Ranger Daddy Read online

  Ashley flicked her a surprised glance. “Which house?” Gabi had taken Ashley to visit Bev a couple of times.

  “The pink one,” Jeff answered for her. “Do you know you look a lot like your mother when she was younger, only your eyes are pure blue? Hers have some purple in them.”

  Heat swamped Gabi’s cheeks. “How’s your father?”

  “He’s much better since they divorced. Dad lives in Glendale. I visit him when I can.”

  “The next time you see him, say hello from me. I really liked your parents. They were always wonderful to me.”

  The memories were assailing her fast and furiously, bringing back remembered pain from when Jeff had left home for good. Gabi’s agony had been so total it had taken several years before she’d started dating. Though it had happened ages ago, it seemed like yesterday. She didn’t dare stay here talking to him any longer.

  “Please don’t let us keep you from your audience,” she said, because he hadn’t replied. “Ashley and I were just going to our car.”

  She couldn’t handle this unexpected reunion. Whatever had made her think she could? Years ago, he’d left Alhambra without a word to her. No follow-up letter or postcard. No phone call. Nothing.

  “Come on, honey.” She gripped Ashley’s hand and they started walking.

  To her chagrin, Jeff followed them to the Honda, parked a half-dozen cars away. His dog rubbed his head against Ashley’s legs, making her laugh in delight. “Are you staying in the park?” Jeff’s quiet question snaked its way inside.

  “No.” Like him, Gabi chose not to give any more information of a personal nature, and pulled the keys out of her purse to unlock the car. Ashley climbed in the backseat and strapped herself in. Gabi shut the door and got in front. “We’re on a trip and decided to drive through to Yosemite Valley to get a bite to eat before moving on.” It was a version of the truth.

  She started the engine before looking at him. “You work in a spectacular place. Everyone should be so lucky. It was nice seeing you again. Take care, Jeff.”

  “You, too.” A tiny nerve throbbed at the side of his mouth, the way it used to sometimes. It brought back a memory of her kissing it. So many memories. Too many.

  “I wish we could get a dog like that,” Ashley said as they backed up and drove away. Gabi could see Jeff in the rearview mirror, staring after them. Another turn of the wheel and then he was gone from her vision.

  Unlike before when he’d gone away and she’d had no idea of his destination, she knew where she could find him now, but the knowledge did her no good. In fact, she knew it would always haunt her.

  “So do I, honey, but the landlord has rules. Maybe one day soon we’ll be able to move to a house, and then we’ll buy one.”

  Ashley wasn’t the only one with a wish. Gabi could wish life were different and the three of them lived together in a house with a dog. She would give anything in the world if Jeff could help them and make that dream come true.

  Chapter Two

  Jeff returned to headquarters on the double, with Sergei running to keep up with him. How long had Gabi been divorced?

  If he approached Bev White, she’d refuse to talk to him. After Jeff’s father and Ellen had moved to Glendale, there was no way to learn any information about Gabi. Jeff had visited several times since his father’s divorce last year, but they’d stayed away from painful subjects like Jeff’s mother dying or Jeff’s being forced to leave home because of Gabi.

  When he and Sergei entered the building, Jeff headed straight for Security. Ranger Finlay looked up from the computer.

  “Hey, Jeff. I heard Chief Rossiter talking about Cal’s wedding. It must have really been something.”

  “It was.” But Jeff had forgotten all about it because his mind was suddenly on something else. “I need some information pronto.”

  “Sure. What is it?”

  “Take this license-plate number and run it through the database.” He dictated it to Finlay. “I need to know the name of the ranger who entered it in the system, the entrance and all the details you can give me on the driver of the vehicle.”

  His adrenaline had kicked into overdrive. Needing to do something with his excess energy, he gave Sergei a rubdown while he waited.

  “Here it is, put in by Ranger Ness at the South Entrance at two-thirty this afternoon. Gabi Rafferty, age thirty-one, five foot six, blue eyes, dark hair, home address Rosemead, California, 4120 Laurelhurst Lane. Owner of a Honda Civic, valid driver’s license, no tickets, no warrants out for her arrest.”

