See Jane Fall (12 page)

That left the Park Girls. But the Park Girls
were transient, weekenders even, and he didn’t imagine Gardiner out
of season was enough to induce many of them to stay. To stay in
Gardiner, you’d have to be looking for a small town—a small town on
the outskirts of a very large park—and who was looking for that? A
botanist? A naturalist? Maybe an artsy type like an author or a
painter, but Lars imagined they’d be transient too, because the
artistic types always went back to the big cities for the galleries
and museums.

The bottom line? Women were scarce.

Second, Lars wanted to see some changes in
his work life before he settled down. It was time for a change, a
promotion of some kind. It was time for Lars to be treated like the
man he was, like thirty-three percent of Lindstrom & Sons, not
less. Heck, he knew Yellowstone better than most seasoned vets of
the tourism trade, definitely better than Nils, and possibly better
than his Pop. He had studied his facts, explored on his own and
spent thousands of hours learning about the park firsthand. He
didn’t want to be relegated to the odd jobs and annoying errands,
although he had to admit that once in a while they had their
perks.

Jane.

She was something.

Aw, she wasn’t the prettiest girl Lars had
ever seen, but she was cute enough. She was just your average cute
girl who might live next door, whose bedroom window you’d want to
slip into if she’d let you. She surprised the heck out of him,
saying unexpected things, making him laugh and shake his head with
her unpredictable comments. He’d loved watched her taking pictures
and by the looks of that camera, he suspected photography was more
than just a hobby for her, which intrigued him. And yesterday, when
she finally thawed out, it was like the sun had come out after a
day of gray gloom, and Lars realized again how much he liked
spending time with her.

There was something else he was starting to
understand about Jane: her relationship with her cousin was
complicated. She’d tried to give him that speech yesterday about
how she was only friend material, implying that Samara was the
girlfriend material. Lars wasn’t buying that. Sure, Samara was
pretty. He’d seen the same pictures everyone else had. But, how
pretty could she be in real life? Weren’t all of those pictures air
brushed and edited before they hit the magazines, anyway?

He understood the issue at the crux of
Jane’s situation: she was a normal-looking person who was first
cousins with a supermodel, and that had to be difficult for her.
But it didn’t matter to Lars. He liked Jane and that’s all there
was to it.

And to Lars’s thinking, it wasn’t all that
different from any other complicated family relationship, like
being a thirty-year-old man who was still treated like some untried
teenage kid by his older brother and father.
Huh. Jane and I
have more in common than she knows. We’re both working for family
members who think they’re more important than we are.

Lars checked his watch. In the past hour
he’d finally made some headway on the mystery of the mama bear and
her cubs, and he was pretty sure he’d figured out the reason for
her gradual migration. Lars would warn Nils and Pop not to hike out
too far anymore in this particular area.

Lars hitched his pack further up on his back
and headed to his truck. He’d need a shower and shave before
tonight, and he was planning to pack a blanket and some wine too.
He smiled, thinking of Jane’s reaction to the small herd of bison
from yesterday morning. Man, he’d love to see her face when a mama
grizzly and her cubs lumbered across the valley. He threw his pack
in the trunk and almost started to worry when it took three times
until the engine finally turned over. He made a mental note to get
the truck looked at soon and hoped he’d have a chance to show Jane
the grizzlies.

***

Jane didn’t bring any “fancy” clothes on
location shoots because she preferred to be comfortable while she
was working. Even though she had access to Samara’s enormous
wardrobe, Jane was a five-foot-six size ten, and Samara was an
almost-six-foot size zero. Her fabulous clothes would be no use to
Jane.

Jane looked through her options: two pairs
of jeans (one that needed washing), a pair of beat-up khaki cargos
for shoot days, and a tired denim skirt from college. She picked up
the skirt and slipped it on. It was old-school L.L. Bean—nothing
mini or micro or sequined or trendy about it—two front pockets, two
back pockets, front middle zipper, and it fell to right above her
knees. The edges were frayed from copious wear, and it was as soft
as flannel too.

