A Ranger For Christmas
Stella Bagwell
No romance on the job!Park ranger Vivian Hollister is not having a fling with Sawyer Whitehorse—no matter how attracted she is to her irresistible new partner. Not only is a workplace romance taboo, she has a daughter to raise. So why is she starting to feel that he is the only one who understands her?
No romance on the job!
Arizona park ranger Vivian Hollister is not having a holiday fling with Sawyer Whitehorse—no matter how attracted she is to her irresistible new partner. Not only is a workplace romance taboo, she has a daughter to raise. So why is she starting to feel that the Apache ranger is the one to help carry on her family legacy? A man to have and to hold forever...
“Stella Bagwell is a master of the cowboy romance.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller
After writing more than eighty books for Mills & Boon, STELLA BAGWELL still finds it exciting to create new stories and bring her characters to life. She loves all things Western and has been married to her own real cowboy for forty-four years. Living on the south Texas coast, she also enjoys being outdoors and helping her husband care for the horses, cats and dog that call their small ranch home. The couple has one son, who teaches high school mathematics and is also an athletic director. Stella loves hearing from readers. They can contact her at stellabagwell@gmail.com.
Also by Stella Bagwell (#u2ae6c223-a554-52fc-8562-8a230b840636)
Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch The
Arizona Lawman
Her Kind of Doctor
The Cowboy’s Christmas Lullaby His
Badge, Her Baby…Their Family?Her
Rugged Rancher
Christmas on the Silver Horn Ranch
Daddy Wore Spurs
The Lawman’s Noelle
The Little Maverick Matchmaker The
Maverick’s Bride-to-Order
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
A Ranger for Christmas
Stella Bagwell
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07847-4
A RANGER FOR CHRISTMAS
© 2018 Stella Bagwell
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
With much love to my brother, Charles Cook,
and my sister-in-law, Denise Cook.
Contents
Cover (#ub2d24d9d-78fb-5c01-afa7-03dafbd55c72)
Back Cover Text (#u8d5858c9-2be9-50e2-88c9-3327de2c37c8)
About the Author (#ub0ee7a84-ac1b-5dd2-b8ba-32eb9c362f4d)
Booklist (#u43e76055-d24c-5ac9-8d32-46222450ea00)
Title Page (#u3f2176d6-197e-5ac8-88ae-65469a17db35)
Copyright (#u578a6979-e923-5246-82a2-585cb97d6958)
Dedication (#ua3f0ed1c-2e17-51f8-9f7d-8b4e28e8729f)
Chapter One (#u6a166a5a-cfcc-5ecf-a0e2-b7c5a13b4261)
Chapter Two (#u46380262-ef13-557e-a01c-125738603116)
Chapter Three (#u2c26b032-5277-5b89-9783-abe40afcdd80)
Chapter Four (#u64336619-39c9-5d0a-90c8-ac6c59831808)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u2ae6c223-a554-52fc-8562-8a230b840636)
“How many times do I have to tell you, Mort? I don’t need another partner. I’ve got this.”
Park ranger Vivian Hollister rose from a wooden chair and began to pace around her supervisor’s small office. Beyond the open blinds, she could see the parking lot in front of the headquarters building was empty. Her fellow rangers had already headed out to patrol their allotted areas, while she’d been ordered to remain behind for a private meeting with Mort.
“Look, Viv, I’ll be the first to admit that you’re damned good at your job. You’ve been here at Lake Pleasant for a long time and I’ve never had to worry about you slacking off, or making a wrong decision about handling problems. But—”
Vivian didn’t allow him to finish. “But what? I’ve been here nine years, Mort. Going on ten. And by that length of time, you should know I have the routine down. Why bother bringing someone in to fill Louis’s place when I can handle the job on my own?”
The sixty-year-old man with red hair was tall and rawboned, with blue eyes that crinkled at the corners. He’d been Vivian’s supervisor from the day she’d been hired on at Lake Pleasant State Park in Arizona. Since then, he’d not only been a great boss, but he’d also become her friend, and she’d expected him to understand her reluctance to work long days with a stranger. Instead, his patient smile made it clear she was wasting time trying to argue her point.
“If Louis was only going to miss a day or two of work, I’d say fine, Viv. Go ahead and handle it on your own. But at the very least, it’s going to be four to six months before Louis’s broken leg will be ready for work again. And with the Christmas holiday coming up, the park is going to be brimming with extra campers. Like it or not, you’re going to need help.”
Vivian’s jaw dropped as she turned to stare at her boss. “Six months! I talked to Louis over the phone yesterday morning. He told me he’d be back at work in two or three weeks!”
Mort shook his head. “That was before the doctor discovered the tibia bone in Louis’s leg was more than a stress fracture. It’s going to require surgery to fix it. If things go well and Louis takes care of himself, he’ll be back to work by spring.”
Vivian stifled a groan. Today was the second day of December. Spring seemed like eons away. She couldn’t survive without Louis for that length of time.
Completely deflated by this turn of events, Vivian wilted into the chair she’d vacated moments earlier. “Oh, no,” she muttered. “Six months. Poor Louis.”
“No need to worry about Louis. While he’s laid up Inez will spoil him rotten. It’s filling his spot here at work that’s my concern right now.” Mort glanced at a large clock positioned on the wall to his right. “And I’d say your new partner should be arriving any minute now.”
His unexpected announcement caused Vivian to bounce up from the chair. “This morning? Now? Are you kidding me?”
Mort was about to make some sort of reply when a knock had Vivian whirling away from the supervisor’s desk to stare in horror-like fascination at the door. How could he have sprung such a surprise on her? Why hadn’t he warned her that she’d be meeting a new partner today? At the very least, she would’ve had time to mentally prepare herself.
“Come in,” Mort called out.
With her hands behind her, Vivian unconsciously wrapped her fingers around the edge of Mort’s desk in an effort to brace herself. Man or woman, young or old, this couldn’t be good, she thought. Louis was the only partner she’d ever had. He’d always been like a father figure to her and she trusted him implicitly. She didn’t want to share long working hours with a stranger.
She sensed Mort rising from his desk chair, but after that everything in the room suddenly faded, except for the man walking through the doorway. Even if she’d had time to think, he was like nothing she could’ve imagined for a partner.
Somewhere in his late twenties, he was tall and lean, with bronze skin, blue-black hair and black eyes hooded beneath a pair of black brows. High cheekbones and a hawkish nose dominated his angular features, yet it was the faint curve of his thin lips that caught and held her attention.
Who was this man? Rangers from other areas of the state sometimes visited Lake Pleasant headquarters, but if this man had been one of them, she would’ve definitely remembered. Just looking at him made her feel hot all over.
“Sawyer, good to see you,” Mort greeted as he went to shake the man’s hand. “And right on time, too.”
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Woolsey,” he said as he gave Mort’s hand a hearty pump. “I had planned to be here earlier, but a rancher on the res decided this morning was a good time for a cattle drive down the highway.”
“No worries about the time. And you needn’t bother with the Mr. Woolsey. Just call me Mort, like everyone else around here. Except for Viv. She calls me Mort, plus a few other things I’d rather not repeat,” he joked, then motioned for Vivian to join them. “Come here, Viv, and let me introduce you to your new partner.”
Certain she’d suddenly walked into some sort of hazy dream, Vivian drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move toward the two men.
“Viv, this is Sawyer Whitehorse. He’ll be working with you until Louis is back on his feet. And, Sawyer, this is Vivian Hollister.”
The man flashed a smile at her and extended his hand. Vivian fought off the urge to wipe her sweaty palm on the hip pocket of her twill pants and offered him her hand.
