"Yeah. But Mart's a good guy. I hate to see him following you around like a puppy dog."

"He does not. Bobby follows me around like a puppy dog."

Roger laughed. "Yeah. Bobby's got a bad case of hero worship."

"But, I really like Matt, you know. I wish we could be friends and not worry about all that other bullshit."

"Speaking of," Roger said, nodding toward the door.

Matt walked to their table, his long hair tied in the familiar pony-tail.

"Morning McKenna, Roger."

"Hey, Matt," Chris said. "What's going on?"

"Roger's got us assigned to the South Rim today."

"Horses?" she asked as she glared at Roger.

Roger smiled sweetly at her. "Got two different groups of backpackers out there. Fifteen total. They're taking the trail up from Tahoe. They should be in our area today or tomorrow, so I thought we'd keep a lookout. They left Tahoe on Saturday."

"You know those backpackers don't want us baby-sitting them, Roger," she said, already hating the idea.

"A lot could have happened between Saturday and now, McKenna. Besides, it's not like we're swamped up here and can't take the time."

"You could have told me this yesterday," she complained. "Now I've got to go back and get my pack."

"If I'd told you this yesterday, then I would have had to listen to you complain for two damn days."

"It'll be fun, McKenna. We'll get to camp out. I'll meet you at the stables." Matt left them with a wave and Chris again glared at Roger.

"Thanks a lot," she said dryly.

"I didn't want Matt out alone that far and Robert is... well Robert's allergic to horses or something," Roger explained.

"Robert Hatcher is about as worthless as they come, Roger. Matt works his butt off around here and Hatcher sits on his ass acting all important-like in the office, ordering the maintenance guys around like he's the boss. And Matt's been here three goddamn years longer. Hell, I do more around here than Hatcher and I'm SAR."

"Calm down, McKenna. Hell, I know he's worthless, you think I'm blind."

"Then why does he get away with it?" she demanded.

"It's just politics, McKenna. His daddy is some big shot in Washington and his grandfather was some big shot with the department back in his day and that's just the way it goes. Besides, Hatcher moves around a lot. Every couple of years, he requests a transfer, so I figure we'll make it as unpleasant as possible for him and he'll move on and then we can get someone else. Maybe get Bobby hired on."

"Well that's the best news I've heard. Bobby is much more than a volunteer around here."

"Yes, I know. And we take advantage of his willingness to help but that's partly his fault, too."

Chris stood and fished a couple bills out of her pocket, pausing long enough to steal a mouthful of hash browns from Roger's plate.

"Gotta keep up my strength." Then she winked. "See you later. I'll radio when we hook up with the hikers."

"Yeah. And McKenna, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate everything you do. I warned you your SAR duties would be limited and I'd have you helping out all over the place."

"Roger, I love the quiet here. I wouldn't trade it for Yosemite even if you had me cleaning bathrooms."

"Well, as long as we still have a budget for maintenance, I'll keep you out of the bathrooms. Now get going. Don't keep Matt waiting."

Chris drove back to her cabin to get her pack. She always kept it loaded and ready to go, just in case. She added a couple more freeze-dried dinners and filled the water bottles. Anytime she went out on the South Rim Trail, she packed enough for several nights. Rummaging in the fridge, she found an apple that was salvageable and some cheese. She grabbed a package of crackers. It would have to do.

"Sorry, fella, but you're on your own," she said to Dillon. She filled his food bowl up and scratched under his chin for a second. "Don't eat it all the first day."

Ten minutes later, she was saddling her horse while Matt checked the charge on their radios.

Jessie sat on her porch that evening, listening for the owls. She had not heard the piano music since that first night and she wondered why. As she filled her wineglass again, she thought of Annie. She had been putting it off, she knew. It was the reason she had come here in the first place, to see Annie. Not to hike the trails and meet new people and pretend she was on vacation. She knew Dr. Davies was right. If she was to ever find peace in her life, she would have to talk it out with Annie, get some things off her chest, find the closure to that chapter of her life and attempt to make a life of her own after all these years. Dr. Davies had said she could call if she needed. At the time, it sounded like a great idea and something to fall back on should things get rough. But she felt fine, really. Even the prospect of seeing Annie was not nearly as frightening as it had been. Maybe she would stop seeing Dr. Davies. Maybe she would feel like a whole new person when this was all over with.

