The Ranger's Passionate Love

If they're trying to rope in the tourists, this would hook me, Kyara reflected.

The evening remained oppressively hot and muggy, though. Insects began to find her, too. At first there were just a few, but soon she couldn’t take a step without having to swat at them. By the time her foot disappeared into a hole full of mud, Kyara's mood had soured.

This was a real

ly stupid idea Kyara berated herself. I don’t have the right clothes for this, or bug spray, or anything. I’m going to get eaten alive by mosquitoes big enough to ride before I find them, if they’re even out here!

Just when she was ready to turn back, Kyara caught the welcome sound of voices and a revving motor. The trail looped around a hill before she finally saw people.

Three women were grouped in back of an old, red pickup truck. It was filled with a pile of branches. They matched the mass of interwoven, spiky branches blocking the trail ahead. There was kind of a place the path continued between them, but you had to be looking for it. Mostly, it just looked like a mass of spikes and leaves.

Of the three women, two short, brunette women, one skinny, one heavy, were holding back some of those branches while a tall, statuesque blond sawed away at the base of one bush with a hack saw. All three straightened up when she came into view.

"Um, hey. I'm looking for Jason?" said Kyara uncertainly.

The pudgy brunette paused for a moment, then gestured through the brambles. The skinny one smirked a little and gave a quick nod, also in the direction of the tiny path. The blond just stared at her, hands on hips.

Wow. What's her problem? Kyara wondered as she made her way tentatively towards the break in the brambles. She went to push her way through, all three women still watching her. The branches were just as rough as they looked. Almost immediately, Kyara's arms became a mass of tiny, cross-crossed scratches.

Great, because the bug bites weren't bad enough.

Picking her way forward, trying to preserve her abused skin as much as possible, Kyara worked her way forward. Coming out the other side, she finally saw Jason.

He was lounging against a huge, lightning-struck tree, talking to another guy. Jason was wearing a rich green jacket and rough, thick khakis, the loops on them actually hung with the tools they were intended for. The other man was heavier, wearing a bark brown jacket and jeans. The gray at his temples marked him as older. He was shaking his head at Jason like a disappointed teacher.

Kyara stopped, listening and picking bits of leaves out of her hair.

"We can't just leave it here, Rich. It's dead. Someday it's gonna fall, and when it does it might hurt someone on the trail" said Jason.

The man spat, a thick wad of dark spit hitting the ground.

"Do you know how unlikely that is?" asked the older man. "You're making a ton of work for us over nothing."

"It's not for nothing, it's for ..." just then, Jason saw her and cut off his words, smiling.

Kyara came forward, the older man turning to see what had caught Jason's attention. Up close, Jason's eyes caught the color of his jacket and held it, shading them a rich emerald. He looked even better than he had when they'd met before.

I wonder what he'd look like in morning light? Kyara wondered.

"You came," said Jason, surprise and delight filling his voice. "When you weren't there at 6:30, I figured you weren't coming out tonight."

Kyara shrugged. "I wasn't sure either, I guess. But I thought I'd see what it was all about."

Jason nodded, still smiling. He turned to the other man.

"Officer Marsh, this is Kyara Bell. She owns the place that used to be Mrs. Tylden's."

The older man nodded brusquely, not holding out his hand.

"I know who she is," was all he said. "And it don't look like she's ready to help, even if she had come on time."

Jason blinked and looked at her again, this time taking in the many, tiny cuts and bug bites on her bare arms.

"Oh, wow, Kyara. I' so sorry, I forgot to warn you. Everyone else got the reminder on the first day, but we deal with a lot of underbrush. You kinda need long sleeves for this," said Jason.

"Oh, well, I was just coming out to see what it was all about anyway. I'm sure it's fine. I can head back, maybe try some other time." Kyara tried to play it off.

Am I blushing? Can he tell? Oh, God, I knew this was a mistake.