CHAPTER 3
Over the next few weeks, Laura and Matt got together for additional training whenever they could. Laura also spent time working with Cutler and Zephyr. Both Ranger dogs seemed to be picking things up rather quickly, although Zephyr, being a puppy, was much more easily distracted. But Laura was confident they would make great additions to the Ranger team. She planned to have several more sessions once the weather started turning warmer, but she was pleased with how they were doing.
She also spent more nights staying with Matt. She didn't know if it was because she was there anyway, working with Teagan or just that she was getting closer to him. And she really didn't care. She enjoyed their time together and found herself looking forward to it. She knew that part of it was being able to do some training with Teagan, but she also trained Zephyr, and she didn't anticipate being with Cutler nearly as much.
Although, she did bring along another female deputy once, and last she heard, Jimmy and Andrea seemed to be getting along, if the multiple dates they'd had since then was any indication. She ought to see if they wanted to double date with her and Matt. Nodding, she vowed to bring the subject up with Matt next time she saw him.
He had left early that morning, getting a call-out for a missing family. Since relatives had only a general idea of where the family had gone to cut a Christmas tree, the Rangers were going to begin an aerial search, with assistance of the State Patrol helicopter, before calling in her and Locet, so she'd elected to grab a few more hours of sleep.
This was actually her last day of work before vacation. He father, brother and uncle were coming in to town the next morning. She smiled, remembering the reaction from Uncle Bubba when she called last week to confirm their plans and she told him how many feet of snow were on the ground. Being from the south, they didn't get much snow and he hadn't had to deal with it much since he'd left Green Bay after he suffered a career ending football injury. Her father and brother had spent most of the last few years in Tennessee, which did get a fair amount of snow in the winter, so it wouldn't be so much of a shock to them.
When she'd mentioned to Matt that she hoped that her Uncle brought along a heavy winter coat, Matt told her she could borrow one of his if needed. He'd pulled a couple of old, worn, but still usable parkas from the closest, and told her to take her pick. It endeared him to her even more. He joked that it was only because he figured if he kept the man warm, he wouldn't hurt him too much for messing with his niece. She'd finally shown him photos of the man and Matt had no desire to tangle with him.
Finishing her shower, she dressed and headed out, Locet with her. Matt had taken Teagan to the station when he'd left earlier. She thought she'd stop by on her way out to see if they had made any progress in figuring out where the lost family had been headed. Locking up behind her, she loaded Locet and headed down the mountain, pulling into the far end of the parking lot. There were several vehicles in the lot, from Rangers, to Sheriff, to privately owned vehicles and even a news van.
She hoped Matt was out of the station, knowing how he hated to deal with the media. She climbed out and opened the back door. Considering how many people were likely in the station, she decided to put Locet's leash on, just to be safe. As she walked in the door, she noticed that Izzy was actually wearing a headset, which meant that either it was too difficult to hear over the speakers with all the people in the room, or loved ones of the lost family were in the room and they didn't want the information going out where they could hear it. Judging by the crying woman sitting on the sofa, she figured it was the latter.
She moved closer to the desk, trying to be inconspicuous, which wasn't always easy with a large dog trailing behind you. As she got close she could hear Izzy talking to someone over the radio.
"...affirmative, Flying Tiger. She just walked in the door. Hold one." Izzy pulled off the headset and handed it to Laura. "Matt. He's sending Avila back for you."
She nodded, slipping the headset over both ears and turning her back to the room. Izzy took the opportunity to hit the bathroom and grab a cup of coffee.
"Flying Tiger, this is K9-One."
"K9-One, you have impeccable timing." She could hear the smile in his voice. "We found the vehicle. We've done an aerial search, with no sigh of our missing family, so White Eagle has put me down to check. The vehicle is empty. I have two separate trails leading away, one north, one south. Frank is on his way back to get you and drop you at the vehicle. I've checked both trails out a distance of one hundred yards, with no luck. The one to the north is older. I'm gonna follow that. Once you get up here, I need you to follow the south trail. I've got Cutler and Zephyr, as well as Teagan with me. Hart will meet you at the vehicle. He and Robin will be your backup. Copy?"
