Wildfire (3 page)

If the woods weren’t still wet from recent rainfall, she would be more concerned about a fire, but it was highly unlikely that anything would ignite. She decided this was a problem that could be handled in the morning as she pulled her arms tighter across her chest and took another sip of her cocoa.

Elaine awoke just as the sun crested Somerset Peak behind her to the east. It was late for her to start her day—she would have to set an alarm since the shadow of the mountain made sunrise artificially late and she couldn’t always depend on her internal clock to wake her. Filling her cup to the brim with coffee, she stepped out onto the deck. An appreciation for the strength of her coffee was lost on everyone else, but for her it was perfect. It was the only way to jumpstart her day. She looked back in the vicinity of where the smoke had been the night before and the morning sky was clear. Whoever had been there had probably pulled out by now. She took a sip from the steaming mug and sighed appreciatively. She usually had to get her coffee on the run in a travel cup. This morning she mindlessly fingered the ceramic cup with the chipped handle and appreciated the peace.

While Elaine dressed she caught a glimpse of herself in her complete ranger’s uniform in the mirror and was reminded of why she had become a ranger. It wasn’t necessarily the uniform, although she felt a profound sense of pride when wearing it, especially now that she was captain, but it was more for what her uniform represented. The Cascades were in her blood. They had been here for thousands of years before her and they would continue to be here long after she was gone, but while she was alive, she would help to protect them from people who didn’t appreciate their majestic beauty.

Elaine finished her second cup of coffee and set it gently in the sink. She chose to leave her rifle at the cabin and opted for her holster instead, attaching it firmly to her belt. She slung her pack over her shoulder, already filled with a towel, brush and bottled water and headed out the door into the crisp new day.

There wasn’t much more than a deer trail leading down into the basin and she was thankful for the thickness of her uniform. The underbrush was still a little thin but it tore at her. This summer, hundreds of thousands of these acres would be a prime feeding ground for wildfire. Elaine knew that she should search for the campsite, but no evidence of fire in the morning made it likely the culprits were gone, so there was little urgency.

The area where she had seen smoke was in the opposite direction of the spring. She had built up a slight perspiration and the fresh cold water was calling for her. She had been anticipating this swim since her arrival the evening before. She wanted to wash away all thoughts of the old and embrace the new.

From the edge of a large boulder above the sparkling natural spring, she shed all of her clothing and plunged into the water. The cold was a welcome shock. After a few minutes her teeth quit chattering and the goose bumps faded from her nude body. She dunked her head in the water and as she came up for air she could feel all the worries and tension that she had been harboring wash away and with it the heaviness that she hadn’t even realized had been resting upon her.

She spent several more minutes in the water before pulling herself up onto a rock to let the air dry her. The sun felt good on her naked body although the breeze was cool. In a few months it would be the perfect temperature to skinny dip and then sunbathe. Just the thought made her smile. Sometimes it was the simple pleasures that made life so wonderful.

A quick search of her bag produced her towel and brush. She ran the brush through her hair and looked up at the afternoon sky. As she dressed she could feel the temperature dropping. She would have to get a move on if she was going to locate the illegal campsite from the night before, make sure it was vacated or cite the idiot for the campfire and get back up to the cabin before the cold front arrived.

She felt fresh and new, alive and wonderful for the first time in…well, she couldn’t remember how long. She felt like her old self again; the Elaine that had existed before Grace. Feeling completely alone on the mountain and a little bit impish, she chose to leave her undergarments off and enjoyed the soft, worn material of her uniform against her flesh. She was due for new uniforms but there was nothing like a good old-fashioned pair of broken in pants, making it hard for her to part with them. It was like when she slipped on her favorite pair of Levis. They were faded and had holes all over, but as far as she was concerned, they were perfect.

She secured her pack to her shoulders and set out in the general direction that the smoke had come from. As she approached the spill area, she was pleased to see how well the foliage was recovering. The land between the Entiat River and Chiwawa was coming back to life. It had changed, maybe forever, but in her heart she doubted it. In her experience, nature always seemed to find a way to heal itself. A few years before, there had been a similar spill on the upper Sacramento River. Hazmat crews and rangers had worked tirelessly to clean the area. It had taken years to see even a partial recovery and it still had not returned to what it once was. Man’s assault on nature, accidental or not, broke Elaine’s heart.

As she followed the path, she suddenly heard a voice. She couldn’t ascertain what was being said, the words weren’t clear enough, but she followed the sound. She was surprised to realize that it was a woman’s voice. She seemed to be having a one-sided conversation, because whoever she was speaking to wasn’t answering.

Elaine homed in on the voice. She had every intention of finding out why this woman was out here.
Did she not understand that this was a protected area? Was she illiterate and incapable of reading the warning signs? Did she not get that just by being here she was endangering her own safety?
Whatever the situation, Elaine was going to get rid of her.

She caught sight of a slender figure as she approached, back to her. She glanced around and, not seeing anyone else, assumed the woman was alone. She heard the woman continue talking to herself and watched as she stood for a moment, running her hands though dark hair that just brushed her shoulders.

She must have made a noise because the woman suddenly became aware of her, spinning around on her heels with a startled gasp.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? Do you know what kind of damage you may be causing? Watch your step!”

Dumbfounded, Elaine quickly glanced down at her feet and saw that she was standing on good old-fashioned soil without so much as a leaf trampled beneath her feet. Once she was certain that she was being berated by a crazy woman, she looked up again. This time her breath caught.

