The Forest Ranger's Promise (13 page)

He rested his hand on Melanie's arm, his eyes filled with concern. “Until we become friends, she'll never trust me. I think it's time we talked. Don't worry…I'll be gentle. Why don't you listen in?”

“Okay.” Melanie nodded and said a silent prayer.

As Scott walked down the hallway, Melanie followed, staying back so she could listen without being detected by her daughter. Scott gave her a reassuring smile as he knocked on Anne's door. “Go away.”

Undeterred, he turned the knob and entered the lion's den. Melanie peeked around the door and saw Anne sitting at her desk, coloring furiously.

“Anne, can I talk to you for a few minutes?” Scott said.

“No! Go away.”

The mattress squeaked as he sat on the edge of the bunk bed. “I'll tell you what. You don't have to talk. Just listen to me for a moment.”

Silence. But that was better than shouting. Even so, Melanie wasn't heartened by the lack of response.

Scott's voice filtered out into the hallway, soft and gentle. “I was a few years older than you when my father died. We ran a sheep ranch in Northern Nevada. When he died, I wasn't big or strong enough to really help my mom a lot and we had to sell our ranch before the bank foreclosed on us.”

Anne gasped. “You did?”

Melanie closed her eyes at the emotion in her daughter's voice. This was her greatest fear right now. That they'd lose Opal Ranch. Frank Donaldson kept offering to buy her land for a pittance of what it was worth, but Melanie kept refusing to give up the fight. Until now, she hadn't realized that Anne was worried about it, too.

“Yep. And my mother died a year later. I had nobody in the world.”

Anne made a derisive sound. “If you were a rancher, why'd you become a ranger?”

Melanie caught the tone of disgust in her daughter's voice.

“I couldn't be a rancher anymore, no matter how much I wanted to,” Scott said. “But I figured if I worked hard, I could work my way through school and learn to be a good ranger so I could help other ranchers.”

“Really? That's why you did it?”

“Yep. Not all rangers are bad, just like not all ranchers are bad. I've learned that most people are basically good inside. Sometimes we just forget to be kind to one another. Fighting is easier. It takes more patience and self-control to get along.”

“You mean like how the Donaldsons won't sell us groceries anymore?”

“I guess that's a good example. But it wouldn't be very nice if I pulled Mr. Donaldson's grazing permits, would it?”

“No. Mom said Jesus doesn't like mean tricks like that.”

“That's true. I think right now, you're afraid,” Scott continued. “You're worried you and your mom might lose Opal Ranch. Am I right?”

No sound came from the room, but Melanie knew it was true. Her daughter was frightened and insecure, just as she was.

“You don't need to worry,” Scott said. “I'll do everything in my power to help your mom keep your ranch safe.”

“You mean it?” Hope filled the girl's voice, as if she couldn't quite believe what he'd said.

“It's my promise to you. Okay?”

Melanie couldn't resist peeking around the door. Her daughter shrugged, then nodded. “Okay, but once you make a promise, you have to keep it.”

Scott patted the girl's shoulder. “I intend to. You can count on it.”

Melanie's heart squeezed hard. Scott's words reached deep inside her, giving her hope. It wasn't just Anne who needed to hear his promise. It had been a long time since Melanie had the faith to believe in anyone other than God. Maybe Scott was the answer to her prayers. Maybe the Lord had sent him and Shelley to Snyderville to help out. And Scott didn't even know it.

M
elanie awoke with a start. Alarm prickled her skin and she stared into the darkness above her bed, feeling disoriented. The nightlight by the bathroom door cast an eerie red glow down the hallway. Bob's barking mingled with yells and raucous laughter from outside the house.

“What on earth?” Who could be here at this time of night?

She glanced at the bedside clock, which read 1:37. As she jumped out of bed, she grabbed her bathrobe and thrust her arms into the sleeves.

Scurrying to the front room, Melanie drew back the curtains and peered outside. The headlights of two trucks almost blinded her and she jerked back, blinking. One truck skidded through her wide driveway, turning circles, flipping up gravel as the driver and passengers screamed with delight. Though she couldn't make out their faces in the shadows, two teenage boys tromped through her delphiniums before pelting her house with what appeared to be eggs. The crack and splat struck her picture window, followed by a sickening crash.

Gasping in fear, Melanie stepped to the side as shat
tered glass covered the cream-colored carpet. A rock rolled and landed by her bare feet.

Melanie cried out as a sliver of glass bit into her skin. Bob yelped in pain and she watched in horror as a boy pelted the dog with eggs. The dog growled and snapped, lunging for the boy until he gave up his torment. That's when Melanie got good and mad. Nobody attacked her dog and got away with it.

Hopping on her good foot, she brushed the glass away. Then she thrust her feet into her garden clogs sitting beside the door. As she passed through the kitchen, glass crunched beneath her feet. She reached for the cordless phone and dialed 9-1-1. While it rang, she went to the back room, turned on a desk lamp, entered the code into the gun safe, then removed Aaron's loaded rifle.

She had a right to defend her home.

