Falling for the Forest Ranger. Leigh Bale

he grumbled but didn’t argue further.

      “Where are we going first?” Zoë asked Tanner, hoping to change the subject.

      “Out to Harry Ragsdale’s farm.”

      “It’s sure beautiful here.” Zoë gazed at Bingham River running parallel to the road, taking in the pristine view of clean, rushing water, willows and cottonwoods. Farther out, wide meadows covered with sedges and wire grass added a variety of vibrant green hues.

      Tanner nodded in agreement, his expression showing pride in the area where he worked. Somehow sharing this appreciation with him gave them something in common.

      They passed a sign that read Ragsdale Farms.

      With their focus back on work, the frown returned to Tanner’s face. Just when Zoë thought they were making headway and becoming friends, Tanner had to go and disappoint her. She’d just have to remember not to expect anything from him—then she wouldn’t be disappointed again.

      Chapter Four

      The black asphalt gave way to dirt road. The tires of the truck kicked up gravel. Tanner slowed their speed and put on the blinker before turning onto Challis Road.

      He must be crazy. What had he been thinking to invite Jonah on a fishing trip? He didn’t know a thing about kids. No doubt Zoë would come along. Which meant Tanner would have to be near her in a personal setting as well as at work.

      No, he shouldn’t have made the offer. But remembering the fun he’d had with Grandpa had made him want the same for Jonah. He didn’t even like kids. Or at least he didn’t think he did. He’d wanted them once. Oodles of them. But his broken engagement had ended all that. Children were okay for other people, but not for him.

      “There’s good riffle along the river here,” Zoë observed.

      Tanner nodded and gazed at the frothing water dashing over the jagged rocks. Riffle oxygenated the spawning beds.

      Zoë shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight pouring through the windshield. “How much of the water here is diverted for irrigation?”

      Tanner couldn’t remember ever meeting a woman who was actually interested in his work. Zoë was quite refreshing. “All but 7 percent. This is a heavy agricultural area and they use almost all the water in the river.”

      She gave a low whistle. “No wonder there isn’t enough for the fish to swim up the lower seven miles of the river.”

      “We haven’t come up with an idea on how to combat that problem yet.”

      “Do the farmers need to use all the water they take out for irrigation?”

      He shrugged. “Probably not, but until we install farmer’s screens in all the irrigation ditches, there’s no system in place to control their outtake. Maybe you can think of something for us to do until we get all the screens in place.”

      He’d kiss her if she came up with a solution. This one problem had become a real quandary for them. So far, nothing they’d tried had worked. He doubted that an outsider would be able to think of a solution.

      Zoë pointed to an area along the riverbanks with no overhanging willows. “Have you had cattle grazing over there? The riverbanks are caved in and raw. No vegetation growing, which means no redds.”

      Redds were spawning beds for fish. The eggs needed cold, clean, well-oxygenated water to survive. Without shade from overhanging willows and other vegetation, the temperature of the stream increased and killed off the eggs.

      “Yes, the cows have tromped in the stream and broken down the banks here. We convinced several local ranchers to let us fence off parts of the streams to stop this from happening. The area should recover over time.”

      Gazing out the window, he decided by midweek he could find a valid excuse to call Zoë and cancel the fishing trip with Jonah. There wasn’t enough time in his busy schedule to spend fishing with a cute little boy who talked too much anyway. Tanner had been foolish to make the offer.

      No, he couldn’t do that. His guilty conscience nipped at him. Canceling would break Jonah’s heart. And Tanner wasn’t that cruel. Not yet anyway.

      A kid like Jonah might be a lot of fun. And a lot of hard work, too. Tanner was gaining a new appreciation for Zoë. From his experience with his own mother, he knew that being a single mom wasn’t easy, yet Zoë seemed to do it with such calm grace.

      He heaved a disgruntled sigh. Tanner hated the thought of hurting Jonah and losing the boy’s trust, though he didn’t know why. What Jonah Lawton thought shouldn’t matter to Tanner. The boy wasn’t his son. They had no connection except that Tanner now worked with Zoë. In spite of trying not to, Tanner still liked the kid.

      Too much.

      Maybe it was because Tanner understood the hurt of losing his father so young. Then, his mother had been busy working just to put food on the table. No quality time. No one to attend his ball games or help with his science projects. No one to confide his troubles and victories to.

      Tanner shook his head, keeping his gaze on the narrow dirt road. They skirted fields of alfalfa, barley and potatoes, the outlying mountains providing a stunning backdrop for meadows and streams twining through the valley. Lovely and serene. Tanner frequently went to the mountains whenever he felt sad or lonely, which was often these days. Out here, he never felt lost or alone.

      Until now. Until he’d met Zoë Lawton and her inquisitive little son. He wasn’t alone just now, but he still felt lost.

      In a matter of days since he’d met them in Harper’s Grocery Store parking lot, something had changed for Tanner. Something he couldn’t explain. The fact that he didn’t know what it was left him feeling disconnected and troubled.

      Yep, he’d have to go fishing with Jonah. He couldn’t retract the offer. Not without upsetting the boy, and his mother.

      The mother.

      He tossed a quick glance at Zoë, taking in her faded blue jeans, warm sweater and practical boots. Gone were the professional jacket, skirt and heels that’d almost made him salivate. With her slender legs crossed and her delicate hands resting in her lap, she looked too young to be a professional woman supporting a child.

      And a widow.

      From what Jonah had said, she’d lost her husband years ago. Tanner couldn’t help wondering if she’d loved the man. If his death had crushed her heart the way Cheryl had crushed his.

      As the wheels thumped across the washboard road, he cast surreptitious glances Zoë’s way. Her head bobbed gently with the swaying of the vehicle. She looked completely at home, not at all a prissy city girl who couldn’t handle a bit of dirt on her clothes. Her smudged eyeliner made her blue eyes appear smoky and mysterious. No matter what this woman wore, she was beautiful.

      As they passed the canal, Tanner slowed the truck and pointed at the trench filled with water. “You can see there’s no farmer’s screen on this irrigation ditch. Last spring, hundreds of fish took the wrong turn in the canal, got lost and ended up in the ditch instead of moving on their way through the river.”

      Jonah sat up straighter to see out the window. “What happened to them?”

      Surprised to find the child listening, Tanner explained, “With nowhere else to go, they ended up in the fields, dead.”

      The boy blinked at that. “Dead?”

      “Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’ll do something to stop it from happening again.” Zoë patted Jonah’s arm.

      Tanner didn’t think she should promise something she might not be able to deliver. But her confidence made him feel as though they really could resolve the problems they faced.

      They rounded the bend and saw a rusty old truck parked at the side of the road. A man in his mid-forties stood near the ditch