Before I could make a correction, Ben was at the controls trimming up the engine and slamming the boat into reverse. I had driven the boat into the sand.
“Help. Help me,” the swimmer yelled.
“Stand up,” Ben shouted back. And the swimmer stopped and stood, the water only coming up to their thighs.
Ben revved the engine trying to get the boat out of the sand.
“I’m sorry, Ben. I thought I had it.” I looked on shore where Nikki and Ursula watched every move we made. I might as well have unpinned my badge now. Ursula was inevitably going to demand it once I was back on dry land.
“It happens to all of us,” Ben reassured me, but his kind words didn’t make me feel any better. He didn’t know what this meant. I was no longer employed.
He pushed the throttle handle all the way in the backward position turning the wheel back and forth—water spluttering from the propeller mere inches below the surface—until finally, we were free.
After pulling four more people into the boat because they were either terrified of the open water or because they were too exhausted to finish, my part of the race—and my stint as a park ranger—was over. It was time to hand over my badge.
The minute I stepped on the dock I was met by a crowd of people, an angry-looking Nikki, and Ursula whose smile was so broad it was almost creepy. She didn’t have to look so happy to fire me.
“Rylie, I’m so happy you’re here,” Ursula roared as she put her arm around my waist and pushed me up the beach towards the plaza area.
Had I lost my hearing? Was she being . . . nice?
“I have some people who want to meet you.”
The crowd and Nikki followed behind us as I tried not to trip in the sand.
“Who?” I managed to ask.
“Apparently, you’ve grown quite a following from that video. Antonio informed me of the visitors flocking to the park—and paying admission—just to get the opportunity to see you,” she whispered hurriedly under her breath. “I figure the least you can do after you embarrassed yourself and all of us is bring in additional revenue.”
We were on the steps leading up next to the tiki buildings.
“How am I supposed to do that? You’re not going to fire me?” I asked.
“Fire you?” She let out a loud laugh as if that were the craziest thing I’d ever say. “Why would I fire you?”
“Um, did you see what I did on the boat?”
“That’s neither here nor there. You did no damage.”
She couldn’t be serious.
As we approached the main office, I saw the cameras and people holding microphones in their hands looking like eagles ready to pounce on an unsuspecting mouse.
Me.
“No. No no no. I can’t talk to them.” I stopped dead in my tracks. My hair was windblown, and I could feel my face crisping from the sun baking down on me all morning.
“You can and you will if you want to keep your job,” she hissed in my ear.
Now she was threatening my job again. This lady needed a serious mental evaluation.
I took a deep breath. One part of me wanted to tell her to shove it, but the other knew I needed this job, at least until I could find another. “Fine.” How bad could it be?
“Perfect,” she said. “This is Rylie Cooper, or as you all know her, the snake wrangler.”
Two women and one man lunged at me with their microphones all spewing questions, their cameramen moving around trying to get the best shot.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t get those questions. Could we go one at a time?” I asked.
So we did. I started with one and made my way through three separate interviews asking the same questions over and over again.
“How did you feel when the snake bit you?”
“Did it hurt?”
“What will you do differently next time?”
Until the very last interview, Ursula stood off to the side but within view nodding in approval at my answers. But when the last news lady asked, “Should visitors be afraid of being attacked by a snake here at Alder Ridge Reservoir,” Ursula jumped in and took over.
“Absolutely not. That’s why we have rangers like Rylie who are willing to risk their lives for our guests. Currently, Rylie is one of our summer rangers but may soon be full time meaning visitors would be able to see her year round.”
I could hear the dollar signs churning in her mind. Did money really change her mind from firing me to hiring me on full time? What would happen when my fifteen minutes had truly expired? Would she just fire me then?
“And cut,” the news lady said. “Thank you, Rylie and er—”
“Ursula, Director of Parks and Recreation.”
“If you would,” Nikki said in a high voice behind me. “Please follow me over to the finish line where we will be handing out awards.”
The news people hesitantly followed, and Nikki shot me a glare.
The crowd hadn’t followed Nikki and the cameras, but rather looked as if they were waiting for me to hand out more autographs. An idea popped into my mind.
“Did you mean what you said about the full-time position?” I asked loud enough for the people around us to hear. Heads turned from me to her, awaiting her response.
Ursula narrowed her eyes but then smiled. “Of course I meant it. You’re one of the best summer rangers we’ve ever had. As long as the interview process goes well, you’ll be able to call yourself a full-time ranger by the end of October.”
My heart raced. Another interview with Ursula. Maybe this time she’d ask what I’d do if I woke up as a rattlesnake.
“I should probably get back to the event,” Ursula said. “Don’t forget to give these nice people your autograph. They’ve been waiting here all morning.”
I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face. “Okay, who’s first?”
14
I couldn’t help but be excited when Garrett’s name popped up on my phone