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hollister,” he said. “From what I hear, it’s going to be tough trying to fill Louis’s shoes. But I’ll do my best.”
In spite of the cold weather outside, his hand felt as warm as a sunbaked rock and just as hard.
“Hello, Mr. Whitehorse. I—uh, didn’t learn until just a moment before you walked in that I was getting a new partner. But now that you’re here, welcome to Lake Pleasant State Park. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here.”
As he was still hanging on to her hand, his smile deepened and Vivian didn’t miss the dimple carving his right cheek. Was there anything unattractive about the man? she wondered. So far she’d not seen it.
Beneath the hunter green jacket with ranger patches adorning the upper arms, she could see that his shoulders were very broad, while his chest narrowed down to a trim waist. The trousers of his matching green uniform hugged narrow hips and long muscled thighs that evoked images of strength and stamina.
Darn it. Sawyer Whitehorse was wearing the same uniform that every other park ranger at Lake Pleasant wore, so why did he make it look so downright sexy?
He said, “Thank you, Ms. Hollister. I’m looking forward to it.”
Seemingly pleased with this new pairing of employees, Mort grinned. “Don’t you two think you ought to lighten things up and make it Vivian and Sawyer? The park guests might find it a bit odd to hear you addressing each other as Ms. and Mr.”
“That’s fine with me,” Sawyer said with another wide grin aimed at Vivian.
Was that a gleam in his dark eyes? Dear Lord, what was this man thinking? Didn’t he realize she was several years older than him? Besides that, she was going to be his working partner for the next six months, not a sex object.
“Please call me Vivian,” she said, while purposely extricating her hand from his warm grip.
“Well, that’s better,” Mort said with approval. “I think—” Before he could finish, the phone on his desk rang. “Excuse me. This call is important. You two don’t need me to tell you what to do. Viv, show him around and get him acquainted with everything.”
Mort left them to go deal with the phone call and Vivian walked over to fetch her jacket and hat from a hall tree standing near the front entrance of the office.
As she started to jam her arm into the sleeve, Sawyer quickly came up behind her to assist her with the garment. As his hands smoothed the fabric over her shoulders, an odd flutter attacked the pit of her stomach.
None of her fellow rangers had ever done such a gentlemanly thing for her. To them she was no different just because she was a female. And that was the way she wanted it. Until this moment. Until Sawyer Whitehorse had walked through the door with his long, lean body and sinfully sexy grin. Something about this man treating her like a lady made her feel ridiculously special.
Get a grip, Viv. You haven’t had a man on your mind in years. You sure don’t need to let yourself start thinking about this one. He’s nothing but tall trouble.
“Thanks,” she murmured, then turned to face him. “Are you ready to head out, or is there anything you need to deal with here at headquarters first?”
“I’m ready. Just lead the way.”
When he’d first walked through the door, she’d thought his eyes were black like his hair. But now that she was up close, she could see they were the color of a rich coffee bean polished to a warm brown hue. The lashes surrounding them were thick and black and matched the brows that were presently arched with something very close to amusement.
Vivian levered her hat over her long, chestnut hair and tightened the stampede string beneath her chin. “I hope Mort told you that I rarely come back to headquarters for lunch. Mine and Louis’s section of the park is too far away to waste the time and gas. I hope you brought something with you.”
“It’s in my vehicle. I usually try to think ahead.”
He jammed his hat onto his head, then opened the door and gestured for her to precede him. As Vivian brushed past him, she caught the faint scent of soap and sage and some other spicy scent that was uniquely male. The fragrance evoked images of wild wilderness and making love next to a low-burning campfire.
Oh, my, where did that kind of erotic thought come from? And how was she possibly going to survive one day with Sawyer Whitehorse? Much less four to six months?
Shoving the questions aside, Vivian stepped through the doorway, while keenly aware of Sawyer following right behind her.
Outside, the sun was shining in a clear blue sky, but the north wind was crisp, even for December in Arizona. Vivian zipped the front of her jacket all the way to her throat as she walked briskly toward the SUV parked to the left of the building. Sitting next to it was a black Ford truck. Since she’d not seen the vehicle before, she could only assume it belonged to Sawyer.
“I’ll get my lunch and be right with you,” he said, his long stride easily keeping pace with her shorter one.
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll wait for you in the SUV.”
He veered off to collect his things from the truck and Vivian hurried on to take her place behind the steering wheel of the work vehicle. By the time Sawyer joined her, she already had the motor running and her seat belt snapped in place.
After placing his lunch bucket and a pair of leather gloves behind the seat, he paused to look at her. “Do you normally drive?”
She stared at him. “What kind of question is that?”
He grinned and the sight of all those straight white teeth gleaming against his dark skin made her breathing go haywire. She wasn’t sure whether she needed to pull in a lungful of oxygen or blow it out.
He said, “From the indignant look on your face, you think it’s a sexist one.”
“No! I mean, that isn’t what I’m thinking,” she told him. “I—Actually, I’m thinking now—before we get started—would be a good time for us to have a talk.”
He settled back in the seat and folded his arms comfortably against his chest. Vivian tried not to notice the way his biceps strained the sleeves of his jacket, or the empty ring finger on his left hand.
You really didn’t expect the man to be married, did you, Vivian? He has the look of a wild mustang stamped all over him.
“Okay, Vivian. Talk on. I have as much time as you do.”
He made her name sound like sweet cream dripping over a ripe strawberry. Which made it even more impossible to gather her jangled senses.
“All right,” she said, then, resisting the urge to lick her lips, she searched for the right place to start. “Like I said back in Mort’s office, I didn’t know you’d be coming today. Or any day, for that matter. This whole notion of me getting a new partner has thrown me. I was expecting to be going it alone.”
His brown eyes were roaming her face, yet Vivian purposely avoided locking gazes with him. Instead, she focused on the faint curve of his lower lip and the tiny cleft denting the bottom of his chin. He’d clearly shaved this morning. His bronze skin was smooth without the hint of a whisker and Vivian couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to rub her cheek against his.
“Is that what you wanted?” he asked. “To work alone?”
She cleared her throat and tried to gather her thoughts. “Not exactly. You see, Louis believed his leg was only slightly cracked and he’d most likely be back on the job in two or three weeks. Learning to work with someone new takes time and—”
“Patience,” he finished for her.
“Well, yes, I suppose that’s the right word for it. And I thought handling things on my own would be easier.”
“Have you had many partners since you became a ranger?” he asked.
“Only Louis. What about you?”
“Three. The first one retired. The second one moved to the northern part of the state. And now I have you.”
The way he said you very nearly made Vivian shiver. She reached for the knob that adjusted the heater and turned it up a notch. “I see. So how long have you been a ranger?”
“Nine years,” he answered. “I became a ranger right after I turned twenty.”
She’d guessed him to be in his late twenties and she’d guessed right. And though his age really had nothing to do with anything, it made her feel ridiculously old.
“There’s a tiny crease marring your forehead,” he said. “What’s the matter? Is there anything wrong with me being twenty-nine?”
“No. It’s just that you’re very young.” Compared to me, she almost added.
He studied her for a long moment before he finally asked, “How long have you been a ranger?”
“Nine years for me, too. Only I didn’t start as young as you. I’m thirty-five.”
He shrugged as though her age was insignificant and she supposed, to him, it was.
“You didn’t have to tell me your age,” he said, then flashed her a grin that was far too provocative. “But if it makes you feel any better you look a lot younger.”
She stared at him in disbelief while the urge to curse and laugh fought a duel inside her. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Just the facts, ma’am.”
There was a teasing lilt to his voice and it warned her that if she didn’t try to put a brake on his behavior right now, he would soon be outright flirting. And she couldn’t deal with that. Not from this man.
