Chapter One #4
Three years later, Ranger Reva had been in the diner, traveling with several of her colleagues.
Fallon had been mindlessly going through her shifts, still unable to figure out what she wanted to do with herself.
Certain there was more to life than what she had in Yuma but with no sense of other options or guidance on how to change, she’d simply been putting one foot in front of the other during the days and crying herself to sleep most nights.
She’d overheard the rangers—all dressed in khaki shirts and green pants—talking excitedly about their next assignments.
It had seemed like forever since Fallon had noticed such enthusiasm, and the mention of something new had caught her attention.
She’d lingered nearby, and when the woman had smiled at her, Fallon had felt like smiling back for the first time in months.
Seeing they were ready to pay, she’d worked up the nerve to ask, “Is it true, what you were saying about the mountains?”
The ranger had taken out her phone and shown Fallon some pictures.
“These are from the San Isabel National Forest where I’ll be working.
” She’d swiped through photo after photo of striking landscapes.
“It’s one of eleven national forests in Colorado and contains the Sawatch Range, the Collegiate Peaks, and Sangre de Cristo Range.
It has well over a million acres, spread out over parts of eleven counties in central Colorado.
” Flushing slightly, she’d added, “I guess you can tell I’m pretty excited about getting to work there. ”
Fallon knew something about the geography of the West. Her homeschool classmates had frequently asked if she skied, and she’d explained numerous times that she wasn’t in that part of the state.
But she’d had no idea it could be so beautiful.
The thought of starting over in such a different world had made her heart lift.
“Would there be work for me there?” she’d asked.
The woman had stood, looking up at her. “Did you want to wait tables?”
Fallon had shaken her head. “I want a different life. Something useful. Something better.”
Taking a business card out of her pocket, the ranger had written something on the back before handing it to Fallon.
“Reva Upshaw, USFS.” Fallon had read aloud.
“Let’s go, Ranger Reva,” one of the men had called. “We’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”
“That’s my personal cell number on the back,” Reva had said before turning to go. “Call me if you’re coming that way, and we can talk about opportunities.”
After six months of planning and saving, Fallon was on the road, but it was almost a year later before she’d made the call.
Travel was more expensive than ever, and many people seemed apprehensive about strangers, but this was the life she’d always known, stopping along the way, working at whatever she could find when her funds got low.
It was hard to save, though. In most of the bigger towns, people were holding signs asking for help, and Fallon found herself dipping into her cash every time.
Then, in the last month of her journey, she’d picked up Evie, who had traveled with her for almost three weeks, sharing her bed and board.
Fallon had thought there might be something more between them, but then Evie had found Fallon’s cash reserves, and well, that had been that.
During their last phone conversation, Ranger Reva had told her when she needed to report for this year’s Firecamp program, stressing that late arrivals would not be admitted.
Fallon had calculated that stopping to work again meant she wouldn’t make it on time.
With a rising sense of panic, she’d counted what remained in her wallet, putting everything but a few ones and some change into the Caddy’s gas tank.
Her last meal had been a bag of convenience store popcorn and a container of yogurt.
Yesterday. Exhausting her fuel when she was almost there had made her insides seize up, desperation and determination warring with self-recrimination.
As she’d drifted to the side of the road, she’d resolved it was time to keep her guard up, to not be so gullible.
If she made it to Firecamp, she’d change her stripes, get tougher.
Her mother had sometimes talked about them turning over a new leaf, and Fallon was determined now was that time for her.
She wasn’t always going to be the one giving.
Not without getting something back. Mr. Palmer had shown up and helped her out, and that was a start.
So no more wishing. She had to make a life for herself rather than simply hoping for possibilities to come to her.
She’d felt a little dejected when Nora hadn’t walked over with her to meet the crew, but there were other women here.
This was a new place to belong, with possibilities for real friends, and Nora didn’t have to be one of them.
Nora didn’t owe her anything. In fact, the opposite was true.
Fallon understood her not wanting to hang around with someone who’d mooched a few gallons of gas and tried to meddle in her family business.
Maybe if they’d had more time, they could have become friends, but Fallon wasn’t sure she had much to offer someone like her.
Nora’s dark eyes shone with confidence, and Fallon couldn’t help but notice her solid build.
She didn’t look like she’d have trouble managing any of the activities that Fallon anticipated, even using a chainsaw.
I’ll be all right too. Things are going to change out here, and definitely for the better.