Mountain Fire Read Online Free PDF

reasonable suggestions, instead of muttering sarcastic comments. In little more than an hour all the necessary business was finished, and people began to straggle out.
    “Come with me.” Tabitha grabbed June’s wrist and made it impossible for her to do anything but. “I want to talk to Richard.”
    “Of course you do,” June mumbled under her breath. If everyone else had been energized by Richard’s leadership, Tabitha had been absolutely galvanized. Unfortunately, it wasn’t necessarily because of his dedication to the cause.
    “June! Tabitha! How are you?” Richard greeted them.
    Tabitha released her hold on June and laid her hand on his arm. “We wanted to say how much we enjoyed tonight’s meeting.”
    “Glad to hear it.” He gathered up the loose pages littering the top of the podium. “It’s great to work with such a devoted group of people.”
    “We missed you at the Natural Resources Expo.” Tabitha pouted slightly. “I wish you could have been there.”
    “Yes, sorry about that, but you know I had a conference in Vancouver. It’s very important we work with all levels of government, help them understand our needs and priorities here in the North.” He turned to the whiteboard, picked up an eraser and started wiping away his notes. “How did it go?”
    “It was fantastic. Lots of people stopped to chat. In fact, we ran out of brochures. Rachelle and I managed between us, even though June bailed on us.” She shot June an impish look.
    “I did not bail on you,” she couldn’t help exclaiming in self defence. “I never once said I would help out that day. You know I’d planned to go to Longworth then.”
    “Longworth?” Richard said absently, tucking papers into a folder. “What were you doing there?”
    “I took a few days to hike around. Actually, it turned out to be kind of interesting. I met a conservation officer and helped him find the carcass of a poached grizzly.”
    “No!” Tabitha said, distracted from Richard at last. “What happened?”
    June told them about her adventures. Tabitha’s eyes widened. When June mentioned the shots she’d heard, Richard banged his knuckles on the metal shelf of the whiteboard and dropped the eraser. His horrified gaze never left her face.
    “I have to say, chasing after someone with a rifle is certainly...intrepid,” he said, rubbing his hand, “but, really, I can’t encourage a repeat of it. You know we are mainly a public relations organization. You should leave the catching of criminals to the experts.”
    “Don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to make it a habit. I do have to say, seeing that poor animal made me realize how important our work is.” She shrugged off the dismal memory. “Although some good might come of it. Alex invited me to his office to have a tour, meet some people. Maybe I’ll have a foot in the door when it’s time to find work after graduation.”
    “You take care of yourself, sweetie,” Tabitha said. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
    “No,” Richard said as he bent to pick up the eraser, “we wouldn’t want that at all.”
    The setting sun stretched out shadows to impossible lengths as June and Tabitha walked toward the older woman’s vintage Volkswagen and said their goodbyes. June had to grin as the battered Beetle swung out on the one-way ring road circling the university, Tabitha’s arm waving out the window, beads and bangles glittering.
    Her own, not quite so ancient, little red pickup was parked all by itself three rows away. The parking lot had been about two-thirds full when she arrived, but at this time on a Sunday evening only those suffering from a surfeit of desperation or dedication were still here, and vehicles were now few and far between.
    She dug in the capacious bag she used as a purse, conducting the usual frustrating search for her keys. It wasn’t until the motorcycle was within striking distance that she realized her