Ranger Daddy Read online

  For a moment Gabi gazed into hazel eyes lit with a tender glint. She’d seen that look before. It melted her heart. This was madness. Jeff meant nothing to her anymore, and her happiness was being threatened in a very real way back in Rosemead. Yet here she was, enjoying this moment more than anything she’d experienced in years.

  “Why the rush to leave Yosemite when you’ve barely arrived?”

  The low-pitched question—straight and to the point—came out so unexpectedly, it caught Gabi off guard. Her nervous glance slid to Ashley, who was still hunkered down and too busy petting the dog to have heard him.

  Gabi lowered her head. “I don’t know what you’re tal—”

  “There’s a reason you came to Yosemite on the fly,” he interrupted without a qualm. Gabi decided his confidence was a trait he’d been born with. “Admit you were never on your way to San Francisco.”

  At his stunning perception, she caught her breath. He heard her and a satisfied expression broke out on his face. “You’re in some kind of trouble. Since I’m here, why not tell me what it is? Maybe I can help.”

  His comment sent her heart into a full gallop. To her dismay it was exacerbated by the ringing of her phone. Maybe it was her attorney. Her composure shattered, she dropped the spoon she’d been using into her cereal bowl with a clatter, before reaching for her purse.

  Jeff’s eyes never left her face as she pulled out her cell and checked the caller ID. It was Greg Sorenson, the head of third-grade curriculum in her school district. Divorced and interested in dating, he’d taken her and Ashley out to dinner before they’d left for the beach. He expected Gabi home in another day and no doubt wanted to see her as soon as she arrived. She ignored the call, deciding to phone him later, when she was alone.

  “Who was that, Mommy?”

  She finished her juice before answering. “Greg.”

  “Oh.”

  “Who’s Greg?” Jeff asked Ashley.

  “Mommy’s friend.”

  Before he could ask another question, the phone rang again. This time it was Bev. Gabi turned in the chair for privacy.

  “Bev?”

  “Are you still away from home?”

  “Yes. What’s happened?”

  “Ryan just called me again, demanding to know where you are. When I told him I didn’t have the faintest idea, he said he would hire a private investigator to find you because he wanted to see his child. When he hung up, he almost broke my eardrum doing it.”

  Gabi winced. “I’m so sorry he’s gotten you involved. As soon as we hang up I’ll call my attorney and see what he can do so you’re not harassed.”

  “It’s Ashley he’s after.”

  “Since he wanted nothing to do with her before, I don’t understand this, but I’ll take care of it so he doesn’t contact you anymore, Bev. I promise.” She rang off, to discover Jeff’s piercing gaze still focused on her.

  “You’ve gone pale, Gabi.” He put some bills on the table and stood up. That roused Sergei, who sprang to his feet. Jeff looked down at Ashley. “Would you like to walk the dog around outside?”

  Excitement lit up her face. “Can I, Mommy?”

  “Sergei is wonderful with children and will stay right by her,” Jeff assured Gabi.

  She tried to calm down, but it was a losing battle. “For a few minutes, but then we have to go.”

  Jeff gave her daughter the leash. Ashley couldn’t have been more delighted. The four of them started walking. It was a relief to leave the restaurant, where they’d been surrounded by an audience. The sight of a park ranger with a dog made anonymity impossible. The last thing Gabi wanted was to create a scene.

  “Stay on the grass bordering the parking lot, honey.”

  “I will.”

  The moment Ashley was out of earshot, Jeff moved closer. “Will you answer me one question? I promise it has nothing to do with your phone call or your turmoil, neither of which are any of my business.”

  His sincerity defeated her, but she was afraid to look him in the eye for fear she’d reveal too much. “What is it?”

  “Would you have stayed in the park last night if there’d been a vacancy?” When she hesitated, he added, “Provided you hadn’t seen me?” He’d always been good at reading minds. Nothing got past him.

  “Yes,” she admitted at last. “Ashley was so tired I hated the idea of having to get back in the car and do more driving.”

