Читать книгу The Replacement - Anne Duquette Marie - Страница 7

Yosemite National Park, California

WINTER SNOW…FEBRUARY SNOW…killing snow continued to fall throughout the High Sierra as the rescue party advanced. Aluminum poles in hand, the three rangers probed the white depths in a straight grid pattern, searching for their missing fourth. Seconds ticked mercilessly away, even as the lead ranger, Eric Kincaide, listened to his homing beacon, trying to zero in on the battery-powered locating device all rangers were required to wear.

Neither he nor the other two rangers spoke of the irony of the situation. Tomorrow, following Eric’s orders, Keith Arroyo, alias “TNT” Arroyo, planned to set charges in this very area to trigger a controlled avalanche.

Controlled avalanche. Now, that was an oxymoron. Like walking corpse…or buried alive…

Eric glanced toward his twin, Naomi. The ranger team’s emergency medical technician had bitten through her lip. Eric noticed the tiny bloodred bead glittering under the noon sun, contrasting with the bronze of her cheeks. Naomi didn’t look up at his scrutiny. Her eyes remained focused on the massive amounts of snow beneath her probing pole.

Keith, however, lifted his head. “Of all the stupid things to do!” He spoke in a hissed whisper to avoid triggering any other slides. “Bad enough we’re supposed to find an armed felon and the child he’s kidnapped. Eva knew better than to use this shortcut! She’s probably got the dog killed, too. How are we supposed to find the missing girl now? Or find Eva without her dog?”

“Shut up!” Naomi hissed back. “Just—shut up!”

“That’s enough, both of you!” Eric checked his watch again, unable to help himself. The first ten minutes of searching were the most crucial for any avalanche victim. Sometimes you were given fifteen or maybe twenty, if the victim managed to make an air pocket around his or her face. After that, victims suffocated—if they weren’t already crushed to death by the weight of the snow…snow that could pack to the weight and density of thick, wet cement.

It’s been thirteen minutes already! Dammit, Eva, why couldn’t you follow the rules? This whole area was an avalanche waiting to happen! Keith and I both warned you to go around.

His tracking device pinged more loudly, the pings suddenly rushing closer together until they chimed a single urgent note.

At the same time Keith’s pole hit something firm. “Here! Here!”

Immediately the other two dropped their poles, fell to their knees and started digging. With gloved hands and folding aluminum shovels, all three followed Keith’s pole down into the cruel cold.

“It’s Ginger!” Naomi cried. The sandy-colored fur of Ginger, Eva’s specially trained search-and-rescue dog, contrasted sharply with the snow’s virgin white.

“I’ve got her collar,” Eric said after digging around the dog’s head. “I’ll pull, you two lift.”

The three braced, lifted and pulled. The golden retriever emerged from the snow, whimpering and coughing.

“She’s alive! You pedigreed bitch, you’re alive!” Keith brushed snow from the dog’s face as Naomi quickly shed her gloves and ran her hand expertly down the animal’s legs and across the body.

“Eyes and tongue look good!” Naomi grinned. “She’s had plenty of oxygen.”

“Come on, girl, let’s find your owner,” Keith urged.

“Ginger, search,” Eric commanded. “Find Eva.”

Ginger stood fast, signaled her find with a single whimper, then shook some of the snow from her coat.

“Come on, everyone, dig!” Naomi said, pulling her glove back on and bending over the hole with her folding aluminum shovel.

As Eric followed her example, premonition hit hard. His stomach lurched. Even before the three dug farther down to the motionless blue of Eva’s favorite jacket, even before Ginger sat and pointed her nose to the heavens to keen her death howl, Eric knew.

Eva Jenkins, the fourth member of their winter ranger team, was dead.

San Diego, California

The next day

LINDSEY NELSON PACED BACK and forth, the hem of her evening dress swishing as she continued to look for her date, peering through her apartment window every few minutes. A revival of The King and I, her favorite musical, had finally left Los Angeles to play at San Diego Civic Center. She’d been waiting for this performance for weeks, but Wade—the current man in her life—was late. Very late. Not only that, he had the tickets and she hadn’t eaten. Her stomach growled.

If Wade doesn’t show up soon, we’re not going to have time for dinner.

He’d called twenty minutes ago to say he was leaving work. Lindsey had made reservations at their favorite restaurant, a place with delicious fresh seafood and Napa Valley wines—but Southern California’s infamous rush-hour traffic could easily ruin the most carefully laid plans.

Maybe I should order some food. We can have a quick bite here before we leave. It’ll have to be pizza or Chinese…. Where is he?

Lindsey impatiently shoved her curtains aside once more, hoping to see Wade’s car in the parking lot. Definitely Chinese. I’m not eating pizza in this dress—and I’ll trade the chopsticks for a fork, too!

