Far Country (28 page)

Gracie seemed encouraged by
the possibility.

           
Then they were back among the rest of the group and Gracie was gone, collecting
her little day pack and finding her sandals among all the other little sandals
that were scattered in the sand. They lined up one more time and tiredly
trudged up the dune they had raced over only a few hours before.

           
Back at Park headquarters, Steve waited while the children climbed up in to the
big white activity bus.  He waved good bye, but as he turned to head back
to the office, he caught sight of Gracie waving happily at him out of the
window of the bus. He grinned and waved too.
Thank you God,
he breathed,
for a day at the beach with my daughter
. It was a strong foundation
stone for the relationship he hoped to build with her.  A sense of peace
filled him. He no longer doubted that God was in control, and he knew that God
would provide another opportunity to them to be together very soon.

           
Carrie Bauer, the other ranger who worked at the Visitor’s Center with him, met
him at the door.  Her face was anxious.  “The daycare called almost
an hour ago.  Cody’s running a fever and throwing up. Is it okay if I
leave early?”

           
Steve had a new understanding of what it meant to be a worried parent. “Sure,”
he replied kindly.

           
Carrie sighed in relief. “Thanks,” she said, smiling gratefully. “All camper
reservations have signed in and paid the fees.  We’ve still got about
twenty visitors on the island.”

           
“Go!” Steve urged her. “I can handle things here. Go take care of your son, and
I hope that it’s nothing too bad.”

           
Carrie flashed him a worried half smile, her mind already down the road with
her little boy at the daycare center. She grabbed her purse out of the drawer
and hurried out to her car.

           
Steve drew a deep breath and released it slowly, actually grateful to have a
few minutes to think about today’s events.  He sat down at his desk and
absentmindedly pulled a stack of papers toward him, figuring this would be a
good opportunity to catch up on some long neglected filing. He pulled open the
filing cabinet and began dropping the sheets in the proper jackets. Two minutes
into the project the door burst open, and Laurie, the dark haired counselor
he’d spoken with on the top of the sand dune, walked in the door with Gracie in
tow.

           
Steve’s heart skyrocketed joyfully at the sight of her, but immediately a wave
of fear replaced his initial pleasure. “What’s wrong?” he demanded anxiously.

           
Laurie smiled apologetically. “Well, we’ve got a problem and a favor to ask.”
She glanced at Gracie. “Her grandparents were supposed to meet us here to pick
her up. They were heading to Virginia on a vacation, and they thought, since
they had an afternoon appointment in New Bern, it would be easier to pick her
up from here instead of going all the way back to Jacksonville.”

           
“And?” Steve asked politely as she seemed to stall in the middle of her
explanation.

           
Laurie took a deep breath and plunged on.” “Well, they had a flat tire, the
appointment ran over, just one thing after another, and what it all boils down
to is, they are heading this way from New Bern now, but we need to get the rest
of these kids back to the center, where their parents are waiting to pick them
up. Is there any chance,” she asked pleadingly, “you could let Gracie wait with
you? They shouldn’t be more than 20 minutes, tops.” She finished in a rush.

           
Steve raised a quizzical eyebrow.  “How does Mrs. Bolton feel about that?
Won’t she be upset with you for dumping your charge on someone else?” Steve
asked cautiously.

           
“No, no,” Laurie assured him quickly. “I’ve been on the phone with her. 
This was her idea, actually.  She feels really bad about holding up the
entire field trip, and said if it was okay with the ranger on duty, she would
be all right with Gracie waiting here for a few minutes.”

           
Still, Steve hesitated.  There was nothing he would like better, of
course, but what would Mrs. Bolton say when she realized whom she had left
Gracie with?  More than anything, Steve wanted to avoid a scene with
Gracie’s grandparents, especially a scene that Gracie would witness.  He
cleared his throat nervously.  “What do you say, Gracie? You wouldn’t be
scared waiting here with me?”

           
“She told me she knew you already,” Laurie broke in. “You’ll be fine, won’t
you, Gracie?”

