Chris laughed. "Please don't kill one on my account."

Jessie cocked her head and frowned. "Don't like fish?"

Chris shook her head. "I'm more of a vegetable person."

"Good Lord, a vegetarian? I thought I left them all behind in the city," she said.

"I manage."

"So, you want to come?" Jessie asked.

"Come where?"

"Dinner?"

"Where?"

"Cabin seven," Jessie said, her back still to Chris.

"Henninger's?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"Six-thirty?"

Chris looked around at the crowds and shook her head. "Seven?"

"Fine. I'll have the first glass of wine without you."

Jessie turned around and their eyes met for a moment, then Chris motioned to the trail with a quick toss of her head.

"Better go."

"McKenna?"

Chris stopped and looked back. "Yeah?"

"What's your first name?" Jessie asked, again capturing her eyes.

"Chris."

Jessie nodded. "I like it." Then she turned back to her fly fishing, leaving Chris staring after her.

It took Chris longer than normal to make the loop as she stopped several times to answer questions and offer suggestions on other hiking trails. She stopped on her way past the point, but Jessie was already gone. At the trailhead, Jessie had signed out just like she was supposed to. Chris laughed at her comment. "No fish died today!"

Chris ran into Bobby later and sent him on Ridge Trail as she took the route up Fire Lookout Trail. There was a large group at the top, all enjoying the view without the benefit of the tower. Since the incident this summer with the two boys, Roger had the steps taken down and new warning signs put up, and they'd not had a bit of trouble.

She spent a little time up at the top, answering questions and just enjoying the views herself before heading back down the mountain, using the shortcut Bobby had shown her.

It wasn't until she was driving home that she realized she had intentionally put Jessie Stone from her mind. She tried to ask herself why exactly she was going to dinner with her, and she had no answer other than she found Jessie attractive and she would be the first to admit that she was extremely curious about this woman's life. And her sudden return to Sierra City. But she just couldn't shake the feeling that she was betraying Annie somehow.

After her shower, she took time to relax on the deck with a cold beer. It had been a busy day and she was feeling the effects of her afternoon hikes. Dillon was attempting to sneak up on a squirrel and she watched him for a moment. Then her eyes traveled on into the woods, thinking it would be so much quicker just to walk to Jessie's cabin. But more polite to drive. It wasn't as if they knew each other well enough for such informal visits.

At a quarter to seven, she picked out one of her few remaining bottles of wine and with a quick pat on Dillon's head, was gone. She drove slowly, enjoying the evening. The days were getting shorter, she noted. And cooler. Wouldn't be long before the snows came and she would trade her hiking boots for snowshoes and skis.

She enjoyed the winter, if only because it allowed a slowdown from the hectic summer. Of course, search and rescue took on a whole new meaning in the snow. And instead of quiet nights on the deck, she would spend quiet evenings in front of the fire.

She found Jessie's cabin without difficulty and parked next to the rental car. She had a long-sleeved T-shirt tucked into jeans and had opted for white athletic shoes instead of her usual hiking boots. She knocked on the door and waited until she heard Jessie call for her.

"I'm back here."

Chris grinned. How many times had she heard Annie yell out those very words to her? She was standing in the kitchen counting the bottles of wine on the counter when Jessie came in from the deck. Eleven bottles. Seems she and Annie had something else in common.

"You certainly didn't have to bring anything," Jessie said. "Least of all wine." She smiled warmly at Chris. "I'm glad you came."

"Thanks for asking. There aren't a lot of opportunities for dinner out around here."

"Well, here, let me pour you a glass of wine. Or would you rather have something else?" Jessie offered.

"Wine's okay."

"And you can take your bottle back with you. I think I have plenty."

Chris followed Jessie onto the deck. Two wooden chairs, identical to her own, were waiting and she sat, stretching her legs out.

"Nice evening, isn't it?"

"Yes. Nice," Chris agreed. "It was a busy day. This time of year, everyone is trying to cram in as many weekends as possible before winter."

"Have you been here long?" Jessie asked.

"Just since summer. I transferred from Yosemite when they opened up a full-time SAR here... ah, search and rescue," Chris clarified.

