Rachel Lee - Undercover In Conard County

They might have a few horses to pack into the wilderness, but they could run only one hunt at a time and didn’t have the cost of a large stable. On the one hand, on the other hand. Trade-offs. She remembered one outfit that kept operating long after their license had expired...and got caught only because somebody who was considering hiring them actually checked out their outfitters license listed on the webpage.

But Kel was after something that was apparently breaking itself into small pieces to avoid notice. A group steadily sinking below the radar. A group taking game it held no permits for.

Kel was running a big risk. The loss of money, the possible jail time, the fines...yeah, it could get dangerous going after people who faced that.

But first they had to be found. She wondered if any other officers with the WIU were in other locations doing the exact same thing. Probably.

Sighing, tired of thinking about the job all the time, she put some music on her stereo, something quiet but upbeat, started some coffee, then hopped in her shower for a quick wash.

She realized she didn’t have much of a life anymore, outside her work. Maybe she’d become obsessed? She promised herself that after this season was over, she would find something to do with her time that in no way resembled her job. Maybe hang out with the girls as Julie and Connie kept suggesting. She’d worked awfully hard to become a senior warden so early in her career, and she guessed she’d become a little distorted in the process.

Work all the time? That had to stop.

She was wearing some casual sweats when she heard Kel rap on her door. Yep, he was taking her up on the bunk. She went to let him in, saying, “Straight back, the door at the end of the hall.”

“Thanks.” He smiled at her and carried his duffel over his shoulder, marching away.

It was, she thought sourly, a sign of her fatigue that she’d made this offer, especially to a man she found so attractive. She could almost smell trouble in the air, like smoke in the breeze.

Oh, well. She plopped on her sofa, put her sock-covered feet up and worked on a mug of coffee. She was lucky that caffeine never kept her up.

Kel returned a few minutes later.

“There’s coffee if you want any.”

“Thanks. Think you’re done for the night?”

“Who knows? Flexible hours sometimes means all of them.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m familiar with that.”

She watched him stride around the edge of the couch and sit in the chair on the other side of the coffee table. “Get-acquainted time,” she said. “When did you leave the Rangers?”

His dark gray eyes studied her. “Three years ago, after I tore up my knees so bad they gave me a medical discharge.”

She sat up a little straighter. “Did they fix them for you?”

“I can still walk. The pain doesn’t count, so the answer is no.”

“That stinks.”

“I’m not so sure I want artificial knees just yet. These are still working.”

She sipped some more coffee, aware that emotions were trying to edge into this picture. She wasn’t sure she should let them. Keeping a reasonable distance from entanglements had so far served her well. “That’s tough.”

“That’s what they make ibuprofen for. I’m okay.”

“And then?”

“After the Rangers?” He smiled and sipped coffee. “I decided I wanted to do something constructive from there on out. I was lucky to get hired by Game and Fish, took all the training, and then for reasons known only to the Fates, I was assigned to WIU.”

She smiled faintly. “Do you wish they’d made you a warden?”

“I did at first,” he admitted, then looked a bit rueful. “I think I had a romanticized view of what you do.”

“Hah!” She slapped her thigh. “I did, too, once upon a time. But even if it’s not romantic, it’s important. Like last spring when I rescued an orphaned mountain lion cub. That made up for a whole lot.”

“I bet it did.”

She hopped up and went to her small personal desk to open a drawer. Pulling out a photo, she walked over and handed it to him. “That’s me and the cub.”

“My God, it’s cute.” He stared and smiled, before passing it back.

She tossed it on the coffee table and resumed sprawling on the sofa. “They’re going to be endangered before long, at least in these mountains. Sport hunting is putting them near critical.”

“Think we’ll protect them?”

Again she laughed. “Well, that depends, doesn’t it? They’re mostly seen as a threat to livestock or as a trophy. But like everything else, they’re an important part of the ecosystem. So I imagine we’ll have a knock-down, drag-out fight over protecting them when the time comes. In the meantime...well, I can rescue cubs.”

“Like wolves,” he mused. “There’s been a lot of upset since the court put them back on the endangered list.”

“I love the wolves,” she said truthfully. “I understand why so many ranchers think they’re a threat, but I still love them. Two summers ago I got to see most of the pack when I was up in the mountains. Unfortunately we feed the elk because of loss of habitat, and no one wants to see the end of elk, or elk hunting. But those feeding areas are like ringing the dinner bell for the wolves. They usually only kill what they need. Usually. But I guess some people don’t want to share.”

“It’s been my experience that wolves are pretty shy of people. But I suppose the ranchers can’t afford full-time range riders or shepherds.”

“Not anymore,” Desi admitted. “Raising livestock is a difficult job under the best of circumstances, so I understand the concerns the ranchers express.” Then she caught herself. “But why don’t we talk about something besides the job. I was thinking earlier that I’m almost obsessive. I need some fresh air in my brain.”

He chuckled. “Well, the job brought us together, so it makes sense we’d talk about it. But on to other subjects. Let me think.”

She was content to let him do the thinking as she rose again to get more coffee. As she returned to the couch, she saw it with fresh eyes for the first time since she’d moved in. She wasn’t even sure what color it was, it was so old and faded. Somewhere between brown and gray? She was fairly fastidious about keeping things clean, but as she stared at that couch she wondered if cleaning it would help.

Seated again, she watched Kel sip his coffee, his gaze distant.

“I know,” he said finally. “Would you believe I actually saw a snow leopard when I was in Afghanistan? In the wild.”

“For real?” She sat up a little straighter. “Aren’t they rare?”

“Exceedingly. There are only about 250 left.”

“So how did you manage it?”

“I was on a mission to train Afghani forces in mountain fighting. Early one morning I was scanning the mountains around us through some high-power binoculars and there it was. I didn’t tell anyone about it because their pelts are highly prized and the last thing I wanted to do was let anyone know it was there.”

She felt herself smiling broadly. The story made her heart lift. Now, this was a change from her usual rut. “I think I’m going to die of envy.”

He laughed. “Don’t do that. I just wished I could take a photo, but it was too far away. Warming itself on a high ledge in the first sunbeams of the day. It was stunning, Desi. Just stunning.”

“That’s something I’ll only ever see in a photo,” she remarked. “But I’m glad you kept it secret.”

“I didn’t tell a soul. Everyone knows there are snow leopards in the Kush, but they’re hard to find, they range large territories and...well, I wasn’t going to pinpoint one. Afghanistan wants to protect them, but given how rough things are over there...” He let it hang, evidently feeling a long explanation wasn’t necessary. “Anyway, I’d seen one of their pelts in a market in Kabul. I wasn’t going to add to the count.”