"Copy, Flying Tiger. I'll be ready when White Eagle gets back."
"Flying Tiger out."
"K9-One out." She handed the headset back to Izzy. "Matt explain?" she asked him quietly. When he nodded, she continued. "I'll be going out with Robin and Hart. I'll need one of your radios. I'm gonna go get my gear from truck. Can you keep an eye on Locet?" she asked, holding out the leash.
"No problem," he said, taking the leash. "You want a thermos of coffee to take with you?"
"Sounds great, thanks!" she said before jogging back out to her truck.
Fifteen minutes later, she was outside watching Avila touch down. She and Locet were both geared up, she wearing her blue parka with 'Sheriff's Dept. Search and Rescue' in big while letters on the back. Locet was wearing a vest of the same color and cold weather dog-boots on his feet. His vest had the same lettering and around his collar hung a GPS tracking system beacon. Laura had the receiver end so that she could always tell where he was, since she'd be letting him off the leash if they got a good track.
Hart joined her as Robin jumped out of the chopper. "Just need to make a pit stop," the blond called out as she ran past them. By the time they loaded up, she had returned and jumped back into the bird and it lifted off again. Frank did another quick flyover to the south, but still not seeing any human movement, he lowered the bird.
Once on the ground, Laura had Tim and Robin stand back while she took Locet around the vehicle, then toward the south trail to the south. She gestured for the two Rangers to follow. They hefted their large packs further onto their shoulders and took their places behind Deputy Skinner and Locet.
Avila would continue to circle the area, flying a widening grid search, hoping to see some sign of movement on the ground.
/
Approximately five miles north, Matt and Jimmy were approaching an area that both dogs had alerted on. They saw what looked like an unnatural part of the landscape, covered in snow. A bad feeling worked its way down Matt's spine as he moved closer. He was ten feet away when he noticed the shoe.
"Damn it," he muttered softly. "Jimmy, I think we just found one of them."
"Yeah," was all Cutler said, as he, too, spotted the shoe poking out from the snow.
"Let's get him uncovered."
Cutler moved forward and the two men swept away the snow with their gloved hands. Underneath, they found a man, who looked to be around forty-years old. As per protocol, Matt removed his right glove and searched for a pulse, but unsurprisingly was unable to find one. It appeared as if they man had been there, buried in the snow, for most of the night. Matt briefly closed his eyes and pulled out his radio, giving a glance to Cutler.
"Flying Tiger to base," Matt intoned calmly.
"Base here, go Flying Tiger."
"Izzy, you clear for information?"
"Affirmative, Flying Tiger. I'm hands free."
Matt nodded. That meant Izzy was still using the headphones, which meant the family wouldn't be able to hear what Matt would tell him. "Advise the Sheriff that we have one Delta Bravo, Male, White, around forty. Blue parka, blue jeans."
Izzy paused briefly. Delta Bravo-dead body. He swallowed and tried to keep from looking at the family across the room, not wanting to give anything away. "Affirmative, Flying Tiger. Be advised, K9-One has confirmed that it looks like she is following three tracks."
Matt nodded, having heard the brief radio traffic from Laura. There were only four people in the vehicle, according to the family-two adult males and the two sons of one of the men, aged seven and nine. He hoped that Laura found the other three alive and well. And he also hoped, that this man he and Cutler had found, was the uncle and that the two boys hadn't just lost their father.
"Copy that. Cutler and I will stand-by. We're approximately five miles northeast of the vehicle. Have White Eagle respond here with a paramedic crew, as per protocol. We'll pop smoke when he gets overhead."
"Copy, Flying Tiger."
"K9-One, you copy last," Matt called.