"So I guess you are pretty much on your own then."

"Well, I've known the manager here, Roger Hamilton, for years."

Chris did not miss the surprised look that crossed Jessie's face and she had to stop herself from tossing out Annie's name as well. If for no other reason, Jessie was still Jennifer Parker to her.

"How nice," Jessie murmured.

They sat in silence, both looking out towards the woods, lost in thought. Before long, the owls started calling and Jessie smiled.

"There," she said softly. "Every night I wait for them."

Chris laughed quietly. "So does Dillon."

"Who?"

"My cat. He's terrified of them. He sits in the window while I'm on the deck and his eyes get so big every time they call. I think he's afraid they're going to swoop down and carry him away."

Jessie frowned at her words. "Where do you live?"

Chris pointed towards the trees. "Number eight."

"You're kidding?" Jessie laughed, then nodded. "So, you're the one that likes piano music?"

"Sorry. It relaxes me after a busy day. I didn't realize it carried this far."

"No, it's okay. I liked it."

They sat there with the dark approaching, not speaking, just listening to the quiet. Chris wondered at Jessie's subdued demeanor this evening. She was being polite and friendly, but the teasing, flirting woman Chris had first met was absent. Chris wondered if the mention of Roger's name had thrown Jessie into a tailspin. Chris was about to speak when the timer on the oven disturbed the silence.

"Good. I'm starving," Jessie said.

She got up, leaving Chris to follow. Jessie's empty wineglass stood on the counter and Chris filled both hers and Jessie's and carried them to the table.

"I had to really put an effort into dinner, you know. I've never cooked for a vegetarian before."

"Can't be that hard," Chris said.

Jessie laughed. "You don't cook, do you, McKenna?"

"Not much, no."

"How do you make it out here without cooking? It's not like there are fine restaurants on every corner."

"Well, I eat an awful lot of pasta."

Jessie laughed again. "Guess what's for dinner?"

Chris sat while Jessie lit a candle and placed it between them. A plate of steaming pasta and vegetable casserole followed. Chris bent over her plate and inhaled, smiling as the scent of garlic reached her nose.

"Garlic," Jessie said unnecessarily. "It's on the bread, too, so I hope you don't have a hot date after dinner. You'll run them off."

"A date? In Sierra City?" Chris chuckled. "Not hardly."

"Oh, surely there are lots of eligible... people here."

Chris noticed the hesitation and took her cue. "A few eligible men, yes. But if I desire female company, I have to go to Sacramento."

"And do you?"

"Go to Sacramento?"

"Desire female company?"

Chris grinned. "On occasion, I do both."

Their eyes held for a moment and just when Chris saw Jessie's dark eyes begin to soften, Jessie pulled them away, instead motioning to Chris's plate.

"Well? What do you think?"

Chris took a bite and grinned. "Mmm. Excellent."

"Good."

Chris broke into the garlic bread, tearing off a piece as butter ran down her fingers. Without thinking, she brought her hand to her mouth, licking the butter off a knuckle. She looked up and found Jessie watching. Their eyes locked again for a brief second and this time it was Chris who pulled away.

Apparently all those nights of reading J. T. Stone's books and fantasizing over her picture on the back had caught up with her. For the first time since meeting Jessie Stone, Chris had permitted her attraction to a damn picture to surface. As she had told herself on numerous occasions, Jessie Stone was no woman she wanted to get involved with. Having hot uninhibited sex, now that was another matter.

Chris blushed at her thoughts and shoved another bite into her mouth. Perhaps on her next weekend off, she would go into Sacramento and hit the bars and try to curb her suddenly aroused libido.

She fished for something to get the conversation flowing and decided to get a little personal. Maybe she could find out something about Jessie's personal life, something she might be able to share with Annie.

"Where are you from, Jennifer?"

Jessie looked up, apparently surprised at the question or maybe the name, Chris wasn't sure which.

"New York City," she finally said. "I'll be here another week or so."

"Well, you're a long way from the East Coast. Just vacationing or did you come to California on business?" Even to her own ears, the question sounded forced.

"I'm sort of between jobs," Jessie offered.