           
Gracie nodded her head slightly, but she didn’t look at Steve. He realized that
she sensed his hesitation, and she was embarrassed to be passed off this way by
her counselor.

           
“So you don’t mind then?” Laurie said brightly, determined to take his silence
as acquiescence.  She ruffled Gracie’s hair affectionately.  “Well,
that’s settled.  You be a good girl, and your grandparents will be here in
no time at all.” Laurie strode to the door and a moment later, they could hear
the sound of the bus shifting into gear and rumbling out of the parking lot.

           
Steve stared at Gracie, wondering what he should do with a six year old for
thirty minutes. “So…” Steve began, casting around for something to say. “So,
Gracie is a pretty name,” he said lamely. “Did you know that there once was a
princess named Grace?  She lived in a palace on an island called Monaco.”
Good
one, Steve
, he told himself derisively.

           
Gracie nodded solemnly. “Grandpa always calls me his little princess.  He
says I’m a going to be a great princess, because I’m already good at giving
orders.”           

           
The room was silent again, and both ranger and girl stared at the walls
uncomfortably.
This is a disaster
, Steve thought sourly. He looked out
the window and stared down the long dock, where the ferry they had just
returned on was tied up.

           
The ferry
! Steve smiled. “So, do you want to sit here, or do you want to
come with me down to the ferry and help wash down the boat? Or are princesses
not allowed to clean boats?”

           
Gracie lit up. “Yeah!” She exclaimed, suddenly animated again. “Let’s go!” She
grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him out the door and down to the dock. 
Steve turned on the hose, then he handed a scrub broom to Gracie and saluted
the first mate, who was picking up trash and putting away the tiny child sized
life preservers.

           
“Ranger Steve and Princess Gracie, reporting for cleanup duty, sir.”

           
Walter, the first mate, was one of their volunteers from the Swansboro Senior
Center. Long limbed and wiry, Walter eyed Gracie and Steve with faded blue
eyes.  “Princess Gracie, is it?” He asked unimpressed. “Never heard of a
princess hosing down a boat.” 

           
Gracie’s face dropped for a moment in disappointment. Then she put a small
finger to her lips. ‘
Shhhh
!” she said in a stage
whisper.  “He wasn’t supposed to tell you that I’m a princess... I’m
hiding from the pirates over there!”  She pointed to a group of kayakers
paddling through the sound.  “They’re
gonna
kidnap me if they find me!”

           
The old man suddenly grinned good naturedly at her imaginative comeback.
“Pirates, is it now?  Well, we can’t have that, can we, your
grac
-y-
ness
.” He added with a
little bow.

           
Gracie giggled.

           
“No ma’am, don’t you worry.  Those pirates won’t come near here!” He
promised. He stepped up on the hull and held onto an awning pole for
support.  “You pirates there!” He shouted at the mystified kayakers. “You
might as well keep on going! You’ll find no princesses on this ship.  Just
us sailors and this here cabin boy – uh- I mean, girl.”

           
The kayakers paused as they listened to the old man. They looked from one to
another, and shrugged.  “Okay, Grandpa,” one teenage boy shouted
back.  “Whatever you say.”  He turned to his friends and faked a deep
gravelly voice. “C’mon
mateys
, we’ll go pillage the
other ferry – they’re bound to have a princess or two on board!”

           
The other boys laughed and responded with some fairly respectable “
Arrrgh’s
” and the occasional threat to “make ‘
em
walk the plank!” as they paddled past the ferry dock.

           
The old man glanced up at Steve’s open mouth and permitted a tiny twinkle in
his eye.  “My grandson,” he explained.  Then he turned to
Gracie.  “Whom I recently discovered has become a pirate.”  He shook
his head sadly. Gracie stared from the first mate to the kayakers uncertainly.
“He really
is
a pirate?” She asked in awed tones.

