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Ocean of Fear, Faith in the Parks, Book 3

By J. Carol Nemeth

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Cape Hatteras, NC
Present Day
Chapter One

Now, look at that guy,” Bethany Rogers elbowed Ruth Campbell lightly on the hip as Ruth stood beside the younger girl’s high stool. “He’s just flat drop-dead gorgeous.”
Ruth bent over and glanced out the tiny ticket window as a tall young man walked past, hands loosely tucked into the pockets of his blue jeans. A shabby denim ball cap covered his dark brown hair but it couldn’t hide his ruggedly handsome features. His navy blue hoodie jacket only enhanced his physic and certainly did nothing to cover it up. Ruth dropped her gaze back to the cash drawer and slammed it shut.
“You are incorrigible, Beth,” she sighed. “Is that all you ever think about? Guys?”
“Well, yeah. And food.” The eighteen-year-old volunteer shoved her long brown hair behind her ears and turned a cheeky smile on Ruth. “He was pretty good looking, huh? Even you have to admit that.”
“No, I don’t. I barely saw him.” Ok, so maybe that wasn’t a hundred percent accurate, but it didn’t really matter. He was a tourist and would be vacating the premises shortly. A quick tour of the lighthouse and the keeper’s quarters. A stroll around the grounds. Then voila’. He’d be on his way. No more tourist. And certainly no one to turn her head about.
Beth scrunched her nose and furrowed her brow. “Ruth, you’re such a spoil sport, you know that?”
Ruth chuckled and put on her NPS “Smokey-Bear” hat. “Sorry. Anyway, I have to head up to the gift shop to drop off the cash bag. Then I’m heading out to make my rounds.”
“Searching for nests already? But it’s late April.”
“That’s right, sweetie. It’s perfect piping plover nesting time,” Ruth laughed. “Now say that three times fast.”
Beth rolled her eyes and shook her head with a touch of disgust. “Biologists.”
Ruth laughed again and opened the door on the side of the little ticket building. “I’ll see you later, Beth. Stay out of trouble, okay. I know that’s a challenge for you but at least try.”
“Hey, what’s life without a little fun?” At Ruth’s stern look, the younger woman lifted her hands in defense. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay out of trouble, but I won’t stop trying to get you to have some fun.”
Ruth closed the door on Beth’s words, ignoring them. Or attempting to. Beth was always telling her she was a boring person and needed to lighten up. The younger woman told her she lived the life of a nerd and that she needed to have some fun every now and then, but Ruth preferred to let things stay as they were. She loved her job as biologist and natural history interpreter. Sharing her love of nature with visitors to Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras National Seashore was the dream of a lifetime. What more could she want?
She walked up the path to the gift shop and through the double glass doors.
“Hi, Naysa.” Ruth greeted the sixtyish woman in a volunteer uniform behind the cash register. “Here’s the cash bag from the ticket booth. Not many visitors this afternoon. But then, I guess that’s to be expected. It is late April.”
“Oh, sure.” Naysa Withem shoved her glasses up and waved a hand in dismissal. “Things won’t really pick up until mid-May. Not till the kids start getting out of school anyway. Maybe even into June, you know.”
Ruth nodded, her honey-colored ponytail bouncing beneath the back brim of her hat. “Yeah, I know. I’ll see you later, Naysa. I’m heading home after my rounds. You have a good evening. Tell Mike I said hi, will you?”
“Sure will. Checking on your nests?”
“Yeah. I hope to find at least a couple being built. They’re getting harder to spot, I’m afraid.”
Naysa cast a sympathetic gaze as she leaned on the counter. “Well, be careful out there, sweetie, and have yourself a good evening.”
Ruth stepped outside the gift shop and tucked her head, zipping up her uniform jacket. As she looked up and took a step, she slammed right into someone, jamming her “Smokey-Bear” hat down over her eyes.
Hands clasped her upper arms and held her away, then lifted the brim of her hat. A pair of concerned steel-blue eyes gazed down at her from a ruggedly handsome face beneath a shabby denim ball cap that covered dark brown hair. It was Beth’s drop-dead gorgeous guy.
Ruth gasped and stepped back
“Are you okay?” the guy’s deep voice rumbled. His gaze roved over her face then settled between her eyes. “Looks like your hat left a mark on the bridge of your nose. Mostly just a scratch, I think.”
Ruth removed her hat and ran her finger across the bridge of her nose. It stung a little but she didn’t really feel anything there. She placed the hat back on her head, and barely met his gaze as she spoke. “Thanks. Sorry, I…I wasn’t looking where I was going. Have a good day.”
She ducked her head and started to walk away.
The man caught her arm. “Hey, no it was my fault. Can I buy you a cup of coffee to say I’m sorry?”
