Leigh Bale - Falling for the Forest Ranger

“Jonah! Come away from there.” She glanced at the man, her cheeks burning like road flares. Now was not a good time for her son to misbehave.

“I just wanted to see what’s inside,” Jonah said.

“Nothing but sacks of groceries.” The man heaved a disgruntled sigh and shook his head at the boy.

“He’s normally a well-mannered child. He usually minds me.” Zoë rushed to reassure the man, wondering why it mattered so much to her. She hated the thought of this handsome stranger believing she couldn’t control her own son.

“I can see that.” He pursed his lips, looking skeptical.

“He’s just a bit excited. You see, we just moved to town, and he’s been helping me get settled in our new home.”

“Yeah, hyper kids act that way sometimes.”

She stiffened, fighting off bristles of anger. Calling her son hyper pinched a nerve in Zoë’s composure. “Jonah’s not hyper. He’s just curious and energetic.”

A miniature replica of his deceased father, Jonah was now kicking the tires. She didn’t know what she’d do without him. She certainly wouldn’t tolerate anyone assigning him a derogatory label.

The man looked doubtful, but she wasn’t about to carry this conversation any further. He had a right to be upset, after all.

She dug into her purse, searching for a pen and paper. “I want to pay for the damage. It’s the least I can do.”

He held up a hand, his expression darkening. “Don’t bother. Right now, I just want to get my ice cream home and in the freezer before it melts.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Zoë thought about her own perishables wilting in her shopping cart. She also wanted to get home, if only to get Jonah into a place where he could run around and burn off some energy. With the boy bouncing around the house, she doubted there’d be much relaxation until bedtime. Rather than try to cook dinner, she’d pick up hamburgers at the drive-through on the way. Since their move, Jonah had been wound as tight as a top. If only she could bottle and sell her son’s energy, she’d be filthy rich.

“Hey, do you like fish?” Jonah pointed at the rear bumper of the man’s truck. Zoë craned her neck to see a blue sticker with two Pacific salmon on it that read Save Our Salmon.

The man didn’t move but responded impatiently, “Yeah, I like fish just fine.”

Jonah flashed a wide grin. “My mom does, too. She knows everything about fish.”

The man eyed Zoë as a dubious smile creased the corners of his mouth. “I’ll just bet she does. You got a goldfish at home, do you?”

“Yep. How’d you know that?” Jonah screwed his face up in curiosity.

“Just a lucky guess.”

“My name’s Jonah, like Jonah and the whale. Mom’s told me the Bible story over and over. Jonah was disbedient to the Lord, so he got swallowed up into the whale’s belly. Only when he pented did the Lord cause the whale to throw him up.”

Zoë stared at her son, stunned by his version of the tale. “Dis-o-be-di-ent and re-pen-ted.” She enunciated the words slowly for her child.

The man coughed, a suppressed smile twitching his lips. “I’ve never heard the story told in quite that way.”

“I’ve never been fishing before,” Jonah continued. “My daddy died when I was just a baby. Mom promised to take me someday soon, once she learns how.”

Zoë shifted her weight, wishing Jonah wouldn’t spill their entire life out for a stranger. But she’d raised him to be honest, so she shouldn’t be surprised by his candor.

A disbelieving laugh slipped from the man’s corded throat. “You’d better be prepared to hook your own worms. Most women are squeamish about that.”

“Not Mom. She can do anything.”

Jonah’s spoken confidence touched Zoë’s heart. How she loved her little boy. His enthusiasm for life affirmed for her that there was so much good around her. After Derek, her husband, had died five years earlier, she’d wondered if she’d ever be happy again. But Jonah served as a constant reminder of how much she still had to live for.

“I’ll just bet she can.” The man’s gaze traveled the length of her, as if sizing her up. His disbelieving expression told her what he really thought about her. Which made her feel incompetent and silly. And she wasn’t. Not at all.

As a National Marine Fisheries biologist for the federal government, she’d worked hard in a male-dominated field to earn her graduate degree and advance in her career. With Derek’s death, she’d been forced to expand her earning base to provide a living for her eleven-month-old baby. With a day job, night classes and a little boy to raise, she’d worked hard to get where she was today. She was used to people, mostly men, telling her she couldn’t succeed, but she’d learned to ignore them. Her knowledge certainly wasn’t limited to goldfish in a bowl, but she wasn’t about to expound on her training and experience in this parking lot.

Not with an irate stranger.

* * *

Tanner Bohlman wanted out of this parking lot. Right now. He didn’t care that Jonah’s mother had a gorgeous smile that lit up her dazzling blue eyes, and he certainly wasn’t interested that the lady was trying to give him her name and phone number.

“At least take my contact info in case you change your mind.” She thrust a scrap of paper at him with her information scrawled across the top.

Against his better judgment, he glanced at her name. Zoë. Pretty and delicate, just like her. With short, blond hair and a lean, graceful figure.

“Thanks.” Without looking down, he crumpled the paper in his fist.

“My goldfish’s name is Rocky,” the boy said.

“Is that right?” Tanner stepped over to the truck door, desperate to make an escape. Trying to keep from staring at the woman’s full mouth and confused frown.

“You ever see some salmon?” the boy persisted.

“Jonah, quit with all the questions.” The mother spoke the reprimand softly, but a warning glint filled her eyes.

“Yeah, I’ve seen a few salmon in my day.” Tanner jerked open the door to his truck, trying to ignore the pretty pink flush of color highlighting the woman’s cheeks. He didn’t want to make small talk with them. He had to leave. Had to get out of here now.

“Mom’s gonna take me fishing for trout,” Jonah persisted.

“Good for you.” He stepped up into the driver’s seat but couldn’t slam the door. The kid was in the way.

“Come on, Jonah.” The woman pulled her son back, then glanced at Tanner. “Be sure to let me know if you change your mind about the repairs.”

Tanner shook his head. “Thanks, but I won’t be calling you.”

Not ever. The last thing he wanted in his life was another woman, even if her cute little son had accidentally bashed a couple of scratches into the side of his truck. After what his former fiancée had done to him two years earlier, Tanner wouldn’t take the chance of falling for another woman ever again. It hurt too much.

He paused, tossing a quick glimpse at Jonah. “You stay back with your mom, now. I don’t want to run over you when I back out.”

Taking the cue, Zoë gripped the little guy’s hand, tugging him out of the way. Satisfied that the boy was safe, Tanner slid the key into the ignition and started the engine. He paused just a moment, giving Zoë time to retrieve her potatoes and the wayward cart. Watching her struggle between holding onto her son’s hand and maneuvering the weight of the heavy cart, Tanner almost hopped out to help her.

Almost.

He resisted the urge, giving her time to move aside so he could drive away. He didn’t like being rude but figured it was for the best. He just couldn’t reciprocate her pleasant mood.

A twinge of regret tightened in his gut when he saw that she’d replaced her apologetic smile with a glare of disapproval. Under the circumstances, she’d tried to be as nice as possible. From what the kid had said, she wasn’t married, and a boy like Jonah was bound to be a handful for a woman on her own.