“Yes, but that’s not—we’re talking about you.”
“Did you have a date?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.
She giggled and looked at the ground.
“And you weren’t going to tell me about it?”
“It’s early. I can’t . . .”
I shook my head. “Oh come on.” I protested, but no matter how much I prodded she wouldn’t give up any details.
“I really want to hear about your night though,” she said.
I almost objected since she wasn’t dishing but didn’t want to ruin her mood. “Well, he was completely drunk the entire night.”
“Ugh. Say no more.” She looked at herself in the tinted windows of her car, adjusting her hair into a bun that fit out the back of her ball cap. “You don’t need that in your life.”
I hesitated. “Well . . .”
“Well what?” She turned to face me with a what-have-you-done look on her face.
“I may have agreed to another date with him.”
“Rylie.” She shook her head. “Why do you insist on dating men who aren’t good enough for you?”
“He apologized at the end of the night. It seemed pretty sincere.” I could still feel the warmth of his hand on mine.
“What am I going to do with you?”
“I don’t know, maybe tell me what you’re hiding.” I nudged her arm.
“I think we should probably get down to the plaza and help the opening rangers.”
I turned on my radio. “Rangers Fourteen and Fifteen in service.”
“Copy.” Antonio’s voice sent tingles down my spine. “Could you both come down to the plaza please?”
“Will do.”
I turned to see Shayla standing with her hands on her hips.
“What?”
“You really shouldn’t smile every time you hear his voice. He’s one of the men I’m talking about.”
“I don’t smile every time. Plus he’s married.”
“I’m sure he’s told you by now that his wife moved out,” she said as we walked towards the shop and the summie trucks.
“He said something about them being separated. Do you know what happened?” I hated myself for asking the question.
“Nope. But I wouldn’t count on it lasting forever. I’ve heard they’ve broken up like this before and always somehow end up back together.”
“I hope they do work things out. For their sake,” I said. “And anyway, I’m dating Garrett now.”
“The drunk.” Shayla frowned. “I’m starting to regret setting you up on Tinder.”
“I’ll be fine.” I slid into my truck and turned over the ignition.
The plaza was packed. Families huddled under trees enjoying their freshly grilled meats that sent tendrils of flavor to my nose making my mouth water. Teenagers maneuvered paddleboards and pedal boats, splashing and giggling. Toddlers played in the sand on the swim beach while their mothers kept a watchful eye. The sight made my heart happy.
“It’s about time you got down here,” Antonio said from behind me.
I whipped around so quickly I almost lost my balance. “Why? It looks like all is well.”
“Except for your little fan club.” He pointed to where a group of twenty-somethings stood staring at me. “They have been here all morning waiting to meet you.”
“YouTube,” I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I had almost forgotten about the video.
“YouTube?” Shayla asked. “What do you mean YouTube?”
“Our very own Rylie Cooper and her snake bite are the newest YouTube sensation.” He laid a giant hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“What? How?” Shayla looked between the crowd and me.
“There’s a video of me being bested by that snake on the beach, and it went viral. The hostess last night even asked for my autograph.”
Shayla covered her mouth with her hand trying to force her giggles from escaping.
“How did that date go?” Antonio’s hand dropped from my shoulder leaving it lighter and lonely.
“It went great,” I said, not meeting Shayla’s eyes.
“Great, huh? So you’ll be having another?”
“Yes. In fact, we’re going to the Broncos game this weekend.”
He let out a low whistle. “Sounds like he’s smitten.”
I ignored his raised eyebrow.
“Did I hear right that you found a body the other day?” Antonio continued.
“Yeah, over at Golden Rock Pond.”
“Looks like you’re a bit of a shit magnet. Two bodies in as many months after nothing for years.” He took a step away and crossed his bulking arms over his chest. “Maybe I should request opposite shifts.”
“There’s no such thing as a shit magnet.” I rolled my eyes. “Have you seen Seamus? Is he doing okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s still got his lucky charms and all.” Antonio frowned.
The reservoir rangers and the trail rangers had a love-hate relationship.
“I’m sorry to hear about your separation,” Shayla said.
I shifted from one foot to the other. Why would she bring it up now?
“It’s been over longer than I wanted to admit. The fact that I helped put her best friend’s husband in prison was just the icing on the cake.”
He glanced at me. It wasn’t just his wife’s best friend’s husband. It was one of the former rangers and Antonio’s best friends. And in the process, he had saved my life.
“Now I have to make sure she doesn’t leave me high and dry.” He stood a little taller. “I guess it’s like the old saying. Love is like a fart. If you have to force it, it’s probably shit. And we’ve been forcing it for far too long.”
Shayla’s hands flew up to cover her giggles. I almost let out a snort. “I’ve never heard that saying before.”
He shrugged. “Maybe I made it up. But regardless, it’s true.”
That it was. I’d had my fair share of forcing love. And it had turned to shit pretty quickly.
We all stood in silence staring out at the beach. Tiny waves washed up on shore, nothing like what you’d see on the coast, but enough to make the kids squeal with delight. The lifeguards ran drills with a surprisingly lifelike dummy. One of them would toss it into the water, and another would dive in to find it.
“You should probably get to talking to your fan club.” Shayla motioned to the group of people patiently awaiting my attention. “Sign
