After Remi left, I went back upstairs for my things then down again to thank Franklin for the weekend. He was drinking coffee and reading a newspaper again, and he held up the pot, arching a brow.
“I’d better not. It’s a long drive.” Despite my refusal, I sat down at the table and let him fill a mug for me. “Thanks.”
“I hope you had a nice weekend.” He passed me a plate of blueberry scones. “Have something to eat.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t bother to say no, this time. Some people stopped eating when they were upset. Generally, I ateeverything in sight. “I did have a good weekend. The festival was wonderful, and company was even better.”
“Good.” He stirred some sugar into his cup and pushed the bowl toward me.
I rarely put sugar in my coffee, but it seemed like a good fortification. “Yes, it was nice.”
“You sound so down. Did you decide never to see one another again? You seemed so happy together, and you did say the company was enjoyable…or maybe you meant this old man?”
He looked so bereft, I couldn’t help but reassure him. “Of course you were good company, as you well know. Such a gracious host and an excellent cook, too. But Remi…he lives so far from me, and my job isn’t the kind where I can just transfer wherever I want to go. I don’t know how long it will be before we can work things out. Maybe years.”
“Oh my. You really are down in the mouth over all this, aren’t you? Fate does not bring people together if they have no chance of making it work. She’s better than that at her job. May I suggest you head home and see what happens? Things usually work out if given a chance.”
I finished my coffee and scones then thanked him again. “Whatever happens, this was the best weekend I’ve ever had,” I told him.
“Keep in touch.” He patted my arm and picked up his newspaper again. “Let me know how the story turns out.”
The story? It sounded cryptic, but I was certain he meant well. And even if it took us forever to find our path together, it would still be a success on his part. He’d been nothing but kind to us, and if and when we did get it together, I was going to ask him for some recipes.
This time, I did not take the shortcut. It hadn’t saved me much time, and the message I’d sent to the highway commission had so far been ignored. Not that I’d have expected repairs tobe completed in two days, but for the sake of future travelers, I hoped they’d get to it eventually. For now, I kept to major roadways with their reasonably good condition. In the end, it took me about an hour less than the other route.
At home, I had a lot to do to be ready for the work week, and that kept me busy until I could fall into bed and call Remi to say good night.
His voice on the phone made me miss him even more, and we spoke long into the night. He didn’t see why I couldn’t just quit my job and go to him. He made enough money to take care of us, and if I didn’t have anything else to do and was willing, he could always use another pair of hands at the nursery.
I don’t know why I didn’t want to do that. I mean…the idea of being with him all day appealed, and working with plants was nice. But it sounded so controlled, and I loved the wildness of the national park. We hung up not having resolved our issue. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a package of cookies, brought them back to the bedroom, and ate all of them.
The first couple of days back, I was quite busy with all the preparations for tourist season, but when I came in Wednesday morning and went to my locker, I found a note stuffed inside it.Come by my office when you get a chance.
My supervisor. Nobody had been laid off yet, that I knew of at least, but the air of tension in the station was stifling, and as I closed the locker again, I wondered if I should take everything with me.
I shouldn’t by rights be the first person to be eliminated. I was neither the newest nor the worst. All of my reviews were excellent, and I’d received a small raise with each one. So, why did I have such a bad feeling about this meeting. Passing Vera in the hallway, I couldn’t help but notice the smirk she threw my way. Yeah…this was bad.
I also saw a few of the other rangers looking like their birthday had been canceled. All excellent at their jobs and some with over a decade of service.
Knocking on the partially closed door, I didn’t wait to be asked in. “You asked me to stop by, Fred?” The lead ranger for our area sat behind his desk. He probably had not been in the woods in the past five years, and his love of snacks reflected in his mid-body spread. The bear shifter had few of the better qualities of his kind and all the worst ones. Like growling at everyone.
“Come in.” He waved me toward the chair opposite his desk, but I remained standing.
“If you don’t mind, I’ll stand. I am expected to lead a hiking group in ten minutes.”
“About that…” He waited as if I would finish his sentence. But I wasn’t going to help him out. “Er…that is…you may have heard of the funding cuts.”
I held my silence.
“We’ve been lucky enough not to suffer too badly, but I’m afraid we need to let a few people go, and one of them is you. You’ll still maintain your standing, and you can apply at other parks when there are openings. That’s all. Your pay has been deposited in your account.”
“So, can you tell me how it was determined who would be leaving?” I held my ground. “Because I rather thought my reviews and other qualifications would make me less likely to be chosen.”
“Oh, that’s confidential of course.” He huffed and glared at me, but I didn’t care about what upset him. Not anymore. But I was prepared to fight for my position.
How dare he keep his side piece? I would tell his wife, the district ranger, and anyone else I could think of, what was going on here. Vera wasn’t the only issue. Judging from who I’d seenlooking upset, he’d held on to all his particular favorites. The yes men and women. Those who spent more of their time hanging around the station and kissing his ass than doing the work of the park.
Outraged, words on the tip of my tongue, I stopped. Being laid off, I’d qualify for unemployment, something that would not have happened had I left of my own volition. Hopefully, I’d bought myself time to find a new job I’d love. So, I turned on my heel and left without a goodbye.