  He cocked his head. “On the heels of that thought, she won’t like another drive to San Francisco this morning, so I’ve got an idea. If you’ll follow me back to the park, I’ll lead you to a place where I can guarantee a reservation for as long as you need one. What are friends for, after all.”

  His remark captured Gabi’s attention. She studied him for a moment. “That’s a very generous offer. If every ranger was as accommodating to an old friend, there’d be no lodgings for the regular tourists.”

  A ghost of a smile hovered on his lips. “I’m not just any ranger.”

  Gabi chuckled quietly in spite of the tension. “No. In that newspaper article beneath the picture it said you were the chief stew—” She stopped midsentence, but too late to catch herself. Her face went hot as a blowtorch.

  “You’re referring to the one where I’m standing next to Alex Harcourt. She’s the bride on the honeymoon with Ranger Hollis.”

  Jeff had just cleared up any question Gabi had been secretly harboring since last month. He’d read her mind with his usual uncanny clarity.

  “She sounds like a remarkable woman, to have funded those Zuni volunteer teenagers with her own money.”

  “She grew up loving them, and wanted to give them a unique experience, which makes her even more remarkable. But I’d rather talk about you and Ashley right now. Let me put a question to you. If I unexpectedly turned up on your doorstep on a hot day, wouldn’t you invite me in for a cold drink before I went on my way?” He held up his palm. “Be careful how you answer. Remember, I lived next door to you for three years.”

  She’d never forgotten. Jeff had been an integral part of her life until he’d gone away. After she met Ryan, she’d tried to bury those memories, but had been unsuccessful.

  “I know you’re in trouble of some kind, but I promise not to pry into your personal affairs. All I want to do is be a friend, because you look as if you need one.”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “Only to me,” he said in a husky tone, “but that’s because we spent so much time together and I see certain signs. After all these years, I’m glad you felt you could still come to me, even if you decided to change your mind at the last minute.”

  With her secret exposed, Gabi had no choice but to be honest with him now. “Two nights ago Bev received a threatening phone call from my ex-husband, while I was vacationing at Oceanside with Ashley. What he said frightened me so terribly, I called my attorney, Henry Steel. After telling me not to go home or to Bev’s house, he advised me to find a safe place until he’d talked to my ex-husband’s attorney.

  “I’d remembered seeing the picture of you at Yosemite. Suddenly that sounded like a safe place, and I found myself seeking you out, but it was irrational of me. Once Ashley and I reached the Yosemite Valley and there were no vacancies, I came to my senses and told her we were leaving for El Portal. But she saw the dog and then I saw you. We were well and truly caught.”

  Lines bracketed his mouth. “So if she hadn’t seen Sergei, the two of you would have left?”

  “Yes,” Gabi answered honestly, and saw the way his brows furrowed. “After that phone call from my attorney, I went out of my mind for a little while. Until Ashley and I reached Curry Village, I didn’t realize how delusional I was being for even coming to the park. It was sheer lunacy on my part to think a person I’d known way back in high school would want to be approached.”

  “I was hardly just any person, Gabi,” he insisted.

  “True. You were my next-door neighbor in my youth, but it’s been fourteen years sinc
e the last time I…said good-night to you in the driveway, after that movie. You can’t make me feel better for my impulsiveness, Jeff. In fact, I’m so embarrassed I could cry. But I’m a mother and have to act like one, or Ashley will be more upset than she already is.”

  Except that right now her daughter looked as if she was having a marvelous time, running around with the dog.

  “Is she frightened, too?”

  Gabi shook her head. “No, but since that phone call at the beach, she senses something’s wrong.”

  He shifted his weight. “You need a place where she can play and you can relax, while you deal with this emergency. Agreed?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I don’t see a problem. After you follow me back to the park, I have to go on duty. You’ll have a place to yourself for as long as you need, to talk to your attorney and deal with this crisis.”

  “You swear it won’t put you out?”

  His keen gaze trapped hers. “I am an old friend. It will grieve me if you refuse this small thing I can do for you.”

  “Thank you, Jeff,” she whispered. But alongside her relief, warning bells went off, because she could never look at him as just a friend. It wasn’t possible. “I’ll do this only if you let me pay you.”

