The Forest Ranger's Promise Read Online Free PDF

grateful they were all home safe.
    Karen, her husband, Mike, and Scott’s range assistant, Jim Tippet, were all at his house to meet him. As Melanie pulled into the gravel driveway, they came outside fully dressed, Jim’s thinning hair sticking up in places.
    â€œThank goodness you’re home. Are you okay?” Karen asked as she rushed over to take Scott’s arm.
    â€œI’m fine, thanks to Mrs. McAllister.” Scott smiled at Melanie, who stood back with her arms folded. Anne continued sleeping in the truck.
    Jim looked at Melanie. “Good thing you were up on the mountain and found him when you did.”
    A tight smile curved her lips. “I was glad to help.”
    Yeah, right. Scott doubted her words, but he respected her for doing the right thing in spite of her dislike for him. Without her and Anne, he’d probably be dead now.
    â€œLet me unload Tam and I’ll put him in the corral before I drive Mrs. McAllister home.” Jim went to retrieve Scott’s horse.
    â€œI’ll help you,” Mike said.
    As the two men rounded the back of the horse trailer, Scott looked at the Forest Service house, painted white with green trim. Someone had turned the porch light on. Even though he had kind people here to help, he felt overwhelmed by loneliness. “Where’s Shelley?”
    â€œInside sleeping. She doesn’t even know anything happened,” Karen said.
    â€œGood. I didn’t want to frighten her.” No matter what, he wanted to protect his daughter and let her have as normal a childhood as possible.
    â€œLet’s get you inside so you can rest,” Karen urged.
    Scott reached out his hand to Melanie. “Thank you, Mrs. McAllister. I owe you.”
    Melanie hesitated before shaking his hand. Her fingers felt chilled and delicate against his.
    â€œYou don’t owe me a thing,” she said.
    Scott watched her return to the truck, sliding in beside her sleeping daughter. Injured and alone on the mountain without a horse, he could have died. He had Melanie to thank for his life. Right then, he decided he would do everything in his power to return the favor.
    As Karen led him up the front steps to his house, he stared at the front door. Thinking about the big, empty rooms, he wished he didn’t have to go inside. If only he had someone to come home to each night besides Shelley. Someone who loved and cared for him as much as he cared for her.

Chapter Three
    â€œW hy do we have to come here, Dad? I wanna go home.” Shelley crinkled her nose with repugnance as Scott rapped his knuckles on the front door of the red-brick house.
    White trim surrounded each sparkling window. The front porch circled the house, with white paint peeling along the slim columns supporting the second floor. The front gate stood ajar, sagging on its hinges. Cracked cement along the foundation showed a lack of care. Several boards hung loose on the toolshed at the back edge of the lawn. Everything looked tidy, but repair jobs had been ignored. It occurred to him that Melanie McAllister might need his help as much as he needed hers.
    â€œShell, I’ve already explained to you three times,” he told his daughter. “The people living here saved my life. The least we can do is thank them.”
    The girl released an exaggerated sigh. “All right.”
    Opal Ranch. Jim had told Scott that the ranch had been named for the white and gold mountains surrounding the valley. Poplars lined the long gravel driveway. Scott remembered Melanie talking about the beautiful sunsetsand he could understand why she loved it here. As the summer breeze blew through the treetops, he envied the beauty and solitude of this place.
    Shelley peered at the open fields of hay and alfalfa. Boredom crinkled her brow. She stood beside him wearing a short white skirt and sandals, her long, blond hair pulled back with a pink ribbon. Delicate and pretty as a picture.
    She held a paper