The emergency operator came on the phone line and she quickly reported her address and the intrusion. When the operator asked for details, Melanie lost patience. “Just wake up Sheriff Chambers and tell him to get out to Opal Ranch fast.”

She turned off the phone and tossed it onto the sofa before she cocked the rifle and returned to the front door.

“Momma!” Anne screamed as she came running down the hall, her eyes wide with fear.

“Stay back, sweetheart,” Melanie ordered. “There's glass all over the floor. I want you to stay right there until I find out what's going on, okay?”

“Okay.” Anne's voice quivered as she cowered beside the wall in her thin nightgown.

Anger flared anew as Melanie thought of her little girl being awakened in the middle of the night to a bunch of hooligans egging their house. She flipped on the porch
light and the tall mercury vapor lights before she jerked open the front door. The lights bathed the yard in blue, but clearly outlined the five culprits. Two of the vandals were big and tall, their body size unmistakable. Melanie thought they must be Ryan and Luke Donaldson. Without being able to see their faces clearly, she couldn't be sure of their identities.

“Let's get outta here,” a boy yelled.

Melanie stepped outside amid a mass retreat.

“Come on! Get in,” one of the drivers called to his friends.

Lifting the rifle, Melanie fired into the air. The boys let out a screech of fear. Good! Maybe they'd think twice before causing trouble at Opal Ranch again.

Tires squealed, shooting up rocks. Boys jumped into the backs of the two trucks as their drivers sped toward the main road. Melanie squinted her eyes, studying the license plate number on one vehicle, repeating it over and over again so she wouldn't forget it.

She had them now. She was not about to stand for these shenanigans.

After the boys left, Melanie wrote down the license plate number and kept the rifle near as she went to comfort Anne. Sitting on the floor in the hallway, she held her trembling girl close.

“Wh-what did they want? Wi-will they come back?” Anne sobbed.

“Shh, no, sweetheart. I think they're gone. The police will be here soon. Don't cry now. Where's my big girl?”

Anne hiccupped and wiped her eyes. “I'm right here, Mom. But I didn't like that.”

“Neither did I.”

It took twenty minutes to calm Anne down. Then, Melanie turned on every light in the house and they both got
dressed. Melanie stepped out on the back porch and whistled for Bob. The dog didn't come to her, but she didn't dare leave her house to go and look for the animal. She prayed that he was okay. They had gotten the sheepdog as a pup and Aaron had trained the animal. That had been in the early years of their marriage, before a bottle took precedence over everything else. Melanie sure wished Aaron were here right now, guarding and protecting them.

And then she thought about Scott Ennison. He would have taught those boys a lesson about terrorizing women and children in the middle of the night.

Anne retrieved the broom and dustpan to clean up the glass, but Melanie shook her head. “Not yet, sweetie. We need to wait for the sheriff. He'll want to see the evidence.”

“What's this?” Anne picked up the rock and handed it to Melanie.

“That's the rock that broke our picture window. There's a note attached.” A piece of white paper had been folded and attached with a rubber band. Melanie pulled the paper free and opened it. It read:

“What does it say?”

Melanie folded the paper and tucked it inside her pants pocket. “Nothing for you to worry about. Why don't you get us both a jacket from the coat closet? The night's a bit chilly.”

Actually it was quite warm outside, but nerves and fear had made both her and Anne shake uncontrollably. Maybe a jacket would help.

Anne gave her mom a quizzical look, but did as she was asked. Melanie wanted to distract her daughter. It
would do no good to frighten Anne even more by revealing the contents of the note.

It took the police forty minutes to arrive. Sitting in her living room with Anne cuddled close to her side, Melanie related everything that had happened that night. She handed the note and license plate number to Sheriff Chambers, the only law enforcement officer in Snyderville.

“The note was attached to the rock they threw through my window.”

Sheriff Chambers scanned the message, looking stern. Thank goodness he was neither a rancher nor a ranger. He had a reputation for being honest and fair and she was counting on him to put a stop to what happened tonight. She never wanted a repeat performance.

She explained her identification of the two Donaldson boys.

“You're sure it was them?”

She shook her head. “I didn't see their faces clearly, but very few people around here are that size.”

“The license plate number will tell us a lot. I'll look into it. I can accompany you into town if you'd like to stay there tonight.”

“I'm not leaving my home. I doubt they'll come back. Not now that they know I have a rifle.”

The sheriff glanced at Anne, seeming cautious of his words so he didn't further upset the girl. “This could have been very serious, if it had gotten out of hand.”

“Yes,” Melanie agreed. “Someone needs to pay for the damages to my home.”

“With the description of the boys and the license plate number, it should be easy to track down the culprits. I'll see that they pay for what they've done. Do you want to press charges?”

Melanie hesitated, remembering what Aaron had said about bullies. If she let it go this time, it might be worse the next time. She had to stand up to these bullies. “Yes.”

“Fair enough.”

He left and Melanie tucked Anne back into bed, then went to turn off the light.

“Don't leave me, Mom.” The girl sat up, her eyes glimmering with panic.

