asked, looking at me.
“I’m good. But I think I need to eat something.”
“So, breakfast?” He looked at me with a hopeful grin.
“Yeah. Breakfast would be nice.”
12
Gift of Life
“So you’re from Kansas,” Kerry said, pouring honey into the last sopapilla. He’d eaten a three-egg omelet with green chili, hash browns, bacon, and a basket of the fry bread while we exchanged reports and laid out our plans for the team effort in our section.
I’d had a healthy breakfast myself—a veggie omelet, wheat toast with orange marmalade, and cranberry juice. “Yep. Land of Oz. Where are you from?”
“Northern California.”
“Well, that explains how you became a forest ranger.”
“Yeah, I guess so. My first love was a redwood. No woman’s ever been able to take her place.” He winked.
“So you’re not married?”
He shook his head no.
“And is that where you started as a forest ranger, in California?”
“Actually, no. After I got out of the army, I went to work as a smoke jumper for the Forest Service, in Redding.” He pointed at the hash browns on my plate that I hadn’t eaten. “Are you going to eat the rest of that?”
I shoved the plate across the table at him. “Wow. That’s a dangerous job.”
“I moved on from that to a helicrew. I had good training for that in the army. Wildland firefighting only goes on for part of the year, so it was a good job while I went to school and got a degree in forestry.” He took a forkful of the spuds.
“How did you end up here?”
“There are about ten million too many people in California for me. I wanted to be someplace where I could be around beauty. Wild beauty. I really wanted to go to Alaska, but there weren’t any openings there when I applied. I also kind of liked Utah.”
“So how long have you been in the Taos region?”
“Four years. I started out in Peñasco. I’m about to get a new permanent assignment, though. How about you?”
“I’ve been working out of the Taos Field Office the whole time. Six years.”
“And how does a Kansas girl get to be a resource protection agent?” He gave me that grin of his. It was like a baby’s—irresistible. He grinned, I grinned. Automatic.
“I wanted to find a job where I could ride a horse, be outside. Kind of like you.”
“Cowgirl, huh?” He still held the forkful of potatoes in the air. “Better learn how to stay in the saddle.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “You must have decided you liked it here. You didn’t leave for Alaska or Utah in all this time.”
“This is a good place. Not too crowded. I love to watch the sun rise and set over the mountains. Do you ever take that in?”
I nodded. I couldn’t believe this guy.
“I love the light here. A lot of times, I’ll take a run at sunset. The light is unbelievable.”
“I run, too, usually on the rim of the gorge. I try to run at sunset in the winter. You can see the light play out all across the mesa and down the Taos Valley and back up to the tops of the mountains.”
His eyes looked right into mine. Neither of us looked away. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Kerry Reed put his fork down and pushed the plate to the side, the hash browns still uneaten. He drew one hand up and rubbed his eyebrow as if he were puzzling over something, his eyes still locked with mine. “I knew I liked you the moment I saw you coming up over the rise on that big paint. I said to myself, ‘Kerry, now here’s a woman as good as a redwood.’ ” He broke into a big smile.
“Oh, I’ll bet you compare all the girls to virgin lumber.”
“No, ma’am. Never have a one before.”
“Well, that’s high praise coming from someone like you.”
“You bet it is. So, before I step out of line, is there a Mr. Wild?”
“No.”
“Not even a wannabe?”
“No.”
“Hard to believe. Woman like you, I would have guessed there was a waiting list.”
“Well, there’s not.”
We were both quiet now, still looking at one another.
“So,
“I’m good. But I think I need to eat something.”
“So, breakfast?” He looked at me with a hopeful grin.
“Yeah. Breakfast would be nice.”
12
Gift of Life
“So you’re from Kansas,” Kerry said, pouring honey into the last sopapilla. He’d eaten a three-egg omelet with green chili, hash browns, bacon, and a basket of the fry bread while we exchanged reports and laid out our plans for the team effort in our section.
I’d had a healthy breakfast myself—a veggie omelet, wheat toast with orange marmalade, and cranberry juice. “Yep. Land of Oz. Where are you from?”
“Northern California.”
“Well, that explains how you became a forest ranger.”
“Yeah, I guess so. My first love was a redwood. No woman’s ever been able to take her place.” He winked.
“So you’re not married?”
He shook his head no.
“And is that where you started as a forest ranger, in California?”
“Actually, no. After I got out of the army, I went to work as a smoke jumper for the Forest Service, in Redding.” He pointed at the hash browns on my plate that I hadn’t eaten. “Are you going to eat the rest of that?”
I shoved the plate across the table at him. “Wow. That’s a dangerous job.”
“I moved on from that to a helicrew. I had good training for that in the army. Wildland firefighting only goes on for part of the year, so it was a good job while I went to school and got a degree in forestry.” He took a forkful of the spuds.
“How did you end up here?”
“There are about ten million too many people in California for me. I wanted to be someplace where I could be around beauty. Wild beauty. I really wanted to go to Alaska, but there weren’t any openings there when I applied. I also kind of liked Utah.”
“So how long have you been in the Taos region?”
“Four years. I started out in Peñasco. I’m about to get a new permanent assignment, though. How about you?”
“I’ve been working out of the Taos Field Office the whole time. Six years.”
“And how does a Kansas girl get to be a resource protection agent?” He gave me that grin of his. It was like a baby’s—irresistible. He grinned, I grinned. Automatic.
“I wanted to find a job where I could ride a horse, be outside. Kind of like you.”
“Cowgirl, huh?” He still held the forkful of potatoes in the air. “Better learn how to stay in the saddle.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “You must have decided you liked it here. You didn’t leave for Alaska or Utah in all this time.”
“This is a good place. Not too crowded. I love to watch the sun rise and set over the mountains. Do you ever take that in?”
I nodded. I couldn’t believe this guy.
“I love the light here. A lot of times, I’ll take a run at sunset. The light is unbelievable.”
“I run, too, usually on the rim of the gorge. I try to run at sunset in the winter. You can see the light play out all across the mesa and down the Taos Valley and back up to the tops of the mountains.”
His eyes looked right into mine. Neither of us looked away. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Kerry Reed put his fork down and pushed the plate to the side, the hash browns still uneaten. He drew one hand up and rubbed his eyebrow as if he were puzzling over something, his eyes still locked with mine. “I knew I liked you the moment I saw you coming up over the rise on that big paint. I said to myself, ‘Kerry, now here’s a woman as good as a redwood.’ ” He broke into a big smile.
“Oh, I’ll bet you compare all the girls to virgin lumber.”
“No, ma’am. Never have a one before.”
“Well, that’s high praise coming from someone like you.”
“You bet it is. So, before I step out of line, is there a Mr. Wild?”
“No.”
“Not even a wannabe?”
“No.”
“Hard to believe. Woman like you, I would have guessed there was a waiting list.”
“Well, there’s not.”
We were both quiet now, still looking at one another.
“So,
Similar Books