She looked to the sky, still pleasantly surprised to be able to see the stars. It had been too many years of searching for them from her apartment balcony for the stars to be familiar to her now. As her eyes scanned the sky, she thought of McKenna and wondered where she lived. And with whom. She unexpectedly thought of her father then, remembering all the evenings he would be called away to look for a lost hiker, the days before search and rescue. She would beg him to let her go along, but he always made her stay, saying one lost hiker was enough. Of course, she knew the trails better than he did.

McKenna? Why did the woman intrigue her so? Perhaps because she had so blatantly ignored Jessie's attempts at seduction. Few women said no. In fact, Jessie couldn't remember the last. Well, she had never been one to pass up a challenge.

Chris and Matt sat around the campfire eating their instant dinners and drinking coffee. Their horses were tied nearby and their tents glowed in the dim light, a backdrop for their shadows that danced in the red embers each time the wind blew.

She felt him watching her but she ignored him, poking instead into the fire. She really did like him and wanted nothing more than for them to be friends. And maybe she was reading too much into it. First Bobby, now Roger telling her that Matt wanted more than friendship, she took everything to mean more than it was. Maybe Matt simply enjoyed her company as much as she did his.

"Can I ask you something, McKenna?"

"Of course." Here it comes, she thought.

"Well, I need some advice. On women," he added.

She cleared her throat. "On women?"

"Well, I mean, you are one and you date them, right?"

It was with difficulty that she swallowed the coffee she had just sipped. Again she cleared her throat. "Well, I do know women, yes."

"It's Donna, at the Rock," he explained. "I mean, I've been here four years now. I've always liked her but she treats me like her pal. You know, like you and me."

Chris nodded, thinking how very ironic this conversation was turning out.

"I've seen her through a terrible marriage and now a divorce and still, she talks to me as if we're just buddies."

"But you're attracted to her?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. I mean, surely she knows. I talk to her all the time."

"Matt, you talk to everyone all the time. I've been to the Rock with you. You make the rounds, you know nearly everyone there, why would she think she's special?"

"I've stayed there past closing before, just talking with her. She's confided in me, I've confided in her. I mean, we are friends, but I want it to progress to the next level and I don't think she knows that."

"Matt, it is very rare for men and women to be friends. I mean, especially straight men and women. And it's just because there is always that sexual undertone lurking. Maybe she's felt safe with you, because she didn't think you were interested in her that way and she's allowed a friendship to build between you. Maybe she sees you treating her the same way you treat everyone. As friends. Maybe she sees you there with me and thinks something's up with us. Who knows?"

He shook his head. "No, McKenna, everyone knows which way you lean."

Chris stared at him. "Everyone? It's not like I have a girlfriend or anything."

"Can we deal with me first?" he asked.

She laughed then and he joined in and she felt herself really relaxing around him for the first time.

"You know, Matt, I really like you. I was actually afraid you wanted... well, that you thought we could be more than friends."

"Oh, come on, McKenna, surely you didn't buy into Bobby's matchmaking?"

"No, of course not," she lied. "It's just that we've never talked about it, you know. And I do like going to the Rock and having a beer with you and not having to worry about anything."

"Me, too." Then he nudged her shoulder. "But back to my problem. How should I approach this with Donna?"

Chris laughed, relieved that they finally had everything out in the open. "I would probably invite her over to my place for dinner, which I have elegantly prepared myself. A nice bottle of wine, maybe fresh flowers on the table, some quiet music. But don't lose what's brought you together in the first place." At his raised eyebrows, she continued. "Your friendship. If it's a nice evening, you might sit outside and just talk. Don't leap directly from friendship to dating, Matt. Make it subtle. Let her know that things don't have to change between you just because you start dating. And don't rush things. Have a nice dinner and when it's time to end things, a soft kiss, just to let her know that it wasn't just two buddies having dinner."