She squared around in the seat until the seat belt was straining tightly against her shoulder. “Look, Sawyer, I have no idea if your former work partners were male or female. Or what sort of relationship you had with them. But I think you need to know right up front, right now, that there isn’t going to be any flirting, any hanky-panky or anything else between us. The only thing the two of us are going to do together is...work. Got it?”
“That’s what I’m here for—work,” he said cheerfully. “I know the ranger rules. Hands off. No flirting. No hanky-panky. No anything else.”
He was making fun of her. Making her sound like some prim spinster afraid to have a man even look in her direction. Damn it.
He said, “You know, you’re even prettier when you get stirred up.”
Her jaw tight, she stared out the windshield. Damn, Mort. What in the hell was he thinking calling in a man like this to take Louis’s place? Why couldn’t he have called some man out of retirement, some old ranger that didn’t set her on fire each time she looked at him?
“What makes you think I’m stirred up?”
Leaning slightly toward her, he studied her face. “Because the little gold flecks in your green eyes are flashing fire and there’s a raspberry-red color staining your cheeks.”
What was it about this guy? She wanted to be outraged and insulted, yet deep down she felt flattered that he was implying she was attractive.
Oh, brother, she’d been without a man for much too long. At least, that’s what her younger brother Holt would say.
“Really?” she asked.
“Sure. We’re going to be the best of partners,” he said, then gestured toward the gearshift. “Don’t you think you should put that in Reverse and get us out of here? We’re burning daylight.”
Straightening away from him, she yanked the gearshift into R and tromped on the gas pedal to send the vehicle flying backward. If Mort happened to look out the window and see gravel spewing from the tires, then so be it, she thought crossly. He was the one who’d gotten her into this mess.
Chapter Two (#u2ae6c223-a554-52fc-8562-8a230b840636)
Sawyer would be lying if he said he was anything but shocked when he’d walked into Mort Woolsey’s office and found Vivian Hollister waiting for him.
When he’d been contacted about taking the temporary position here at Lake Pleasant, he’d been excited at the opportunity to work in different surroundings. He’d not bothered to ask who he’d be working with. And even when Mort had told him his new partner would be a woman, he’d not been fazed one way or the other. Sawyer liked to think of himself as easygoing and flexible. He could work with most anyone. And he’d expected Vivian Hollister to be no different. Still, he’d imagined his new partner was going to be a coarse, homely woman in her early fifties with a henpecked husband waiting for her at home.
Vivian Hollister had blown that image to smithereens. Tall and shapely with chestnut-red hair that brushed her shoulders, she had the face of an angel and the sass of an unbroken filly. Just looking at her sent his thoughts in all sorts of naughty directions. And to make matters worse, she knew it.
As for the husband waiting on her at home, he wasn’t sure about that yet. Back in Mort’s office, he’d checked out her ring finger and there definitely hadn’t been any sort of band or diamonds to brand her as some man’s wife. But that hardly meant she was unattached. For all he knew, she could have a special boyfriend, or even a live-in lover. No doubt, a woman who looked like her had men circling around her like a pack of hungry coyotes.
“Where did you work before?”
Her question brought him out of his daydreaming and he looked over to see her focus was on the narrow blacktopped road. So far they’d been traveling through open desert hills dotted with spiny bayonet, sage, cacti and agave. To his right, in the far distance, he caught glimpses of blue water.
“At Dead Horse Ranch State Park. It’s near Cottonwood. Are you familiar with the area?”
“A little. Enough to know the landscape is far different up there than it is here. You have trees and forests and creeks. We mostly have thorns, horned lizards and rattlesnakes. Are you sure you can handle it until spring ends?”
He chuckled. “I can handle most anything—for a while.”
“If you live in Cottonwood, you have a long commute,” she commented.
“I live on the Yavapai-Apache reservation west of Camp Verde. Once I get on 17 the drive isn’t all that bad.”
She darted him a glance. “You have family there? On the reservation?”
“Only my grandmother. I live with her.”
“Oh.”
His gaze slipped over her profile to eventually land on the soft, sweet curve of her lips. Did she have a special man that kissed her until she was wrapping her arms around his neck and begging for more?
Trying to shake off that image, he repeated her one-word reply. “Oh. What does that mean? You can’t figure why I’d live on the reservation?”
“No. It means I’m a bit surprised that you live with your grandmother. I figured you’d have a bachelor pad in town.”
Chuckling again, he shook his head. “Me live in a town? Never. And I’d never leave my grandmother. She raised me from a little boy. It’s time for me to take care of her now.”
She shot him an odd look that he couldn’t quite decipher. Maybe she considered it strange, even shiftless, for a man of his age to still be living with his grandmother in the same house he’d grown up in. Some of his friends thought so. They’d often encourage him to move off the reservation so that he’d be closer to his work and all the excitement and entertainment the city had to offer. But none of them understood what he deemed most important in his life.
“Is your grandmother elderly?”
“Nashota is seventy-seven. And thankfully in great health. When I said take care of her—I didn’t mean she was decrepit. I meant financially and to make sure she knows that she’s loved and has a purpose for living. That kind of thing.”
She remained quiet for a long time, and though Sawyer would’ve liked to know what was going on in that pretty head of hers, he didn’t ask. It wasn’t often that he talked to a woman about his grandmother or his personal life. And he wasn’t sure why he’d said anything to Vivian Hollister. But there was something soft and alluring about her that tugged at him. Something that made her very different from the women he normally associated with.
After a moment, she said, “You’re a lucky man, Sawyer. All of my grandparents have passed on. I miss not being able to spend time with them.”
She understood. And he suddenly realized Vivian Hollister was far more than a pretty female in a ranger uniform. The knowledge left him a little uneasy. It wasn’t in his nature or his plan to ever get serious about a woman. And he definitely didn’t want to develop an important attachment to this one.
Hell, why would he be worrying about such a thing? He was an expert at playing the field. He knew how to enjoy a woman without letting his heart take a serious dive. Enjoying some romantic time with Vivian shouldn’t put him in a risky situation. He wouldn’t let it.
“That’s why I want to be around for these last years of her life. Some of my friends call me corny and a few other things. For being so close to my grandmother. But that’s all right. I have a tough hide.”
“I wouldn’t call your devotion corny. I’d call it admirable.”
Admirable. Sawyer couldn’t remember ever being called that by anyone before. Especially a woman. Granted, he was basically a good guy. But he was hardly one to be admired. It wouldn’t be long before Vivian figured that out for herself. Still, for now, he might as well enjoy her approval for as long as it lasted, he thought.
He forced his gaze to move away from her and on to the landscape passing the passenger window. “Is this the route you and Louis usually patrol?”
“This is it. There’s nearly a hundred and fifty camping sites in the park, so the responsibilities for those are divided among the rangers. This is the area Louis and I keep tabs on. Along with several hiking trails.”
“What about the lake itself? I understand there are several water sports going on around here for most of the year.”
“That’s right. Fishing, boating, scuba diving and swimming. Our duties don’t include visitors on the water. The park has specially trained rangers for that job. So we don’t have to concern ourselves with those folks.” She wheeled the SUV onto a curved blacktopped road that entered a large camping area. “I don’t know about Dead Horse Ranch State Park, but you can see we have lots of snowbirds during the winter months.”
As she drove very slowly through the campgrounds, Sawyer eyed the motor homes and camp trailers parked on the desert hillside. A few mesquite trees and tall saguaros dotted the landscape, along with a variety of cacti and thorny chaparrals. The rugged landscape appealed to Sawyer. Almost as much as the woman sitting beside him.
“Do you have many problems with visitors carving into the saguaros or that sort of thing?”
