Rock and A Hard Place (Cascade Brides Series) Read online

  “Ha ha,” she said dryly. “There’s a lot of competition out there. I like my job and want to keep it.”

  “So, your boss expects you to go to these extremes?”

  Faith looked up at the orange glow behind the back of the mountain. “I don’t go to extremes. I just capitalized on an opportunity.”

  “Ah.”

  She frowned at the note of scorn in his voice, but refrained from commenting. The guy had seriously saved her bacon, and making a friend who was a ranger—a ranger who had access to restricted lands—could be a boon.

  So be nice, Faith.

  Finally they reached the smooth asphalt heralding their arrival at the trail head. The rising moon shone off her Nissan parked next to a Jeep. Faith limped over to her truck and keyed open the door while Shane handed her the backpack. She set it on the seat, making sure the pocket holding the camera was pointed up.

  The dome light made a little golden puddle in the dark. She looked up at Shane, wishing she could discern his features. Somehow she sensed him doing the same. What should she say? Faith knew he didn't appreciate her putting herself in unnecessary danger, but maybe he would lighten up. The other rangers in the county knew of her habits and usually indulged her wanderlust, knowing she wasn't going to go to any extreme...extremes. She hoped Shane would be as accommodating.

  Faith held out her hand. “Well, thank you so much for helping today. I really was in a pinch.”

  He took her hand and gave it a quick shake. “You shouldn’t go into the mountains by yourself anymore.”

  Faith couldn’t help but send him an invisible glare. Apparently not the accommodating type. “Like I said, I know the area quite well. Today was unfortunate—for my ankle anyway.”

  “So your boss knew where you’d be?”

  “Um, I didn't tell him directly. But I left a message on my cell, so anyone calling would be given my location. And I always carry a firearm and emergency supplies, so I can assure you, I took precautions.”

  “And you're licensed to carry a firearm?”

  Faith knew it was his job to ask questions, be she still bristled. “Of course. And I'm very proficient.” Hah, take that, rangerman.

  “It's hard to be proficient when it's not holstered where you can get at it.”

  She stifled a frown, knowing he had a point.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “This has my cell number on it. Call me before you head out again. You need to let someone know where you are at all times.”

  Faith reluctantly took the card, figuring it was just part of his professional spiel. Maybe he was also trying to impress his boss. At least on that score, she could relate. Faith offered him a chastened smile. “Well, thanks again.”

  “Can you drive?”

  She lifted her wrapped left ankle. “Yes.” To prove her point, she slid into the cab of her truck, fired up the engine, and rolled down the window. “See? It's an automatic, so no problem.”

  Shane looked at her for a long moment before turning and climbing into his Jeep.

  He’s obviously the bossy type. Sheesh. Glowering, she maneuvered her truck around and headed down the forest service road to the main highway, deciding to have a chat with the other rangers, encouraging them to let the newbie know what was what. They knew that she knew her way around the bush. The new ranger would be more convinced if word came from his colleagues as opposed to her assurances on the matter. Shifting her thoughts to the amazing images hidden away on her camera, she put the handsome ranger firmly out of her mind—even though she saw his headlights in her rearview mirror.

  Tall evergreens blotted out the starlight, giving way to scrubby hills and occasional houses and businesses as she neared John Day. Bravado wearing thin, she slumped in her seat, looking forward to a long, hot soak in her claw-footed tub. Her ankle throbbed in agreement.

  Twenty minutes later, she pulled into the driveway of the little house she rented next door to Merle’s storefront, and parked alongside the big Dodge Ram he drove. Her boss must be working late. He usually left right at five.

  To her surprise a set of headlights swung in behind her. Faith turned and recognized Shane’s Jeep. She could've sworn he'd turned off the road a mile or so back. Rolling her eyes, she clambered carefully from the cab to meet Shane as he got out of the Jeep. “I assure you, Mr. Ranger, I’m a big girl and can get home all by myself.”

