A Ranger For Christmas. Stella Bagwell

       Chapter One

      “How many times do I have to tell you, Mort? I don’t need another partner. I’ve got this.”

      Park ranger Vivian Hollister rose from a wooden chair and began to pace around her supervisor’s small office. Beyond the open blinds, she could see the parking lot in front of the headquarters building was empty. Her fellow rangers had already headed out to patrol their allotted areas, while she’d been ordered to remain behind for a private meeting with Mort.

      “Look, Viv, I’ll be the first to admit that you’re damned good at your job. You’ve been here at Lake Pleasant for a long time and I’ve never had to worry about you slacking off, or making a wrong decision about handling problems. But—”

      Vivian didn’t allow him to finish. “But what? I’ve been here nine years, Mort. Going on ten. And by that length of time, you should know I have the routine down. Why bother bringing someone in to fill Louis’s place when I can handle the job on my own?”

      The sixty-year-old man with red hair was tall and rawboned, with blue eyes that crinkled at the corners. He’d been Vivian’s supervisor from the day she’d been hired on at Lake Pleasant State Park in Arizona. Since then, he’d not only been a great boss, but he’d also become her friend, and she’d expected him to understand her reluctance to work long days with a stranger. Instead, his patient smile made it clear she was wasting time trying to argue her point.

      “If Louis was only going to miss a day or two of work, I’d say fine, Viv. Go ahead and handle it on your own. But at the very least, it’s going to be four to six months before Louis’s broken leg will be ready for work again. And with the Christmas holiday coming up, the park is going to be brimming with extra campers. Like it or not, you’re going to need help.”

      Vivian’s jaw dropped as she turned to stare at her boss. “Six months! I talked to Louis over the phone yesterday morning. He told me he’d be back at work in two or three weeks!”

      Mort shook his head. “That was before the doctor discovered the tibia bone in Louis’s leg was more than a stress fracture. It’s going to require surgery to fix it. If things go well and Louis takes care of himself, he’ll be back to work by spring.”

      Vivian stifled a groan. Today was the second day of December. Spring seemed like eons away. She couldn’t survive without Louis for that length of time.

      Completely deflated by this turn of events, Vivian wilted into the chair she’d vacated moments earlier. “Oh, no,” she muttered. “Six months. Poor Louis.”

      “No need to worry about Louis. While he’s laid up Inez will spoil him rotten. It’s filling his spot here at work that’s my concern right now.” Mort glanced at a large clock positioned on the wall to his right. “And I’d say your new partner should be arriving any minute now.”

      His unexpected announcement caused Vivian to bounce up from the chair. “This morning? Now? Are you kidding me?”

      Mort was about to make some sort of reply when a knock had Vivian whirling away from the supervisor’s desk to stare in horror-like fascination at the door. How could he have sprung such a surprise on her? Why hadn’t he warned her that she’d be meeting a new partner today? At the very least, she would’ve had time to mentally prepare herself.

      “Come in,” Mort called out.

      With her hands behind her, Vivian unconsciously wrapped her fingers around the edge of Mort’s desk in an effort to brace herself. Man or woman, young or old, this couldn’t be good, she thought. Louis was the only partner she’d ever had. He’d always been like a father figure to her and she trusted him implicitly. She didn’t want to share long working hours with a stranger.

      She sensed Mort rising from his desk chair, but after that everything in the room suddenly faded, except for the man walking through the doorway. Even if she’d had time to think, he was like nothing she could’ve imagined for a partner.

      Somewhere in his late twenties, he was tall and lean, with bronze skin, blue-black hair and black eyes hooded beneath a pair of black brows. High cheekbones and a hawkish nose dominated his angular features, yet it was the faint curve of his thin lips that caught and held her attention.

      Who was this man? Rangers from other areas of the state sometimes visited Lake Pleasant headquarters, but if this man had been one of them, she would’ve definitely remembered. Just looking at him made her feel hot all over.

      “Sawyer, good to see you,” Mort greeted as he went to shake the man’s hand. “And right on time, too.”

      “Nice to see you again, Mr. Woolsey,” he said as he gave Mort’s hand a hearty pump. “I had planned to be here earlier, but a rancher on the res decided this morning was a good time for a cattle drive down the highway.”

      “No worries about the time. And you needn’t bother with the Mr. Woolsey. Just call me Mort, like everyone else around here. Except for Viv. She calls me Mort, plus a few other things I’d rather not repeat,” he joked, then motioned for Vivian to join them. “Come here, Viv, and let me introduce you to your new partner.”

      Certain she’d suddenly walked into some sort of hazy dream, Vivian drew in a deep breath and forced herself to move toward the two men.

      “Viv, this is Sawyer Whitehorse. He’ll be working with you until Louis is back on his feet. And, Sawyer, this is Vivian Hollister.”

      The man flashed a smile at her and extended his hand. Vivian fought off the urge to wipe her sweaty palm on the hip pocket of her twill pants and offered him her hand.

      “It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hollister,” he said. “From what I hear, it’s going to be tough trying to fill Louis’s shoes. But I’ll do my best.”

      In spite of the cold weather outside, his hand felt as warm as a sunbaked rock and just as hard.

      “Hello, Mr. Whitehorse. I—uh, didn’t learn until just a moment before you walked in that I was getting a new partner. But now that you’re here, welcome to Lake Pleasant State Park. I hope you’ll enjoy your time here.”

      As he was still hanging on to her hand, his smile deepened and Vivian didn’t miss the dimple carving his right cheek. Was there anything unattractive about the man? she wondered. So far she’d not seen it.

      Beneath the hunter green jacket with ranger patches adorning the upper arms, she could see that his shoulders were very broad, while his chest narrowed down to a trim waist. The trousers of his matching green uniform hugged narrow hips and long muscled thighs that evoked images of strength and stamina.

      Darn it. Sawyer Whitehorse was wearing the same uniform that every other park ranger at Lake Pleasant wore, so why did he make it look so downright sexy?

      He said, “Thank you, Ms. Hollister. I’m looking forward to it.”

      Seemingly pleased with this new pairing of employees, Mort grinned. “Don’t you two think you ought to lighten things up and make it Vivian and Sawyer? The park guests might find it a bit odd to hear you addressing each other