Deadly Currents Read Online Free PDF Page B

her over. “I guess Robbie boy came by to check on you. I should have done that myself, but as you can see, I’ve been busy with the phone. How are you?”
    Mandy slid off the counter into the office. “Sore, tired, but I’ll be okay.”
    “Ah hah. You’re finding out that being a ranger isn’t all fun and glory. It can’t have been easy to deal with a death your second week on patrol.”
    “Sure it isn’t easy, but everyone bringing it up again isn’t making it any easier. Look, I’m fine. I’m more worried about what this is doing to your business.”
    “That’s not your worry. You don’t work here anymore, remember?”
    So, he’s still bugged about that. The thought stirred up old memories. Bill Tanner was a widower with no children of his own when Mandy’s parents had died. Since Mandy was living with and working for her uncle, as she had the previous summer, it was natural for her to stay on and transfer to Salida High School when classes started. She wasn’t eighteen yet, and her brother David couldn’t care for her. Heading into his junior year of college, he had his own education and grief to worry about. He had been relieved to be able to focus on finishing his accounting degree and starting his career.
    Then, it was natural for Mandy to become a full-fledged rafting guide after she graduated. She fell into a pattern of working spring through fall for her uncle and serving on the Monarch Mountain ski patrol during the winters. Whenever she could, she took a course or two at Colorado Mountain College in Buena Vista until she earned an associate’s degree in outdoor education.
    Her uncle had assumed she would take over his business someday. But a few years back, she started itching to prove herself, to tackle some challenge that Uncle Bill didn’t already know everything about. That’s what led to her moving into her own place, and this year, applying for the seasonal river ranger position.
    And, it’s what led to their first serious argument.
    Mandy put a hand on her uncle’s shoulder. “We’ve been over this before. Just because I’m not here every day doesn’t mean I don’t still care about the business—and you. You know that, you ole grouchy bear.”
    He stared at his feet and scuffed the floor with one bedroom slipper. “I know. But you’ve got to know I still want you here. Who am I going to leave this business to, if not you, baby girl?”
    Mandy noted the slippers. His gout must be bothering him again. She would have to find some way to quiz him about his diet without getting on his nerves.
    “I’m not a baby girl anymore. And you’re not retiring anytime soon that I know of. Are you?”
    Fear stabbed Mandy’s gut as she peered at her uncle. He was in his late fifties, overweight and with high blood pressure. Was he hinting something else was wrong?
    “No, I’ll be manning this desk and driving the shuttle vehicles for quite a few years yet. Got to wait around for you to change your mind.”
    She hugged him. “You’re more stubborn than a black bear trying to get at a hummingbird feeder, you know that?”
    Uncle Bill grinned, showing off a straight row of gleaming teeth, a Tanner trait. “Where do you think you get it from?”
    Mandy slid into the extra chair in his office. “Tell me about yesterday’s trip. Was it all locals?”
    Uncle Bill dropped into his chair while holding one foot out, then gingerly lowered it to the floor. “Yeah. Lenny Preble set it up.”
    “The environmentalist?”
    “He said he wanted to show some developers and local politicians why it was so important to reserve recreation water rights on the Arkansas. He used funds from his nonprofit organization to pay for the trip, plus asked me for a discount.”
    “Did you give it to him?”
    “He was throwing business my way, a three-raft trip, so he and one other staffer rode free. And it was for a good cause. Anyway, he invited Tom King and Nate Fowler, a couple of city councilmen, and any