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to go. She knew he’d suspected but hadn’t pushed, for which she was grateful. His questioning eyes resurfaced time and time again in her mind. When it came to flight or fight, she’d chosen to run, and she’d always wondered what would have happened if she’d stayed instead.

Chapter Four
    Gloria swung the postcard rack a third time staring at the beautiful vistas, sunrises, sunsets, scenic panoramas of the Red Cones, Rainbow Falls, Devils Postpile and more. As a wildlife biologist who had worked for the Forest Service and was now conducting research for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, she had worked in some beautiful places, but she rarely took photos. She’d been disappointed too many times by her images which failed to compare to those done by the professionals. They were somehow able to portray the awe she felt when she was out in the wilderness.
    “Against the wall, we have cards done by local artists,” the clerk offered from the counter across from the doorway. She had a classic outdoorsy look and had probably taken the job here so that she could hike every second she wasn’t working.
    Gloria smiled her thanks and walked across the store. No doubt the Lodgepole Pine Pack Outfit’s store charged more than the larger places up on Mammoth Mountain, but it was a lot closer. It looked like they had a little bit of everything as far as staples went as well as some tempting treats. She again looked at the young woman, probably still in college, absorbed in a supermarket thriller.
    Far too young, she chastised herself, remembering what Meg had said to her just that morning. She thumbed through the rack of tees and sweatshirts. When she was new to the area and on yet another temporary assignment, she forced herself to orient to the community instead of tucking herself away like a hermit, which came much more naturally to her. Having arrived in Mammoth the evening before, she had spent the morning at the Forest Service office. Scott, the Wilderness and Trail Supervisor, was welcoming enough but clearly distracted by dozens of pressing tasks, all of which would have been effortless for a fully-staffed department. They were a clear challenge for his small staff of three, all of whom she’d been able to meet since the camping season had not yet officially begun. Lean times everywhere, she mused.
    She wondered what it was about any ranger station that drew together a standard cast of characters. The supervisor was always a fatherly type, stern and distracted but also concerned with the welfare of his employees. She’d met Mitchell, their touchy-feely guy, laid-back and relaxed about everything including casual sex. This type was always the first to hit on Gloria, and he was no exception, standing close and offering to walk her through their past season ranger reports personally.
    Rick held the high-strung wilderness ranger role. She’d seen both female and male rangers fall into this category. People came second to him. He barely had any energy left over to communicate with people because so much of his attention keyed in on the current state of the entire ecosystem. He would be extremely knowledgeable and informative, but any information would feel like it was distributed. He kept professional distance from everyone.
    Some stations had the backcountry hostess ranger—the soft-spoken gentle soul who took personal responsibility for every guest’s camping experience. Gloria’s job was to reduce the interaction between humans and bears. That more often meant managing people, not the bears, so she was used to causing conflict by demanding that people respect the rules of the backcountry. Thus, she usually butted heads with the hostess ranger type.
    But not as much as she butted heads with the straight competent ranger. Juanita fell into this, her least favorite of the female ranger types. Her first priority was for people to know that just because she wore comfortable shoes and enjoyed the out-of-doors did not