Next she surveyed her tops: two black camis,
one white cami that needed washing, a cream V-neck t-shirt, her
green cardigan and a Boston College sweatshirt.
Sexy choices,
Jane. Wow.

She took a deep breath and sighed, picking
up one of the black camis and slipping it over her head. Well, it
wasn’t glamorous, but the lines were okay. The black was slimming,
and with her black sandals, it was the best she could do.

Next she rummaged through her bag for
makeup, but predictably she had none. Just some mango lip balm and
some tinted moisturizer that she must have gotten as a sample. It
was better than nothing. Jane swiped some on. She put her diamond
studs in her ears, which had been her gift to herself when she’d
lasted for one year as Samara’s assistant.

She squirted some mousse into her hands and
smoothed her curls back from her face, deciding to leave her dad’s
Red Sox cap in her room.
Felicity? Fat chance.
Maybe the
hair, but that’s where the similarities ended.

She shrugged into her green cardigan,
slipped her feet into the black leather sandals then looked in the
mirror.

If Lars had asked her out on a date in New
York, she’d have put on a black dress, had her hair styled
professionally, pulled out some of the makeup samples collecting
dust in her bathroom and brightened her face. She’d have had tons
of sample shoes to choose from and cute sweaters in her size sent
to her from exclusive designers. She’d have had a fighting chance—a
chance to make an impression before Samara got to him.

No, Jane. You wouldn’t have a chance,
fighting or otherwise. That’s wishful thinking.

Her reflection wasn’t a revelation, but she
definitely didn’t look as dumpy as she usually did. In fact, she
looked sort of fresh and young. Thinking in terms of
editorials—which she never did for herself, but often did for her
cousin—she had a girl-next-door appeal.
Modest
appeal, but
appeal nonetheless. She smiled at herself, timidly, unsure, and saw
how the color of her sweater caught the green in her eyes. She’d
never noticed that before. Her skin had tanned a little yesterday
in the park, which gave her a little glow. She tilted her head to
the side, feeling just the slightest bit of unfamiliar pleasure in
the girl looking back at her.

Is this how it would be if I could get away
from Samara? Would I stop judging myself so harshly if I weren’t
always standing next to her?

She sighed. Better not to tease herself with
what could never be. It would be a cold, lonely world without
Samara, thin comfort though she was. At least with Samara she had
something, and something was better than nothing, wasn’t it?

A light rap at her door meant Lars was
here.

Most of the time
, she amended,
something was better than nothing.

***

I want to kiss her.

It was the first thought in Lars’s mind when
she opened the door, looking cute in a short skirt and that green
sweater that made her eyes greener than green. Her hair was pushed
back off her face, but her curls were unruly behind her sunglasses,
which perched like a hair band on top of her head. She looked cool
but casual. Lars was smitten and his body tightened as he looked at
her.

“Heya,” he said.

“Heya,” she said and offered him a shy
smile.

“You look really pretty.”

She looked down at her feet. He reached
forward and tilted her chin up with his finger. Her eyes were wide
and green, and a little pink crept into her cheeks.

“Thanks,” she murmured, meeting his eyes. It
was hard for her to accept his compliment, he could tell.

“When’re you going to get used to it?”

“To what?” She stepped out of her room to
join him, pulling the door closed behind her.

“To me saying you’re pretty…or cute…or
whatever you look like to me.”

“I’m not going to be here long enough to get
used to it.”

“How about you try to get used to it
tonight?”

“What’s the point?” She gestured to his
backpack which had a plaid blanket rolled up on the side. “Is that
a picnic backpack? I’ve only seen those in catalogues.”

“It is.” He reached for her hand, and laced
his fingers through hers. “I thought we’d walk.”

“All the way to the park?”

“It’s not far. And the company’s good.”

“Not far?” she grumbled. “Down the street,
over the bridge, then some…”

“I’ve been walking all day,” he said, as
they walked out of the hotel parking lot, onto the Main Street
sidewalk. “And I learned some interesting things.”

“Like what?”

