His interview the next day wasn't too bad though he felt that though the person did have experience in the field, they would need some serious work with firearms and target practice. It was more promising than the other four he'd interviewed so far.

Two days after that interview, Robin came in to his office during a lull in emergencies and handed him an envelope. "There's someone at the front desk that says they're here to interview for a Ranger position. They said to tell you they were sorry they didn't send in their resume earlier but they'd been in the field until now."

Matt looked up at her for a moment and then took the envelope and opened it. The letter inside was hand written. It simply said 'I'm applying for the open position of Ranger. I know you know my qualifications.' It was signed 'Ace'

Matt let out a whoop of laughter and looked at Robin, "He's really out there?" he asked and she looked slyly at him, "No Matt…its all a joke at your expense." She said as she rolled her eyes and headed back to her desk.

Matt followed her out the door and upon seeing his brother standing there, he laughed again and when they hugged in greetings, he picked up his little brother. "God damned its good to see you Toad. I haven't heard from you in a few weeks and I was getting a little worried down here that I might have to come up and save your ass or something." He teased lightly, putting his brother down.

Cody had grown to be handsome man, medium height, slender in build but it was all wire and muscle. He simply rolled his eyes after 'oofffing' at the hug his brother gave to him. "Gee bro, didn't know it'd gotten that bad around here. I would have tried to come sooner but we were having problems with bears coming down out of the north and into several towns. Had to do a bit of relocating." He said with a grin.

Matt could remember when Cody was a shy young teenager, gangly and though he was sure footed, he wasn't socially sure of himself. That had changed by the time he graduated from college. He'd had a few girlfriends at times but nothing too serious. His job was his life and he didn't seem bothered by being single at the moment. Hell, it'd taken Matt long enough to realize what was staring him in the face before he committed to walking down the isle.

"Come on. You must be exhausted. Lets get you set up for the night then we'll go to town for supper if the phone and idiots will let us." He motioned for Cody to head to the guest quarters as he followed behind him. Within minutes, Jeremiah and Jimmy were all over Cody, hanging off him and trying to tackle him in the middle of the hallway. Cody ended up with a kid under each arm as Matt got his stuff into the spare bedroom.

Cody looked at Robin and gave her a wink before heading to his room for at least a few days still holding to the struggling nephews as he went. Matt didn't miss the wink and he looked at Robin who gave him an 'innocent' look that he didn't believe. That night at supper at Moe's Pizza, the chatter around the table with the three other rangers that could join them, was about the applicants that had shown up for the job so far. They started pressing him for details on the last one he was going to interview tomorrow.

Matt could only shrug, "I've already told you what I know about him. Military man getting out, looking for work. Sounds like he's got the qualifications but until I meet him, I'll reserve judgment. They all looked good on paper until you got them talking and then you realize that they aren't all they're cracked up to be." He said as he took a swig of beer.

Then the bets started around the table with how long the interview would last, if the person was truly qualified for the position and how long it would take Matt to realize he'd 'failed' again at picking the right someone for the position. The discussions went around the table for some time, even getting Cody to laugh. "You know Matt, not everyone can be as qualified as you or me. We had it easy since we lived in the mountains with dad. We learned everything early on where most of these people sound like they're from the city or as someone at the ranger station in Yellowstone loves to call them…flatlanders." He said with a smile.

With a hoot, several of the rangers loved that new word and worked it around for awhile before they paid their bill and headed out. Cody was the only one that hung back, sending the others on ahead of him. He simply said he'd be back to the station later that night. Several of them shrugged and Matt ruffled his hair as he headed outside.

Once they were out of the building, Cody went over to the bar and purchased two beers, one for him and one he knew someone else was drinking. He walked over to the woman sitting in a booth seat by herself and set her beer of choice on the table in front of her. Cool gray-blue eyes looked up at him, the face of a handsome woman coming into view from the light hanging over the table. He spoke up quietly, "May I join you?"

The eyes looked him over carefully and then her hand reached out, took the bottled beer and tilted it up for a sip before using the bottle to indicate that he could sit across from her. Cody took the invitation and sat down, putting his bottle of beer on the table. He held a hand out to her, "Cody Hawkes." was all he offered.

She took the offered hand, her handshake firm while her hand was dry. "Crane Atheron." she responded in kind.

