Snow was coming. Deanna could feel it in the air.
A slow smile stretched across her face as she finished her five-mile walk around town and the flakes began to fly. The guys would hate her for sure.
It took a good three-hour pity party to put herself to rights last night, but her confidence and shield were back in place. She’d done this a long time. Her will was strong.
By the time she reached her house, a half inch stuck to the ground. Oh, she was good.
An hour later, Deanna walked into the ranger station’s conference room and poured herself a cup of coffee. “Morning, guys!”
“Morning, Dee.” Zack handed her a fax. “Looks like the reports are correct, termination dust in Anchorage for three days. And an inch on the ground here already. You know what that means.”
“It means I win the pool again, doesn’t it?” She teased and held out her palm to the other rangers at the table. “Pay up.”
Dollar bills were smacked into the middle of the table and her palm. “How do you do that?” Logan gave her his dollar.
She grinned. “I smell it.”
“Well, your uncanny ability has won the past four years.” David shook his head. “I’m beginning to think I’ve lost my touch.”
David Whiteeagle had been the long-standing winner of the rangers’ pool before Deanna arrived. The massive guy was intimidating, but once you got to know him, he was more of a ginormous teddy bear.
Deanna gave him a gentle pat on the arm. “It’s okay, David. I’m sure Jolie still loves you.”
The guys guffawed around the table.
Missy giggled. “Seriously, girl, I don’t know how you do it. You name a date. The guys in Anchorage confirm the termination dust, and then it snows here. Every time.”
“Yeah, and we all thought we had a chance this year, since you picked an early date.” Kyle stuck out his bottom lip. “It’s not fair.”
“You just don’t like being beat.” Deanna laughed along. “But I’m sorry—it’s time to pay up. And I don’t just mean your dollar bills. You know what you have to do, boys.”
Josh jogged into the room, out of breath. “Sorry, guys. I, uh, forgot to set my alarm.”
John welcomed him. “No problem, you didn’t have to be here today anyway. But you just missed Deanna winning the pool.”
“Stinking termination dust.” Zack held up the fax. “Had to go and prove her right. Again.”
“Wait a sec,” Josh piped up. “What’s termination dust?”
Laughter rounded the table again. Deanna smiled, enjoying the camaraderie of the station.
“Hey, take pity on the guy, would ya?” Zack wrapped an arm around Josh’s shoulders. “He’s from the lower forty-eight.”
More laughter. Deanna watched Josh from across the room. She took a slow sip of her coffee. He took the banter all in stride.
Logan pulled a tattered book off one of the shelves. “We save this book for all the non-Alaskans who come up here.” He showed the spine to Josh. “The Dictionary of Alaskan English
by Russell Tabbert.” Logan cleared his voice and turned pages. “ ‘Termination dust—an Anchorage area term for the end-of-summer snows that fall on the surrounding mountains and hills, signaling that the traditional construction season is about over and that workers will be terminated soon.’
“And Deanna here bases her guess for our first real—meaning it sticks to the ground—snowfall on their termination dust.”
Josh met her eyes. “Ah, so the lady has won.” With people around, he always seemed to have more confidence to talk to her. She found it charming. Like everything else about him.
She loved the admiration shining in his eyes. If only she could do something about it. Deanna cleared her throat.
“Again.” The cheer came from Missy. “And she deserves it because she puts up with all of us.” Her friend winked at her.
Logan tossed the book in front of Josh. “Here ya go. This might help you out.”
More laughter.
Josh nodded and flipped through the pages, receiving all the slaps on the back with a smile.
Deanna couldn’t help it, her eyes went back to Josh’s only to find his steady gaze. “Well”—she attempted to break the connection—“it just goes to show that none of you should mess with me. I mean business.” She pointed a finger at each one of them but couldn’t keep a straight face.
Balls of paper, napkins, and coffee straws flew across the table.
John stood at the head of the table. “All right, you guys have had your fun. You can bow to her and kiss her feet later. And anything else you might owe her for winning—I’m sure chocolate is involved somehow.” He winked at her. “But right now, it’s back to business. There’s a lot of debriefing that needs to be done. We’ve had a doozy of a season.”
Josh leaned back in his chair and threw the Nerf basketball at the hoop on the door. It missed and bounced onto David’s desk. “Sorry, man.”
“I would say, just go talk to her. But this is Deanna we’re talking about.” His fellow ranger turned pages in the new mountaineering guide they were proofreading.
“What do you mean?” Josh tossed the Nerf again. Missed. “Deanna’s like the sweetest person around.”
“Nobody’s saying she’s not, dude. But she’s been here a long time, and there’s little to nothing any of us know about her.” Another page turned.
That seemed odd. Deanna’s bubbly personality made everyone feel welcome. She was the encourager, the go-getter, the glue that held them all together. And her people skills far exceeded his. “I don’t get it.”
“And you probably never will. It’s like an unwritten rule around here. Nobody can get too close.” David shrugged. “I’m not trying to discourage you, but lots of guys have tried and failed. And those of us around here who know her, or just want to know her better as a friend, have tried and failed as well. Don’t get me wrong. We all love Deanna. But there’s a wall—no, make that a force field—around that woman that I don’t think anyone can penetrate.”
Josh shot the ball again. This time it went in. What if he was the one to make it past her defenses? Or maybe David was right and he was just trying to save him some heartache. One thing he’d learned working with everyone here these past six months—they stuck together. They encouraged each other. Even when they were teasing, they were looking out for the best interests of their fellow rangers.
This was the first time he’d heard one of the guys discourage another about a relationship. Had he not been here long enough to earn their trust? What was it about Deanna? Or was it him?
The auburn-haired ranger made him feel things he’d never felt before. Could she be the one for him?
If only he could convince Deanna.