           
“
Tis
a source of sadness for his mother,” he intoned
solemnly, bowing his head for a moment of reflection on the family
tragedy.  Then he straightened up and rubbed his hands together. “Well,
now that the danger is averted, let’s get to work.”  He turned to
Gracie.  “So, your
Grac
–y –
ness
,
do you still want to learn the chores of a cabin boy..eh, girl, today?”

           
Gracie nodded her head vigorously. Walter turned to Steve.  “Ranger
Williams, if you would kindly hand over the water hose, I’ll help our little
lost princess to get started on her second career as a cabin girl.”

           
By the time that Gracie’s grandparents arrived, the three of them had managed
to scrub the ferry clean, and all of them were noticeably wetter than
necessary. 

           
Steve, who had been watching for their arrival, had decided it might be better not
to let them see him up close.  In all likelihood, they had no idea that
they had agreed to leave Gracie with him, and a meeting now might cause an
unpleasant scene.

           
“Gracie!” Steve called out sharply as Richard and Lee Ann Bolton walked hesitantly
around the side of the Visitor’s Center, “Gracie, give me the hose, it’s time
for you to go.”

           
Gracie immediately grew upset and stamped her feet.  “But we’re almost
done!” She whined unhappily.  “I don’t want to go until we get done!”

           
Steve sighed.  “Your grandparents are here, sweetie.  Weren’t you all
heading to Virginia or somewhere this weekend?”

           
Gracie’s attitude changed in an instant.  “Water World!” She exclaimed
happily.

           
“Yeah, I thought so,” Steve commented dryly.  Now give me the hose and get
going,” Steve admonished the little girl. “It sounded like your grandparents
have already had a tough enough day.”

           
Gracie gave Walter and the boat a regretful look. “I’ve got to go now.” She
told him.  “I’m sorry I didn’t finish all my chores, Walter.”

           
Walter cleared his throat. “Well, you did right good for a princess. If you
ever want to practice being cabin girl again, you just come on out here, Okay?”

           
Gracie grinned in delight at the invitation.  “Yes sir!” She cried. 
Then she handed the hose to Steve.  “Thank you, Mr. Steve! It was really
fun today. I like being the cabin girl!”

           
Steve smiled wistfully at his daughter, fighting the urge to give her a hug.
Instead he took a deep breath and forced a neutral smile.  “Well, I
enjoyed having you here today. I hope you can come back again sometime.”

           
“Me too,” she replied seriously.

           
Steve cleared his throat. “Get going now, and don’t forget to get your day pack
out of my office!”

           
“Okay!” Gracie yelled over her shoulder as she raced to meet her grandparents.
The couple paused and peered out at Steve, who held up the hose as evidence
that he was unable to go meet them, and waved good bye.  Finally, the
Bolton’s waved back, and followed Gracie into the Center.

           
Steve turned back to Walter with a sigh. “So what’s left? He asked.

           
Walter shrugged. “
Nuthin
’. We were done ten minutes ago,
but your little princess wouldn’t quit.”

           
Steve grinned ruefully. “Thanks for putting up with her, then. I owe you one,
Walter.”  He stepped off the ferry and rewound the hose on its hanger,
then headed slowly back to the Visitor’s Center. 

           
He felt oddly out of sorts about avoiding the Bolton’s today, for some
reason.  He was fairly certain that now, with them planning to head out of
town for a weekend was probably not the best time to confront them about
Gracie.  Besides, he told himself, it wasn’t for him to choose. God was
writing this script. He would choose the right opportunity to speak with Lee
Ann and Richard Bolton. 
But what if this had been the opportunity?
   
No, he told himself firmly. KAIROS. When the right time came, he wouldn’t be
wondering. God would make sure he knew. In the meantime, he just needed to be
thankful for the wonderful day he had been able to spend with Gracie.

           
He reached in his pocket and rubbed his worry stone. Pete had sent it to him shortly
after his accident, and when he had become discouraged, he had gotten in the
habit of rubbing the stone and reminding himself of the miracle he had
experienced that day on Moore’s Knob.