“Most of the park visitors understand the rules not to disturb the trees or vegetation. But from time to time there are some who decide it’s more fun to vandalize than to enjoy the beauty of nature.”
“Same at Dead Horse Ranch. I might as well tell you that it doesn’t bother me to write those kinds of people a ticket.”
She glanced at him. “It doesn’t bother me, either. Honest mistakes are a different matter. Especially when children make them. But to me, deliberate acts are unpardonable.”
She sounded as though she could be firm when needed and flexible when the situation warranted. Thank goodness she didn’t sound like one of those gung-ho rangers, who considered themselves more as deputy sheriffs rather than park protectors.
He glanced out the window just as they passed a site with an elderly man cooking at a built-in grill. “Kind of cold to be cooking breakfast outside this morning,” Sawyer commented. “I take it the park doesn’t have a fire ban on right now.”
“No. If at all possible, we try to avoid fire bans. Visitors especially enjoy cooking out. And folks from the northern states think this sort of weather is warm.”
He chuckled. “Right. T-shirts in forty-degree weather. We see the same thing at Dead Horse Ranch,” he said, then glanced in her direction. “Do you live close by? Or do you have a long commute to work?”
“I live a few miles out of Wickenburg. So the drive isn’t all that bad.”
He waited with hopes she’d add something more about her personal life. To his disappointment, she remained silent so he asked, “No other rangers from that area to carpool with?”
“No. What about you?”
He shook his head. “Not that I know of. Anyway, I’m independent. I like to come and go on my own.”
She looked at him and smiled and Sawyer decided for the next six months he was going to have a hell of a time trying to keep his mind on his work. There was something totally sexy about the way the corners of her lips tilted upward and her green eyes glimmered like sunlight on the water.
“Me, too,” she said, then her expression turned thoughtful. “Maybe we have more in common than I first thought.”
He tried not to grin, but he couldn’t help it. She made him feel very happy that he was a man. And as of this morning, a very lucky man. “Oh, I expect we’re going to discover we have a lot in common, Vivian.”
The tone of his voice must have given his thoughts away because she suddenly rolled her eyes and focused her attention back to her driving.
She said, “As long as the hanky-panky isn’t one of the things we have in common, then we’ll get along fine.”
He laughed. “Oh, Vivian. You’re so prim and pretty.”
Shaking her head, she said, “And you’re so—ridiculous.”
“Oh, come on. You know you want to laugh with me. And you know you already like me. Don’t you?”
He could see the corners of her lips twitching as she fought to hold back a smile.
“Stop it. Stop it right now,” she ordered in a voice that was more playful than demanding.
“No. You stop, Viv, right now.”
Her head jerked in his direction and she frowned at him in stunned fascination. “What?”
“Back up. To the campsite we just passed on my side. The guy was changing the oil in his truck.”
“That’s not exactly a crime, Sawyer,” she pointed out.
“No. But I want to make sure he doesn’t think he’s going to dispose of all that used oil back at the sanitary station.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” she admitted. “And I should have. We’ve caught people trying to dump all sorts of environmental hazards into the sewer tank. Hopefully this guy plans to haul the oil to the nearest town and dispose of it properly.”
“We’re going to make sure he does.”
Vivian jammed the vehicle in Reverse and slowly backed to the entrance of the campsite.
“I’ll let you deal with this one,” she said smugly, as the two of them climbed out of the SUV. “You’re the one who spotted it.”
“Thanks,” he said drily. “I always like to start my day off being a jerk.”
“Don’t you mean doing your duty?” she asked, as she walked alongside him.
Sawyer looked at her and chuckled. “Sometimes they’re one and the same.”
He’d called her Viv. Such a simple little thing that really meant nothing. And yet, here it was nearly three hours later and Vivian still couldn’t quit thinking about the way his shortened use of her name had made her feel. The way he made her feel. It was crazy.
“Do you always eat like a bird?”
He was sitting a few feet away from her on a sunbaked boulder just off a hiking trail. Less than three yards in front of them was the edge of a rock bluff overlooking a portion of the lake. It was a beautiful view of the water among the desert hills, and they’d chosen the spot to stop for lunch.
For the past fifteen minutes Vivian had watched him wolf down two sandwiches, a bag of chips and a banana. Now he was topping it off with a chocolate cupcake with thick confectioner’s icing. As for her, she’d managed to nibble her way through half of a bologna sandwich, but even eating that much food had been a major chore. Being in Sawyer’s company had caused major butterflies in her stomach. At this rate, she’d be skin and bones before Louis came back to work.
“Normally I have a big appetite. I’m just not hungry for lunch today. Guess I had too much eggs and chorizo for breakfast.”
“You cook breakfast before you leave for work?”
No, Vivian rarely cooked anything. Not because she disliked it, but because Reeva, the longtime house cook for Three Rivers Ranch, always kept delicious dishes on the family table. But Vivian wasn’t quite ready to reveal to Sawyer that she and her daughter lived with her mother and brothers on one of the largest ranches in Arizona. He saw her only as a working woman. And for now that was the way Vivian wanted to keep it.
“I cook whenever the urge hits me.” Which was true enough, she thought.
“Guess your husband enjoys it whenever you do make his favorite meal.”
His remark was more than obvious and the idea that he was interested in her marital status was flattering, along with disturbing.
“I wouldn’t know,” she replied. “I’ve not seen him in more than eleven years.”
Even though he’d slipped on a pair of aviator sunglasses earlier this morning, she could tell he was staring at her. The idea made her want to jump to her feet. Instead, she wrapped up what was left of her sandwich and stuffed it back into her lunch bucket.
“I take it he’s an ex-husband.”
“That’s right,” she said stiffly. “I was married for two years. Long enough to have a daughter.”
He continued to stare at her and Vivian wondered what he was thinking. Most likely that he wasn’t going to waste his time flirting with a single mother in her midthirties. And he’d be thinking right. She wasn’t in the market for a man. Even if her family was often pushing her to find one.
Her family couldn’t understand her aversion to getting back into the dating scene. After nearly twelve years of being single, most of them figured she was over her short, disastrous marriage. Her little brother Holt was the only one who seemed to understand her feelings about risking her heart again. Not because he’d been married before, but because out of all her siblings, she was closest to him and he to her. Holt recognized that it wasn’t men Vivian mistrusted, but rather her own judgment of them.
“You have a daughter?”
“Yes. Hannah. She’s twelve going on thirteen. Although, to hear her tell it, she knows more than a twenty-year-old.”
He grunted with amusement. “Don’t we all at that age?”
She cast him a wry smile. “I suppose. I remember I was around that age when I told my mother I was going to be an astronaut and nothing could stop me.”
“Obviously something stopped you.”
She let out a soft laugh. “I got on an airplane with my two older brothers for a trip to California. Once the plane landed I was so terrified I begged them to rent a car for the return trip. They refused and I hid my eyes during the entire flight back home.”
He grinned. “So you learned you didn’t like leaving the ground.”
“I figured out exploring the desert is much more fun to me.”
“Most women like office jobs. What made you decide to be a park ranger?”
She shook her head. “I’m not the indoor type. And my parents pushed all of us kids to get at least some college education, so I studied for four long years and ended up with a degree in natural resource management and nearly enough hours for a degree in agribusiness. Later on—after I divorced—I was glad that I’d acquired all that knowledge. It was just what I needed to get a job here at Lake Pleasant.”
“Hmm. You’ve got me beat in the education department. I’m still working toward my degree in wildlife ecology. A few more online courses and I should be finished by the end of this coming spring.”
Just about the time Louis would be returning, she thought. By then she’d either be very glad to see Sawyer go, or very sorry. At the moment it was too early to predict how she’d be feeling about telling him goodbye.