“I found a new route that a mama grizzly and
her cubs are taking.”

“New route?”

“Bears stake out their own territories. I’ve
been noticing this one female, who used to hang out in a meadow
between Dunraven Pass and Mount Washburn, but she’s been gradually
moving south to Hayden Valley, closer to the road. Well, I couldn’t
figure out why until today.”

“Why?”

“There’s a wolf pack settling in not far
from the road. And the wolves, well, they are
great
hunters.
So they take down an elk or a moose working as a team, and then the
bears come along and finish off the kill. Big rivalry between the
bears and wolves in the park. Typically, bears overpower better
hunters, like wolves, and take their kill, because they’ve got size
and strength over a wolf. Even a pack won’t mess with a full-grown
grizzly. Only time she’d retreat is if they threatened her cub, but
she might even get them to back off in spite of the cub if he was a
yearling. Anyhow, it’s just easier for her if she hangs out near a
wolf pack. She’ll eventually benefit from their kill.”

“I love it when you talk about the
park.”

“Yeah?” He licked his lips. Her words were
practically
foreplay
as far as Lars’s body was
concerned.

“Yeah. You know so much. And it’s a little
dangerous. It’s…I don’t know…sort of…” She shrugged, smiling up at
him.

“Like a turn-on?”

She took a deep breath and sort of half
exhaled, half chuckled as she nodded. “I guess.”

He squeezed her hand, as a tingly shiver
went down his back. Damn, he liked this woman.

“So, by tracking the bear, you actually
found a wolf pack?”

“Um, yeah, I guess. I wanted to figure out
why she was moving south, closer to the road, and it’s because of a
pack. Makes sense. Now I’ll know where to spot her.”

“Will you take me?”

I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,
Jane.

He looked down at her, smiling. “Sure. If
you’re here long enough,” he said, teasing her with her own
words.

“I’ll be here long enough for that. I’d love
to get some pictures of her.”

“That was some camera you were using
yesterday, Minx. Nikon 3DX is just about the best one out there for
wildlife captures.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “More than a hobby, I’m
guessing.”

She shrugged. “Sadly, no. Should have been,
but…”

“But what?”

“Got sidetracked. Put that dream on
hold.”

“To work for your cousin.”

“Mm-hm. Still don’t know if I made the right
decision.”

“Working for family’s not for everyone.”

“Certainly seems like it’s working out for
you.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem.”

He adjusted and readjusted his fingers
through hers, loving the feeling of holding her hand as they walked
along together. “Sort of sick of being the low man on the totem
pole.”

“Are you the low man? I’ve only seen
you
. You almost seem like a one-man operation to me!”

“Ha. My father and my brother handle the
business end of things. My father signed over a big chunk of the
business to Nils on his twenty-second birthday, but I was three
years younger and my share was smaller. Then Erik’s share reverted
back to my Pop and Nils when he moved away. Oh, I don’t know. I
think things need to change. Sort of feels like I’m not going
anywhere some days.”

“I can relate to that.”

“Can you? Because it seems like you’re
always
going somewhere.”

“There’s a lot of travel involved with my
job, sure. But I don’t choose the places. I don’t choose where we
stay or for how long. I certainly don’t have much leisure time. I
travel, yes, but I haven’t had a proper vacation in…geez, four or
five years, I guess.”

“Whew!”

“No rest for the weary, but complaining
won’t change it.” She sort of chuckled low, ruefully. “I’m lucky,
really. I make good money, and the people are, for the most part,
really great.

“Anyway…my day was nowhere near as
interesting as yours. I got an early morning call from Samara.” She
dropped his hand, lowering her sunglasses as they changed
direction, walking into the low, setting sun. “Then handled a bunch
of e-mails, confirmed the team’s travel, made sure Samara was all
set to go tomorrow morning. She liked the locations you chose,
Lars.”

Whether it was a coincidence or not, he
noticed that Jane let go of his hand as soon as she said her
cousin’s name, crossing her arms over her chest in a move that
looked defensive as she walked beside him.