Wild Fire (10 page)

For some reason the words stung, but Kara could see no hint of scolding on Anne's face.

She had been pretty tough on Ry lately. Her conscience had been prodding her for weeks.
But
, she reminded herself,
most of the time he asks for it. Lying. Fooling with the radio. Refusing to listen when I tell him to do something
.

She frowned. “How do you get him to help? I never can.”

Anne handed her a napkin. “I raised five brothers.”

Kara almost dropped her spoon. “Five!”

The woman shrugged. “Our father worked hard.”

Kara was curious. Anne talked a lot about her father. She had mentioned a brother back at Thurston Springs. He was the one who'd found the book on the Yana tribe at Anne's house and sent it to her on one of Mark's charter flights. But she hadn't ever said a word about her mother. Kara was about to ask when Anne spoke.

“Our mother died when I was ten.”

“Oh.” Kara wasn't sure what to say. “I'm sorry.”

She wanted to continue the conversation, but just then the screen door slammed twice and the babble of voices coming from the dining room sent Anne into a flurry of activity.

D
URING THE NEXT FEW WEEKS
,
the summer weather ignited an explosion of guests. The cabins were booked solid, and there was always something to be done. Twice Kara started to read the book Anne's father had written, but she had to put it down after only a few paragraphs
.

One afternoon in late July, she actually found time to write Tia.

Be glad you're not here. It's so hot even the lizards are looking for shade! It hasn't rained in weeks, and everything's turning a yucky brown. But none of the guests seem to mind. They all lay around the deck getting fried. Pretty dumb, huh?

Colin had to stop the afternoon trail rides. He does mornings and that's it. I haven't seen much of him lately, but he asked if I'd ride with him tomorrow. There's a couple of really novice riders, and he could use some backup. I can't believe how psyched I am. I'd really like to go out with him. For real, you know?

Kara put down her pen. There wasn't much chance of that. They were way too busy, and there was always a mob of people around. Besides, she knew Dad wouldn't let her go on a real date. Not until she turned sixteen.

She addressed the envelope, then slipped into her sandals. If Mark was still at the lodge he could take the letter to Tia now.

She crossed the empty rec room and opened the front door. One look told her Mark's plane had gone. She heard the rumble of thunder in the distance, then a flash lit up the eastern sky.

“Dry lightning.”

Anne was standing at the wall of windows in the dining room and staring off across the mountains. She nodded and handed Kara the newspaper Mark had brought in that morning from Lariat. “The devil's matches.”

Kara read the headline out loud: “Fire Destroys Wildlife Refuge.”

Below the caption was a picture of several volunteers herding small animals into cages. A firefighter, his face black with soot, held an injured raccoon.

Dad walked up behind them. “It'll get worse unless we get some rain.” He looked at Anne. “I don't want to frighten either of you, but we need to be careful, even with the barbecue. And we should practice an evacuation plan.”

For the rest of the week they monitored the radio. So far fires burned in Idaho, California, and southern Oregon, nothing close enough to worry about, but Dad cautioned the guests not to roam too far and told Colin to cancel the trail rides. “It's too hot for the horses anyway.”

Kara tried to hide her disappointment, but Anne picked up on it right away. “There will be other rides. This will not last.”

By the second week in August, the afternoon thunderstorms had stopped, and they had two days of steady rain. Dad turned off the radio. “Fires are under control.”

“We will have barbecue tonight,” Anne announced as she dug packages of steak out of the freezer.

“All right!” Ryan raced for the door. “I get to dump the charcoal in the pit.”

Kara laughed. “Slow down, Ry. We have to dig out the old ashes first.”

Colin was reaching for his hat. “Can you do that later? The horses need exercise, and I could use some help checking out the trail to Otter Lake.”

Ryan spun around and planted himself in front of Colin. “I can come.”

Kara bit her lip and launched a pleading look at Dad.

To her relief he actually got the message. “Uh, hold on, Tiger, I think Colin and Kara can handle it. Come on, I'll help you dig out the barbecue pit.”

She didn't have any trouble reading the look Dad flashed her as he led Ryan out the door. It said “Behave yourself,” loud and clear. Any other time she might have been insulted. Right now she was too excited to care
.

She wasn't the only one excited. Lily pranced and jigged the whole time Kara was trying to saddle her. She finally had to resort to crossties to get the job done.

Colin laughed. “Dakota's not much better. They've been cooped up too long, and they're telling us about it. I think we'd better give them a workout in the meadow before we try the trail.”

She kept a tight rein until they reached the meadow. The ground had absorbed most of the rain, leaving only a few muddy spots. “If we avoid these holes, we'll be fine,” she called to Colin. “Let's jog them in a circle.”

He nodded, and Kara took the lead, putting Lily into a slow jog, then a canter. They went around twice in each direction, then she gave Lily her head. The mare needed little encouragement to run, and Dakota was all too happy to follow her
.

Colin moved alongside her, and they rode together. The wind on her face, the rhythm of hooves like drumbeats on the hard-packed ground, Lily's muscles bunching and unfolding beneath her—for one wild moment Kara wished they could go on like this forever.

Too soon, Colin slowed Dakota to a canter, then a trot. Kara took the cue and followed. When they finally brought the horses to a walk, she sighed and gave the command to stop
.

