*As a side note dear Reader, the random four digit numbers in the title of each chapter is a quick reference for my chapter word count.

Meadow was enjoying her ride down the mountain. The Ranger's charm and charisma hadn't let up for a minute. He spent the first half hour of their hour long trek home pointing out numerous things of interest along the trail; as well as, highlighting present ecological and environmental concerns in the area. He was a wealth of knowledge and knew more about her mountains, the mountains she had grown up roaming both day and night since she was school age, then she ever did.  

However, the atmosphere changed soon after her cell phone began to ping with missed calls and texts.

"We must have cell service now," Meadow commented as she began to take her backpack off to reach her cell, which was stuffed in a zippered pocket.

Hale brought Wanderer to a stop so she could do it safely without worrying about falling from the horse. Meanwhile, Taffy raced around Wanderer's feet and wagged her tail. The horse didn't pay poor Taffy any attention at all.

The calls and text messages were all from her mother. Meadow's heart sank. Intuitively, she knew her father must be upset about something. Her good mood vanished. More and more she was regretting her decision to come home.  It was too much for her Dad, and his moods were too much for her right now, after surviving a life and death situation at work. Coming home was just amplifying her issues, not resolving them.

"It's my mother," Meadow told Hale. "I'll get down and call her back," she told him hoping he wouldn't insist she just make the call there.

"Sure thing," was all he said as he quickly dismounted and then lifted her effortlessly off of Wanderer's croup.

Knowing that the call wasn't going to be pleasant, Meadow didn't want to have it the back of the handsome Ranger's ear. She was already embarrassed enough about her morning encounter with him. She didn't need to add family drama to that as well. Setting her knapsack down about ten feet from her ride, she turned her back to him and waited for her mother to answer.

"Where are you?" the woman half shouted with distress. Before Meadow could get a word out she declared impatiently, "Don't go anywhere. They are coming up to fetch you."

"Whose coming for me?" Meadow asked in confusion.

"Your father and Eddie," her mother replied as if it were a stupid question.

Meadow spied on Hale from the corner of her eye as she processed this information. He was casually standing in front of Wanderer, his lead in hand, and apparently keeping an eye out for grizzlies because he didn't seem the least bit interested in her or her conversation. Meadow let out a sigh of relief. 

"He was livid Meadow when he saw your note," her mother was saying. "Eddie told him grizzlies were spotted on the mountain. The two of them set off for you as soon as they realized you were up there alone and on foot."

Meadow groaned. This was just going from bad to worse. Her father was going to be so pissed that he had to take time off work, time from his regular schedule, to saddle the horses, grab the bear guns, and come up the mountain to rescue her. Meadow's morning had gone from peaceful, to embarrassing, to half way descent, and now it was quickly going all down hill.

"Why did you go up there, Sweetie? Your father is so upset with you," her mother concluded in a tone that was full of concern and reproach. The concern was for her father, who was fit-to-be-tied, and the reproach was for her because it was her actions that put him in this mood.

"Mom, I'm fine. A local forest ranger named Hale Seppanen found me out at the lake and he's bringing me and Taffy back. We are on horse and are about half-way home. Why don't you call Dad and tell him he can go on back?"

Meadow was not going to be the one to call him. He'd just be in a rage and nothing good would come from it. 

Her mother didn't seem to have heard that last part though because all she did was ask, "Who is with you?"

"A forest ranger named Hale Seppanen," Meadow repeated. She gave Hale an embarrassed smile. She didn't even want to explain this conversation to him. What would he think? "Said he's been working in the area for the last five years," she went on to say but then stopped. "You should really call Dad."

But, just as she was saying it, she saw her father's figure in the distance. He and Eddie were riding up the trail on Murph and Hiccup, two appaloosa trail horses that her family had owned since Meadow was a teen. They were about half a mile away.

"Never mind Mom, I see him and Eddie now."

Taffy did too. She gave a big 'woof', but had the good sense not to run off down the trail. Instead, the rusty haired water dog stuck to Meadow's side, and was content to watch her master's ascent. It had always been that way. Taffy was particularly protective of Meadow since the first time she met the dog, when she came home during Christmas break while at university years ago. Taffy would stick to her like glue and follow her everywhere until her master got jealous and called her away.

"Look Mom," Meadow began, "I'll let you go and we'll ride down to meet Dad. You can call him if you want. It'll be ten minutes before we reach him."

"Alright, Darling," her mother chimed though her voice was still stressed. 

Meadow heaved a huge sigh when she ended the call.

"That bad?" Hale inquired softly with a curious look in his eyes as he gazed from her to the approaching riders.

"You don't know the half of it," Meadow confessed with a miserable look on her face as she too watched her Dad and Eddie make their way up the trail. Looking back up at Hale, she scrunched up her face and asked, "Have you heard of my Dad? Had any run-ins with him before? He's quite notorious in the community." She paused a moment before just coming out with it. "Notorious  for hating lycanthropes."

Hale mounted Wanderer and then reached out his hand to her with what could only be characterized as an amused look in his sparkling brown eyes. This was not news to him. Meadow felt a little relieved. She took his hand and got back up on Wanderer for a second time.

Once she was settled and had gripped Hale's belt loops again, he made a clicking noise and Wanderer started back down the trail. The closer they got to the other two riders the sicker and more anxious Meadow felt. She had difficulty enough dealing with her Dad's extreme moods swings in the privacy of the family home, but thinking that two strangers were going to witness him tare a strip off her was making her ill.