“I’m sure you’ll be excited to get that behind you. Are you planning to stay at Dead Horse Ranch after you get your degree?”
He nodded. “Next year a management job will be opening up. I’ll need my degree to have a shot at it.”
“And you want to work at a park that doesn’t take you far away from your grandmother,” she stated.
He crumpled the empty cupcake wrapper and stuffed it into a sack with the rest of his lunch trash. “That’s right. Lake Pleasant is really farther away from the reservation than I’d like to be. But this job is only for a few months and Nashota, that’s my grandmother, insisted I take it. See, she has a mystical nature and something told her that my time here will bring me good fortune.”
“You believe in that sort of thing?”
A crooked grin slanted his lips. “I believe in Grandmother. Because I sure as heck can’t argue with her. She has a stubborn streak.”
He made talking to him oh, so easy. And that was dangerous, she thought. If she wasn’t careful, she’d soon be telling him things about herself that were better kept locked away.
She turned her gaze away from him and tried to focus on a giant agave plant growing off to her right. “I don’t know what kind of good fortune you might find around here,” she said, “but it doesn’t hurt to dream.”
He asked, “Do you ever think about asking to be transferred to a different park?”
The question brought her gaze back to him. “Not ever. I’ve never lived away from my family. It would take something very special for me to ever move away.”
In spite of the sunglasses covering his eyes, she could tell his gaze was thoughtfully searching her face. Which surprised Vivian somewhat. So far, Sawyer seemed to be a lighthearted jokester, who appeared to consider flirting nothing more than a fun game.
“You have family living in Wickenburg?”
Thankfully he hadn’t yet connected the Hollister name to Three Rivers Ranch. And for today, at least, Vivian was glad he didn’t know she was an heiress to a cattle empire.
“Yes. A mother, four brothers, two of whom are older than me, and a younger sister. My sister is currently living away, though.”
“You didn’t mention a father. What about him? Or is that question too personal?”
She very nearly laughed. He’d talked about her lips being kissable. Could he get any more personal than that?
“No. It’s not too personal,” she told him. “I didn’t mention Dad because he’s been dead for several years. A horse accident.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
She sighed. Officially, Joel’s death had been ruled an accident, but as far as the family was concerned, there was too much mystery surrounding the incident to pass it off as an accident. But she’d only met Sawyer a few hours ago. She didn’t know him well enough to share the few facts they had about her father’s death with the man.
“Yes. I still miss him terribly.” Her voice strained to speak around the lump in her throat. “What about you? Do you have siblings?”
“No brothers. No sisters. It’s only me and Nashota. My dad died when I was eight years old—a construction accident. After that happened, my mother moved away with another man. I’ve never seen or heard from her since.”
Looking at this strong and striking man, it was very difficult to imagine him growing up without a father and a mother who’d basically chosen to desert him. Given that sort of childhood, it was commendable that he’d turned into a responsible man.
“That’s tough.”
He shrugged. “Life is often tough. More for some than for others. I happen to think I was lucky. I had Grandmother to grab me by the seat of the pants and keep me on a straight path. Some of my childhood friends didn’t have as much. I wouldn’t want to tell you how they’ve ended up.”
This morning his playful flirting had made her uncomfortable, yet surprisingly this genuine side of him disturbed her even more. The idea of him wanting, hurting and needing in the most basic human ways touched her more than he could ever guess.
“Yes. Lucky you.” She rose from her seat of slab rock. “We’d probably better be going. We still have one more hiking trail to cover before we hit another set of campgrounds.”
While she gathered up her partially eaten lunch, Sawyer left his seat and walked over to the edge of the bluff.
“This is an incredible view,” he said. “From this distance the saguaros look like green needles stuck in a sand pile.”
She looked over to see the strong north wind was hitting him in the face and molding his uniform against his muscled body. The sight of his imposing figure etched against the blue sky and desert valley caused her breath to hang in her throat.
She walked over to where he stood, then took a cautious step closer to the ledge in order to peer down at the view directly below.
“I never get tired of it,” she admitted. “There are a few Native American ruins not far from here. We’ll hike by those before we finish our route.”
A hard gust of wind suddenly whipped across the ledge and caused Vivian to sway on her feet. Sawyer swiftly caught her by the arm and pulled her back to his side.
“Careful,” he warned. “I wouldn’t want you to topple over the edge.”
With his hand on her arm and his sturdy body shielding her from the wind, she felt very warm and protected. And for one reckless moment, she wondered how it would feel to slip her arms around his lean waist, to rise up on the tips of her toes and press her mouth to his. Would his lips taste as good as she imagined?
Shaken by the direction of her runaway thoughts, she tried to make light of the moment. “That would be awful,” she agreed. “Mort would have to find you another partner.”
“Yeah, and she might not be as cute as you.”
With a little laugh of disbelief, she stepped away from his side. “Cute? I haven’t been called that since I was in high school. I’m beginning to think you’re nineteen instead of twenty-nine.”
He pulled a playful frown at her. “You prefer your men to be old and somber?”
“I prefer them to keep their minds on their jobs,” she said staunchly. “And you are not my man.”
His laugh was more like a sexy promise.
“Not yet.”
Chapter Three (#u2ae6c223-a554-52fc-8562-8a230b840636)
Later that night in the big family room on Three Rivers Ranch, the Hollisters were enjoying drinks before dinner when Hannah plopped down on the couch next to Vivian.
Eyeing the beseeching grin on her daughter’s pretty face, Vivian said, “Okay, I know that look. What are you wanting? To add something to your Christmas list?”
Hannah wrinkled her pert little nose. “Oh, Mom, I’ve only asked for two things.”
“Only two? A horse and a saddle. You already have both.”
“Yes, but a girl can’t have too many horses or saddles,” her daughter pointed out, then gave her long blond braid a flip over one shoulder. “Anyway, I don’t want anything else on my Christmas list. I wanted to ask if you’d take Nick and me down to Red Bluff this weekend.”
Frowning, Vivian placed her drink on a nearby table, then turned her full attention to Hannah. “Red Bluff? Whatever for?”
Hannah rolled her eyes in droll fashion. “We’ve not been down there to see Aunt Camille in ages. And it’s so warm and pretty there. We want to go riding down the canyon.”
Red Bluff Ranch was another property of the Hollister family. At thirty-five thousand acres, it was only a fraction of the size of Three Rivers, but it was equally important. Located at the bottom of the state, near Dragoon, the climate remained much milder than Three Rivers. Each autumn her oldest brother, Blake, who managed the family ranch, shipped several hundred head of cow/calf pairs to Red Bluff for winter grazing.
“It’s a long drive to Red Bluff and I don’t want to haul two horses that far just for a weekend trip.”
Scooting closer, Hannah grabbed her mother’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “But you wouldn’t have to haul the horses. Matt says Daisy and Dahlia are down there. We can ride them.”
The two paint mares were sisters and perfectly suitable for her daughter and nephew to ride. Which meant she had one less excuse to avoid making the trip. “I’m not sure Camille would want our company.”
“Yes, she would. She told me that she gets lonely down there by herself.”
“If she gets that lonely she’d come home and live with her family,” Vivian muttered, then sighed as she noticed the disapproving look on her daughter’s face. “Okay, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Hannah shook her head. “It wasn’t nice, Mom. You just don’t like it because Aunt Camille wants to live down there instead of up here with all of us. That’s her choice.”
That much was true, Vivian thought. She missed her younger sister. She also thought Camille was making a mistake by running and hiding from her personal problems. But she wasn’t going to discuss those matters. Hannah already knew too much about everyone and everything.
“You’re right and I’m sorry,” Vivian said. “So about this trip that you and Nick have conjured up, what do his parents think about it?”