“Whooee,” Colin shouted, “that was some ride!” Sweat made muddy rivulets down his face, and his hat had fallen over one ear. He looked like he'd just wrestled a bull.

Kara grinned. “It sure was, but you almost lost your hat.”

“At least I didn't lose my hair.”

“What?” Kara felt herself redden at his teasing laughter, then realized the hair she had braided and coiled on top of her head had slipped to one side. She tried to straighten it but couldn't find the plastic clip she'd used to fasten it that morning.

Colin leaned over and brushed a speck of dirt from her face, then reached up and pulled out the final pin. The braid tumbled down her back, coming half undone. “Let it fall, Indian Princess. Your hair's too beautiful to hide.”

He smiled, then turned Dakota's head toward the trail.

For a few seconds, Kara couldn't move. Did he think she was beautiful, or just her hair? She shook her head and loosened the rest of the braid.
Cut it out, Wako, he didn't mean anything by it
.

She clicked to Lily and followed Colin up the trail. Except for one steep, muddy slope, the path was clear all the way to the Pine Creek trail junction.

Back at the barn, they brushed the horses down. Kara gave them each a flake of hay, while Colin filled the five-gallon buckets with fresh water. As they were leaving he asked, “See you tonight?”

She fumbled with the latch on Lily's stall. “What's tonight?”

“Square dance. A last minute thing. Laura Anderson's father is a caller.” He swept his hat across his chest and gave a mock bow. “I'd be mighty pleased, Miz Sheridan, if you'd save a round for me.”

“Maybe.”

“Keep 'em guessing,” Tia had said. “It's the only way to survive the boyfriend zone.”

Kara steeled herself against the confusion on Colin's face. “Thanks for the ride.” She turned away and forced herself to walk casually toward the lodge.

Had she hurt his feelings? Of course she had hurt his feelings. He'd probably never ask her to do anything with him again. So what?
So, I like him
. At least, she liked him when he wasn't acting like a clown.

She had always thought having a boyfriend would be fun. Well, she was sure making a mess of it.
Oh, Mom, I wish you were here. I need to talk to you, bad
.

Just relax, Wakara, be yourself
. Kara swiped her wrist across her burning eyes. How many times had she heard that one? Maybe she should listen this time. It just might be good advice.

K
ARA PLACED THE LAST
of the steak knives on table five, then scanned the area to be sure the floor was clean. There was space for twenty people in the dining room. The cabins only held sixteen, but they often had extras like Mark, or friends from Lariat who dropped in for the day
.

She straightened the chairs, then headed for her room to change. That red cotton top, she decided, and her wraparound skirt. Would she get to dance with Colin? He probably wasn't even speaking to her, and she couldn't blame him.

As she passed the kitchen doorway, she heard the crackle, buzz of the radio signaling a call. She shrugged. Anne would get it. The crackling stopped, but it was Ryan's voice she heard.

“Eagle Lodge. Who's this?”

Kara sighed and hurried to the radio room. “Ryan Sheridan, you know you're not supposed to play in here. Give me that mike.”

He scrambled away from her. “Here she is.” He tossed the microphone in her direction. “It's Tia-wee-a the big fat heehaw.”

Kara caught the mike and glowered at him. “You're in trouble, Bud. And quit acting like a baby.”

“Ryan? Kara? All right you guys, who's there?”

“I'm here, Tia.”

“Good, it's you. Pops gave me three minutes to talk to you, and I wasted two of them getting past that goofball brother of yours.”

“Sorry.”

“Whoot whoot whoot.” Ryan crouched in the doorway, curling his upper lip, scratching his armpits, and making noise like an orangutan.

“Don't worry. When I get off the radio, he's bear meat.” She glared at him again, then turned her back. “So what's up? Over.”

“My History grade, that's what's up. To a B! Aren't you proud of me? Over.”

“Proud? Tia, that's awesome. When did you find out? Over.”

“Just this morning. Pops almost expired. For a reward I get to take the rest of the summer off. Cool, huh?”

There was a pause and some static, but before Kara could say anything else, Tia was back. “Uh, Kara? Is your dad coming out anytime soon? Over.”

“I don't know. Why? Over.”

“Oh, I just wondered.”

“Come on, Tia. What's going on? Is something wrong?”

“No. Yes. I mean, I really want to see you and I thought maybe if your dad was coming . . .”

Kara felt a chill run through her. “Is it Greg?”

The line crackled, and she thought for a minute Tia had cut out. Then she heard her friend's whisper over the static. “Yeah. He's really weirding out, Kara. I'm totally freaked for him. He's been running with T. J. Magic's friends. Everyone knows those guys are, like, strung out all the time
.

“Uh-oh. I gotta go. Pops is gonna go ballistic if I don't get off. Look, just get your dad to come home soon, okay? Bye.”

The line popped, then hummed. Tia had cut out.

Kara felt cold all over. Empty and sad and angry all at the same time. She walked to the window and leaned on the sill. Now what? Tell Dad and ruin his week, or keep quiet and let Greg ruin his life? There really wasn't a choice
.

She'd tell Dad tonight, when the guests had gone back to their cabins and Ryan was in bed. Ryan. She'd get on him about the radio later. This was no time to cause more of a fuss.