"Frostbite, here, we copy, Flying Tiger. Be advised, Locet is alerting to something up ahead. We may have an update in a few minutes."
"Copy. Advise if you need to have White Eagle divert. We're in no hurry here," he said, hoping they had three live rescues. He was willing to wait all day with this poor guy if the other three were found alive. While they waited, Cutler and Matt prepared the victim for transport, zipping him into a black body bag.
Moments later, a welcome report came back.
"We are seeing some movement! Back with you in a few minutes!" Robin called, excited.
Matt and Cutler found a rock and settled down to wait. Over the next ten minutes, they heard Hart call for Frank to divert to their location. They had found the other three, alive but in need of immediate medical assistance. It sounded like one of the boys might have fallen down a ravine. Robin and Hart radioed that they were harnessing up to climb down to him.
"At least they're alive," Cutler remarked, pouring out some water into a collapsible bowl for both dogs. Matt just nodded as he glanced over to their own failed rescue. He shook his head. No matter how many public service messages were put out there, to tell people to stay put if they get lost, they still ventured out to find help.
He wondered why the others decided to leave the vehicle. At least their car would have provided them with some shelter and was easier to spot from the air, especially when the sun was shining, as it would bounce off the metal of the car.
"Yeah, but what kind of Christmas are they going to have?" Matt asked. The holiday was only a week away. Whether this man was the father or the uncle of the boys, the family would still be grieving over the holidays and it would taint all their future Christmases.
"We did our best, Matt," Cutler said, offering what little comfort he could. "Sometimes, nature wins."
Matt gave him a sad smile. "You sound like my dad."
"Hey, I'll take that as a compliment."
"I remember going Christmas tree hunting with him when I was a kid. He even let me pick out the tree. I see pictures of it now and wonder why I thought it was so great. It was scraggly and thin, bent at the top. It was a damn ugly tree. But at the time, it seemed like the most beautiful tree I had ever seen."
"Remember that winter you and Jesse brought a tree down for my family, when Dad was laid up with a broken leg?"
Matt nodded. "It was too tall to fit in your house. Dad had to cut three feet off the bottom."
"We ended up not having any ornaments on the top part of the tree, not even a tree topper, because my Mom wouldn't let me climb the ladder to put them up."
"Probably afraid you'd end up with matching casts."
The two men laughed at the memories. Matt reached into his pack and pulled out a bright orange ball and squeezed it, Teagan's ears standing up at the sound from the squeaker inside. She barked and ran over to him, ready to play. He tossed the ball and she chased after it, digging in the snow to get to it. Cutler followed suit and soon both dogs were chasing squeaky toys, often racing each other to get the closest one.
"White Eagle to Flying Tiger."
Matt pulled the radio from his harness. "Go White Eagle, you have Flying Tiger."
"Matt, I'm loaded up and heading in to Tahoe with three victims and Frostbite, plus one paramedic. K9-One and the others are going to head back to the vehicle, see if they can get it moving. I'll return in about forty minutes. I'll need to refuel before coming back for you."
"Roger. Cutler and I will stand-by here."
"Stay warm! White Eagle out."
"Flying Tiger to Base."
"Base here, go Flying Tiger."
"Izzy, what's the status there?"
"The Sheriff is escorting the family to the hospital. He's already told them about your victim. From your description, your guy is the Uncle."
"Roger. You copy that Cutler and I are standing by with our Delta Bravo, the others are heading back to the vehicle?"
"Affirm. If they get it started, they can drive it back down. Frank will come back for you first in either case. And I'll have a fresh pot of hot coffee ready when you get back."
Matt smiled. "Good man. Flying Tiger out."
"I'm learning. Base out."
Matt put the radio back in his pocket. Glancing at his watch, he looked up at the sky.
"Problems?" Cutler asked, noticing his scrutiny.
"Shouldn't be. Storm coming in, but we got a couple hours. Should be back in Tahoe long before it hits."
