Page 87 of Capture the Moment
“Man, Dad,” Frankie said, “I’ve been hearing about Wade Schmidt from you for as long as I can remember, but he was always one step ahead of the law. Then,bam!The trap was sprung, and he fell right into it.”
This was too much! Maisie couldn’t help herself. She popped up and peered over the garbage bin. “Tell him about Kate! About the marriage proposal! About me!”
Frankie spun around, eyes wide. “I’ll call you later, Dad. I gotta go.” Frowning, he walked over to the garbage bin. “Aww, Maisie, are you going all Nancy Drew on me? Seriously lame. Haven’t I told you that you need to get your cool on?”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Maisie came around to the front to meet him. “Not at first. I didn’t want to interrupt your call ... and then, listening was so much fun.” She grinned. “Frankie, you called your dad to tell him all about the capture of Wade Schmidt!”
She watched in surprise as his face first turned pink, thenbright red. He started scuffing his boots uncomfortably. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he muttered, trying to recover his typical aloofness, but she knew better.
“I bet your dad must’ve been thrilled to hear about it from you first. Pops said it’s going to make national news. Bet you’ll get your name mentioned.”
Frankie rolled his eyes but couldn’t suppress a small smirk. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“It was a big deal! The whole thing was a big, huge deal!” Maisie bounced on her toes, undeterred by Frankie’s attempt to downplay the situation. “A big-time poacher caught in a trap set by a miniature-sized chief ranger. And then Kate and I, we helped too.”
Frankie scoffed. “You helped?”
Maisie placed her hands on her hips. “The whistle.Thatwas a game changer.”
He grew serious. “Maisie, you could’ve been lunch for a very hungry bear.”
At first, she thought he was making fun of her, like he usually did. But when she looked up at him, concern covered his face. It almost made Maisie think that he’d been worried about her. The thought filled her with happiness, from her toes to her nose.
“Why’d you leave the truck, anyway?”
Maisie’s happiness dimmed. “Well, um, because I needed a private moment in nature.”
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion at first, but then a chuckle burst out. Soon, it turned into a full-blown laugh. He laughed so hard that he doubled over, guffawing until he was out of breath.
And just like that, the sweet moment between them was over.
Tim waited in his office until he knew Sally had returned to headquarters after providing formal statements at the JacksonPolice Department. Then he waited a while longer. Finally, he made himself go to her office, but he hesitated for a long moment before knocking on the door. He poked his head around the threshold, bracing himself, confident he wouldn’t receive a warm welcome.
Sally barely spared him a glance. “Not now, Tim,” she said, her tone curt. “I have a lot of work to catch up on.”
“This won’t take long. I’d like to explain a few things.” Taking a deep breath, Tim stepped farther into her office. “Sally, I owe you an apology.”
She leaned back in her chair, her expression guarded. “Go on.”
“I knew something was going on with you, but I didn’t have any idea what—until I saw that picture.”
“What picture?”
“Kate Cunningham, the photographer—”
Sally squinted. “Who?”
“The Zoo Girl.”
“The same woman who was up at Pilgrim Creek today?”
“Yeah, her. She was at Willow Flats when you and that tall Yellowstone—”
“Tony Feldmann. Frontman for Wade Schmidt.”
“Right. The Zoo Girl took some pictures, and you and Tony Feldmann were in the background. You had a rifle.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “That Zoo Girl really gets herself into tight spots with bears.”