She reached for the phone just as it rang. With a quick grab, she answered. “Wade, where are you? It’s late!”

“I—” A pause. “Do I have the right number? Is this Ms. Lindsey Nelson? Ranger Nelson?”

“Sorry, I was expecting another call. I’m Lindsey.”

“Thank heavens. My name is Jack Hunter. I’ve been authorized by the Yosemite Ranger Station to contact you. Your office told me I could catch you at this number.”

“Catch is the right word. I’m on my way out.” Lindsey heard the familiar honk of Wade’s car outside her window. “In fact, my ride’s here,” she said, trying to stem her impatience. “How can I help you, Mr. Hunter?”

“Call me Jack. My job is to fill unexpected openings among high-risk ranger positions anywhere in the Historic Monument and National Park system.”

“Well…Jack, I’m not interested in moving anywhere,” Lindsey said. “Look, could I take your number and call you back?” she asked as Wade beeped again impatiently. “I’m really very late.” Normally Wade wouldn’t do anything this rude, but he was obviously trying to save time.

“Forgive me, but this is a matter of some urgency. We need a ranger up in Yosemite. Sadly, the opening’s come about because of a ranger down. Dead, I’m sorry to say.”

“Not Eric Kincaide?” Lindsey asked, her chest tight with fear. “Or his twin, Naomi?”

“A female—a dog handler named Eva. Did you know her?”

“No.” Lindsey drew in a deep breath, her chest still tight, but with sorrow, not fear. A ranger dead? How? Why? Lindsey listened in horror as Jack explained.

He concluded with, “As you know, Yosemite rangers are snowbound in the station during winter. We can’t fly anyone in due to the danger of avalanche. You’re a ranger without a dog, and we’ve got a dog without a ranger. You also have extensive experience in the snow. I understand you used to work in Yosemite.”

“Yes, but that was more than four years ago. And it’s been almost as long since I’ve worked canine search-and-rescue.” Since she’d stopped working professionally with dogs and given up cliff-climbing, she’d gone back to her teenage loves—surfing and scuba diving. At present she was a ranger at La Jolla Cove, the only state diving park in California and one of only two in the United States, the other in Florida. “I’ve stuck exclusively to diver search-and-rescue.”

“So I’ve been told,” Jack said briskly. “But we desperately need a replacement, Ms. Nelson. I know this is short notice, but it’s only until we open the park to the public and the summer ranger staff—maybe three months. Four, tops. I already cleared it with your present park supervisor. She assured me your regular position would be waiting when you return. Call her to confirm if you wish, then please call me back.”

“That’s not the point, Mr. Hunter. I’ve already told you, I’m not interested in transferring anywhere, not even for a few months.”

“I’ll be frank, Lindsey. We have a young child and her kidnapper at large in Yosemite. It’s her father—he escaped from jail. We won’t find them without a dog, and you’re the best chance we have of recovering the child.”

Immediately Lindsey’s attention focused on the conversation. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I’m saying so now.”

Lindsey hesitated and regrouped. “Look, I want to help, but isn’t there anyone else? I don’t have enough winter gear left for a transfer,” Lindsey said uneasily, thinking of her present working wardrobe of swimsuit and dive gear. “I couldn’t pack in very much if I have to ski to the station.” Down below Wade beeped his horn again. Phone in hand, she hurried to the window and waved to him, holding up a finger and pantomiming Just a minute.

“You could use the equipment that belonged to the ranger you’re replacing. All you’ll need are the most basic personal items. She was about your size.”

Lindsey found herself being directed to a place she didn’t want to be, and suddenly realized that the man on the other side of the line was very good at directing reluctant rangers. “I don’t know. I’d prefer—”

“Not to use the dog and equipment of a dead woman? Ms. Nelson, excuse my frankness, but we can’t pack them out, and you can’t pack your own stuff in. I hope you don’t have a problem with this. We’re talking about a child’s life. We need to find her, and we need you to handle the dog. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“Oh, I think you would, Mr. Hunter,” Lindsey said, deliberately not using his first name. “I also imagine you don’t make too many friends in your position—railroading rangers—if you are indeed legit.”

“Call it whatever you want. And I’m legit.”

