ALMOST HEAVEN

Chapter 22

By the end of February, the weather was trying to warm up and trail work picked up at the Gorge. Laurel and Pam were gathering supplies for a trail clean up when Bob, their boss, pulled up in his pickup truck outside the barn. He rolled down the window to talk to them.

"Looks like they're sending us an environmental hydrologist to do some studies on our water resources here at the park. He's supposed to be in next week and he's staying about a month. He'll be staying here at the park."

Laurel stopped what she was doing and turned around to face Bob. "Who is it?"

"I don't know the person, I'd have to look at the paper work to get the name. Why?"

Laurel shrugged. "I'm just curious, that's all."

Laurel and Pam got their gear and headed out. Once they were out of earshot of Bob, Pam asked, "What's up? Your face got kinda funny when Bob mentioned the hydrologist."

"Ugh, I'm just hoping it's not this guy I know. Because if it is, it's going to be awkward." Laurel sighed.

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Tell me, tell me."

"Back when I was Shenandoah we had a hydrologist come to the park for the exact same reason. His name was Jason Briggs. And we kinda had a thing. Then it got weird."

"What kind of thing and how did it get weird?"

"He was good looking and came off at first as nice, really sweet. I was lonely, or maybe I was just horny, I don't know. It didn't take long before we ended up in bed. And I quickly realized that it didn't make any bells ring for me, if you get what I'm saying." Laurel glanced over at Pam who nodded.

"But, hey, he was there, and he'd be leaving soon, so what the hell, I thought. But then he got real serious, really fast. Told me he loved me and he wanted to marry me. Started acting like he was my boyfriend and getting snappy with some of the other male rangers I worked with. I told them what was going on with Jason and two of the rangers told Jason that he had to back off. He didn't like it but he did tone it down. At least with them."

It got very weird. I told him I didn't want to see him anymore. He freaked out. And all of this was going on at my job, you know? At the park. He'd follow me around, find out where I was working in the park and show up begging me to 'take him back' as he put it."

"Jeez, did the superintendent know?"

"I think she was aware that something was going on. Towards the end of his study, he went to her and asked if he could stay on another couple months to conduct some other study. She told him no. Then she came and told me that. So, she knew something."

"He tried texting me and calling once he left and I just blocked his number. But what's strange is one of the girls I used to work with up at Shenandoah and I were texting the other day, just checking in with each other, and she mentioned that he had been in the park recently for a couple days for some sort of research. He asked her how I was doing and she told him that I was engaged. She said he seemed shocked by the news. And now, suddenly, he's coming here? I mean, is it just chance or what?"

Pam looked worried. "Hey, you need to tell Bob. You know he won't put up with any nonsense. And tell Clyde."

"This is one of those things that will make Clyde get worked up. He won't like that Jason acted like this with me."

"You never mentioned this guy to him?"

"I did. We both talked in the beginning about relationships we had been in. I said that I had a very brief fling with someone when I worked at Shenandoah. Nothing else about how it got weird. But he isn't going to be happy when I tell him about it and then Jason shows up at the park."