A Ranger For Christmas

“Obviously not the park’s Christmas events,” he said drily.

As she shouldered on her jacket, he reached to pull the fabric up and over her shoulders. The gentlemanly gesture shouldn’t have affected her, but just as it had yesterday it rattled her. Having him touch her, even in such an impersonal way, made her acutely aware of his tall, hard body and the utterly masculine scent surrounding him.

“I didn’t miss the important issues,” she said, as she zipped up the front of the hunter green jacket. “Besides, this won’t be my first Christmas at the park.”

“It’s a relief to know you’re on top of things.”

She darted a glance up at him, then wanted to groan at the tempting little grin on his lips.

“You look like you’re perfectly capable of walking without me leading you.”

Chuckling under his breath, he nudged her toward the exit. “Ouch! You’re a regular little cocklebur this morning. Did you have enough coffee at breakfast?”

Actually, she’d tossed and turned for hours last night. Then, sometime after she’d fallen into a fitful sleep, the electricity had apparently blinked on and off to cause the alarm clock to miss the five o’clock buzzer. She’d overslept and barely had time to shower and dress, much less drink a cup of coffee. But she wasn’t going to admit as much to this man. He’d probably remind her that she should’ve made sure to have fresh batteries in the clock for a backup system.

“Not exactly. But I’ll be fine.”

Outside, as the two of them walked to their vehicle, a cool north wind was whipping across the parking lot, while a bank of gray clouds in the western sky suggested there might be rain in store for them. But a tease was most likely all that would come from the clouds. Rain was a rare commodity in this part of the state, and snowfall even more extraordinary. The chance of seeing snowflakes was as far-fetched as the idea of her having another baby. It wasn’t going to happen.

Trying to shove that dismal thought from her head, Vivian jerked a black scarf from the pocket of her jacket and tied it around her neck.

“Have you ever seen a white Christmas, Sawyer?”

“No. Have you?”

“The only time I’ve ever seen snow was during a trip to the San Juan Mountains in Colorado,” she said.

She opened the driver’s door to the SUV and slid behind the steering wheel. Sawyer quickly settled himself in the passenger seat and she started the engine.

As he buckled his seat belt, he said, “I saw snow once. On a trip to Flagstaff. It was melting the moment it hit the ground. So I’ve never seen a pile of the stuff before. Can’t say that I want to.”

She backed out of the parking spot, then pulled onto the asphalt road leading away from headquarters. “I couldn’t live in a northern state. I don’t like to be cold or housed in.”

“I heard once that Onida was in North Dakota.”

Surprised by his out-of-the-blue comment, she glanced at him. “That’s your mother?”

He grimaced. “Onida is the woman who gave birth to me. I wouldn’t categorize her as a mother, though.”

Vivian could understand his reasoning. If her mother had walked away from her and never returned, she’d probably be thinking in those same terms. “Did you try to search for her?”

He shook his head. “Why would I want to find her?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe to show her what she’s missed. To show her the fine young man you’ve grown to be. Even without her help.”

From the corner of her eye Vivian could see him shrug one shoulder, as though the woman’s opinion didn’t matter to him. The idea was a sad one. Nearly as sad as the thought that she’d never have the big family she’d always dreamed about.

“She’s dead, Vivian.”

Her gaze left the road long enough to look in his direction, but all she could see was the back of his head as he stared out the passenger window.

“You mean, literally?”

He looked at her, his expression as bland as if they’d been discussing the weather. Either he held no emotion for the woman, or he was an expert at hiding his true feelings, Vivian decided.

“Years ago, Grandmother was told by a mutual friend that she died in a car accident. But we never bothered to search for her whereabouts. Either way, she’s dead to me.”

Deciding it would be best to let the subject drop, Vivian remained silent as she steered the vehicle into the first campground on their work schedule.

The first three sites were quiet, prompting Sawyer to say, “Everyone must be sleeping late this morning.”

“Not everyone,” Vivian replied as she spotted a young woman with a blond ponytail wearing a pair of short shorts hurrying to the side of the road. Behind her, a small girl was struggling to control a leashed black-and-white dog.

When the woman began waving her arms at them, Sawyer said, “Looks like she wants us to stop.”

Vivian parked in a safe spot out of the way of traffic, but before either of them could depart the vehicle, the woman raced up to Sawyer’s window.

He lowered the glass and she gave him a wide smile.

“Are you two rangers?” she asked.

“That’s right,” Sawyer said. “I’m Ranger Whitehorse and she’s Ranger Hollister. Can we help you with something?”

Even from her vantage point, Vivian could see the young woman was ogling Sawyer as though she’d just stumbled onto the most beautiful thing she’d ever laid eyes on.

“Uh—yes. Maybe you can. We wanted to go on the doggie hike or puppy walk or whatever it’s called. Is it somewhere around here?”

Sawyer looked to Vivian for help. “Sorry,” he said. “I haven’t had a chance to go through all the park projects yet.”

Leaning up in the seat, Vivian said to the woman, “Yes, it’s about a quarter mile north of here. Just follow the road until you see the signs to the hiking trailhead. But you’d better hurry.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “The ranger leading the group will be leaving in fifteen minutes and he’s always prompt.”

“Oh. Okay.” She shot Sawyer another engaging smile. “I don’t suppose you could give us a lift, could you?”

“No. Afraid not,” he said.

“Aww, guess we’ll have to hurry, then. I just hope the other ranger looks like you.”

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Vivian started the SUV and taking the hint, the young woman stepped out of the way.

Once she’d eased into gear and started down the road, Sawyer cleared his throat and turned an amused glance on Vivian.

“Park guests will ask a ranger anything,” he reasoned.

She let out a heavy breath. “I know. Over the years I’ve heard all sorts of things. Some of which I would never repeat.”

“She was a bit ditzy, but pretty,” he commented.

“You ought to be ashamed. She’s probably not a day past twenty.”