Cutler looked up, not seeing anything different then what was there an hour ago, except the sun had moved to a slightly different position.
"How can you tell?"
Matt shrugged. "Can smell it," he said, taking the ball from Teagan and tossing it again.
"Smell it." Jimmy shook his head. "Merlin was right. It's in your DNA."
Matt just shrugged again. He couldn't explain how he knew what he knew. He supposed it was just growing up on the mountain, you learned to read the land and the weather. His father and Cody were much better at it then he was, which would prove the point since they depended on it much more than he did most times.
For the next half-hour, the two men played with the dogs and talked about the upcoming holidays. Avila returned to pick them up and they returned to the station, a coroner's wagon waiting there to take the body away.
An hour later, Hart and the others returned with the family's vehicle, which had to be towed back to town, and was turned over to the Sheriff's department for return to the family.
Once they got back, Laura pulled Matt and Cutler outside, along with their dogs. They did a practice rescue, with Izzy as the 'victim'. Laura explained that whenever the outcome of a rescue was a victim that couldn't be saved, it was always good to stage a rescue with a live victim, to give the dogs some positive re-enforcement. She explained that dogs could get depressed, just like people.
It sounded a little odd to Matt, but she was the expert and so he'd do what she suggested.
/
Matt spent Christmas with his family at his dad's cabin. He'd originally been scheduled to work, since Hart's mom and sister were supposed to be flying out to spend the holiday with him and he'd asked for a few days off. But the week before, Tim had received a call from his sister that their mom had fallen and broken her leg. Her doctor didn't want her to travel, so they decided to postpone the trip and fly out after the New Year.
So, Tim had told Matt he'd work and Matt had taken him up on the offer to spend the time with Jesse and Cody. He loaded their gifts, plus a few supplies, onto a snowmobile, settled Teagan in front of him and made the two-hour journey to the cabin. He pulled up in front of the small wood structure and turned off the machine. Teagan jumped off and ran into the woods. Matt closed his eyes and smiled. He loved it up here. He wasn't able to visit very often during the winter, but was grateful to Hart for the chance to do it over the holiday.
He heard the door creak and opened his eyes, his father standing in the doorway with a smile on his face. "You gonna come inside, Mathew, or should we bring your presents out there?" Teagan raced over to him and received the ear scratches she'd been expecting, then hurried inside to curl up in front of the fire.
"Hi, Dad," Matt replied, climbing off and gathering up the two cardboard boxes he'd strapped to the back of his vehicle. Carrying them inside, he dropped the box holding his gifts for Jesse and Cody onto the handmade coffee table, then took the other one into the small kitchen in the rear of the cabin.
"Coffee's hot," Jesse said, as he reached for a cup and handed it to his eldest son.
Matt poured himself a cup, then followed his father back into the living room. "Where's Cody?"
"Took off an hour ago. Said he needed to find something to finish off a gift." When Matt's only reply was a lifting of one blond eyebrow, Jesse just shrugged. "I have no clue."
Father and son spent the next hour just talking, Matt bringing his father up-to-date on the happenings in town and with the Rangers. Although Jesse was no longer in charge, he still liked to know what was going on with the group he'd founded. He knew that Matt was looking forward to expanding the ranks, and had requested two more positions. Since the Rangers were now an accredited federal law enforcement unit, they had to get approval from the federal government to add positions. It was a long, tedious process with a large volume of paperwork involved. But it would be worth it, if they could add two more Rangers.
Matt sat back then, as his father began reminiscing about the early days of the High Mountain Rangers. The older man didn't get nostalgic all that often, but Matt enjoyed the stories when he did. This time, Jesse even went so far as to pull out a shoebox full of photos from the early days of the Rangers.
"Isn't there still a bunch of stuff in the attic at the Ranger station?" Matt asked. The last time he'd been in attic, he'd noticed a couple dozen boxes stacked against one wall. Each had been meticulously marked with dates, most of which were a decade or more old.