  Shane approached her, and in the floodlight from the building, she saw a lazy smile on his face. She put her hands on her hips. “What?”

  Leaning against the hood of her truck, he crossed his arms. “I wasn't following you exactly, I’m just here to see my uncle.”

  “Your uncle,” she said flatly.

  He nodded.

  Faith heard the door of Bascombe Promotions open. She turned and saw her boss striding out to meet her. His thick white hair and handlebar mustache glowed in the halogen parking lot light. She sent a little wave. “Hey, Merle!”

  “Faith! Glad you’re back. I wanted to introduce you to my nephew.”

  Faith swiveled her head and looked at Shane. He raised his brows.

  Oh, great. Suddenly, putting the new ranger in his place didn't seem such an easy task.

  “Perfect timing, Shane!” Merle reached him and gave him a bear hug. “Welcome to Malheur County! You’ll find it’s a lot better than the valley, though I may be a bit biased.”

  Shane laughed. “Thanks. It’s good to be here. I’ve had an interesting first day.”

  Oh, don’t you dare. Faith sent him a hard look. The last thing her fledgling career needed was Merle putting the kibosh on her ability to get decent shots. Between a worried boss and an overly-zealous ranger, she'd have to be content with taking pictures of sidewalk weeds. Shane sent her an innocent expression. Uh huh.

  “I met Faith earlier today out in the bush.”

  Merle seemed satisfied with the news and sent her a glance of approval. “That’s my girl. Always working hard.” He walked over and put his arm around her.

  Faith tucked her injured ankle behind her other leg, hoping he wouldn’t notice it.

  “So, did he tell you?” Merle asked.

  She looked up at him, enjoying his familiar smell of leather and the outdoors. “Tell me what?” Isn't it enough that I'll have a fussy ranger dogging my heels at the behest of my boss?

  “Shane’s a photographer, too.”

  Faith turned to the ranger, her general annoyance with him morphing into outright fear.

  Because frankly, she’d rather face a bear.

  Chapter Two

  Faith tried not to sulk the next morning as she hobbled into the office. An X-ray at the local clinic had declared her ankle sprained—for which she was thankful. It could've been so much worse. But she was still rankled by the new guy in town. Why hadn't Merle warned her about his nephew? And why hadn't Shane revealed who he was once he knew who she was? If that wasn't bad enough, apparently Shane was a photographer, too. No reason to feel threatened.

  Not at all.

  Bascombe Productions was a small office in the local strip mall, which also housed a beauty salon, insurance company, medical clinic, dentist, and real estate office—pretty much representing the business end of John Day—not counting the grocery store, gas station and sportsman shop. Bascombe's specialized in making brochures, fliers, and other promotional materials, the majority of which was used to encourage tourism to eastern Oregon. Over the years, Bascombe's had been hired out by companies small and large, even occasionally earning government contracts.

  While the business did well, she was fairly certain Merle couldn't afford another employee. Sometimes she even felt her job was superfluous. She really wasn't doing anything Merle couldn't do himself, especially since he didn't need to
work at all. He was independently wealthy and Bascombe's was probably more of a hobby to him than anything.

  A part of her wondered if he kept her on out of pity. She doubted he had big plans to take the company to the top. In fact he still laid out the brochure as a physical mock up despite Faith's insistence they use the desktop publishing program on the computer.

  Maybe he was lonely. His wife had died many years before and they had no children. Faith had met him when she was a waitress trying to keep her family together several years back. It was his big heart that had offered her a better position, along with encouragement to seek the Lord. Merle was like a father to her when she had none, but just because she felt like he was family, he wasn't.

  Shane Zadopec, however, was.

  The walls of Bascombe Productions were covered with framed prints of Oregon's beauty, from snow-capped mountains, to elk in the mist, to meadows covered in alpine blooms. Two desks sat kitty-corner to each other and a small room towards the back housed Merle's private office.

