Falling for the Forest Ranger. Leigh Bale

a deep breath, she vowed to remain civil.

      “Who do you think you are?” she asked quietly.

      Okay, that didn’t come out the way she’d intended. She was so troubled that her emotions seemed to burst out of her mouth.

      His response sounded just as clipped, telling her that he was also flustered by today’s events. “I’m the Fisheries and Wildlife staff officer over this national forest. We want to get these people’s attention, but we also need their cooperation. And we can’t do that with threats. If we’re gonna solve these problems, we need the support of the farmers.”

      Zoë wasn’t so sure that was true. And yet, she didn’t want to cause more problems, either. She felt like an astronaut in outer space, not quite sure of herself anymore. “They’ve already taken too much advantage, Tanner. These problems didn’t happen overnight. They happened over years and years of abuse. The fish are out of time. Coaxing and being nice will take too long. We need action right now.”

      “And you think threats will work better?”

      “When people refuse to do what’s right, yes. We have the law on our side.”

      His dark eyes met hers. “Threats only work as a last resort,” he said. “But I’ve found that we can get a lot of cooperation from these people if we show them what the problem is and offer to help them solve it. If we fix problems by cramming solutions down their throats, we just end up with a bunch of congressional inquiries.”

      She tilted her head in confusion, never quite taking her eyes off Jonah. “Congressional inquiries?”

      He nodded. “That’s right. The farmers and ranchers have a direct line to their senators, whom they support with reelection funds. And believe me, their senators listen to everything they have to say.”

      He chuckled without humor and she realized he was serious.

      “But congressional inquiries?” she said again. “They really resort to such drastic measures?”

      He hitched one shoulder. “Would you really resort to shutting off their water?”

      She nibbled at the end of her pinkie finger, thinking this over. “Yes, I would.”

      “Well, so would they. Before I came here, we had congressional inquiries all the time. The Steelhead National Forest doesn’t need politicians breathing down our necks. Which is what will happen if Harry Ragsdale and other farmers like him start making angry phone calls.”

      No, that wouldn’t be good. It’d stir up a pot they didn’t want stirred and delay getting the job done even longer. Zoë never knew working at the local level could be so complicated.

      “I can certainly understand why you want to avoid that,” she agreed.

      But what about her orders? Her boss in Portland had made it very clear what he expected her to accomplish this summer. There wasn’t any room for pampering.

      “So you can see why I tried to be pleasant with Harry Ragsdale instead of bullying him,” Tanner said.

      “Did I bully him?” The thought made her feel horrible. She didn’t want to bully anyone. She was just trying to do her job.

      His handsome mouth flashed with a brief smile, telling her that she’d surprised him today. “Yes, and you’re the prettiest bully I’ve come across lately.”

      His words caught her off guard and her cheeks flushed with heat. From the sudden color in his face and the way he quickly looked away, she could tell he’d let the compliment slip out without thinking.

      Okay, better to forget about his flattering remark. She’d just let it drop.

      “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you before we came out here. I should have explained the situation to you better,” he said.

      She appreciated his apology, but it didn’t solve anything right now. “Then what do you propose? If farmers won’t agree to let us install the screens on their property, then we’ll need to force them to comply.”

      He snorted. “Good luck with that tactic.”

      Zoë couldn’t help feeling bitter about the situation. From what she’d seen, most people didn’t care. They just wanted to go on with their lives, without any inconvenience to themselves. And Tanner seemed to be letting them do it. “I just don’t like the way you baby them.”

      “I’m not babying them. I’m working to get results we can all live with.” He set the basket on the picnic table.

      Biting her tongue, Zoë spread out a thin cloth, then unpacked their lunch. She kept her face toward the stream, watching Jonah.

      Tanner stood at the edge of the table, hands in his pockets. Zoë quashed the urge to apologize. Not when she really believed he was wrong in his tactics. And frankly, she had the power to override him. She didn’t want to do that and cause more friction between them, but she’d do it if she had to.

      “At least we got them each to agree to the screens,” he said lamely.

      She handed him a paper plate with a turkey-and-Swiss-cheese sandwich and a handful of grapes and rippled potato chips on the side. “Three down and zillions more to go.”

      His frosty gaze brushed past hers in a dismissive glance. “We’ll deal with each of them.”

      “Hey, I saw little fish swimming in the stream,” Jonah gasped as he joined them. “But they don’t have any fins. Just a long tail.”

      He plopped down on the bench and snatched up a sandwich, seemingly oblivious to the dark stares from the adults nearby.

      “That’s nice, sweetheart. But I’ll bet they’re tadpoles, not fish,” Zoë said.

      “Tadpoles?” Jonah’s brow crinkled as he took a bite and chewed.

      “Baby frogs. You saw them once in Portland, remember? And we need to bless the food before we eat it.” She answered patiently, surprised at her serene voice when she was feeling anything but calm inside. Why could she maintain her composure with Jonah but not with Tanner?

      Conscious of Tanner’s troubled frown resting on her, she offered a quick prayer. She and Tanner ate their lunches in silence, listening to Jonah’s happy chatter. She answered the child’s melee of questions about tadpoles with quick, succinct sentences. Only when Zoë brought out the cookies did Tanner speak to her again.

      “These are delicious. They taste just like the ones my grandma used to make. Soft and chocolaty.” He held up his fourth cookie, a big bite taken out of the side as he chewed with relish.

      “Thank you.” At least she’d done something right today. But she didn’t like the tension between them. She didn’t like feeling like an ogre.

      Later, Zoë packed everything up while Tanner went to the creek with Jonah. At one point, she looked up and saw Tanner holding her son’s hand, assisting the boy so he could cross the water without falling in. Seeing this man helping her little son reminded her that Derek was gone and wouldn’t be coming back.

      Thinking about her husband caused her throat to ache, as though an icy fist squeezed it tight. How she longed for the companionship and intimacy she’d shared with her husband. Someone to talk to who really cared.

      Someone who loved her as much as she loved him.

      Shaking off her black mood, she returned the basket to the truck and got out her hip waders and sample kit. At the side of Clear Creek, she pulled on the green rubber waders. Then she opened her kit and took out several empty, tubelike glass vials. She dipped some into the water and some into the muddy bank for soil samples. As she pressed the cap onto the last vial and labeled the little jar, she became aware of Tanner standing nearby with Jonah.

      “You taking some samples?” Tanner said.

      “Yep.” She slipped the vial into her pocket before reaching for her fishnet.