  “That’s fine.” He glanced at her daughter. “While you get Ashley, I’ll load Sergei and we’ll leave. On our way we’ll be passing through the Arch Rock Entrance. When we get there, the ranger will ask you the usual questions. Just play tourist and answer them the same way you did with the other ranger yesterday. No more, no less.”

  Gabi nodded. She understood. Though she might be following him back into the park, he didn’t want anyone else to know that. He wasn’t interested in her romantically. The last thing he needed was any of his colleagues jumping to an erroneous conclusion, especially if he was involved with another woman right now. Jeff was divorced, and she couldn’t blame him for wanting to avoid unnecessary gossip.

  Chapter Three

  Jeff nodded to Matt Wilson, the ranger at the entrance to the park. He wanted to tell the other man that Gabi was with him and didn’t need to be stopped to answer questions, but he didn’t dare. The grapevine reached everywhere.

  It was bad enough Ranger Ness had witnessed Jeff’s strange behavior yesterday concerning one Gabi Rafferty driving a blue Honda Civic. He didn’t relish another ranger speculating on the gorgeous black-haired beauty and her relationship to Jeff.

  He pulled to the side of the road and watched through the rearview mirror until she’d answered the usual questions and passed through. The dog sat up on the seat next to him. Jeff ruffled his fur.

  “Little did you know you’re going to have a new playmate, Sergei. For how long, I have no idea. We’re going to take this an hour at a time, okay, buddy?” As Gabi drove out, Jeff pulled onto the road again directly in front of her.

  There was no time like the present to get things set up. He rang Chief Rossiter’s house. After three rings his wife, Rachel, answered.

  “Hi, Jeff. Seems kind of strange around here without Cal or Alex, doesn’t it?”

  It had, until he’d lifted his head yesterday and had stared into a pair of divine blue eyes tinged with purple.

  “I’m sure it feels that way to Sergei. I was wondering what Nicky’s doing later on this morning.”

  She laughed. “Besides driving me crazy?”

  Jeff smiled. “Do you think he’d like to come over and bring his dog? A family friend from way back, Gabi Rafferty, and her seven-year-old daughter, Ashley, will be staying at my house today while I’m on duty. Since she and Nicky both love dogs, I think the two of them would get along great. I’ll make sure they eat lunch. What do you think?”

  “Nicky will love it!”

  “Good.”

  “It will be nice for him to play with someone close to his own age. He’s missing being with his school friends. Most every family has taken a vacation this August.”

  Ashley had just come from one and was probably missing her friends, too, especially under circumstances Jeff had yet to understand. “I’m driving in from El Portal and will call you when I reach the house.”

  “Perfect. I’ll tell him to take his binoculars and a couple of board games along.”

  “Terrific. Thanks, Rachel.”

  “Thank you. It will give me some alone time with the baby. Talk to you later.”

  After they’d hung up, he rang Bryce and told him he wouldn’t be able to join him at the site until tomorrow. For the rest of the day Jeff intended to remain at headquarters and get caught up on paperwork, then head home early and fix dinner.

  He hadn’t entertained anyone since moving in. In his wildest dreams he couldn’t have imagined Gabi being his first guest. Her last name had been White before she got married, because it had been Bev’s last name. Before that she’d had other last names. Gabi wasn’t her birth name, either. Her first foster parent had named her that.

  She’d had so many painful changes in her young life before and after she came to live with the White family, yet there was no one more resilient. Despite Nora’s mean-spirited nature and jealousy of Jeff’s interest in her, Gabi took it in stride. She never felt sorry for herself.

  Her forward-looking attitude was something he especially loved about her. But his plan to marry her and make her feel secure and safe one day had blown up in his face because she’d wed someone else.

  He shouldn’t have been so hurt that she could fall in love with another guy. Somehow he’d thought her feelings for him had run as deep as his for her. Not true. End of story until yesterday, when Gabi’s troubled divorce had planted her and her daughter squarely in Jeff’s private world. It was a scenario he would never have imagined.

