“As I recall, you liked one of the Dorsey cousins,” Buck said.
“That was a long time ago. And we were just friends.” He glanced toward the diner, where Elizabeth had tilted his world a little. “But I’m open. You know anyone looking for a WMA officer to share her life?”
Buck laughed, but JoJo squeezed his hand. “She’ll come, Ryder. She will. Have faith.”
Have faith? That was his lifeline. And the hope he’d find someone to share the house he’d spent every waking minute and free dollar restoring. Someone to laugh with, to talk things over. Someone to love and give love.
In the end, all the talk of love made him restless. And Ryder didn’t like being restless.
At his feet, the dogs stirred, reminding him he was home. “So, what’d y’all do today, Fred? Ginger?” It was down to this—talking to the dogs. “Jeff Simmons said I saved his life, but it’s more like the other way around. I think he wanted me to look cool in front of his cousin.”
The Dorsey clan had been the closest thing Ryder ever had to a real family. Then he went off to Vanderbilt, worked out west for a while, and let hometown relationships slip until he decided Hearts Bend was where he wanted to be.
He’d thought of reaching out to Jeff and other Dorsey folk in the past two years, but staying to himself had seemed safer. Easier.
“Your master is an idiot, Fred.”
The big boy lifted his head with a single bark in protest. Not wanting to be left out, Ginger echoed. Ryder reached down to scratch behind her ears.
“You’re my one and only girl, aren’t you?” To which Fred responded by nosing Ryder’s hand away from his girl. “Okay, Fred, I see how you roll.”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, finding a seven-year-old number for Elizabeth Dorsey. Did it still work? Should he send her a message just to see? It was too late to call. While he wandered the land of indecision, his phone rang, igniting a barking frenzy. The screen displayed the goofy face of one of his Colorado ranger friends, Enzo Holder.
“You know it’s after midnight here,” he said.
“I figured it was my best chance of getting you to answer.”
Ryder laughed. “What’s up? Fred, Ginger, hush, it’s okay. Lay down.”
“How’re Fred and Ginger?”
“Still in love.”
“And your only companions?”
“Enzo, you did not call me up in the middle of the night to see if I had a love life.”
“I’m hoping you don’t. Skinner is leaving. I’m being promoted, and I want you to take my place. A lot of rangers remember your composure during the Grizzly Creek Fire.”
Five years ago, the fire broke out in Glenwood Canyon in August and took almost four months to get fully contained.
“So, you call in the dead of night, praise me for a past job, and think I’ll say, ‘Absolutely. You’re offering me my dream job.’”
“That’s one angle, yes.”
Tempting. Ryder had loved the Aspen office of the White River National Forest. “I don’t know, Enz. Hearts Bend is home. I feel like I just got here. I’ve remodeled my house. Everything is good except my boss trying to pin weird expenses on me. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“You’re still an outsider, Ryder. He hired you, but he’s putting you in your place. I’ve seen it before. I say quit. Come work for me.”
Ryder rocked back in his chair, listening, as Enzo pitched the job.
“…great experience. All the skiing you can handle. Housing. Pathway to promotion. Promise me you’ll think about it.”
“I promise. Can you give me the summer?”
“You’re killing me, Ryder, but yes, I’ll give you the summer. Why? You think this boss of yours will suddenly like you?”
“Probably not, but there is?—”