  After turning on all the lights, Faith eased into the chair and powered on the computer. As it booted up, she sipped her coffee from the Thifty Mart. She hadn't had a chance to look at the pictures she'd taken the day before. Last night she been too preoccupied with a body that craved a hot bath and an ankle that needed ice—and consternation at how Shane might be a threat to her way of doing things.

  Faith pulled her camera out of her backpack and connected it to the computer. As she scrolled through each photo, she felt some of her tensions ease. The photos were good. Merle would be more than happy. When she saw the bear and cougar shots, she bit her lip. With a little editing—playing with the contrast and doing some cropping—they'd be incredible. Surely Merle would feel the same way.

  The angst of an injured ankle and Shane Zadopec dissolved.

  The little bell above the door tinkled. Faith looked over to see Merle walk in, followed by Shane. Well, there went the peace of the day. She rose to her feet. Merle looked his usual colorful self with his white hair and mustache, leather vest, turquoise bolo tie and cowboy boots. Shane looked...much better than she remembered. Black hair cut short, dark eyes, olive skin. Goodness, apparently a khaki uniform had magical properties.

  “Good morning!” she said, hoping her voice didn't sound fake, because it kinda was. “You're here earlier than usual, Merle.”

  Shane zeroed in on her. A slight smile lifted his lips. She nodded her head coolly in acknowledgment. Now if he would just keep his mouth shut about her ankle.

  “Up and at 'em first thing as usual, I see,” Merle said, smiling beneath his mustache. “I wanted to show Shane the office before he headed out for work.”

  “Oh,” she said, hoping the tour wouldn't take long. At this point, five minutes would feel too long—especially as Shane seemed to notice her discomfiture and was enjoying it.

  Merle walked over to her desk. “What are you working on?”

  She stepped to one side, allowing him to see her computer screen while tucking her wrapped ankle out of view. “Got some new shots yesterday.” Pride swelled in her voice, but she checked it as soon as she caught a look from Shane.

  Merle smiled broadly. “Well, those are impressive. Where did you take these?”

  “Strawberry Mountain.”

  “That's some luck, young lady. I hope you didn't put yourself in any danger.”

  “Of course not.” She shot a warning look Shane's way. His sparkling gaze was way too innocent. “That's what the telephoto lens is for.”

  Shane coughed, then blocked his mouth with his fist.

  “Why don't you use that cougar shot for the front of the summer brochure for the Eastern Wildlife Conservation Association. It's truly magnificent.”

  Pleasure made her smile genuine this time. “Thank you, Merle. That means a lot.” And maybe if she could keep him impressed, he wouldn't ask his nephew to horn in on her territory.

  “Come over and get a look at this, Shane. We could use stock photography, but I pride myself on only using local images we capture ourselves. Before the brochure goes to print, we caption it, stating where the photograph was taken so the reader knows it's the real deal.”

  Shane edged over for a look.

  Faith watched his face for his reaction. Surely even he would be impressed. If he wasn't, she hoped he wouldn't be arrogant enough to recommend improvements.

  He looked up at her. “You framed the shot well, Miss Conrad. But if I could make a suggestion, you might consider running it through a filter to give it a more gritty look.”

  Her smile froze. “Uh.”

  “A gritty look?” Merle asked. “What do you mean?”

  Shane's expression was benign, but that fact did not mollify Faith. “Well, it's difficult to explain. Do you mind if I just try it? I use this same photo editing software myself.”

  Bracing herself for the worst, Faith stepped aside even further, hoping the direction of her movements wasn't a symbol for what was to come. Her ankle panged in painful agreement.

  Mortification warred with curiosity at what he would come up with. But if she had any hope of keeping her position, she would have to become firm about letting just anyone tell her how to edit her images.

  Shane bent over her keyboard and opened the photo-editor. With a few clicks and a quick crop, he adjusted her photo. Faith studied the result. Of course it looked better. She refrained from releasing a huffy breath.