  “Did she make reservations in the park?”

  He shook his head.

  “Thanks.”

  Jeff wheeled around and headed for his office. After shutting the door he phoned Merrill, who’d be going off duty any minute now. Come on. Pick up.

  “This is Ranger Ness.”

  “It’s Jeff.”

  “Hey—I was hoping to hear from you. Are you in for our card game tonight?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t. I’m calling for some information.”

  “You sound kind of fierce. What’s up?”

  Fierce didn’t begin to cover it. “There was a thirty-one-year-old woman with short, dark hair who came through on your watch at two-thirty today. She had a daugh—”

  “Say no more. I remember her.” His whistle carried through the phone line. “To be honest, she’d be impossible to forget.” That was truer than Merrill knew. “What do you want to know?”

  “When you asked her where she’d be staying, what did she say?”

  “She didn’t have reservations. I told her she’d better try to make one outside the park just in case nothing was available for tonight.”

  “So did she?”

  “Yeah. I suggested several places, including the Travelodge in El Portal. She was able to get a room there.”

  Relief swept through Jeff that he wouldn’t have to wait until his next day off, and drive all the way to Rosemead. “Thanks, Merrill.”

  “You’re welcome.” After a pause he added, “Are you okay?”

  Jeff sensed the other ranger wanted to ask him why he needed that information, but didn’t want to probe. “After I attend to something, I will be. Talk to you later.” He hung up. “Come on, Sergei. We’re off duty. Let’s go home. I need a shower and shave before we leave the park.”

  Jeff didn’t care how many years had gone by; certain behavior never changed. Gabi had been so unlike the girl he’d once known, he’d sensed instinctively something was wrong. Divorce could do bad things to people.

  If she’d been divorced only a short time, it might account for the fact that her nerves were fragile. He could never remember her being so quiet. In all the time he’d known her, they’d never run out of things to talk about. There’d been no awkward moments.

  Today that’s all there had been on her part—awkward moments punctuated with pauses and averted eyes. She was a California girl and knew you didn’t go anywhere without making a reservation first. It didn’t add up that she’d come to Yosemite, of all places, without any forethought. Just passing through? He didn’t buy her explanation.

  After heating up a couple enchiladas in the microwave, he downed them with a cup of coffee before leaving in the truck with Sergei. This time of the evening traffic wasn’t quite so bad driving out of the park. He could make up time and hopefully find her in El Portal before she went to bed.

  Her little girl looked so much like her, especially her eyes and rosebud mouth, that she’d stolen Jeff’s heart. They had the same shaped heads and dark, curly hair like gypsies. Incredible. Those save-the-whales shirts reminded him of Gabi’s old T-shirts. She’d always filled them out to perfection. While political slogans had intrigued her, Gabi’s shape had intrigued him. So had her inquiring mind. He’d loved her company. They’d been inseparable.

  He frowned as he reflected on her quick departure from the parking lot. “Goodbye, Jeff.” That was it? When you hadn’t even said a meaningful hello, you did
n’t just walk away from an old friend you’d had a history with!

  Except that he’d done the exact same thing to her when he’d been forced to walk away from her years ago. He’d had no choice, after making promises to his father and Bev White not to contact her. At the time he’d been in so much pain, he hadn’t considered what Gabi might be going through. His dad had told him Gabi was still so young, she’d get over him fast.

  All Jeff knew was that the next time he heard anything about her, she was married, which proved his father right. The knowledge that she had a husband shouldn’t have come as such a blow, but it did…. Jeff’s own marriage to Fran happened on the heels of that information.

  What a mistake that had been! So unfair to his ex-wife. To his chagrin, she got in touch with him from time to time, insisting she would always love him. He kept hoping that the next time she called, it would be to tell him she was getting married again.

  Jeff shook his head. What were the odds of him running into Gabi at the park? The coincidence was so astounding he could hardly credit it.

