Page 2 of Enemy Park Ranger Next Door

“I have to cancel,” her voice quavered.

“What? No,” I said. Lindsay was my best friend, and she’d been looking forward to this. Camping was more up her alley than mine.

“Yes, I just got off the phone with my boss. Corporate is expected to come down for a site inspection today, and they’re short-handed.” She looked at the floor. “I didn’t want to mention it, but I’m in the running for a promotion. This would make me look so good.”

“Damn, this sucks,” I said. “But I totally understand. You’re definitely getting that promotion if you go in.”

“Give Candice my apologies. I gotta go get dressed.” She dashed off to her room.

My phone rang. “Hey, Candice, do I really need to pack that many pairs of socks?”

“Yeah, follow my instructions exactly. Wait, you’re not packed yet?” she asked, her voice laced with shock.

“It’s all here, I’m just double-checking.” Geez, mom.

“That’s not why I called.” She cleared her throat. A pit immediately formed in my stomach. “I can’t make the trip today.”

“What? You are not canceling on me,” I said. Seriously? First Lindsay and now Candice.

“I know, I’m so sorry. I twisted my ankle this morning and have a grade-three sprain. I’m on crutches.”

“OMG, are you ok?” She was super adventurous and physically fit. I’d never known her to get hurt before.

“Yeah, pain meds are no joke, but I just feel kind of stupid. All I did was step off the curb wrong.”

“You’re telling me my base jumping, skydiving, marathon-running bestie sprained her ankle by stepping off a curb?” I tried to hold back the giggle, I really did.

“I know, I’m never going to live this down, am I?” She laughed. I was teased as a kid, so she didn’t need to worry about me making her feel bad

“I would never, but wait until Lindsay finds out.” I chuckled. “Well, I better start unpacking.” If Lindsay worked all weekend, I could stay home and do absolutely nothing. That was better than camping, right?

“What do you mean unpack? You and Lindsay can still go.”

“Nope, Lindsay was called into work and canceled just before you called.”

“No way. The timeshare is non-refundable—just go. Take some time for yourself.”

Was she crazy? I knew nothing about the wilderness and from what I remembered, the cabin had the bare minimum of necessities.

“Um ok, Captain Adventure. Did you forget who you’re talking to? I’m not exactly the outdoorsy type,” I said.

“You’ll be fine! My boyfriend is dropping off the essentials I had packed. Please just go and take advantage of the trip. There is a full itinerary for all the activities I planned. We already paid for it; someone might as well enjoy it.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said and hung up the phone. I stared at my perfectly packed bag. It would be a shame to have to just put it all away. And I did already have the rental car.

A loud knock sounded at the door.

“I got it,” Lindsay yelled, scurrying to the door. “Candice’s boyfriend dropped off a few boxes, I gotta go. Have a safe trip and text me when you get there.” She barely took a breath between statements and didn’t give me time to respond before slamming the door behind her.

Pick-up firewood was written on a piece of paper and taped to the top of the first box. I peeked inside the top box. Flashlights, sheets, blankets. . .newspapers? What were the newspapers for? I had a guess and my stomach flipped at the thought. This was a little out of my league.

My stomach sank. Squirrels in backyards scared me, and now I was going out into the wilderness—alone. My brother, Matt, was going to laugh when I told him my plans, but hopefully, he kept it to himself. He and his best friend, Connor, had teased me mercilessly as kids, especially about how much I’d hated the outdoors because they’d loved it so much.

I think Connor was even living in the wilderness now or something. Like a vagabond who hiked mountains and lived off the land. He’d moved out of the city a few years ago, but he and my brother got together whenever he was in town. They might be best friends, but we’d never gotten along. I steered clear when Connor was around.

Whatever. They’d both said I couldn’t do this as a kid, but I was a strong, independent woman now. I was going to crush this.

Right?

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