anyplace, take the Volvo. It’s full of gas. Enjoy your day. I’ll call you later. We’ll have dinner tonight at the Ahwahnee. You and Ashley will love it.”
Euphoria caused Gabi to squeeze the note in her hand before phoning the Rossiter house. Rachel answered on the third ring. “Hi, Gabi!”
“Hi! I’m sorry I’m calling so late. I can’t believe how long I slept in. I never do this! How’s Ashley?”
“The children had the time of their lives last night. This morning at breakfast they made their plans for the day, then ran over to Annie’s to play horseshoes.”
Ranger Daddy Page 12