  This morning at the wedding ceremony he’d felt chills, and he was feeling them even stronger now. Gabi had been on his mind just hours before he’d looked up to see her staring at him. The color of her eyes hadn’t changed. The purple flecks reminded him of the dainty purple violets growing in the grass at the edge of Bridalveil Meadow.

  At quarter to ten he reached the motel and spotted her car in the parking lot. “You stay put, Sergei. I’ll be back.” After locking the truck, he went inside the Travelodge to the front desk, where an attractive redhead looked up and smiled at him as she took in his uniform.

  “Hi. What can I do for you?”

  “Good evening. A Mrs. Rafferty from Rosemead, California, made a reservation for her and her daughter today. It couldn’t have been a long time since they checked in. Would you please ring her room and tell her Ranger Thompson needs to speak to her?”

  The redhead gave him a speculative glance. “Sure. Just a minute.” She consulted the computer before picking up the phone. After a few seconds he heard her explain to Gabi why she was calling. Her eyes played over him after she hung up. “You’re to call her on the in-house phone in the hallway to your left. Just dial 018.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” she answered, with another provocative smile.

  He found the phone kiosk and punched the digits. In a moment Gabi picked up. “Jeff?” Her same voice, yet she was tentative, hesitant.

  “I was still on duty when you drove away, but I’m free now. If you’re putting Ashley to bed, I’ll wait by the phone until you call me back.”

  “She’s asleep.”

  Good. “I’m not surprised. You’ve driven a long way today.” He waited for more response from her.

  She took a sharp breath. In that instant he thought he sensed anger. “The park must have an amazing security system for you to have found me.”

  “Threats of terrorism have made it mandatory.”

  “Am I being investigated?” She was so tense, she’d lost her sense of humor.

  “Yes,” he teased, “but you sound tired, so I’ll let you go now and we’ll talk in the morning over breakfast.” Jeff figured the woman at the desk could find him a room for tonight.

  “I won’t be here.” Her reply was brittle.

  His hand tightened on the phone. “Why not?”

  “Ashley and I are going to spend a few days in San Francisco.”

  Gabi was lying through her teeth. “You mean you don’t have an hour in the morning for two old friends to take a walk down memory lane before you leave?”

  “You mean the way you didn’t have an hour in the morning for two old friends to talk before you left Alhambra for good?”

  His jaw clenched. “There was a reason for that.”

  “I know. You’d just graduated from high school and wanted to get on with the rest of your life. I do understand. Honestly. Now I’m asking for your understanding. If I stay on the phone any longer, Ashley will wake up.”

  “Then I’ll meet you outside your door, where we won’t disturb her.”

  “I can’t. I’m too exhausted and we have to get an early start in the morning.”

  He wasn’t about to let this go. “For your daughter’s sake, you’ll have to eat something first. I’ll meet you in the restaurant. Tell me a time.”

  “I’m not sure.”

  Which could mean she had no intention of eating breakfast there at all. In that case, he’d keep an eye on her car. “Good night, Gabi. Sleep well.”

  SLEEP WELL?

  Jeff’s comment guaranteed she’d lie awake again all night. There was no use trying to run away from him. He’d left the park to come after her. His determination to talk to her would make it pretty well impossible for her to elude him no matter how hard she tried.

  She knew he’d be outside in the morning waiting for her. The only sensible thing to do would be to face him. She’d get him talking about his life. Should her attorney phone while she was in the restaurant, she’d excuse herself to take the call. Otherwise she would say goodbye to Jeff after they’d eaten, and head for San Francisco.

  After getting off the phone, she thought she’d never sleep, but she was wrong. Probably because she’d given in to the inevitable where Jeff was concerned, she relaxed enough to let go of her fears for a little while and find oblivion.

  But having always been an early riser, she awakened at six-thirty the next morning unable to fight a growing excitement, because she knew she’d be seeing Jeff one more time. She’d brought all this on by driving to Yosemite in the first place. Naturally, she needed to be the one to end it ASAP.