Before the girl could answer, Nick, who was one year younger than Hannah, suddenly appeared in front of the couch, and from the excited grin on his face, Vivian already had her answer.
“Mom and Dad say it’s okay with them if we go to Red Bluff. Are we going, Aunt Viv?”
Last June, when Blake had married widow Katherine O’Dell, he’d also become an instant father to her son, Nick. Since then, the boy had taken to ranch life like a duck to water and like Hannah, his world revolved around cattle, horses and being a cowboy. The two children were practically inseparable and, remarkable as it seemed, never fussed or fought for any reason.
She studied Nick’s eager face before glancing at her daughter. “Well, I didn’t have anything important planned for this weekend. And if you two have your school studies caught up, I suppose we could make a trip down there.”
“Oh, wow! That’s great, Aunt Viv! Thanks!”
Hannah flung herself at her mother and promptly smothered the side of Vivian’s face with appreciative kisses. “Thank you, Mom! You’re the best!”
“Okay, okay.” Vivian laughed. “The trip is on—as long as you two don’t get into trouble before Saturday morning.”
“Oh, Mom, we’ll be so good you’re going to see halos over our heads.” Hannah gave Nick a conspiring wink. “Right, Nick?”
“Right!”
Vivian glanced over to the fireplace, where Blake and Katherine were sitting close together on a love seat. Apparently the two of them had been watching her exchange with the children. Blake was giving Vivian a thumbs-up sign, while Katherine was showing her approval with a wide smile.
Besides making her daughter and nephew happy, she’d be treating Blake and Katherine to a quiet weekend, something the two of them certainly deserved. As ranch manager of Three Rivers, her brother carried a tremendous load on his shoulders. Frankly, Vivian had been surprised when he’d taken on an even bigger responsibility of a wife and son. But marriage clearly agreed with him. She’d never seen Blake looking so contented and happy.
Yes, two of her brothers were happily married now, Vivian thought wistfully. More than a year ago, Joseph and Tessa were wed in a beautiful ceremony on the front lawn of their ranch, the Bar X. The two were still madly in love and had a baby son, Little Joe, to prove it. Blake and Katherine had been married for several months, yet they continued to look at each other like dreamy-eyed newlyweds.
Vivian was thrilled for her brothers, but seeing the way they adored their wives had her often wondering if a man would ever really look at her that way, as though he would cherish and protect her for all of his life.
“There’s Jazelle. Dinner must be ready,” Hannah announced.
As Hannah bounced up from the couch, Vivian glanced across the room to see the young housekeeper speaking to Maureen. No doubt she was telling her that Reeva had dinner ready to be served.
You cook breakfast before you leave for work?
Sawyer’s question suddenly drifted through Vivian’s mind and she realized he thought of her as a regular woman, one who cooked and cleaned and cared for her own home. What would he think of her once he found out she lived with her family and for all of her thirty-five years she’d had a huge support system around her? That she was helpless or even too privileged?
“Mom? What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming to dinner?”
Hannah’s voice penetrated Vivian’s deep thoughts and she glanced around to see the room had emptied, except for her daughter and nephew, who were waiting impatiently for her to join them.
“Oh. Sorry. I was thinking about something.” Rising from the couch, she slung an arm around each child. “I hope Reeva has cooked up something good tonight. Are you two hungry?”
“I’m starving!” Nick exclaimed. “We’re having barbecue ribs and charro beans!”
“Sounds good,” Vivian replied, even though she doubted she could muster more than four or five bites.
“Reeva says if no one wants ribs they can have menudo,” Hannah chimed in. “That’s what I want. With lots of onions and jalapenos!”
The Mexican soup made with tripe and hominy was touted to cure the worst of hangovers. Maybe that’s what she needed to shock her appetite back to normal, Vivian thought. That, or forget she’d ever laid eyes on Sawyer Whitehorse.
A few minutes later, after everyone around the long dining table began to eat, Maureen clanked her spoon loudly against her wineglass.
“Quiet, everyone!” she called out. “Blake has an important family announcement to share with us tonight.”
“Hallelujah. He’s finally selling that damned one-horn bull,” Chandler, the veterinarian of the family, spoke up. “I’ll never have to doctor him again.”
Sitting next to Vivian, Holt waved his fork through the air. “No. He’s decided the ranch needs another horse barn. One with a therapy pool.”
“Sorry, brothers. You’re wrong on both counts,” Blake said, then slipping an arm around Katherine’s shoulders, he gave her a smile that was both incredibly intimate and loving. “My wife has just learned she’s expecting. The baby should arrive by the Fourth of July. So one way or another, he or she should be a little firecracker.”
Hannah looked at Nick and squealed with delight. “Wow, Nick! You’re going to have a brother or sister! How cool is that?”
The boy’s wide grin said it all. “That’s pretty cool, all right. There will be another little baby in the family to go with Joe. And I won’t be an only child anymore.”
“Better make sure you ask for everything this Christmas, Nick,” Holt advised the boy. “Next Christmas you’ll be sharing with little brother.”
“I won’t mind,” Nick told his uncle. “Having a brother or sister is all I want.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, too. But I’ve quit asking,” Hannah said as she slanted her mother a disappointed glance. “Mom is getting too old to have a baby, anyway.”
Awkward silence suddenly settled over the table and with it a chunk of heavy guilt hit the pit of Vivian’s stomach. She’d made a mess of things when she’d married the wrong man and bore his child. Because of her bad choice in men, Hannah had grown up without a father and no siblings.
“Hannah, don’t be mean to your mother,” Holt scolded. “She’ll give you a brother or sister one day. When the time is right.”
Vivian cut him a grateful look, which only made him grin and shrug.
Down the table, Maureen cleared her throat and lifted her wineglass. “Let’s everyone toast to Blake and Kat and my fourth grandchild. Let’s pray the little firecracker will be healthy and happy.”
Everyone seconded Maureen’s sentiments and as Vivian picked up her long-stemmed glass, she glanced across the table at her brother and sister-in-law.
Blake was smart, she thought wistfully. He’d married a woman who loved him utterly. Whereas she’d chosen a man who’d only been capable of loving himself.
She was swallowing a sip of wine when Holt’s elbow gouged into her rib cage and she turned her head to look at him in question.
“What’s wrong?” he asked under his breath.
“Nothing is wrong,” she whispered back. “Why?”
“You look like you’re going to burst into tears. Aren’t you happy for your brother?”
She stiffened her spine. “Of course, I’m thrilled. I’m just feeling a little sentimental. That’s all.”
“Oh. That’s all, eh?”
“Yes. That’s all,” she said tartly. “Now hush and eat your ribs. Or I’m going to tell everyone you’ve been seeing Miss Holly Goodbody.”
His dark brows shot upward before he leaned his mouth closer to her ear. “Her name isn’t Goodbody. And for your information, I’ve not been seeing Holly.”
“Hmmp. That’s not what I’ve been hearing.”
She turned her attention back on her plate, only to have Holt’s elbow puncturing her ribs once again.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he said. “Except that it’s okay if you want another baby, you know.”
From out of nowhere, a tiny pain of loss and sadness settled over her. “Holt, don’t talk to me about babies. I’m not even married.”
He grinned. “Who said you had to be?”
She rolled her eyes at her brother, then purposely turned her attention back to her plate.
“You’ve been very quiet tonight, Sawyer. Are you unhappy that you took the job at Lake Pleasant?”
Sawyer looked across the small living room to where his grandmother sat in a wooden rocker, patiently stringing polished cedar berries and tiny turquoise and coral beads. Eventually, the string would become a necklace or bracelet to be sold at a tourist shop in Cottonwood. Nashota cared little for money. As long as she had enough for necessities, she was content. But crafting the jewelry made her feel productive and useful, and Sawyer admired her for wanting to remain that way in spite of her advancing years.
