Once A Ranger

“Do I need to draw you a picture?”

“It would hardly be helpful, since I’m blindfolded.” He could almost imagine Kat tapping the toe of her turquoise sandal. “Besides, you cheated. There are no books on this playground.”

“I never promised to fight fair.”

That’s when he realized she was every bit as competitive as he was. Her laughter taunted him. But his hearing was acute and the sound revealed her location. He stepped to the right, grabbed her arm and hauled her close. Removing his blindfold, he stared into her startled eyes.

“Neither did I.” He had no idea what to do now that she was so near. After sixteen years of marriage, he had little experience with flirtation.

Kat licked her lips nervously.

Reflex took over and he kissed her quickly on the mouth to give his cover some credibility. And to let her know who had really won.

She spun away and tromped a few steps across the sand before he caught up with her, grasping her shoulder. “Now who’s the chicken?”

The breeze blew her hair across her eyes, but not before he saw a trace of…defeat.

He brushed the curls back from her face. “Hey, I thought we were just playing.”

“That’s the problem. The rules of the game always end up changing with guys like you.”

She pulled free, turned and followed the path to the casitas.

He started after her, but Linda called to him.

“Let her go.” She moved to his side. “I’m guessing she needs to sort some things out. Things that have nothing to do with you or that kiss.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

Linda snorted. “It looked deliberate to me. Now that you know Kat’s not as strong as she pretends, consider very carefully how you treat her.”

Tony glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone else had noticed. They all seemed to be immersed in their own games. Though there was plenty of laughter, none seemed remotely romantic. Even Will seemed to be dividing his time equally among the sisters and the older guy, Howard.

“That was one hell of an icebreaker, lady,” Tony said to Linda. “It ought to come with a warning.”

She tilted her head. “In the five years we’ve been holding these exercises, I’ve never seen things transpire quite like that. You guys ought to be very interesting new additions to our guest list.”

WILL GLANCED UP as Lola settled herself on the swing.

He noticed the young redhead, Kat, stalk off the playground. Her partner, Tony, started to follow, but Linda stopped him.

Odd.

Will’s first impression of Kat had been that she was a nice, energetic woman. He frowned, wondering what had upset her. His instinct was to see if there was anything he could do to help, but just then Lola said, “Push me.”

Her carefree, girlish tone reminded him why he did what he did. It made him feel like king of the world to bring joy to a woman. And there were so many neglected women needing his attention.

He put Kat out of his mind and focused on Lola. Placing his hand at the small of her back, he gently pushed to propel the tiny woman on the swing.

She rewarded him with a wide smile.

With the sun warm on his face and Lola’s approval, Will thought it was a very good day.

AFTER LEAVING THE playground, Kat took a long walk around the grounds, avoiding the other guests. She considered leaving the resort and turning the rest of her break into a staycation at home.

But her hefty deposit was nonrefundable and the accountant in her protested the waste, despite her recent six figure lottery windfall. Especially since meals were included in the package. If she left now, she’d have to fill her empty refrigerator at home, essentially incurring food costs twice.

Besides, Tony had been out of line. She shouldn’t give up her well-earned trip because he was being a jerk. Truth be told, she didn’t really want to leave, because she’d so looked forward to her time at the resort. Leaving now smacked of defeat.

She returned to her casita determined to stick it out for at least the rest of the week. But how was she going to face the guests who had been in her group at dinner? How was she going to face Tony? By holding her head high, just as she did every other time she screwed up. At least she would never see these people again.

Cheered by the thought, she unpacked her suitcases, hastily arranging her clothing on hangers in the small closet.

The very act of unpacking brought her dad to mind, because of the hundreds of times she’d watched him unpack after a business trip. He would usually bring back a trinket for her, something he’d purchased at an airport gift shop. Kat could still recall the beautiful bottle of Chanel perfume he’d brought home when she was about eight. She had found it in his suitcase before he’d had the opportunity to unpack. She’d squealed with delight, but her mother had been furious at him for buying Kat such an expensive, grown-up gift.

Shaking her head, she realized she hadn’t heard from her father recently. She opened her laptop and booted it up. Checking her sent mail folder, she saw that her last correspondence with him had been nearly a month ago. Her In folder revealed nothing new from him. Frowning, she started to worry. It wasn’t like her dad to be out of touch that long. She relied on their contact, superficial as it was. In the excitement of her lottery win and vacation plans, she’d pushed it to the back of her mind.

Wazzup? The subject header for the message she composed was intentionally lighthearted. Her dad had always been particularly sensitive to anything he construed as an effort to keep tabs on him. Particularly after his divorce from her mom.

Kat constructed a few casual lines that belied her unease. After she sent the message, she wrote a quick e-mail to her mother.

There was a knock at the door, and Kat spied Will through the security peephole.

Reluctantly, she opened the door.

His grin was warm and friendly, without any underlying subtext. “I saw you leave the playground and you looked kind of upset.”

It was a relief to be around an attractive man who wasn’t trying to manipulate her into bed. Kat tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Thank you. It was sweet of you to check on me. I’m fine. Just…tired, I guess.”

“That’s what I figured. But I didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun, so I thought I’d let you in on my favorite dorky playground toy. You know, kind of level the playing field, so to speak.”

Kat returned his grin. “Would you like to come in?”

“No, I can’t stay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He hesitated.

“What was your favorite playground toy, Will?”

“The monkey bars.”

“I imagine most boys liked that one best.” A trace of sarcasm had crept into her voice. She distinctly remembered Adam Reynolds standing below and teasing her about her pink panties in the first grade.

“Probably. But for me, I wanted to help the girls who weren’t strong enough to get across on their own.” His eyes shone with sincerity. “I enjoyed feeling part of their sense of accomplishment.”

A boy that sensitive might have been considered girlish back in the day. Probably the same logic that had Kat chasing bad boys later. She was sorry for having misjudged him. “Wow, that’s really perceptive for a kid. I give you credit for being so selfless at that age.”

“No, not selfless. I got satisfaction out of it.” He touched her elbow lightly. “I’d better go. Maybe I’ll see you at dinner tonight?”