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There’s a twinkle in Gerdie’s eye. “I’d say yes. But he’s grappling with some inner concern. He’ll work it out. You’ll be safe and protected. He’ll teach you things none of the other SAR rangers have experienced. There isn’t much of this mountain he doesn’t know.”

She stands and pours herself a mug of coffee and glances at me to see if I’d like some. I nod. She goes to the pantry, pulls out a bottle of Jamison and pours a health dollop in both our mugs before putting it back and taking her seat at the table.

“He ran wild in the mountains as a boy, learned to hunt and track from his dad and later, when the logging jobs became scarce, the two of them survived doing the black market hustle. His dad died when a widowmaker tree fell. Micha found him but it was too late.

“Micha was on his own for two years in that old trailer you saw when we drove in.”

“You mean him and his mother?”

“No,” Gerdie scowled. “She was out carousing most of the time once Micha started school. When his dad died, Micha let everyone think she was still around, just heart broke. Though I doubt anyone believed it. I sure as hell didn’t. Four months after his dad died, she’d already taken off with one of her lovers. Micha knew that if the town thought he was on his own they’d put him in the system. He wouldn’t have survived that. He lived up here on his own and kept doing the dangerous work he and his father had done together to provide some income for basics. All the while, he showed up to school... at least most every day.

“He was my student. I taught junior and senior high school history back in the day. Brighter than many of my students but worn down with responsibility and neglect. When the weather got too bad or he had no food, he’d come to me and ask for work. I’d pay him for chores and feed him. I kept his secret because trust is a foundation and you can’t cage a wild one.

“I helped him get into the army as soon as he was eligible. They honed his existing survival instincts and he did well. He came home after his twenty years, has a few friends from the area who also served. They meet up occasionally. No one knows the truth but me, and maybe your dad, and now you.”

She pauses and studies me over her coffee mug. “Now he’s built a cabin, a proper home. It’s time he settles down and allows himself to have a real family with someone who appreciates and loves the man he is.

“Doing search and rescue is still dangerous work. But I’m sure you know that if you trained to be a ranger.”

“Yes, I’m aware. I have a healthy respect for mother nature. I’ve studied hard to get where I am. That’s one of the reasons I want to train with the best.”

“And the other?” Her eyes crinkle and twinkle. A smile tilts her lips.

“I’ve come to carve out my own career doing what I love, where I love it. As well as create a home and a life with the man I love. He just doesn’t know that part yet.”

Gerdie grins, leans forward and taps her mug against mine. “To the two of you. Proof that the universe gets it right sometimes.”

CHAPTER 4

Micha

The climb up the trail keeps me focused on my surroundings and alert for potential dangers. This side of the mountain is less developed, which makes it both a deterrent for the weak and a challenge for the arrogant. Visitors with common sense stay clear of the isolation and difficulty. But we always get our share of clueless tourists. People who think they’re smarter than they are, with no practical experience in the mountains, who then do something dangerous and get themselves in trouble.

My property is posted as private but that doesn’t always keep people out. I don’t set traps, but I do have sensors that will warn me if someone gets too close to my home. Home. That still sounds strange to me, now that I have a real one. Strange and almost boastful. I did it, Pops.

Next week a salvage company is coming to remove the old trailer. The last tie to my past. It’s over and done now.

The new cabin is my fresh start. The final step to independence. I have nothing left to prove.

Juniper. Juni. The shortened name fits her. Sweet. Sassy. Stubborn. Beautiful. Damn, she looks all woman now. I’m struggling to remember she’s still a kid by my standards. Only twenty-three, to my forty-one.

She’s my best friend’s daughter. I helped teach her to ride a tricycle then a bike. I wiped her tears when she skinned her knee.

With eyes the color of warm, rich espresso, she looks at me differently now. There’s a fire buried in their depths that no longer speaks of the child and innocent trust.

Now a woman looks back at me. Her full, plump rosy lips practically beg to be kissed. Her body curves in all the right places. She’s the kind of woman a man dreams about. Who I’ve dreamed about. Dreams I have no business entertaining. Best friends’ daughter is a no-go zone.

What the hell was JB thinking to let her come to me?

That she’s like a daughter to you and you’ll keep the fuckboys away from her. She’s safe with you.

What he doesn’t know is that I’ve wanted, no, I’ve loved her for years. She’s so far out of my league. Knowing that doesn’t stop the want, the hunger.

When I get back to the cabin Gerdie’s truck is gone and the porch light is on. I stare at the golden glow. I don’t remember ever having a light welcoming me home. But my sweet Juni thought of it. Thought of me. I clear the lump in my throat.

The temperatures are expected to drop tonight, so I grab an armful of firewood and head inside. Glancing around, I see the kitchen has been cleaned and the dishes done. Someone stoked the fire and the shower is running. An image of her lithe body under the spray fills my head. I close my eyes trying to block the image, but it only gets more intense.

Rich, dark brown hair drenched with water clings to her back almost to her waist. Her full breasts turned to the waters flow as she rinses the suds from her hair and body. I’ll bet her skin is soft as silk, her lips sweet as honey. Her nipples would be full and plump like ripe berries. Tender under the streaming water, ready and waiting to be suckled.