“I won't leave. Never, ever will I let anyone hurt you.” She lay beside Anne on the narrow bunk bed and held her until the girl fell asleep. She pulled the covers up over Anne's shoulders and watched her for several minutes, adoring the girl with her eyes. How she loved Anne. How heartbroken she would be if anything bad happened to her little girl.

At times, Melanie felt so helpless. So alone.

She went outside to peruse the damage to her house. Her flowers were all but ruined. Egg goo and shells splotched the front of her house and porch. In the morning, she'd take pictures of the damage before using the garden hose to squirt off the mess. She might need to re-paint the house.

Gazing at the long road to make sure that no headlights were in view, she then walked out to the barn to find Bob. She turned on the light and found the old dog huddled back in the stall with Wilma, the gentle mare Shelley always rode whenever she came to the ranch.

“There you are,” Melanie spoke with relief. “Hey, boy. It's okay, they're gone.”

She approached slowly and knelt beside the dog, searching him for injuries and grateful when she found that he was okay. He panted and wagged his bobbed tail, rubbing his graying head against her side.

“Yes, I'm glad to see you, too.”

Over the years, she'd watched this brave dog face off wild coyotes, but now he was old. She hated that someone had hurt him just because she'd become friends with Scott Ennison. “I think you're gonna need a bath to get all the egg out of your fur, but you'll be fine. Why don't you come up to the house with me and I'll let you stay in Anne's room? I think you'd both feel better if you were together.”

The dog licked her face and that's when Melanie lost it. Her proud courage left her in one, swift breath. Tears flooded her eyes and she wept. Now that the danger was past, she realized how frightened she'd been. And lonely. She was tired of being strong. Tired of the constant vigil she must maintain in order to put food on the table and ensure they paid the mortgage. Now she feared going to sleep. Feared those boys might return, hurt her family and destroy her home.

Please, God. Please help me carry these burdens. Help us stay safe.

If only Scott were here. He'd know what to do. It was easy to plague a lone woman and her child, but it was a totally different matter with a man on the scene. She couldn't imagine those vandals standing up to Scott Ennison. He seemed to control every situation. Not with rage and a booming voice, but with calm assurance and a strong personality.

She remembered his soothing voice as he freed the deer from the barbed-wire fence and how he had spoken with compassion to Anne. He'd worked so hard here at Opal Ranch and kept his promises to her and the other ranchers.

How she wished he—

No! It did no good to wish for something that could never be. Not now. Not ever.

 

“That does it. I'm going to find someone else to look after Shelley for me.” Scott stood on the front porch of Melanie's home.

Jets of water shot from the pistol nozzle on the hose as she sprayed dried egg off the house.

“No, you're not.” She didn't look at him, but her delicate jaw locked with stubbornness. “I won't have people telling me who I can and cannot have here in my home. I want Shelley to stay right here. I'll go bankrupt first before I ever sell my ranch to the Donaldsons.”

Guilt rested on Scott's shoulders like a giant sledge. This had happened because of him. He had no right to endanger Melanie and Anne because he was the forest ranger.

“Think about Anne. Think about your own safety,” he said.

Thankfully the two girls had gone to the barn to feed the lambs and weren't here to listen to this conversation. He figured he and Melanie could handle this situation, but their little girls were innocent and deserved to live free of fear.

Melanie tossed the hose aside and reached for a bucket of hot, soapy water. Using a sponge, she scrubbed furiously at a stubborn splotch of egg yolk. Still, she didn't look at him, speaking as she worked. “I
am
thinking of Anne. They egged your house and frightened Shelley, too. If we separate our daughters now, it'll mean they've won. At least right now, the girls have each other to depend on. If you take Shelley away, our girls will have no one.”

Her reasoning was sound. When he'd been awakened in the middle of the night to find his house being egged, he'd never considered that the culprits might also have vandalized Melanie's house. At least the vandals had run
off before breaking any of his windows. This time, no serious harm had been done. But what if the thugs got braver and caught Melanie or one of the girls alone? What if they hurt one of them…?

He stepped close and took hold of Melanie's wet hand, forcing her to face him. Her angry eyes met his and he felt lost. His head pounded with fear. For her.

He loved her. The realization came slowly and with such force that it felt like a physical blow. He loved her and Anne and Opal Ranch. He had to keep them safe. “I can't always be there to protect you, Mel. If anything happened to you or our girls, I don't think I could—”

His throat closed. He'd almost blurted out how much he cared. How much he wished they could be a real family. For so long, he'd refused to even think about his feelings for Melanie. Thinking about it and saying it out loud would make it real. And he could have no future with the McAllisters. Not like this.

They stood together, gazing into each other's eyes. Suspended in time. Then Melanie broke down, sobbing against his chest, the soggy sponge dropping free of her fingers and landing on the porch with a splat. He held her for several minutes, breathing her in, wishing he could ease her pain. Wishing he could handle this situation better than he'd done.

Wishing she were his.

“I'm sorry, Scott.” She drew away and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt. “I don't know what's come over me. I guess it's just nerves.”

His arms ached to hold her again. To comfort her. To tell her he'd take care of her and Anne and everything would be just fine. “It's best if I take Shelley away.”