Jesse shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised. I know John Harper used to keep a lot of the records and photos and such. He called it his spring cleaning. He'd go through all the drawer and cabinets once a year and box up the stuff we didn't need or was out-of-date or broken. He never threw anything away. He was a child of the depression, so he saved everything, figuring that one day we just might need the old broken equipment for parts and such."
"I may have to see what's up there someday," Matt commented, as he sorted through the photos, glancing at the backs to read the names of the people in the photo. Most he knew or at least, he knew their names. He picked up one photo, which he knew was the original team. Jesse leaned over from his seat next to Matt.
"That was the first picture we ever took of the team," he told his son. "It was the day we got the approval to begin work." He pointed at a very tall man in the back. "That's John Harper. He was only with us a couple of years before he hurt his leg on a rescue and had to quit. We tried to get him to stick around and just work the radio full-time, but he declined. I think he just missed being out on the mountain too much and hated the idea of everyone going out on calls without him."
Jesse took the photo from Matt and stared at the faces that smiled out at him. "Six men. Only two of us still alive," he said, handing it back to his son. "Me and Mike Browning," he put his finger on the young kid kneeling in the front row, holding a wooden sign that had the original logo of the Rangers, crudely hand painted by Jesse. "He lives in Sacramento now. Haven't talked to him in the last couple years."
Jesse stood up and walked to the window, sipping from his cup. Matt watched his father, realizing that he still carried some grief as the loss of each of the other men weighed on Jesse, as it just proved to him that he was getting older. Matt flipped the photo over and read the names of the other men. He remembered attending the funerals of each man over the years. Only one member of the original team had died in the line of duty, Earl Jones, in the second year that the Rangers had been in existence.
Since then, only one other Ranger had been lost on duty-Matt's Commander, Merlin Pierce, who was shot to death by TJ Cousins. That spoke to the skill and professionalism of the Rangers, losing only two members since the inception of the unit.
He noted the date of the photo and began to put it back in the box with the others. Then his hand stopped and he turned the photo over again. He did some quick calculations in his head, then, smiling, he dropped the photo back in the box and placed the lid back in place. Finishing his coffee, his mind raced with the spark of an idea. Nodding to himself, he realized he had the perfect Father's Day gift for next year, both for his father...and the father of the High Mountain Rangers.
/
Two days later, he loaded Teagan onto the snowmobile, said goodbye to Jesse and Cody and headed back down the mountain. He had enjoyed his time with his family, as he always did. He knew he might not be able to make it back very often until spring, but he would do his best to get up at least once a month.
As he pulled up in front of his home, he noticed Laura's truck parked nearby. Smiling, he turned off the machine, grabbed his duffel and hurried inside, Teagan on his heels.
He got a fire started in the fireplace then stashed his duffel, giving himself a mental reminder to do some laundry later. Glancing out his back window, he saw smoke drifting up through the trees, so figured Laura was likely at the other cabin with her family. She would have heard the snowmobile as he arrived back home, so hopefully she would come over later.
He knew he had some of his father's venison stew in the freezer, so pulled that out to thaw, hoping it would be enough to feed everyone if she decided to bring her father, brother and uncle to meet him. Checking his stores, he decided he had enough to put together a salad too, just in case, knowing that it wouldn't go to waste if they didn't all come to dinner. And he'd brought down two loaves of rye bread that Cody had made over Christmas, as well as some of his dad's chocolate chip cookies.
Speaking of which. He popped open the large tin and took a deep breath of the sweet treats, grabbing several before closing it back up again. He poured himself a large glass of milk and settled in front of the fire with milk and cookies. He'd have to hide the tin later. If he didn't, and any of his Rangers found them, they wouldn't last long. His father's cookies were famous at the Ranger station, but he planned to hoard these for himself.
Jesse had promised to make an extra-large batch and bring them down after New Year's, so he just needed to keep this batch away from his team for a week or so. Of course, he'd likely finish them all by then, he thought, savoring the sweetness as he bit into his first treat.
