arm. White pelicans circled the barren islands in tight formations. The big, heavy birds skimmed the surface of the water like squadrons of World War II bombers. The islands served as the endangered pelicansâ rookery, separating the birds from onshore predators. The upper Yellowstone emptied into the arm ofthe lake south of the islands. The riverâs surface was dark in the shadows of the lodgepole pines rising close on both banks.
Chuck turned to Janelle, who held her hands out to the crackling flames. âYou did an amazing job out there.â
âI felt good about it,â she admitted. She tucked her hands in her jacket pockets. âLike that was what I was supposed to be doing.â
âYouâve found your true calling: saving lives.â
Her cheeks reddened.
âIâm not joking,â he said.
âI know. Thatâs why Iâm blushing. I feel like, finally, Iâm getting to grow up. You have no idea what having two little girls can do to you, especially if youâre just a girl yourself when you have them.â
He grinned. âYouâre right. I have no idea what itâs like to be a girl, or to give birth.â
Janelle shook her head. âDiapers and baby food and kiddie TV, thatâs been my life for as long as I can remember. I traded away my twentiesââ She stopped, the color in her cheeks deepening. âDonât get me wrong. I wouldnât trade Carm and Rosie for anything.â
âI know that.â
âItâs just, finally, theyâre getting bigger. I mean, look at them over there with Clarence.â She waved at the shoreline. âThey couldnât care less if Iâm here, which is about the first time thatâs ever happened.â
âTheyâre great kids because you devoted yourself to them,â Chuck said.
She tucked her hands in her jacket pockets. âI know what it has cost meâin a good way, that is. But now, thanks to youâthanks to us, togetherâthereâs a real future out there for the four of us, and just for me, too. And that last part feels good.â
âIâm glad.â He slipped his hand into her jacket pocket and wrapped his fingers around hers. âSo tell me, are you still up for this?â
âWhy wouldnât I be?â
âYouâve watched two people almost get killed today.â
âThe thing with Kaifong was an accident, the result of carelessness. And el stupido with the bear got exactly what he was asking for.â
Chuck waited, wanting her to be sure.
âThe girls have been looking forward to this trip as much as I have,â she said. She aimed a finger from inside her jacket pocket at Kaifong, sorting the Drone Teamâs plastic storage cases.
âThatâs who I want the girls to be when they grow up. If sheâs not quitting after what she just went through, then the girls and I arenât quitting, either. Got it, muchacho ?â
â SÃ, esposa mia ,â Chuck said. He squeezed her hand. â Claro que sà .â
He turned away before she could see the worry in his eyes.
12
A t Turret Cabin, Lex drew Chuck aside.
âI owe you some pretty big thanks, from what I hear,â the ranger said. âYour wife, too.â
âRight place, right time,â Chuck replied.
âWhat happened, exactly?â
âThey were messing around at the back of the boat when it hit a swell. Bad timing.â
Kaifong had completed the hike to the cabin without difficulty.
âNot a good way to start the summer.â
âEveryone will be more careful now.â
Lex chortled darkly. âWeâll see.â
The two men observed the research camp springing to life before them.
A white, rectangular mess tent towered beside Turret Patrol Cabin. The historic log cabin, half the size of the tent, was one in a string of âsnowshoe cabinsâ built in the Yellowstone back-country in the late