“No. I’m not unhappy. Today was very interesting. And I have new things to think about.”
“That’s good. So what do you think about the people you’ll be working with?”
Sawyer leaned forward and placed his empty mug on a small coffee table. After a meal of beef stew, fried bread and apple pie, he was stuffed. “I haven’t met all of them yet. But they seem like a nice group. My partner is a woman. Her name is Vivian, but our supervisor calls her Viv. I think because he’s known her for a long time.”
“And what do you call her?”
He leveled a patient grin at her. “Grandmother, what does that have to do with anything?”
“There are times I’m curious.”
Nashota had never been interested about such things before. Probably because she’d watched him change his dates like a man changed his boots or jeans and could clearly see that Sawyer never intended to have a serious relationship with a woman. So why was she questioning him now? he wondered.
“What’s this? You’re still thinking the Lake Pleasant job is going to bring me good fortune?”
Nashota lowered the string of beads to her lap and looked at him. “There is no thinking about it. The new job is going to bring you good fortune.”
He almost groaned, but managed to hold it back. Nashota took her mystical feelings very seriously and expected him to do the same.
“I’m not going to be digging for gold or silver down there, Grandmother,” he gently reminded her. “I’m basically going to be doing the same job as the one at Dead Horse Ranch. The only good fortune about that is the salary I’m paid.”
She stabbed him with a silent look of disappointment.
Sawyer sighed. “What’s wrong? I’m just telling you the way it is.”
“No. That isn’t the way it is. I’ve taught you that good fortune has nothing to do with money or gold or silver. I expect you to remember the lesson.”
“Well, I don’t really think good fortune has anything to do with Vivian, either.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Time will tell us.”
What was going through that wily mind of hers? Sawyer wondered. It wasn’t like her to have matchmaking thoughts about her only grandchild. Heck, for as far back as he could remember, she’d never so much as suggested to Sawyer that he should find a nice girl, settle down and raise a family. No, she seemed to understand that he wasn’t family man material. Not after his parents’ short, disastrous marriage.
“She has a twelve-year-old daughter.”
“Who?”
“Vivian. My partner. And she’s been divorced for nearly that long. She didn’t say this, but I got the impression he wasn’t much of a husband or father.”
“Maybe she wasn’t much of a wife.”
“You mean like Onida?” Sawyer couldn’t refer to the woman as his mother. Not when she’d chosen to walk away and forget she’d ever had a son.
“Hmmp. Onida was no wife or mother.”
Although Nashota rarely voiced her opinion about anyone, she’d never beat around the bush when it came to Sawyer’s mother, Onida. From what he could remember, she’d not been family material, either. She’d liked to stay on the go and party. Unfortunately, Sawyer had been old enough to remember the squabbles and yelling matches between his parents. And then his father had died and everything had changed.
“Vivian is not that kind of woman. She’s a good ranger.”
Nodding, Nashota put the rocker into a gentle motion. “I’m happy to hear this.”
Sawyer was happy, too. For the next few months, he’d be spending his days with the beautiful woman. To be handed such an opportunity was a gift. Or was it the good fortune his grandmother talked about? Either way, Sawyer planned to make the most of it.
Kat was pregnant. Blake would soon have a baby of his own. Vivian was truly happy for her brother and sister-in-law. But she had to admit, at least to herself, that the news had hit her hard. Especially when her own daughter had dubbed her too old to have a baby. Later last night, after Vivian had retired to her bedroom, she’d changed into a pair of pajamas and stood gazing at herself in the dresser mirror. Was she getting to a point in her life where she needed to forget about having more children? Had she already passed the point of starting over with a man?
The questions had haunted her until she’d finally fallen asleep. Yet even now, with Mort at the front of the room, reminding her and her fellow rangers of the upcoming holiday events to be held in the park, she still couldn’t push away the melancholy mood that had drifted over her.
If it makes you feel any better you look a lot younger.
Had Sawyer actually meant that as a compliment? Or had he only been mouthing platitudes because she was his partner and he wanted to get on her good side?
The ridiculous questions were revolving around in her mind when Sawyer’s hand was suddenly touching her forearm, causing her to very nearly jump off the seat of the plastic chair.
“Vivian, the meeting is over,” he said.
She glanced around to see Mort had left his position behind the wooden podium, while the other rangers were already shuffling out of the conference room.
Her cheeks burning with embarrassment, she jumped to her feet and grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair. “Oh. Sorry, Sawyer. I was thinking about something.”
“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.”
“What’s wrong with being young?”
“Nothing.” Except that Vivian had never felt more like an old biddy and she hated the feeling. And she especially hated this self-pity party she’d been having for herself ever since she’d learned Blake and Kat were having a baby.
“Is something wrong with you, Vivian?”
Unwittingly, her foot eased off the gas pedal. “Wrong? What do you mean?”
She glanced over at him and tried to ignore the way her pulse leaped at the sight of his dark profile.
“I’ve only known you for one day. But you’re different from yesterday. A little sad, I think. Am I making you sad, Vivian?”
His words weren’t necessarily intimate or provocative, and yet the way he said them made it feel as though he’d whispered them in her ear. The sensation caused goose bumps to erupt on her arms and she was thankful the long sleeves of her shirt hid them from his sight.
Swallowing, she said, “No. You aren’t making me sad. Or mad. I’m just a little thoughtful this morning. That’s all.”
“Your eyes are dull. Yesterday they were snapping with life. They were much prettier that way.”
Dear God, how did this man see so much about her? Garth had been her husband for two years, but he’d never noticed such little nuances about her eyes or mood or anything else. To know that Sawyer was observing her so closely was unsettling, to say the least.
“Sorry if I seem glum today, Sawyer. It has nothing to do with you.”
Not exactly, she silently corrected. But she could hardly tell him that his young, handsome face and lean sexy body had jolted awake her slumbering senses. No more than she could admit that spending time in his company had reminded her of the many things she’d been missing these past years since her divorce.
“Good,” he said. “I didn’t come here to Lake Pleasant to cause you problems.”
No doubt he’d caused many a woman problems. Most all of them heart related. The very kind of problems she didn’t need.
“I’m going to make sure that you don’t,” she said primly.
He laughed and the sound relieved the tension that had been building ever since they’d left headquarters.
“I told my grandmother that you’re a good woman. So far you’re definitely not making a liar out of me.”
The urge to pull the SUV over to the side of the road and stare at him was so strong, she had to force her hands to remain steady on the steering wheel.
“I suppose you meant that as a compliment,” she stated in a voice that was meant to be casual, but even she could hear a quaver in her words.
“Nothing else.”
She let out a small breath as she steered the vehicle onto a graveled drive that circled an open pavilion. “I can’t believe you mentioned me to her.”
“Why not? You’re my new partner.”
“Yes, but...”
“But what? You don’t like me saying something nice about you?”
“You don’t know that I’m a good woman. You only met me yesterday. That’s not enough time for you to know what kind of person I really am.”
“Mort likes you. That’s good enough for me. Besides, my grandmother has a gift for seeing right into people. I think I inherited some of her gift.”
She arched a brow at him, but said nothing until she parked at the end of the pavilion and looked over at him. “Okay. I shouldn’t ask this, but what are you seeing right now—looking at me?”
“I see a woman who’s sad about something in her life. She’s also annoyed with herself.”
Dear Lord, the man was right on both counts. Which made her wonder what else he could see about her. Not wanting to delve into his first observation, she asked, “Tell me, Mr. Mystic, why am I annoyed with myself?”