Twenty minutes, six cookies and another glass of milk later, Teagan began to bark and ran to the door. Matt forced himself off the sofa and glanced out the side window, smiling when he saw Laura walking his way, following by three very large men. Locet was running ahead through the snow. He opened the door and walked onto the wrap-around porch, heading around to the side of the house to greet his visitors, Teagan racing out to greet them too, running around the group, barking and wagging her tail.
"Matt! How was Christmas?" she called out when she saw Matt on the porch.
"Wonderful. Dad and Cody said to tell you hello. You have a good holiday?"
"Fantastic," she said as she stepped up onto the porch. "Matt, I'd like you to meet my folks. This is my Dad, Jacob; my brother, Zeke; and my uncle, Bubba. Guys, this is Matt Hawkes."
Matt shook hands with all three men, grateful that none of them felt the need to show their strength by attempting to crush his hand. "Nice to meet you all. I have coffee brewing if you'd like to come in."
"We're actually heading into town. Dad and Uncle Bubba want to see where I work."
Matt nodded. "Well, if you want to come back for dinner, I have venison stew."
"Your dad's?" Lauren asked, her face lighting up.
Matt smiled. "Yep. And Cody's rye bread."
"We will be there," she declared. "I will not miss either. It's been too long since I had your dad's stew." She turned to her family. "Jesse Hawkes makes the best venison stew I have ever eaten. And I don't know what Cody does to that bread, but it is melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I don't suppose Jesse sent you home with some of his cookies?"
Matt laughed. "You know he did. I bet you smelled them from across that creek."
"We'll see you in a couple hours," she said, giving him a kiss before leading the men to her truck, Locet jumping into the rear. She failed to notice the narrowed eyes of her father and uncle, or the delighted grin her brother directed Matt's way as the three men reacted to her display of affection. But Matt noticed and hoped they wouldn't kill him the first chance they got.
He called out to Teagan to keep her from joining her canine friend in Laura's truck. He waved as they drove away, before going back into the house. He glanced around, seeing if there was any housekeeping he needed to do before his guests returned and decided that everything looked good. He tended to keep everything pretty neat and tidy, an offshoot of his upbringing. Being children of a former Marine, he and Cody both learned early in life not to leave messes.
He decided to bring in some more firewood and kindling, then he'd put together a salad. Something told him that those three Skinner men didn't get that big by eating small meals, so he pulled another container of stew from the freezer. Since his father had stored it in large freezer bags, it would be easy to thaw it quickly by boiling the bags in a pot of water. He got that started, then pulled the salad fixings out and started slicing and dicing.
He also grabbed two six-packs of beer from the pantry and stuck them outside in the snow to get cold, along with a bottle of Laura's favorite wine, giving himself a mental reminder to check them in an hour to make sure they didn't freeze. Once everything was ready, he decided to shower and change into jeans and a sweater. He slipped on a pair of thick wool socks and headed into the kitchen.
He was just putting on a fresh pot of coffee when he heard Teagan barking. Glancing into the reflective glass of the kitchen window, he ran his fingers through his hair. Moving into the living room, he opened the front door and leaned against the doorframe as Laura climbed out and headed toward him, followed by her menfolk. Locet and Teagan took off chasing each other, plowing through the snow, which was about as deep as they were tall.
"So, how was the tour?" he asked as the Skinner family entered his home.
"Interestin'," Bubba said, with a distinct southern drawl. "Seems like y'all deal with some of the same things we do in Mississippi."
"The nature of the beast," Matt said. "People are people, stupid is stupid, no matter where you go."
"You're federal, right?" Bubba asked.
"Yes, sir. Although our main job is Search and Rescue, we are federal law enforcement as well."
