The Forest Ranger's Return. Leigh Bale

her with a home. Dal had even begged his mother to take Julie in, but Mom couldn’t. Working as a cook on the ranch where they lived, there was no extra room for Julie. Even with Dal’s after-school job at the local grocery store, they barely made ends meet. Mom insisted that Julie would have a better life in foster care. Dal hadn’t agreed, but he’d had little choice in the matter.

      For a few months, Julie had stayed with a kind family in their hometown. She and Dal had been inseparable. She hadn’t discussed her feelings over her parents’ death, but he’d been there for her. Every day. Just to let her know he loved her and that everything would be all right.

      Then the social worker had moved Julie to a foster home in Tulsa, eighty-seven miles away. It might as well have been eight hundred miles. At first, they’d written and called each other every chance they got. Not so easy without cell phones.

      In thirteen months’ time, the distance between them had done nothing to dim their love. Dal figured that was how it is when you find your soul mate. He even took the bus to visit her twice. He’d never forget her haunted expression or the way she’d clung to him when it had come time for him to leave. By then, she’d seemed so withdrawn and reserved.

      That’d been the last time he’d seen her. Three weeks later, he couldn’t reach her by phone. Her foster mom had told him she’d been moved and was living with someone else now, but she didn’t know who. When Julie’s letters had stopped coming, he’d called Social Services to see if she was okay. But they’d refused to tell him anything. It was confidential information, they’d said.

      Dal had known something had happened to Julie besides her parents dying. Something bad.

      In desperation, he’d convinced his mom to use her single day off work to drive him to Tulsa. He’d gone to Julie’s foster home, but the chilly welcome and lack of information drove him to Social Services. Their reception had been almost as cold. They wouldn’t tell him where Julie was or who she lived with now. He wasn’t a family member and had no right to the information. Driving all that way hadn’t helped.

      And so he’d gone home and waited. Relied on God to take care of her. Hating his youth and inexperience. Wishing he was a grown man with a life and a way to provide for the girl he loved.

      Julie never called. Never sent him so much as a simple postcard to let him know she was alive. Not a single word in twenty long years. And now here she was. Without an explanation or apology. Without so much as a nod.

      Why? Had she fallen for someone else? Maybe she was just angry at him for leaving her. For not being able to stay. But that didn’t seem right. Before she’d been moved to Tulsa, he’d proposed they run away together. Julie had been the one to refuse. She wanted him to use his athletic abilities to get a scholarship and go to college. To make something of his life.

      Instead, he’d gone to war and lost his leg.

      Whatever had happened to Julie, he didn’t understand. None of it.

      “You must have gotten a college degree. I know it was always one of your goals,” he said.

      “Yes, but I didn’t get the chance to attend a university until I was twenty-four. After high school, I got a summer job fighting forest fires in Oregon. I liked the work and being outside. So I decided to do something with my life and focused on my schooling. It wasn’t easy, but I worked my way through with scholarships and student loans.”

      “I’m glad, Julie. You deserve some happiness in life.” And he meant it. His love for her had been pushed to a small corner of his heart, but it had never dimmed. He wanted nothing but the best for her.

      “Thanks. How about you? Did you ever get your football scholarship and go to medical school?”

      He nodded. “For two years, but I didn’t finish. You know I loved working with horses. I ended up joining the Marine Corps and seeing the world.”

      When he thought of all the death and blood he’d seen in battle, a scoffing laugh escaped his throat. He wasn’t about to say that losing her had taken the joy out of his college plans. Without Julie, he’d had no desire to pursue the dreams they’d made together.

      “I’m glad you’re safe, Dal. I have nothing but admiration for all our military men and women.”

      He glanced at her, seeing the sincerity in her eyes. And that was when he knew he still loved her. In spite of everything, he couldn’t be angry with her. Nor could he forget what she’d meant to him all those years ago. And knowing all that reminded him of why he could never be with her now. Life had changed them. Hardship had shaped them into the people they’d become. And his secret past would now keep them apart.

      “Thanks for running with me, Dal.” They’d reached her front yard. The morning shadows had faded with the gleaming sunlight. The neighbor across the street came outside in his bathrobe to retrieve his newspaper.

      “You’re welcome.”

      Julie pushed open her gate, stepped past then closed it firmly behind her.

      As Dal waited until she went inside her house, he longed to curse God. How could he accept this cruel twist of fate? Why, after all these years, had the Lord brought them back together? It seemed like a taunt. A spiteful prank played on him and Julie. It changed everything and nothing. And that was the cruelest part about this situation.

      Chapter Four

      The next morning, Dal showed up to run with Julie again. And the next. They settled into a comfortable routine. Warming up together. Chatting about the upcoming 5K race. The weather. Alterations for the horse trail and campsite. Workshops Dal had planned for the kids at the amputee camp. Everything but what was really on both of their minds. Why Julie had quit returning Dal’s phone calls and letters once she went into foster care.

      The following week, Julie drove her Forest Service truck out to Sunrise Ranch. Tall aspens lined each side of the graveled driveway, the spring breeze ruffling the leaves. As she broke from the stand of trees, a panoramic view of the ranch opened before her. Nestled in the green valley, a variety of corrals and other ranch buildings surrounded the white two-story house. A spacious red barn, stable and gazebo sat on the south side. Compact cabins lined the outer perimeter on the north side, along with two large bunkhouses. Julie figured that must be where the staff and amputee kids lived when they stayed at the camp.

      As she parked out front, she opened the truck door and looked to the east. Two men raced their horses across the green meadow. A blue-coated Australian cow dog zipped alongside the horses like a bullet. Though a goodly distance away, Julie had little trouble identifying Dal on a dun-colored horse. His confident carriage and the width of his strong shoulders were distinctive. He lay low across the neck of his horse, his right arm outstretched to give the animal full rein. The other man rode much the same way as their mounts sprinted toward the barbed-wire fence dividing two pastures.

      A flutter of fear ruffled Julie’s already frayed nerves. She clutched the handle of her leather briefcase with whitened knuckles. As Dal and the other man crossed an imaginary finish line, they pulled up short of the corrals. Julie released a shaky breath of relief. The dog plopped down in the grass, tongue lolling out of his mouth while he panted. By Julie’s calculations, Dal had won the race by a full length. The horses slowed to a walk, and Dal clapped his friend on the back. Their laughter echoed off the tall mountains surrounding the ranch.

      Julie sucked in a deep breath, trying to relax. For a moment, she’d feared Dal might crash into the fence. As he walked his horse toward the house, he looked her way, lifting an arm to shield his eyes against the glaring sun.

      Julie’s pulse sped into triple time. She could almost feel Dal’s eyes boring into her like a high-speed drill. She couldn’t help being highly aware of him as a handsome, masculine man. In high school, he’d been outgoing and athletic to the point of being reckless. But now he was older and should know better. Perhaps being an amputee made him think he had something to prove. And yet, she was impressed that he hadn’t let his injury stop him from living a full, active life.

      Knowing