A lopsided grin lifted a corner of his lips and in spite of Vivian’s brain commanding her to look away, her gaze went straight to his tempting mouth.
“Because you don’t want to like me, but in spite of yourself, you do. You’ve also been telling yourself you don’t want to kiss me, but we both know that isn’t true.”
Yesterday, his bold remarks would’ve shocked her. But today she was only mildly surprised that he’d voiced such opinions about her. He was a flirt. A very confident one at that. And she needed to always remember that no matter what outrageous words came out of his mouth, he wasn’t serious.
Forcing a playful smile on her face, she said, “I can’t believe you’ve pegged me so perfectly. You really must have your grandmother’s gift.”
He laughed and after a brief moment, the happy sound had her laughing along with him. But when the laughter finally trailed away, she had to fight the urge to drop her face in her hands and weep.
“It’s nice to hear you laugh, Viv.”
With any luck, he wouldn’t notice the soft sigh that escaped her lips. “I’m sorry for being a crab, Sawyer. Truth is, I slept very little last night.”
“I hope you weren’t lying awake worried about working with me,” he said. “We’re going to be great together.”
She smiled at him. “Is that prediction coming from your soothsaying abilities?”
“No. I’m not a soothsayer or anything close to it. My prediction is coming from firsthand experience.”
With women, no doubt, Vivian thought wryly. Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted, “To be honest, Sawyer, you were right. I am a little sad. And I really have no reason to be. Except that last night at the dinner table, my oldest brother and his wife announced that they’re having a baby.”
There. She’d said it. She’d gotten it out, but rather than feeling relieved, she realized she sounded like a petulant child. Or worse. What the heck was wrong with her, anyway?
“And that made you sad? Why?” he asked curiously. “Is he unworthy of being a father?”
She shook her head. “Blake is already an excellent father. He’s a strong, tender and loving man. I can’t think of anyone who deserves to have children more than him.”
His gaze made a thoughtful survey of her face, and Vivian felt as though his brown eyes were kissing her cheeks and lips. The erotic sensation was like nothing she’d ever felt before and she wondered if she was suffering some sort of hormonal imbalance. This wasn’t normal! Nothing about the way she was reacting to Sawyer was remotely close to normal.
“Then the sister-in-law is not of your liking,” he replied. “Is that what worries you?”
“No. Kat is like a sister to me. She’s a wonderful mother and human being. I love her and I’m very happy for the both of them.”
He shook his head as though she’d lost him somewhere along the trail.
“So you’re happy and sad at the same time. That’s what you’re trying to say?”
“Crazy, isn’t it?” she said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I should be all smiles. Instead, I want to burst into tears. Believe me, Sawyer, I don’t normally behave like an emotional female. And starting right now, I’m going to put this all behind me. So let’s get out and look the pavilion over. This is where Mort has scheduled the Christmas bingo party and we need to decide how many tables and chairs we can set up without crowding everyone.”
“We’ll get to work in a minute,” he agreed. “Right now, I want to ask you something.”
Determined to show him she wasn’t a weak-willed sniveling female, she straightened her shoulders. “Okay. What is it? That you want to swap places with another ranger so that you can get the heck away from me?”
Clearly amused by her question, he chuckled. “No. I’m just wondering if this sadness you’re feeling is really envy?”
There he went again, she thought desperately. He was putting his finger right on the sore spot in her heart.
Glancing away from him, she focused on a far distant rise, where a young couple had spent the night in a tent. At the moment they were standing at a portable grill, laughing at their feeble attempts to start a fire. Garth had never done anything outdoors with her, Vivian thought dully. But unfortunately, she’d not discovered he’d been a man averse to getting his hands dirty, until after she’d married him.
“I suppose that is what I’m feeling. You see, I always wanted a big family of my own—just like my parents had. It didn’t turn out that way for me. And sometimes, well—it’s hard to accept that life can be so different from what we plan.”
Chapter Four (#u2ae6c223-a554-52fc-8562-8a230b840636)
She wanted babies. Her heart was pining for a big family. The facts should’ve turned his red-hot attraction for Vivian into an iceberg, but nothing was freezing, especially his heart. Right now it felt like a piece of warm putty, just waiting for her to mold into whatever shape she wanted it to be.
Oh, man, if he didn’t get a grip, he was going to be a goner, Sawyer thought. Everyone on the res, everyone at Dead Horse Ranch, anyone who’d ever met him for more than five minutes, knew that he wasn’t stacked up to be a family man.
Hell, how could he be? For the first eight years of Sawyer’s life, his father, Baul, had been too busy working to put food on the table and trying to pacify a demanding wife to pay too much attention to his son. And after he’d died, there had been no man around to teach Sawyer about being a father or husband. Besides, from what he remembered about his parents’ marriage, he wanted no part of it.
Forcing his gaze away from Vivian’s lovely face, he gazed out the windshield to the young couple with the tent. If the man would keep his hands to himself, the woman might be able to cook breakfast. Bet he wasn’t her husband, Sawyer thought. The pair was having way too much fun to be married.
He said, “I wouldn’t be feeling sad about that, Viv. You have plenty of time to find the right man and have more children.”
The right man? Who was he kidding? Just saying the words had felt like he was coughing up mesquite thorns. He didn’t want to think of this beauty making love to any man, except him.
She continued to look at him for long moments and then a wide smile spread across her face. “You’re so right, Sawyer. I have a wonderful daughter and my life is going just fine. It’s not like I need a man in my life. They’re really just a nuisance, anyway.”
“Thanks,” he said drily.
She laughed and, though he didn’t exactly know what had caused her mood to lift, he was thankful for the change.
“Oh, I didn’t mean you, Sawyer. You’re my coworker. I’m talking about boyfriends, husbands, lovers. I don’t need that kind of drama in my life again.”
You’re my coworker. Clearly she wasn’t thinking of him as a potential lover, Sawyer thought. But sooner, rather than later, he was going to change her mind.
“Never say never, Viv.” He gave her a playful wink, then opened the passenger door. “We’d better get to work.”
“Right,” she agreed. “We need to be at the Indian Mesa trailhead at ten o’clock. And from the amount of campers we now have in this area of the park, I expect we’ll have a big group for the tour today.”
Yesterday, before the workday had ended, Sawyer and Vivian learned that Mort had scheduled the two of them to lead a group tour this morning to the Puebloan ruins located on the north rim of the lake. The trek was something Vivian and her old partner, Louis, had done many times in the past. She knew the history of the park backward and forward, whereas Sawyer hadn’t yet had time to learn his way around the park, much less study its history.
As the two of them walked toward the pavilion, he said, “Last night I took home as much literature I could find about the Hohokam ruins and crammed for a few hours.”
She shot him a look of surprise. “That wasn’t necessary, Sawyer.”
Oh, yes, it was necessary, he thought. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in front of this woman.
“I wanted to be prepared.”
She looked over at him and smiled and Sawyer felt an odd little tug in the middle of his chest. The tender pang was like nothing he’d experienced before, making him wonder if he was suddenly turning into a sap, or something worse.
“Listen, Sawyer, don’t be worried about the tour. I’m not expecting you to expertly answer questions about the ruins. You only started this job yesterday. It took me months and months to learn the history of the park. Just help me keep the visitors corralled and safe. That’s all I ask.”
She was trying to be nice by making it easy on him. Sawyer appreciated the fact that she wasn’t being demanding. Yet he didn’t warm to the notion that she considered him just a temporary ranger to fill a space until the real ranger returned. Maybe it was stupid for Sawyer’s male ego to be rearing its head, but he wanted Vivian to see that he was a quick learner and that he wasn’t going to spend the next six months trotting behind her while she carried the load.
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