Lindsey took in a deep breath. “Before we settle on anything, let me explain something. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but I left Yosemite because I couldn’t work with Eric Kincaide.” The man I loved. The man I was supposed to marry. The man who said he loved me. “I understand he’s still there. Believe me, I’m the last person he’d want to see. And I never got along with his sister, or she with me. In the interests of teamwork and harmony, especially under these circumstances, I’d suggest—”

“Ms. Nelson, we need you,” Jack Hunter interrupted. “Up in Yosemite, we’ve broken the record for the most snow in the Sierra Nevada since the Donner Party tragedy. This is a national park. During the winter it’s open to anyone who can trek in and out. We just lost a ranger—one of our own—to the snow, it’s so bad. What do you think is going to happen to the kidnapper and his hostage? Someone has to find them. He won’t turn himself into the police—he faces kidnapping charges, since his wife has sole custody, and he still has time to serve on domestic violence charges. The odds of finding them without a dog drop significantly—and we can’t use the dog without a handler. You used to work Yosemite in the winter. You know the area, the routine. And you know dogs. Believe me, I checked you out very carefully. Your father taught you canine search-and-rescue work. Your two sisters work with dogs. Your parents own a kennel, and breed and train law-enforcement canines. I understand you’re part of the family business.”

“Yes, but still…” Lindsey bit her lip and thought. The park maintained strict visitor quotas in the summer, but in the winter the conditions were too primitive for all but a skeleton staff of the most expert winter survivalists-skiers. Even the park horses and mules were trucked out before the snow hit. The bears hibernated, the antlered animals headed for lower country, and the birds flew south toward San Diego and Mexico. Very few species of animal life could survive the High Sierra in winter. Only a few had the skill to live in a land so frigid and snowbound that snowmobiles and helicopters were as useless as frozen water pipes.

“Ms. Nelson, there aren’t many rangers with your qualifications. Subtract those who are married or have children and can’t leave their families on such short notice, and you’re all I have left. And in these circumstances, the fact that your ex-boyfriend’s in charge is pretty irrelevant.”

“How did you…?” Obviously the gloves were off. Lindsey decided to follow suit. “Eric wasn’t just an old boyfriend.” Eric was more than that. We wanted to start a family. I could’ve had a son or daughter by now. Maybe both… “We were engaged to be married. His sister had a hand in our breakup—a very messy breakup. I haven’t spoken to either of them in the past four years.”

“I’ve been on the radio with Mr. Kincaide. He vouches for your competence. Says your arrival won’t be a problem for him if it isn’t a problem for you. His sister says the same.”

“You talked to Eric and Naomi?”

“Mostly Eric. Reading between the lines, I gather he’s willing to overlook any, uh, romantic grudges. He says he’d bet his life on your skills.”

Lindsey’s cheeks burned and her heart ached with a pain four years hadn’t dispelled. Too bad he didn’t bet on a future with me in it.

“Ms. Nelson, we need you. There’s no one else to ask. As I’ve said, our head ranger is willing to set aside his personal emotions to try to find the missing child. Rest assured, the two other rangers already stationed there are much too upset over the death of their co-worker to intrude on your past love life or present feelings about it. We have a child taken away from her mother by a madman of a father. He’s vowed to kill anyone who comes between him and his daughter.”

“Of course I’m worried about the child!”

“Good. Because right now, I badly need a replacement ranger who can handle a search-and-rescue animal in Yosemite. Are you willing to be that replacement?”

Lindsey closed her eyes. Four years, and she hadn’t been able to feel anything for another man even close to what she felt for Eric. Four years, and she still hadn’t made peace with the past. Wade was a good man and any woman would be happy to fall in love with him—with all the physical and emotional sensations that entailed—but she couldn’t. Wade wanted a wife, a family, a commitment, and he wanted Lindsey permanently in his bed. He’d hinted that he intended to ask her to marry him. Wade expected her to be ready with an answer, but Lindsey felt herself getting older, sadder, lonelier and more confused as the weeks and months went on.

It’s time to get over the past. I need to find out what went wrong with me and Eric—and to see if we can fix it. If we can’t…then it’s time to move on.

“I’m in,” she agreed. “Just let me touch base with my boss and family while you make the flight arrangements. Will someone be meeting me at the local airport?”

“It’s in Lee Vining, and yes, I will. Your connection will be in Fresno.”

“I can be ready sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

“Tonight would be better. There’s a red-eye leaving San Diego at nine forty-five.”

“Sorry, that’s impossible. I need tonight.”

She heard Jack slowly exhale. “Fine. Tomorrow morning, then. No later. I’ll call you back with the final arrangements, and you can pick up your prepaid ticket at Lindbergh Field. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good evening, Ms. Nelson.”

“Same to—” The line was already dead. “You.”

Lindsey replaced the receiver just as a knock sounded on her door. Wade must have given up waiting. Her stomach now churned from nervousness, not hunger, and she hurried to let him in. She quickly explained why she’d been held up on the phone.

“You have to stay home and pack? For Yosemite?” His normally patient voice rose. “Why you?”

“Because there’s no one else. Because it’s my job. Because I couldn’t refuse when the pushiest supervisor I’ve ever met forced me into it.”

“Forget it! I don’t want you going back to Yosemite and that guy who dumped you at the altar!” Wade protested.