"Look, Ranger Seppanen," Meadow began but Hale cut her off.

"Just call me Hale," he told her with a warm smile over his shoulder.

His calm and unconcerned attitude gave her some courage.

"Hale," she repeated but didn't smile back at him. She was too anxious trying to anticipate how her Dad would react to him. "Look, he's not a particularly friendly man, as you may already know, and he's riled up right now because he's had to leave work to come and fetch me and Taffy. So, I'm almost positive he wont have anything nice to say and ..." But she didn't get to finish. 

Hale cut her off with an wide grin saying confidently, "Don't worry Miss Rask. He's not the most miserable person I know. Besides, your father is pretty tame, even on his worse day, compared to some of the folks I have to deal with." He gave her a pointed look.

"Of course," she said with a little  laugh. The Ranger was a lycanthrope. In his lifetime he would have dealt with tempers far more terrifying than anything her father could conjure up. Meadow relaxed a smidgen. "Well, if it is any consolation, I'm apologizing now for whatever is about to happen."

Hale gave a great laugh and at the same time reached for her left hand, plucked it from his belt loop and pulled it around his waist. "Hold tight and we'll get this all over with," he told her as he gave Wanderer a little tap to his flank.

The animal responded by picking up the pace from a lazy walk to an energetic trot.  Taffy barked joyfully feeling the excitement of the heightened speed. She raced a few yards ahead of Wanderer and then back again. She repeated this the entire way down the trail.

Meadow held on tight, not wanting to slip off, and just let herself enjoy being this close to the most handsome and naturally charming man she had ever encountered. She took in a deep breath, held it a few seconds and exhaled. Despite all his teasing earlier, he appeared to be a really good guy. Meadow hoped his magnetic and pleasant demeanour would prevail when he met her father in another five minutes.

Just before Hale brought Wanderer to a stop in front of her father and Eddie, he turned his head to her and said, "No matter what happens, I'll be the one taking you down the mountain. So, no need to dismount." 

Meadow gave him a quick nod. It sounded fine to her. She did not want to ride with her father under any circumstances, and she would be too embarrassed to ride down the hill with Eddie. He had to know by now that she was the proverbial black sheep of the family and considered a general nuisance (especially to her father). Once again, Meadow sincerely doubted the wisdom in coming home to heal and recoup after surviving the code red at work by the skin of her teeth. How could she find any peace when every time she turned around she was setting her father off for one reason or another.

Hale, perhaps perceiving her anxiety, gave her hand a subtle squeeze. Meadow responded by gripping his waist a little tighter and scooching closer to his back. If he was willing to be her shield, she was more than happy to use this bewitching and disarming man for the job.

The horse stopped and Hale gave both men a friendly nod as he leaned forward and rested his left forearm on his saddle horn. Meadow released his waist at the same time and sat tall and straight while gripping his belt loop gently.

"Good day gentlemen," Hale said conversationally. "Found me a water nymph up at the lake and am bringing her home for safe keeping."

Meadow blushed profusely at the reminder of how they met, but tried to keep her composure. While Eddie might figure out what Hale meant, she knew her father wouldn't put two and two together.

Her father, totally ignoring Hale as if he and Wanderer did not exist, barked at her, "What the hell were you thinking coming up the mountain this time of year and with the dog no less. You trying to get her killed?"

Meadow knew he wasn't looking for a response. So, she just kept her mouth shut. And, in her father's next breath, he shouted gruffly for the dog. "Taffy, come!"

Taffy tucked her tail and came to his mount right away. He then slapped his left leg and Taffy lept up onto his lap. It was quite a trick. The sort of thing you expect to see at a dog show from a well trained Australian Shepherd dog. Meadow was impressed. Even if he was more worried about the dog than her.

"You ride with Eddie," he father said dismissively as he began to turn his mount back toward home. "We've wasted enough time because of your foolishness. Hurry up," he growled without evening turning his head to look back at her. 

Remembering Hale's promise, Meadow didn't make a move. In response, Hale straightened back up and coaxed his mount forward. Bringing his mount up to Eddie's, he nodded politely at the fellow lycanthrope, whom he knew and liked, and said simply, "I'll be taking her down the mountain. You'll have to find your own water nymph."

Eddie's face broke into a wide grin and Meadow marvelled at how it changed him from a grizzly-bear-of-a-man to a teddy bear. She smiled in return. Maybe, he wouldn't think badly of her despite how her father must have grumbled and complained about her that morning.

"You go on ahead of us," Hale said amicably. "Don't keep the old fella waiting. I hear you guys have lots of work to do."

Eddie's grin turned to a thoughtful smile. "I'll get going then," he said as he looked directly at Meadow. There was no residual anger or resentment in his eyes. They were open and friendly.

Seeing he wasn't taking a page from her father's book on how to make Meadow feel two feet tall, she blurted out, "Sorry for wasting you time, Eddie. And, sorry for all the trouble."

"It's no trouble," he told her with obvious sincerity. Then he nodded at the both of them and turned his mount around. 

Meadow was relieved. Between Hale's nonchalant attitude and Eddie's understanding disposition, she had been spared a lengthy public castigation from her father.  Perhaps, if she wanted to survive her time at home, she'd have to figure out a way to spend more time with these two charmed lycanthropes.