RANGER

by Samantha Leal

  As she was getting dressed, she couldn’t help but think about the man in the hallway. She tried to remember if Beth had given her his name, then she recalled it was Jeffrey. He was blonde and blue eyed, with broad shoulders, surely over six feet tall. It was the way in which he had looked at her and his set jaw that caused her to think about it for the rest of the evening. She really did not care for hunting, but with Beth’s words in mind, she figured she could go down to dinner with an open mind.

  Beth’s boarding house was one of the best places in town to get food. Many wanted her to turn the old place into a restaurant, but she insisted if you wanted her food, you would just have to stay the night and have dinner. It was one of Lois’ favorite times as she wasn’t much of a cook herself and had mainly subsisted on take-out in the city for the past year. There was also more than a passing thought of seeing Jeffrey again, and at least the next time, she would have some clothes on.

  Chapter 2

  Lois finally made her way downstairs and the aroma of a home cooked meal immediately greeted her as she entered the dining room. Beth had made her favorite, as she always did on the first evening of a summer trip.

  “Smells great, Miss Beth!” she chirped gleefully. Taking a seat, she smiled over at one of the men already seated at the small table. He introduced himself and Lois shook his hand. She nodded to Jeffrey, who was sitting a few chairs down the length of the table. She was unsure whether a proper introduction was even necessary at this point considering their unofficial meeting in the hall only minutes before.

  The three of them quickly fell into conversation about some of the animal sightings around the hotel, and Jeffrey’s face lit up with excitement as he told them about the polar bears he had spotted a few days before.

  “I only get to take one head home. There are some endangerment laws, but I paid a pretty penny to get the one, so I want it to be the biggest damn one I can get out there. I almost got one earlier this week, but thankfully I missed because that one was a runt compared to the two I saw today.” He paused with a confused look on his face, “They are strange creatures though. I’ve never seen an animal that acted like these bears.”

  Lois was entirely disgusted with the conversation. The idea that someone would pay money to kill something was beyond her. It was not as if he would be eating the bear, he only wanted the head as a trophy. She shook the image from her mind and decided that sleep was in order.

  Miss Beth looked at her half-full bowl with questioning eyes, and Lois shrugged. She bade the group goodnight and plodded up the stairs. Her hopes of a romance with the striking Swedish man were off the table.

  ***

  The next morning, Lois was up and at the dock before seven. The older gentlemen that had let her use his boat in previous years had died over the winter and Lois had sought other arrangements. She had talked to an old friend who suggested she contact Conner Vern. She knew the name from town, but had not met anyone from the locally esteemed Vern family in person. Vern Corporations owned nearly half of the business that operated in Barrow.

  Conner wasn’t able to arrange meeting with her, but keys and a schedule had been left at the boarding house for her use, so all she had to do was find the boat. Looking down at the dock number she had written down, it became clear that the boat was a lot smaller than she had hoped.

  “Well, less money on gas,” she said to herself as she looked at the small boat that was looking like a dinghy compared to all of the others docked around it. She was too eager to get out on the water for it to matter much anyway. She approached her mini boat from the dock and noticed the name, “Fate” painted across the bow. When she climbed onboard, she was pleasantly surprised. While it was old, there were many modern conveniences that she had not enjoyed in a boat before. A crocheted red blanket was neatly rolled and tied with twine, lying in the captain’s chair. She reached to unfold it, and discovered a beautiful notecard attached to the twine. It had a helpful note with basic instructions and well wishes, and at the bottom “The Verns” was signed in large scrolling letters. As she pulled the blanket tightly around her shoulders, she wondered for a moment what kind of people they were, feeling certain that members of the Vern family did not actually take the time to sign cards for placing in each of their rental boats. Starting the engine up, the purr made her smile and she was soon untying herself from the dock and taking off towards the unbroken horizon.

  The cool wind whipped in her hair and pulled the strands loose as she weaved her way around large blocks of ice that were a permanent feature in the landscape. Her eyes were always peering through the small ripples on the surface of the water, waiting to catch a glimpse of the majestic creatures she was there to see. The whales were her favorite, but there were seals and polar bears to spy on as well. She had taken her camera in hopes of getting a little work done, but the breeze distracted her from any sense of work, it was a morning for simply admiring the nature around her in reverie.

  The boat was tiny, especially in the open water, but she felt more conspicuous than before. In the past, she had sailed on a small barge even when it had only been her aboard with the old man who owned it in the years following her parents’ death. It made sense when she considered the size of the mammals she studied. The smaller boat glided through the water with ease, making the work easier and the sights far more enjoyable. It felt as though she were part of the surrounding habitat, mere inches from the water. She was falling in love with the boat as much as she had fallen in love with Barrow.