“We never made it to the— Wait a minute! How do you know about Eric?”

“Your parents told me. Your sisters told me. Your friends told me. Said he broke your heart. That you’re overly cautious now. That I need to be patient. I have been, Lindsey, but this is too much!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Say no!”

“I can’t, not when there’s a child involved. It’s like an E.R. doctor refusing to come in for work when there’s a major catastrophe. And even if I did say no, I suspect this Hunter could’ve pulled rank and ordered me out there. I didn’t have a choice. I mean, it’s not like I’m happy about it!”

Wade peered closely at her. “Maybe not,” he said. “But I don’t trust this guy.” He reached into his suit coat to withdraw a jeweler’s box. “I was going to give this to you at dinner tonight.” He held it out to her.

Lindsey refused to take it. “Oh, Wade… Tell me this isn’t what I think it is.”

He opened the box containing the solitaire diamond, since she wouldn’t do it herself. “Can I put this on your finger?”

“Please don’t. I can’t say yes to marriage, yet.”

“You aren’t saying no, either,” he insisted.

“Let’s wait. I’ll know for sure when I come home. I’ll only be gone three or four months.”

“Four months—with that bastard,” Wade said, his face grim. “Let’s hope that’s long enough to get him out of your system.”

Four years hasn’t been long enough. But she couldn’t say that to Wade, any more than she could take his ring or be his wife.

Not now. Maybe not ever…

Pushy supervisor or not, deep inside Lindsey knew she couldn’t have stayed away, even if a child hadn’t been involved. Time to face the past—and decide on the future.

JACK HUNTER DOODLED on the pad of paper before him. Still on hold with the travel agency as they tried to arrange a flight reservation, he found a humorless smile twitching at his lips. Lindsey Nelson had been a harder nut to crack than most of the ranger replacements he contacted. But then, the best of the best were never pushovers, Lindsey included.

He studied the files before him with their official photos and stats. Eric Kincaide: age thirty, never married, with a master’s degree in parks and wildlife management from U.C. San Francisco. Six foot two, blue eyes, black curly hair and a lean muscled body that could traverse any winter terrain…. A powerful skier and hiker who had traveled and skied the world, skiing that included obtaining two gold medals for his country’s Olympic cross-country skiing and shooting team. Yet he always returned to his native home in Santa Clara county, near Yosemite. He was an excellent lead ranger, and no one blamed him for Eva’s death, not even privately. Anyone who died on Eric Kincaide’s team had screwed up big time. Period.

Eva Jenkins…young, pretty and dead. She hadn’t had the brilliant career of Eric or Lindsey, but was a solid worker and canine handler who’d somehow made a fatal mistake.

Naomi Kincaide accepted Eric as leader, despite their being the same age—and twins. She hadn’t started out as a ranger, the way her brother had. Earlier she’d worked in a hospital in San Francisco as an EMT, where she’d eventually met and married her husband, Bruce Palmer; she’d kept her own last name. When he died, she’d joined the ranger service and now worked as Eric’s EMT team member.

Enter Lindsey Nelson, tough as nails. Twenty-five, never married. An associate’s degree in athletics and sports, and school letters in softball, gymnastics, golf and tennis, she competed harder against herself than anyone else. Despite her long blond hair, green eyes and a trim package of feminine curves and lithe strength, one noticed her looks second, her self-assuredness first. Lindsey Nelson came from a family of women who thrived on challenge. She could climb mountains and sheer cliffs, including El Capitan, at three thousand feet the tallest unbroken cliff in the world. She’d also climbed to the top of Yosemite Falls, its twenty-four hundred feet making it the highest free-falling waterfall in the United States.

She had a talent with animals that other handlers envied. Obviously it ran in the family. Yet she’d given up dogs and climbing and winter sports for an equally flawless career as a rescue ranger at California’s underwater state diving park, La Jolla Cove in San Diego county, with fill-in stints as a lifeguard at Carlsbad State Park. Lindsey Nelson was multitalented and successful in all her endeavors—except when it came to her personal relationships with men.

Jack studied the photos of the two rangers. To his discerning eye, the two stubborn chins promised resistance to anyone or anything challenging them. Their faces showed intelligence, determination and more than a hint of steel. Admirable qualities on the job, but from a personality standpoint, Jack figured that as a couple these two were doomed from the start. Their impressive careers and daring rescues proved that neither of them accepted compromise. He doubted either knew the definition of the word.

That might work well for rescues, but not for romance. However, Jack Hunter didn’t care about old flames or bruised hearts when it came to a kidnapped child. He only cared that he’d filled the opening Eva had left—filled it with the best ranger available. Personal relationships weren’t Jack’s concern. He’d done what he was hired to do. As for anything else—including love and romance—the woman he’d chosen as Eva Jenkins’s replacement was on her own.