Healing the Forest Ranger

Chapter Three

“I like Dr. Baldwin.” Kristen glanced at her mother as Lyn drove them home an hour later.

The girl rolled her car window down halfway, and the afternoon breeze teased golden wisps of hair that framed her oval face. A tangy smell hung in the air, and Lyn hoped it might rain up in the mountains. The wildlife sure needed the moisture.

“You do, huh?” Lyn kind of liked Cade, too, even if he didn’t like her. The way he’d put Kristen at ease had impressed Lyn. It’d been a long time since she’d seen Kristen actually try to do what her doctor suggested. It wasn’t that the girl was contrary, but rather, she seemed to have given up hope of ever walking normally again.

Truth be told, Lyn had almost given up, too.

“Yeah, he’s a lot different from Dr. Fletcher.”

Lyn silently agreed, but kept up the small talk, delighted to see her daughter smile again. “How so?”

“Dr. Fletcher is so...old.”

Lyn laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with old age as long as you get there, hon. Dr. Fletcher was always nice and helpful.”

“Yeah, but Dr. Baldwin is handsome, and he smells nice. He’s lots different,” Kristen repeated.

Lyn laughed. Cade definitely smelled good. But he was unusual in other ways, too. His dark, gleaming eyes, his gentle frankness as he showed Kristen how to walk properly, his solid good looks. Lyn just hoped she could trust him to do what was best for her child.

“We’ve been too busy and gone way too long without you seeing a doctor,” Lyn said. “Now that we’re settled in, I’ll get you to physical therapy every week.”

“With Dr. Baldwin, that’ll be nice,” Kristen said.

Hmm. Maybe Kristen had a small crush on the attractive doctor.

As they ate dinner that evening, then prepared for bed, Kristen talked nonstop about Cade. Today had been a great start, and Lyn felt an inkling of optimism for the first time since Rob’s death. Perhaps Cade was just what Kristen needed.

* * *

The last thing Lyn expected the following morning was Cade showing up unannounced at her ranger’s office. Looking up from a pile of paperwork stacked on her desk, she found his tall silhouette outlined in the doorway and inhaled a sharp breath. He’d appeared silently out of nowhere, and she wondered how long he’d been watching her work.

“Cade! You startled me.” She glanced behind him, speculating on where Cindy, her office manager, was and how he’d gotten past her without interception.

He gave a lazy shrug. “Sorry. I had an idea and decided to stop by to see if you might be amenable.”

He didn’t smile, but his gentle eyes betrayed his inner feelings. He wanted something. From her.

“You got a minute?” he asked, his thumbs hanging casually through the belt loops of his blue jeans.

She stood and indicated a chair across from her desk. “Sure! Please, sit down.”

He sat, lifting one long leg to cross the booted ankle over his opposite knee. She caught his subtle aroma of spice and leather, and her gaze lowered to the hollow of his throat where a thin, white scar ran along the front of his throat. Almost as though he’d been sliced by a knife.

She swallowed and focused on his face. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I’m actually here in an official capacity,” he began. “I’m the wild-horse representative for the Toyakoi Tribe.” He paused as though letting this information sink in.

“I’ve heard of them, but what does Toyakoi stand for?” she asked.

“Mountain peak. We’re a federally recognized Shoshone tribe with our own constitution.”

“I see. And what can I do for you?”

“You said you go into the mountains on Fridays. I was wondering if it might be possible for me to accompany you now and then.”

She hadn’t expected this request. Not at all.

“I don’t have time to go out every Friday.”

He shrugged. “That’s okay. I’d like to accompany you when you do have time.”

“But what about your doctor’s office? Don’t you have to work?” she asked.

“I only work in my office three days a week. The rest of the time I usually do research. For now, I’d like to spend some time with you, checking on the mustangs.”

She tilted her head, an edge of suspicion filling her voice. “You mean you want to spy on me? To see if the big bad forest ranger is plotting the demise of all the wild- horse herds?”

He hesitated, his eyes crinkled with misgivings. “No, I don’t want to spy, but I do want you to show me the problems so I can better understand how to help the wild horses.”

She shook her head and laughed, trying to lighten the tense mood. “All right, I can accept that. But remember, I want to help the mustangs, too, Cade. I really do.”

“I hope that’s true. I’ve been thinking over what you said last week about the wild horses, wildlife and domestic livestock all being equally important. I think we should work together to find some satisfactory resolutions.”

“But last week you weren’t interested in hearing my ideas.”

He gave a lazy shrug. “I’ve reconsidered.”

Hmm. Maybe this could be a good thing. Working together with the Toyakoi Tribe might help alleviate a lot of tension between the horse advocates and the government entities.

“You realize the Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction over the wild horses, not the Forest Service. I can’t decide anything for the mustangs,” she said.

“Yes, but I also know you have the power to call the BLM in to look at the situation and then get them to consider rounding up the mustangs and move some of them off your ranger district.”

He made a valid point.

“It’s not my ranger district, Cade. I’m merely the overseer here. And I won’t pretend I’m not very close to being forced to call in the BLM now. The horse and burro population grows by about twenty percent each year. Without any natural predators, that means they double in size about every four years. There’s just too many of them, and the damage has become quite serious.”

She didn’t mention the myriad of ranchers she had breathing down her neck, asking her to do something about the problem soon. She’d handle the ranchers the same way she would the Shoshone Tribe. With honesty, professionalism and tact.

He sat back in his cracked leather chair. “Look, Mrs. Warner. All I’m asking is that you involve me in your decisions. I can do a lot to talk about this with the Shoshone people and keep this problem from blowing up into a big hornets’ nest. We might be able to assist with some decisions, if you’ll let us.”

Yes, she was highly aware of that. Maybe a partnership of sorts would be wise. If Cade saw firsthand what she was dealing with in the mountains and valleys, he could take that information back to the wild-horse advocates and gain some support for what must be done.

“Okay, you’re welcome to come along—on one condition,” she said.

“And what’s that?”