  On her way back in, Lois paused when she saw clouds of white fur moving on a small sheet of ice, not yet melted so early in June. It took her a moment to realize that she was looking at three massive polar bears. They all seemed to be adult, male bears – which did not make sense. Polar bears were known to be solitary animals. She had never heard of so many males gathering at once and she was intrigued. She watched them for some time, turning the boat motor off. They were clearly waiting for the seals swimming in the water below the ice to come up for air, each bear at a different hole. The surface of the water moved at one of the openings, there was a flurry of action, and then blood covered the white surroundings. Lois instantly thought of Jeffrey’s quest. She sent a small prayer up that he wouldn’t catch one of the majestic creatures. They were far too fierce and beautiful to be mounted on a wall in such a barbaric way.

  After the incident and the breathtaking view of the bears, Lois decided to take Jeffrey out. She had a notion that maybe she could talk him out of it by helping him to see things from her point of view. There were plenty of things to do besides hunt, and she knew that he was only there a few more days. He just needed to be kept busy until then.

  Chapter 3

  The grand plan to dissuade Jeffrey from his quest had ended in a rather dull afternoon. He approached most things apathetically and had few conversational skills. Lois was irritated to find that he had no interest in admiring the fascinating ways of the wildlife they saw on their boat ride, but only spoke up when he saw something worth mounting on his wall. She entered Jimmy’s bar with him after their return, hoping to give him one more chance to redeem his seemingly negative personality, or lack thereof.

  Conner Vern stared at the door, bristling at the sight of the dirty hunter entering. He had been watching the man for a week knew he was dangerous. What surprised him was the beautiful dark haired woman on his arm. He had recognized her from earlier in the day, felt her, but now she had walked in with him. He stared at the couple for a few moments, before heading back to the bar for another drink. Picking up his gin and tonic he stood to go, but after starting back toward the pool table, turned again and sat on the barstool next to Lois instead. He wasn’t going to skulk off now; this girl couldn’t possibly know what kind of man she had involved herself with.

  Conner blatantly ignored Jeffrey and could tell this made him angry, but he couldn’t care less and focused his attention solely on the woman in front of him who was driving his senses mad with her close p
roximity.

  “Hey, do you want to dance?” he asked her with an inviting smile.

  She seemed surprised by the invitation and looked back at Jeffrey who was fuming behind her.

  “I don’t think I should,” she said shyly.

  “Are you married to that guy?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Well, then come on and dance with me, please?”

  Lois was torn for a moment, but Conner’s open attraction to her was magnetic, and the more she had tried to make conversation with Jeffrey throughout the afternoon in the boat, the more she had seen that she could never be attracted to a man like that. Jeffrey was still playing the cool and silent guy, anyway. Maybe his chances were up.

  Grabbing Conner’s hand, she walked to the small wooden area that served as the dance floor. “Why did you do that?” she asked curiously, now out of Jeffrey’s earshot.

  “Because a man like that shouldn’t be touching a woman like you, that’s why.” He pulled her closer.

  She gasped a little as his chest pressed firmly against her. She had just met him moments before, but he seemed to handle her as if she was already his. The song on the jukebox was slow and she swayed in rhythm with him. “I’m Lois, in case you’re interested in names or anything like that,” she said with a slight tone of sarcasm.

  “I’m Conner Vern,” he replied.

  “Ah ha!” she said.

  Conner looked confused.

  She laughed. “I actually rent your boat three times a week. I must say that I love that boat.”

  His eyes lit up. “Lois Claire. Now I get it! I didn’t know that was you. I’ve been planning on coming out Monday to meet you, but I see you’ve already taken her out.”

  “I hope you don’t mind. The agreement started today, so there was nothing holding me here on land.”

  “You like it out there?”

  “Love it.”

  “What do you do again?”

  “I’m in research back home. Here, it’s just for fun, so I study arctic creatures. Observation, photography, that sort of thing.”

  The song ended and she turned to pull away, but he held her tighter.

  “Why are you in such a rush to go back to him? He’s not for you.”

  Lois was caught off guard and wondered for a moment why he seemed to care so much.

  Conner picked up on her reaction. “I would just hate to see a nice girl like you end up with someone like that.”

  “What do you have against him?” she asked.

  “He’s careless and someone will get hurt before he’s had his little victory. This isn’t his first time here, and I hope he leaves again without his trophy.”

  “He is gruesome. He has his sights set on a big polar bear. I bet it was one of the three beauties I saw today. You should have seen them. They were absolutely stunning and I couldn’t imagine anyone hurting them. I thought there were laws against that kind of thing.”

  “Well, rich people get a day pass,” he scoffed. Lois cocked her head to the side.

  “Isn’t your family the wealthiest in Barrow?”

  Conner did not answer. The music had started again and his hands guided her around the small square floor. A few others had joined in and the two were made to move closer. Her heart was clamoring in her chest, and she looked up at him. He felt good against her and she could feel heat rising to her face.

  After the song was over, the two of them sauntered back to the bar. Jeffrey had gone and Lois didn’t mind. She had truthfully forgotten all about him until Conner brought him up again,

  “Sorry. I think your boyfriend took off. Maybe we shouldn’t have had that second dance.”

  “Don’t pretend to be sorry. That was why you wanted a second dance!” she said with a smirk.

  He looked down sheepishly for a moment. “Okay, you caught me.” He looked back into her face, his eyes burning into hers.

