Matt looked at the list of applicants again. He sighed, shaking his head to himself. He had put out an ad to get applications for new Rangers. He had two openings that had recently been vacated due to retirement of Frank who was still recovering from the chopper crash in 2002 and Eric, a ranger he'd hired to replace Jim who had quit three months ago after being reprimanded. Matt was sad to see Frank go but not Eric. He'd had his fill of Eric's attitude that had been steadily becoming worse in the past two years.
Matt had received twelve applications which was rather surprising. He had weeded through them and had managed to narrow it down to six that looked like potential hopefuls. He'd already interviewed four of them and had been extremely disappointed. He didn't want to set his standards too high but the basic knowledge of wilderness survival, first aid and how to shoot a firearm were a must. He'd get one that had a certain set of skills but not another or one that had the basic knowledge but didn't have the experience to go with it. This was a tough job and unfortunately one had to have the experience to be able to jump into this job only a little basic training.
Matt sat back and thought about the four he'd interviewed so far. He could only hope that the last two he had to go proved to be a bit more knowledgeable and experienced. As he watched the small fire in the fireplace within his office, he wished for two things. One, he wished his dad was still alive to give a little of that 'friendly advice' on these candidates.
His second wish was that Cody was around to apply for one of the positions. He'd hire his brother in heartbeat because he knew Cody was experienced in all the areas for the positions they needed filled. But, Cody had headed out to Iowa of all places to attend the Iowa State University because of their specialized study program in Forestry. His current job was a position up in Yellowstone and had been there for the past four years. Other than coming home for the holidays and a week of vacation now and then, he was a ranger up in the Bear Tooth Mountain Ranges.
Cody had been home for his father's funeral three years back. It had been hard on them all but thankfully their father had slipped away peacefully. He'd gone to bed one night and not woken the next morning. Robin had found him that way a few days later when she'd stopped by to get warmed up after being out working the north ridge. The cold snap had come in and thankfully the cabin had been kept extremely cold so there was little disturbance of things.
She'd called in for the chopper and said it looked like he'd been chopping wood the day before and he'd gone to bed that night and had a heart attack. The fires had gone out in the fireplace and it had stayed cold. An autopsy had revealed what they'd speculated and that there was no foul play. The funeral was small since Jesse had wanted to be cremated. His ashes were scattered amongst the trees and streams of the mountains he loved the most. Cody had taken it pretty hard but they both agreed that he hadn't suffered, that the natural course of life had taken him from them and not someone bent on revenge or anger for some past transgression. He'd lived a full life and it nothing to second guess. They'd seen their mother for a short period of time but she had a new husband and had moved out to California. They exchanged emails from time to time but they were both lucky if they saw her once a year.
Cody had kept in touch a couple times a month through emails, making comments about the stupid, strange and bizarre things he encountered up north. Matt was comforted to know that the High Sierras weren't the only place idiots hung out. Matt's thoughts came back to him. He hadn't told Cody that there was a position open because he didn't want Cody to feel obligated to him to apply. He already had a job and had seemed pretty happy where he was.
Matt yawned and turned the light out on his desk. He had another interview in the morning and he needed to be rested for it. The last person to interview wasn't for another four days. He had responded to Matt's email about an interview by saying he had to take leave from the military to make it to Lake Tao. It was the most interesting resume of all though. Crane Atheron – Marine chopper pilot – three tours in the Middle East, the last two as a med-evac pilot. The cover letter simply explained that he was getting out of the military since his tenure was up in two months and currently looking for a job. That was three weeks ago that Matt had received the letter.
He got up and banked the coals in the office fireplace and put the metal grate up in front of it to keep any sparks away from the rest of the room, just in case. He was exhausted and needed to head to bed. He could only hope that Robin was in bed already and had things warmed up. As the colder fall weather set in, he was sure his stiffness was due more to the abuse he'd been through since his teenage years than from advancing age. He snorted to himself as he headed upstairs to where his wife slept, soon sliding in between the covers with her. She was a ranger and they'd worked together on and off since he took over his father's position with the Rangers a number of years ago. It'd taken him a few years to realize that Robin was the only woman for him. They'd been married over ten years ago and they were expecting their third and probably final child in about six months.
Matt smiled as he made his way to the newer addition to the ranger station. They had applied for and gotten funding to add a 'Commanders' quarters to the back half of the station, out of the way of most of the ranger activity. It consisted of a small living room/dining room, main bathroom and kitchen on the lower level and three bedrooms on the upper level. Even if he decided in the future to move on or retire, this would be for the Commanding Officer and his or her family to live. It took a lot to be the CO any more with all the rules and regulations, do's and don'ts. He got time off and when he did, he and Robin often would take their two boys up to Jesse's cabin and spend the few days they had together just being away from the hustle and bustle. But it was still a full time job...he could be called away at any time, even on his time off. So...to make life easier for he and Robin...not to mention the Rangers so they wouldnt' have to deal with small children underfoot when planning a search and rescue, they lived in the CO's quarters now.
Robin was still an active Ranger but she had agreed that staying at the station and answering phones, dispatching calls and doing most of the office work was where she was best suited and everyone agreed that things had run much smoother since she'd taken over organizing things. It wasn't a dull job since she was having to deal with the sheriffs office and other state officials as well as coordinating search and rescues, making sure gear was fixed or replaced when need be, packs were kept current in case of immediate need. She was also busy keeping up with their two older children, Jeremiah who was nine and Jimmy who was five. She cooked meals and made sure the go-for jobs were done. He hated sending his kids to school and daycare but he knew that Robin wouldn't have been able to spend the time home schooling them and doing all the jobs her position entailed.
Matt checked on his two boys. Both were sound asleep, crashed out to the world. They had both inherited their parents blond hair and blue eyes but Jimmy looked a bit more like his dad and Cody through the face than Jeremiah did. Jeremiah took after his mom's side of the family a bit more. They played hard every day and nights were easy on the parents since fresh air and all that activity usually ment an early bedtime for them both. He closed the door, leaving them to sleep and headed to his own bedroom where Robin slept.
She turned over in bed and wrapped her arms around him when he'd gotten into bed, snuggling up against him. Matt had to admit that he was quite content. He nuzzled her hair as he drifted off to sleep, wondering what the next few days would bring with interviews and if he'd have to go back to the remaining sixteen resumes and re-review them for other potentials.