With a nod, Cody let go of her hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Gunnery Sergeant, Marines, correct?" he asked

She smirked a little, "Guilty as charged."

Cody heard the unspoken question as if she'd said it aloud. He pointed towards the ring she wore. "I was never in the military but I learned long ago how to identify the little indicators to look for….like your ring." He stated.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression bland, neutral. She looked down at her ring then and then back up to Cody. "And you would be Matthew Hawkes little brother. You're a forest ranger and looking to get a job here with the High Mountain Rangers, a search and rescue group that was started by your father, Jesse Hawkes." She stated evenly.

Cody raised an eyebrow as he sipped his beer. He didn't ask the obvious question either but smirked a little as she lifted a finger to point to the faded newspaper articles that had been framed and hung on the wall. "Sorry to hear about your father." She said plainly.

Cody nodded his thanks. "You know that they're expecting a man to show up for that interview tomorrow." He stated.

It was her turn to smirk a little. "Uh-huh. Won't they be surprised…" she said, taking another swig from the bottle.

Cody chuckled, "Yup, because I just can't bring myself to burst their bubble. It's good to keep those guys on their toes every now and then otherwise they become … a bit over assured of their prowess." He said with a grin.

Crane chuckled in turn. "You're a very observant man if you picked up on the fact that I was sitting here listening to them the whole time."

Cody shrugged, "Just the way I was brought up. You smirked once or twice at something that seemed to coincide with things we were talking about. Plus I noticed the ring and knew that the person Matt was seeing tomorrow was a Marine so I started to put a few things together. When everyone got up to leave, your eyes flicked our way several times as you took in what people looked like. I was pretty sure of my 'suspicions' by then."

She looked at him for a moment, "Anything I should know before tomorrow?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Not really other than catching them off guard and keeping them guessing the whole time. Just be honest in what you tell him." He finished his beer and put it on the table.

Crane finished the last sip in her bottle and put it next to his. She held her hand out across the table, "Then thanks for the info. You got a ride back to the station?" she asked.

Cody accepted the hand and smiled. "Welcome…and no. Was gonna call a cab."

Crane shook her head, "Let me give you a ride. That way I know where I'm going tomorrow."

He nodded and stood up. He offered her a hand as she climbed out of the booth seat. She accepted and they walked towards the door. He held the doors for her as they left and she gave him a 'oh really?' look but said nothing about his chivalry. She led him to the parking lot and over to a dark blue old Ford Pickup and unlocked the doors. Cody took a minute to walk around the truck, "Nice…" he stated.

She climbed in and started the motor as he opened his door. The engine roared to life and then settled, rumbling softly like a deep rolling purr. "Very nice…" he said.

"Thanks." She said as she followed his pointed finger as to which direction she was to head. The ride back to the station was quiet other than Cody asking where she got the truck. She explained she got it off an old farmstead in Wyoming about ten years ago and had been working to restore it these last four years. Cody expressed his appreciation for how well she'd done and she only nodded to him.

When they reached the ranger station, she pulled up in front of the cabin. She turned off the headlights but left the engine idling. Cody held out his hand, "Good luck tomorrow and thanks for the ride."

She shook the hand in return, "Thanks and you're welcome."

Cody climbed out and she watched him enter the cabin, giving her a slight salute before she turned on the headlights and backed out of the parking spot. She headed the truck back down the mountain to Tahoe and to her hotel room.

Inside the station, several of the rangers were still up and questioned Cody on who had dropped him off. He only rolled his eyes a little. "If you must know, I met a nice woman at the bar and she was kind enough to give me a lift back here after we'd shared a couple of beers together."

Matt sighed and rolled his eyes, "Leave it to you to find the lonely female and then charm her into giving you a ride. Did you get her number?"

Cody shook his head, "Didn't ask for it and she didn't offer. Besides, she's only in town for another day."

Izzy passed him a piece of paper, "Okay Cody…write out your bet on what's gonna happen tomorrow with the last interview. Fold it up and put it in the envelope so Robin can seal it up. Keep others from cheating tomorrow…." He said eyeing Mark.

Cody looked at the paper, looked at Matt then keeping his composure, he wrote something down, folded it up twice and stuck it in the envelope. Robin sealed it up and tucked it away until after the interview.