  She blushed. He was just as large as Jeffrey, but leaner. His muscles were less bulky, yet more defined, and she found herself wanting to dance once more just to feel him pressed against her.

  “So you have me, now what?” Lois was surprised by the sound of her own words. She had not meant it to be a provocation, but as fire leapt into his eyes, she could see that it was. “Wow that came out wrong. Sorry.”

  Conner frowned. “I like the idea of having you.”

  Lois giggled and then took a sip of her rum and coke. She looked around them and suddenly realized that it was crowded. It had felt to her as if they were the only two people in the world for the past half hour. He had a way of holding her gaze that made her feel drawn to him, like he was the only thing that she needed.

  “So what do you do? Do you work down at the firm?”

  “No, I make boats down the coast. I come here for the weekends. You should come out with me Sunday, it’s supposed to be beautiful. I would love the company.”

  She agreed and after two more slow dances in his arms, she said goodnight. He asked her to stay, but Lois had to be up early in the morning. She had promised to help Beth bake bread loaves for the local church charity auction.

  “Sunday then?” Conner asked, searching her eyes for confirmation.

  She nodded her head with a girlish smile and headed back to the boarding house.

  Chapter 4

  Sunday arrived before Conner knew it. He spent most of his day Saturday poking around for information about Lois. When he discovered that she had been coming to Barrow for years, he wondered why he had not seen her before. She stood out from the other girls in town with her sweet charm, flowing dark hair, and tan skin. She was radiant, and he was amazed that he could have missed someone so lovely in a small town this many summers in a row. It was the way of things though. He knew that fate couldn’t be rushed, and though he wished he had met her before, he was grateful now, and only hoped Jeffrey wouldn’t be interference.

  He went up the broken walkway to the boarding house doors with energy in his step. It was going to be a good day. When Lois answered the door, his breath caught for a moment. She was wearing a long blue dress with a light grey sweater. Her figure was distracting; the top of the dress hugged her breasts and fit tightly at her small waist. As soon as she took a step out, the wind caught the bottom of her dress and hair, sending them flying around her. There was something wild and mysterious about her, as if her spirit was full of brilliant color that danced and soared about, just like the royal blue fabric flowing around her ankles now.

  “Conner?” Lois was asking when he zoned back to reality.

  “Sorry, what?”

  “I asked if you were ready to go.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t see a car.”

  “I thought we could walk, it’ll be nice. Give us a chance to talk.” He smiled, handing her a cup of fresh coffee he had brewed and poured into a thermos. He wanted to hear anything and everything about her.

  She felt like she had relayed her life story in detail by the time they got through the town and to the docks.

  “So where are we going?” she asked as they climbed in to the small boat.

  “To one of my islands.” The way he said it was so casual it took a moment for it to register fully.

  “One, as in, you have more than one?”

  “Of course.” Conner put his sunglasses on and prepared the boat to set out.

  She shook her head. He looked like celebrity in his boat shoes and glasses. She found herself staring at him when they were finally ready to set off from the dock.

  He caught her eye before she could look away and smiled from ear to ear. “This is my favorite way to spend an afternoon,” he said as he nestled into the chair like it was the most comforting place on earth.

  The day was as beautiful as he had said it would be. He was unlike anyone that she had ever met before and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him.

  The engine slowed and she looked around to see why. Her own thoughts had kept her staring off in the distan
ce, but she realized that they must be at the island. It was dense except for a small clearing with a rustic looking cabin. It was not at all what she had expected, but when he began pulling out buckets and sticks from underneath one of the seats, she thought he had lost his mind.

  “Come on. Don’t tell me you haven’t been clamming before? Razorbacks are the best and this is my secret spot. I come up here a couple of times in the summer and just camp overnight, roasting clams.”

  “Sounds nice. I can’t say that I have ever gone clamming. So this should be fun. I wish I would have known what we were doing, I wouldn’t have worn such a long skirt.” Lois pulled her dress to the side, knotting the skirt so it would not drag in the muddy bank of the small island.

  He helped her off and her body slid down his front as he lowered her to the ground. Her senses were increasingly aware of any contact with him, and the intensity of arousal she felt caused her to lose composure for a few moments, laughing awkwardly and clearing her throat.

  “You seemed like the kind of girl that would like this.”

  “I’m sure I will.” Lois was sure that she would like just about anything with Conner. He had such an easy going and engaging personality that she had not expected from someone in his position. He was just a normal guy, certainly not the stereotypical son of a multimillionaire business tycoon. Until he got a business call from Tokyo on his satellite phone, Lois had almost forgotten that she was with a Vern.

  The morning was gone and the day was warming up to a perfect fifty degrees. The wind blew constantly, but it was delightful with the sun overhead. They both had their buckets filled with clams when she followed him back to the small cabin two hours later. He started a fire in the wood stove, then they returned to the water to rinse the clams of thickly caked mud that covered the shells. Lois had never tried them, but she didn’t tell him why. They were funny looking, but that day, the smell was enough to entice her. He helped her open the first one and after a bite, she understood why he enjoyed the process so much