The Replacement. Anne Duquette Marie

His sister noticed. She always noticed.

      “You’re nervous about her coming back,” she said without preamble.

      Eric continued to stir.

      “She’ll eat your cooking, you know. She always did.”

      “That was four years ago. She likes pepper.” Eric added a dash of pepper.

      “You’re still in love with her.” Naomi reached for the sturdy dinner dishes and placed them on the table. “Well, I hope you take every opportunity to get Lindsey back.”

      Eric smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “This from the woman who never liked my fiancée.”

      “You’re my twin. I’d resent anyone who replaced me in your life. And yes, I always thought you could do better than some animal lover who put her dog first and her boyfriend second.” Naomi picked up the silverware. “But I’m not the one who fell in love with her. And you haven’t been yourself ever since you let her walk out of here.”

      “She walked away from me.”

      “Wrong. You pushed her away by refusing to reschedule the wedding.” Naomi frowned at a spot on a piece of silverware. She wiped it on her heavy flannel shirt and set it at her usual place. “If I’d died, would you have wanted to get married the next day?”

      Those words got a reaction. “You’re not a damn dog!”

      “Lindsey was as close to that dog of hers as you and I are. They were like us—twins.”

      “You’re dead wrong.”

      “I’m not wrong! You know what I’m thinking most of the time. I know what you’re thinking. We know each other’s actions, movements, likes, dislikes. Each of us knows how the other would react to just about any situation at home or on the job. We’re in sync—we work perfectly together. Same with Lindsey and her dog. You and I love each other, we get along better than anyone else could, yet you’d still choose Lindsey over me, wouldn’t you?”

      “We’ve had this conversation before, Naomi. Drop—”

      Naomi interrupted him. “Just like she would’ve chosen you over her dog, if you’d given her a chance. For heaven’s sake, Eric, she has a real gift with animals! I wouldn’t be surprised to see a grizzly eating out of her hand. She saved more lives with her dog than both of us put together. Because of your hurt pride, you lost a wife. And she lost confidence in her gift.”

      Eric abruptly tossed the stirring spoon in the sink. “What the hell are you talking about?”

      Naomi paused, a stack of silverware still waiting to be set out. “The Park Service practically ordered her back here to work as a canine handler. She didn’t want to leave San Diego. She hasn’t worked with a dog since she left Yosemite. That’s your doing. Our doing,” Naomi corrected herself. “And she’s playing Baywatch babe with the surfers and divers. She’s not climbing or skiing. She’s not the same Lindsey we knew.”

      Eric found himself shaken. He and Naomi had talked about Lindsey a few times, but this was news. “I never heard… No, I don’t believe it. She’d never give up her dogs—or her search-and-rescue work with them.”

      “That’s because you haven’t kept in touch with Lindsey’s sisters. I have. Lindsey’s no better for your breakup than you are—which is why you both need to repair the damage. I’ll help in any way I can. Her family wants their old Lindsey back. I want my old brother back. If that doesn’t happen, when this winter is over, I leave here for good. I can’t stand seeing you like this anymore. Knowing I helped make you so miserable makes it even worse.”

      “That was four years ago. Why the sudden guilt complex? Because she’s coming back?”

      “Because I am guilty.” Eric watched with horror as tears ran down his sister’s face. Naomi moved away from him to snatch at the coffee mugs and napkins. “I saw that you hated the time she spent with animals—you felt it was time she should spend with you. You felt her love for you was somehow compromised by her commitment to her dog. I know how you think, Eric. And I saw what it did to Lindsey. I should’ve helped you both—but I selfishly stood by. I’d already lost my husband. I didn’t want to lose my twin, too. But I lost you, anyway, by letting you walk away from Lindsey.”

      “You didn’t ‘let me’ do anything, Naomi. I’m a big boy. Right or wrong, I made my own choice.”

      “It was wrong.”

      Eric watched the tears slide down her cheeks as she continued setting the table. He asked his sister a question he’d never asked. “Naomi, you only told me the truth, right? Or what you believed to be the truth? You never lied to me, did you? You said she wanted to break off the wedding and her dog’s death was the perfect excuse.”

      Naomi didn’t answer. Shaken, he retrieved the spoon from the sink. “Naomi?” He started to press for an answer just as Keith returned with Ginger and announced, “I saw her. Better set an extra plate, Naomi. She should be here in about ten minutes.”

      Could Lindsey have been right? That all along Naomi had planned to break them up? Never once had Eric suspected that Naomi might have deliberately deceived him. Eric took a deep breath and put the communal pot on the table. He reached for the lid to the breadmaker. He hadn’t clicked the switch hard enough to activate the process earlier, he noticed with dismay. There would be no bread with the stew, no bread for the replacement ranger.

      Eric couldn’t help wishing for a more auspicious beginning. He checked his wristwatch once, twice and a third time, until he caught both his sister and Keith watching him.

      “Just seeing if she’s still the punctual type,” he excused himself—he who never made excuses.

      Naomi said nothing, but Keith remarked, “You can see her from the window now, Boss. Take a look.”

      Eric loped to the front cabin window as fast as he could without seeming to rush. Despite the distance, he immediately took in the gracefully moving figure. The shape, size and movement hit him with a sense of recognition. He could pick Lindsey out in any crowd. The familiar pain he felt at her rejection warred with joy as the figure came closer and then stopped outside the porch door.

      Before he could leave the food to hurry outside, she’d removed her skis, stepped inside the unheated enclosed porch, racked her skis and poles, and knocked on the inner connecting door. Eric immediately brushed past the other two rangers to open it personally, eager to see the face whose appearance once gave him such joy.

      Lindsey Nelson stepped inside the cabin, bringing the cold air inside. The smile on his face froze as she spoke in a stranger’s voice.

      “Lindsey Nelson reporting for duty as ordered, sir.”

      One hour later

      ERIC ROSE FROM THE DINNER table to fetch the apple pie he’d warmed for the night’s dessert, and wondered if Lindsey would refuse to have any. She’d refused his meat-filled stew earlier. After introductions had been made, Lindsey had declined dinner in favor of sitting on the huge, raised hearth and warming up in front of the fire. She hadn’t moved or spoken since, except to answer a few questions from Keith and apologize for her silence.

      “I haven’t skied for four years, Keith. I promise we’ll get better acquainted tomorrow. Right now I just want to catch my breath.”

      Her answer had shocked Eric to the core. Lindsey loved the mountains and skiing, yet her stiff movements, audible breathing and a repeated dose of Diamox showed she had indeed left the high country behind when she’d left him. Worse, her uncharacteristic detachment matched that of the depressed animal on the hearth. She hadn’t made eye contact with anyone, not even the dog.

      My God, she has changed—and not for the better. Is Naomi right? Have we really done this to each other?

      He brought her the first piece of pie. He remembered she loved apple and preferred it warm with coffee…or at least she used