Surely this had to be some kind of apparition or maybe a hallucination. This woman was far too beautiful to be real. She blinked, looked again and couldn’t stop her gaze as it slowly traveled up her long legs, past her flat stomach and then higher where it rested on her breasts. Even through her fleece and blue jeans, Elaine could tell that she was firm in all the right places and all of her curves were in perfect proportion to her body.

When Elaine finally met the woman’s stormy gray eyes, she felt like a small child being chastised for having misbehaved. She was chagrined for having so thoroughly ogled the woman instead of getting right to business and maintaining her professionalism. Did this woman not see her uniform and realize that she had every right to be in these woods? Elaine tried to pull her gaze away, but in spite of her greatest efforts, she felt paralyzed.

Devon held out her hand and snapped, “My name is Devon McKinney and you are?” The husky voice that answered, however, rolled over her senses, disconcerting her.

“Captain Elaine Thomas.”

The woman exuded quiet confidence. It was obvious that she was comfortable with her surroundings and her authority and Devon was impressed at the captain insignia on the worn uniform. It was obvious that this woman had been doing her job for a while.

Unbidden, she also realized the uniform was worn in all the right places. The open collar of the ranger’s shirt framed a long throat tanned to a delicate gold. It would have been rude to openly stare at the ranger’s breasts, but she found it impossible to ignore the taut nipples pressing firmly against the fabric. Her legs, even encased in pants, were clearly tight and muscular. Devon’s mouth went suddenly dry when she glanced up only to be met by the darkest eyes and fullest lips she had ever seen. Her pulse quickened as she took in the powerfully attractive woman standing before her with hands on hips.

Noticing her slightly damp auburn hair, she wondered if the ranger had been swimming. In these water temperatures? That was slightly nutty, in her opinion, though there was something to be said about a refreshing dip in frigid waters.

She saw Elaine take notice of the open notebook with her sketches, then her eyes traveled to the tape measure, boring rod and knapsack full of instruments.

“What are you researching?”

Devon withheld her mild amusement of the very perceptive observation. “I’m examining the growth in the area. There is still poisoned plant life from the toxic spill, but the levels do show a marked decrease.” She stopped herself before saying more. It had been her experience that not many people were interested in hearing about her work.

“So you’re the botanist?”

She searched Elaine’s eyes for mockery or skepticism. They seemed to convey respect for her and her work. She was shocked because it wasn’t something that she was accustomed to seeing, except in Stacey or Raine. Most people could care less about botany, but she got the impression that this woman was different. Obviously, being a ranger, her job was to take care of these mountains, but that didn’t automatically mean that she gave a damn about the details.

“That’s right. I was informed that you were expecting me.”

“Yes, but you didn’t check in with the ranger’s station so I wasn’t sure of your arrival time or camp location.”

She gave herself a mental slap. Yes, she had forgotten that bit of professional courtesy.

Elaine looked up at the sky between the trees. “There’s a storm rolling in. It doesn’t feel like snow, but you should probably be careful.”

She wanted to bristle, but she squelched the feeling. She reminded herself that this woman was simply doing her job. She didn’t know that Devon could take care of herself. She had no idea that Devon had been out in the field more times than she could count.

“There are reports of poachers in the area, so I’ll be back to check on you. If you need anything,” she turned and pointed, “I’m just up the hill at the cabin.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

She watched Elaine walk away, hoping she wouldn’t turn around and catch her staring. In the slant of the late afternoon sun, Elaine’s hair was bronze as it swayed. She gazed at the spot where the woman faded from sight, then with a shiver, finally noticed the dropping temperature. She wasn’t sure if the rapid cooling of her body was because the ranger had left or if it was actually the weather. Captain Thomas was right. There was a storm rolling in and judging by the moist air it was most likely going to bring rain.

She gathered up her equipment and headed back to her camp. Now distracted and tired, she decided it was time to call it a day. Who would have thought that she would ever meet anyone up here at this time of year, much less someone so attractive?

She made it back to camp and started a hearty fire just as it began to sprinkle. She sat just inside her tent letting her thoughts wander as she watched the rain dance about the flames. She instinctively knew that Elaine was a lesbian. Somehow that thought was as unsettling as the penetrating gaze and dark eyes that seemed to stare right into her, almost through her.

She sighed to herself. She had work to do and wondering about the attractive ranger wasn’t going to help her get it done. As the last of the light faded over the top of the mountains, she secured her camp before returning to her tent where she switched on the lantern and found her notebook.

The notebook drew her eyes to her hands and she shook her head at the dry skin. Her hands were already red and beginning to chap. It was just one of the many hazards of working in the field, but she was never unprepared. She enjoyed the feel of the lotion as it soaked in, rehydrating her skin. She reached into her pack and produced a pencil and began deciphering her notes until the sound of raindrops gently trickling down upon the fabric of the tent soothed her to sleep.

Elaine stoked the fire and went back to the window with her cup of tea. The lightning that danced across the sky was breathtaking. She knew there was a chance of a lightning strike, but the rain cascading down eased her mind. The danger of fire was always at the forefront of any ranger’s mind, but in circumstances like this, Elaine didn’t have to worry too much. The rain quieted her fears. There was nothing like a high mountain storm and she was reminded of how much she missed just sitting and watching one. She hadn’t seen any signs of the poachers or any more of their victims, but decided she should check in with the station anyway.

“Dane, you got a copy?”

“Go ahead, Captain.”

“I made contact with the botanist, Devon McKinney. Did she check in with you?”

“Hang on. I’ll check the log.” Elaine waited patiently for a moment, “No, she didn’t.”

“So we don’t know anything about her?” Just talking about Devon conjured her image and sent a shiver down Elaine’s spine.