  Cal would probably tell him he was a fool to have gone after her last evening, but fourteen years ago Jeff had been forced to leave Gabi without explanation. This might be the only chance he would ever get to reveal the circumstances that led up to his going away without warning. If she needed help, he was prepared to offer it.

  Jeff had been a grown man for a long time now. No threats from Bev White, or his father telling him what to do, could touch him. Neither of them had any say about his life.

  GABI KEPT HER EYES on Jeff’s truck as they entered Yosemite Valley, trying to anticipate when he would stop. The morning traffic was worse than last evening’s.

  “Are we going to stay at that big hotel? On the paper it says the Ah-wah-nee.”

  “I don’t know, honey. Ranger Thompson said to follow him, so that’s what I’m doing.” Instinct told her he was taking her to wherever he lived.

  They drove past the park’s headquarters and pretty soon he turned onto a road that led to a cluster of houses. They looked like the kind built in the l950s. There were subdivisions of ranch-style houses like them everywhere in California. He drove two blocks before turning into a driveway on the left.

  The garage door went up. She spotted a red-and-black motorcycle at the far end and a gray Volvo parked on the left side. He’d always had a fascination for fast cars and bikes.

  Jeff climbed down from his truck and walked over to her door. “Go ahead and drive on in.”

  Gabi shook her head. “We can’t stay at your house.”

  “Sure you can. You’re paying me, right? It’s the only room in town.” He said it with a smile for Ashley. Gabi realized he meant it literally.

  “Jeff—”

  “Don’t look now,” he interrupted, “but the chief ranger’s son is rounding the corner with his mutt. He’s come to play with your daughter.” As he said it, he opened the rear door for Ashley to jump down. Sergei rushed to rub his body against her, making her laugh. “Here.” He handed her the leash. “Let him walk around in the front yard.”

  “Okay. Come on, Sergei,” Ashley cried with excitement, behaving as if he was her dog already.

  With the die cast, Gabi had little choice but to enter the garage. Jeff followed. “Pop the trunk.”

&n
bsp; She did his bidding so he could retrieve the two suitcases. After he’d shut the lid, he waited for her to join him in the driveway. By now the boy’s little white dog had run over to Sergei, making yapping noises.

  “Hi, Nicky!”

  “Hi, Jeff!”

  “I’m glad you could come to my house. This is Ashley Rafferty and her mom, Gabi, from Rosemead. We’re old friends.”

  “Then how come they never came before?”

  Gabi noticed Jeff trying not to laugh. “Because we lost touch until they arrived at the park yesterday.”

  Gabi couldn’t help smiling at the darling blond-haired boy wearing a backpack. “Hello, Nicky.”

  “Hi.”

  “Hi!” Ashley spoke up. “What’s your dog’s name?”

  “Samson. He’s really Samson the second. My dad had the first Samson, but he died and Dad buried him at his grandparents’ house in Oakhurst. My grandparents live there now.”

  “Oh,” Ashley said, obviously surprised by such a long speech. “I don’t even have a dog.”

  Jeff patted her shoulder. “You can pretend Sergei is yours while you’re here.” Ashley beamed in response.

  Nicky eyed her with interest. “Did you know he’s a Karelian bear dog from Finland?”

  “Yes. Ranger Thompson told me.”

  “Sergei belongs to Ranger Hollis.”

  “I know. He’s on his honeymoon.”

  “Dad says he’s lucky.”

  “Did your dad go on a honeymoon?”

  “Yup. I went with him.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “We went to London. I got to see where Harry Potter took the train to Hogwarts. Have you ever heard of Harry Potter?”

  “Of course. I have Hedwig pajamas.”

  He studied her with new appreciation. “What grade are you in?”

  “I’ll be going into second.”

  “So will Brittany, but she’s on vacation right now.”

  “Who’s Brittany?”

  “She’s our teacher’s daughter.”

  “Oh.”

  “I’ll be in third grade. Do you want to look through my binoculars later? If we’re real quiet, you can see a California woodpecker in that black oak across the street. Jeff says it digs for acorns out of a pit it dug for itself.”