Laura directed them to remove their boots and jackets, setting them upside down on boot racks that were on the hearth and hanging the coats on the rack by the door. They all found seats in the living room, Laura dropping onto the middle of the sofa and curling her feet underneath her, with her uncle on one side and Matt on the other. Jacob settled into the rocking chair beside the fire, while Zeke dropped down onto the floor in front of the hearth.
"Ah, warmth," the youngest Skinner remarked. "I thought Tennessee was cold. Those hills ain't got nothing on Tahoe. And here I thought California was supposed to be warm."
"You should try working in this weather," Laura said. "I swear, my first year out here, every time I went out on a call, I thought I was gonna come back with frostbite."
"It's not really all that cold," Matt said.
"As I've heard Frank Avila remark in the past, 'to you it's subtropical, to everyone else, it's cold'." She turned to her brother. "Matt was raised on this mountain. In fact, for most of his life, he lived five thousand feet higher than we are here. It's about ten to fifteen degrees colder and the snow is about five feet deeper."
"Ten at least," Matt joked.
"Matt is used to moving easily through the mountains, no matter the weather."
"Laura was telling us that you're a Forest Ranger?" Jacob asked.
"A High Mountain Ranger," Laura corrected.
"Your daddy started these High Mountain Rangers?" Jacob questioned.
"Yes, he did. When he left the Marine Corps, he spent some time as a Deputy Sheriff. They found themselves called out often on search and rescue calls, but lacked the training and equipment to do the job properly. He got frustrated at the loss of life that he felt could have been prevented with a trained unit. So he began to research what was needed and found that there weren't a lot of agencies like that around the country, and none in California or Nevada. And most of the ones in other states were volunteers. He felt there needed to be an official organization."
"So he started one?" Zeke asked.
Matt nodded, smiling at Laura's younger brother. "Yes, but he went a step further. Most of the SAR groups were strictly that, just search and rescue, with no police powers. He decided that he wanted his unit to be able to arrest if need be. So he worked with a friend who was a US Senator and they drafted a proposal and submitted it to the Justice Department. It took about five years to get it through. In the meantime, he gathered a group of six men and got them started in training in the search and rescue aspect of the job. The Senator was able to get the group admitted to the state police academy and got them fully trained in law enforcement. Later on, they were able to get them fully accredited at FLETC."
"Flet-see?" Zeke questioned.
Before Matt could answer, Bubba piped up. "That's the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. It's in Georgia, trains all the Feds, like the FBI and such." He turned back to Matt. "Sounds like your daddy knew what he was doing," he commented.
Matt chuckled. "Oh, they had their missteps for sure. But any opposition to the idea kind of went by the wayside when his newly trained group, with virtually no equipment except what they'd been able to beg, borrow or steal, was able to not only locate, but rescue, six kids who had been taken hostage by some escaped prisoners who fled into the mountains. And they took the prisoners back into custody without a shot being fired."
"You sound like a proud son."
"Oh, I am, trust me."
"And now you're the commander," Zeke remarked. "Kinda like the family business."
"And his younger brother, Cody, will probably be the next one to join up," Laura interjected.
"Cody has a few years yet. He's only fifteen. But I figure he'll be on board as soon as he's old enough to legally carry a gun. Maybe even sooner."
"He can be a Ranger before he turns twenty-one?" Jacob asked.
"As long as he stays strictly with the Search and Rescue side of the Rangers. We have a couple of Rangers who started out that way, then once they turned twenty-one, we sent them through the firearms and police training. Everyone we have now is fully trained as both."
"Fascinating. And how many units are there now?"
"Three in California, one in Oregon, one in Nevada and another one in process of being put together in Utah."
"That's some legacy your daddy's going to leave behind," Bubba remarked.
"Yeah." Matt glanced into the fire, remembering everything the job had cost his family, with his parents' divorce and the injury his dad had suffered at the hands of T.J. Cousins. His father was away more than he was home while Matt was young as he struggled to get the Rangers up and running.