  Merle peered at the image and stroked his mustache. “I like it, but it's rather stylized. My goal for Bascombe photos is to give the truest portrayal of animal life in eastern Oregon.”

  Shane smiled helpfully. “It is a true portrayal because the cougar was shot here, but the changes give the image a modern edge that appeals to the audience you want to reach—tourists from the valley and out of state.”

  “Hmm, I think you might be right. What do you think, Faith?”

  Faith maintained a careful expression despite the dread building within. How many times had she asked to add an artistic slant to her photos and how many times had her boss only wanted realism? Leave it to the nephew to upset the apple cart. “I like it,” she said in a noncommittal tone.

  Shane grinned, his eyes gleaming with a knowing humor. “Of course, without an excellent base image, no amount of editing can make a great photo. What I did was easy. Miss Conrad is the one who did the hard part.”

  Faith was tempted to roll her eyes. He sounded like the smarty-pants kid in school who was trying to butter up the teacher. And his look told her he knew it. She mashed her lips together to let him know she disapproved of his light-hearted manner. There was too much at stake. Her job being the main thing.

  Merle straightened, a broad grin on his face. “Looks like you two could be a real team.”

  Faith looked away, staring at the front door with unseeing eyes. I hate being right. Turning to her boss once her emotions were under control, she kept her tone level. “I'm sure Mr. Zadopec's ranger activities give him a lot of opportunity to get even better shots.” But she couldn't bring herself to say what followed. Perhaps he should have my job.

  When she peered up at her competition, Shane caught her gaze and held it. “Actually, my work keeps me a little too busy for that. Getting an occasional shot is one thing, doing all the design work is another. But I do have access to restricted lands that could help you in your endeavors, Miss Conrad. Call me anytime.”

  Faith bit her lip, feeling churlish. Maybe Shane wasn't staking his claim for her job, but he was Merle's family, and his blood was a whole lot thicker than hers.

  “Especially when you're thinking of going out alone.”

  Her sliver of sympathy fled. As if she hadn't been exploring the outdoors her whole life. Silly ranger probably learned everything thing he
knew about nature in college. And books—big thick, boring books.

  It was going to be a very long day.

  Shane made to leave. “Thanks for the tour, Merle. And thanks for being a good sport with your photograph, Miss Conrad.” He sent a smile that encompassed them both. “I'll see you soon.”

  And then he was gone.

  After Shane left, Merle turned to Faith. “Well, what do you think of my nephew?”

  Faith measured her words carefully, wondering at her boss's angle. “He's nice, and...he seems very talented in photography.”

  Merle patted her shoulder. “I'm glad you like him. I invited him to our church.”

  Faith refrained from pointing out she never said she liked him. And now she'd get to see him. A lot. Her answering smile felt like a grimace. “That's great. Really great.”

  “Glad you think so. Go ahead and use Shane's version of the image for the brochure cover.”

  Nodding, she sank onto her chair and saved the image, reminding herself to add Mr. Zadopec's attribution in the fine print.

  As she worked on the brochure layout, she added a similar touch to the other photos as well as to the company website. The result was a more modern look that was sure to resonate with city-dwellers.

  Faith just wished she'd had the guts to push it herself. A bear and a cougar were one thing. Merle and her livelihood were quite another.

  Chapter Three

  Shane looked around the foyer of the church for a familiar white head amidst the other worshipers, and when that failed, he tried for a beautiful girl with glossy brown hair and hazel eyes. Not that Faith would be glad to see him. Her enthusiasm had been decidedly lacking the last time they'd met. And the fact that Merle's matchmaking attempts were so obvious meant the prickly brunette might be even further out of his reach.

  Maybe prickly wasn't the right word. Being corrected about the conditions of her climb would be annoying—yet his profession demanded it. Adding his comments to her photograph probably hadn't been much appreciated either, but inspiration had struck and he'd gone with it. His artistic finesse, however, would hardly earn him any points with Faith.