  Once she’d showered and changed into fresh jeans and a short-sleeved blouse in a blue-and-green print, it was Ashley’s turn to get ready. Gabi put her in white shorts and a kelly-green knit top with white polka dots. They both wore white sandals.

  “Let’s take the suitcases out to the car, then go to the restaurant.”

  “Okay. Can I have cereal and apple juice?”

  “That sounds good to me, too. Come on.”

  They left the room and walked out to the parking lot. As Gabi was stowing their bags in the trunk, Ashley pulled on her arm. “Your old friend’s here, Mom. He brought his dog.”

  Gabi shut the trunk lid and looked around in time to see a bareheaded Jeff coming toward them. His dark brown hair was cropped shorter than he used to wear it, making it wavy rather than curly like hers. With his complexion burnished from being in the sun, and his lean, powerful physique, he put every other male out of the competition.

  A wide smile greeted them. Her “old friend” was such a sensational-looking male in uniform that if Gabi were the type to keel over, she’d be on the ground by now. She imagined even fit men would kill to have his build, one that came from living in the out-of-doors year-round.

  In high school her girlfriend Kim had referred to Jeff as the ultimate stud. On his Kawasaki motorcycle, he could have been the company’s poster boy. If Kim, who was married and lived in Oregon, could see him now, she’d be speechless.

  “It appears Sergei and I got back from our walk just in time. How would you ladies like to join me for breakfast on the patio?”

  “Could we, Mom?” Ashley begged, clearly eager to play with the dog.

  “That sounds good.”

  The four of them walked around to an alcove that led to the terrace overlooking the Merced River. Tourists had started filling up the tables. A waitress seated them and took their orders.

  “I wish a bear would come so we could watch Sergei scare it away.”

  Laughter broke from Jeff, the rich kind Gabi remembered, though it hadn’t been as deep back then. The leap from teenager to manly man had wrought striking changes she was still trying to absorb.

  “Has he had his breakfast?” Ashley asked.

  “Not yet. He’ll eat after I take him home in a little while, but he enjoyed a nice drink at the river
.”

  “Did it cost a lot to buy a dog like him?”

  Jeff leaned forward. “I don’t know what he cost. He’s not my dog.”

  “Did you find him?”

  Ashley was so dear and so curious, Gabi couldn’t help smiling. Neither could Jeff, apparently.

  “I’m babysitting him for my best friend.”

  “Where does your friend live?”

  “In the park near my house. His name is Ranger Hollis. He’s on his honeymoon.”

  Ashley turned to her mom. “What’s that?” she asked in a quiet voice.

  Gabi stirred in her seat, wishing the subject hadn’t come up. “It sounds like Ranger Hollis just got married and went on a trip with his new wife.”

  “Oh.” Gabi could hear the wheels turning. “Did you go on a honeymoon with my daddy?”

  “I did,” she answered, before taking a drink of water.

  “Where did you go?”

  Enough with the questions. “Catalina Island.”

  “I know where that is.” Ashley’s head whipped around in Jeff’s direction. “Did you go on a honeymoon?”

  “A short one to Carmel, but our marriage didn’t last long and we got divorced.”

  Carmel… A divine place Gabi had only seen in films. She couldn’t look at him.

  “So did my mommy.”

  “Here’s our breakfast, honey.” Thank heaven.

  Jeff had ordered eggs and bacon. He dug in with a healthy appetite. After Ashley had eaten most of her cornflakes she looked at him. “Could I feed Sergei some of your toast?”

  “The dog isn’t allowed table food, but I’ve got a doggy treat you can give him.” Jeff reached in his pocket. “Before you let him have it, ask him to shake your hand.”

  Ashley giggled and slid off the chair. She went around to the dog, which lay at Jeff’s feet. “Shake my hand,” she told him. Gabi watched in delight as the dog lifted his paw to her daughter, who giggled again before feeding him the treat.