Shayla pulled the muddy blob that smelled like canned dog food out of the microwave and took a bite, her face curling up in disgust. “I guess you’re right.” She looked up at the clock. “We should probably start closing up.”
The plaza wasn’t a welcoming place in the dark. The thatched tiki-style roofs threw creepy shadows across the concrete pathways in the moonlight. I pulled my jacket tighter around me.
Shayla chose the task of closing the walk-in gates while I locked up the plaza buildings. The plaza was the simpler of the two, but neither of us liked doing it.
After locking up the bathrooms, I began the long walk to the offices to set the alarms. Every sound made me jump. Being a park—even one within the city limits—meant critters, which meant noises.
But no critter sounded like heavy boots on concrete. I turned and shined my flashlight in the eyes of the man sneaking up behind me.
“Whoa,” he threw one hand over his eyes.
My chest constricted as I reached for my pepper spray. “Can I help you, sir?” I asked in the bravest voice I could muster.
“Rylie, it’s me.” The man’s voice was familiar, but I had a hard time placing it. It probably didn’t help that my heart was pounding in my ears.
I moved the flashlight beam down a hair, and he dropped his hand.
“Garrett?” I asked. “What are you doing here? I’m closing up the reservoir.”
The look on his face was that of relief. Bags that hadn’t been there that afternoon were now firmly planted under his eyes.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Everything is great,” he replied.
“Okay . . .”
“I’m sorry I scared you.” He smiled at me. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Why didn’t you ask me for this favor when I saw you this afternoon?” I looked down at my watch. I needed to get the rest of the plaza closed and the cars cleared from the park.
“Oh, well,” he fidgeted with the keys in his hand, “This kinda came up last minute.”
“Okay, sure. What do you need?” He quirked up one side of his mouth in a half smile that made my toes tingle.
“I have a package for my mom’s birthday and I was wondering if I could keep it in the trunk of your car. She’s going to be visiting soon, and she tends to be a snoop.”
Oh, how I knew about snoopy mothers. My own was probably going through my things as we spoke.
“No problem.” I nodded. “Let me finish closing up this building, and I’ll swing over and pick it up.”
“Perfect,” he let out a breath. Had he thought I’d turn him down? “I’m parked in that parking lot.” He pointed to the main parking area for the beach.
“I’ll be up in a bit,” I said and turned to walk away.
“Thanks, Rylie,” he called after me.
I turned and flashed him a smile. “Of course.”
8
After setting the alarms on the office buildings, I practically ran back to my truck to meet Garrett and start clearing the parking lots. Shayla and I had to make sure there were no cars left in the park before we closed the gates because cars usually meant people and trapping people in the park overnight made them super mad.
I drove up to the main lot first to find Garrett’s truck sitting in the middle of the lot plus a small silver car parked in one of the corners, almost hidden from view. I’d have to track down the owner after I got done with Garrett.
“I’ll just throw the box into the truck and put it in the back of my car once I get back to the shop,” I said to Garrett when I opened the passenger door.
He pulled a brown shipping box big enough to hold my huge gear bag plus my uniform and duty belt from his messy cab and transferred it to the ranger truck, slamming the door behind it.
“What’d you get her?” I asked as he picked up the empty soda bottles that had fallen onto the asphalt when he’d opened the door of his truck.
Garrett looked as if I’d been speaking another language but he rubbed his eyes and snapped out of it. “Uh, it’s a quilt I had made for her out of my childhood clothes.”
“That’s so sweet. How long do you want me to keep it?”
“Only a week or so.”
I looked up into his eyes. I knew I needed to finish closing up, but my feet seemed cemented to the ground. “No problem.”
In one fluid motion, he crooked an arm behind my back and lifted me completely off the ground, planting his lips on mine.
Where there had been sparks before, now there were fireworks. I lost all track of time and place. The only thing that mattered was that kiss.
It was over as quickly and abruptly as it had begun. He gently reunited my feet with the ground and gave me a cocky smile. “Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you on Sunday.”
“Sunday.” He made finger guns at me as he walked back to his truck. “See you then.”
Once he had gone, I only had to check on the owner of the silver car. I parked next to it, pulling my flashlight from my belt.
“Anyone in there?” I shined the light inside the car and tapped on the window. No response. “Perfect.” I searched the dark plaza area and shoreline. I needed to find this person and quickly. It was well past closing time.
“Ranger Fourteen, Ranger Fifteen,” I called out on the radio.
“Fifteen, go ahead,” Shayla’s voice came back through my mic.
“I have one car left up here. I’m going to be on foot looking for the owner.”
“Copy. I’m headed back to get the gates. I had some fishermen who forgot we close at dark.” The sound of her voice gave away how much she believed their forgetfulness.
“Did you issue a citation?” I asked knowing full well she hadn’t. Neither of us had written our first