Laura's hand on his arm brought him back to the present. He had a feeling she knew exactly where his thoughts were. He smiled, grateful for her compassion. Clearing his throat, he stood up. "I'll go check on the stew. Anyone want a beer?" he asked as he moved toward the kitchen.
All three Skinner men nodded. "I'll get it," Laura said. She slipped on a pair of snow boots that Matt kept by the door, not bothering to tie them up. As she opened up the door, Zeke asked where she was going. She replied, "To nature's refrigerator."
Intrigued he jumped up and followed her out the door. When he saw her reached into an indention in the snow next to the steps and pull out a six pack, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. She reached back in, tugging out a bottle of wine, which caused him to step closer, without moving off the porch, and look into the 'fridge'. "He got a side of beef in there too?" he asked, with a grin.
"Nope. That would be in the freezer. It's out back." He laughed as he took the beer from her and heading back inside. Pulling three beers free, he handed one each to his father and uncle, then set one down on the hearth for himself. "Matt, you want beer?"
"Please," the blond said as he walked back into the room, holding a wineglass and corkscrew. He made short work of the wine bottle, sliding the cork out with a pop, filling the glass and handing it to Laura with a wink as she got out of the boots and dropped back onto the sofa. Her eyes questioned if he was okay. He nodded and sat beside her, popping the top on his beer.
Neither Bubba nor Jacob missed the silent communication and wondered just how close Laura and Matt were. Both men vowed to find out everything they could about the blond who seemed to have captured Laura's affection, if not her heart.
Barking from outside drew Zeke's attention and he hopped up and hurried to the window. "Where'd the other dog come from?"
"Is it a Husky?" Matt asked.
"Yeah, looks like it."
"That's Zephyr. He belongs to one of my Rangers, Jim Cutler. They live in the cabin up on the ridge."
"That must be him trekking through the snow," Zeke remarked. "Actually, it looks like he's walking on top the snow."
"He'll be using snowshoes, so basically that's what he is doing."
Matt opened the door and called out. "Jimmy, get your butt in here and have a beer."
Cutler grinned. "Jesse said you'd headed back. I was hoping I could scarf some goodies that I just know he sent home with you."
Jim removed the snowshoes and set them against the outside cabin wall before following Matt and the dogs inside. Matt stepped back as all three dogs decide to shake off the excess snow at the same time, followed by Cutler stomping the snow from his boots.
He shook his head. "You couldn't have done that outside?" he asked, exasperated.
"Floor's wet anyway," Cutler said with a shrug. Getting only a frown in reply, he slipped off his boots and jacket, handing them off to Matt, then ambled down the hallway. "I'll, ah, just grab some towels and clean this up, then."
Matt took the items over toward the fireplace, sliding the boots onto a drying rack on the hearth and draping the jacket on a hook that had been screwed into the brick. He turned around to see Laura trying not to laugh. "Don't start, woman. You'll just encourage him."
"Matt, Jimmy Cutler does not need any encouragement to act like a juvenile delinquent."
"Hey, I resemble that remark!" Cutler said, sliding across the floor in his stocking feet, nearly toppling over the lamp when he bumped into the side table next to the sofa.
"Yes, you do," Matt agreed.
Jimmy dropped down to his knees with a grin, flung open the towel and began rubbing it across the wet floor. Of course Zephyr decided this was some new game and immediately pounced on the towel and latching on with his teeth, growling at this new prey. The other two animals joined in and it was a free-for-all, a four-way tug-of-war.
"Somethin' tells me that floor ain't gonna get dry anytime soon," Bubba remarked with a smile.
"Oh, it'll get dry if I have to drag Cutler around on the floor by his hair." Just about that time, Locet grabbed hold of the towel and started dragging Cutler around the room. "On second thought, I guess Locet will handle that for me." The others laughed, including Cutler, who was hanging on for the ride.
Cutler stayed for dinner and spent the evening regaling the Skinner men with stories of mountain rescues.
/