Ruth jerked her arm away and stepped back, panic squeezing her insides. No, now was not the time. He was just a park visitor. Nothing more. He didn’t mean anything by it. She attempted to tamp down the feelings that threatened to wash over her and plastered as close to a smile as she could muster onto her face.
“Thanks, but no, I have to get back to work.” She tossed a stilted wave and hurried away before he could stop her again.
~
For such a beautiful woman, she sure was acting strangely. Gage Hampton watched as the woman’s honey-blond ponytail swung back and forth as she hurried away. Hurried? She was almost running away. Was it something he’d said? Thinking back over their brief conversation, he couldn’t think of a thing that should have made her wary of him. She was wearing the National Park Service uniform so he’d be working with her come Monday morning. Interesting.
Gage strolled toward his car, climbed in and drove to the beach parking lot. He’d been in Buxton for a few days and had settled into a townhouse on the beach. Today he’d driven over to the lighthouse to walk around before starting work on Monday. He’d walk up the spiral painted beacon another day. For now, he just wanted to get a feel for the grounds and the lay of the land.
He parked his car in the beach parking lot and strolled over the sand toward the ocean. Wow, what a view. He watched as the white-capped waves rolled toward the shore. As the new NPS park police officer on Hatteras Island, he had a lot to learn, especially after his last job. This was quite a contrast from the Grand Canyon where he’d worked as a park police officer.
Ramming his hands into his jean pockets, he shook his head. This would take some getting used to. From dry desert canyons to the Atlantic Ocean? Oh yeah.
~
Ruth strolled slowly down the beach, her binoculars hanging from her neck and her clipboard under her arm. She tried to get the face of the young man at the gift shop out of her mind. He’d raised a profusion of feelings within her. Panic, fear, wariness, attraction. Attraction? Nope. That was impossible.
Yanking up her binoculars, she scanned the sandy beach along the vegetation line then several feet out. Time to focus on what she was here to do. Find nests of the piping plovers, those sweet little light-sand-plumed birds with bright orange legs that dashed about the beaches. At least when you could spot them. It was becoming harder and harder to find them.
Standing still she scanned down the south side, then turning, scanned the north end of the beach. Wait. Ahh, yes. Success. She spotted a pair of orange legs moving near the vegetation. Marking it with a landmark, she moved slowly in that direction. When she was about thirty feet away, she zeroed in with her binoculars again and watched as not only one, but a pair of piping plovers worked in unison to build a nest.
Excitement stirred in Ruth’s middle. She would do everything she could to see that this couple were undisturbed and the family grew to maturity.
“Finding anything interesting in your sights?” a male voice spoke from a few feet behind her.
Ruth’s heart leapt into her throat even as butterflies took flight in her stomach. Without turning around, she knew it was the man from the gift shop. Had he followed her here on purpose? Panic threatened to overwhelm her. No, just stop and turn around. Face him and see what he wants. He’s a visitor who has every right to be on this beach.
Swallowing hard, Ruth dropped the binoculars to her chest and slowly turned. As much as she didn’t want to meet his gaze she had to in order to assess the situation.
His steel-blue eyes held a benign smile, his lips curved in a grin. “Did you find something interesting? You were searching for quite a while there.”
Ruth glanced back up the beach toward the plover nest. “Umm, actually, yes. I’m doing a study on the piping plovers on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and I spotted a pair.”
The man’s eyebrows rose quizzically. “Really? And is that unusual? The tone of your voice sort of indicates it might be.”
Ruth nodded. “Unfortunately, it is. The piping plover is a threatened species.”
“Threatened?” His brow furrowed.
“Yes. All along the Atlantic coastline of the US and Canada. They’re not quite endangered but heading in that direction.”
The man’s face twisted into a thoughtful expression, his hands propping on his hips. “What would cause that?”
“Oh, a variety of reasons, people being at the top of the list.” Ruth reached up to adjust her hat as a gust of ocean wind threatened to unseat it. “Nests get accidentally stepped on or crushed by people or vehicles on the beach. The very presence of people can cause the birds to desert their nests, then predators or the hot sun take a toll on eggs or chicks. Then there are various recreational, residential and commercial developments that contribute to their endangerment. I could go on. Their numbers will continue to dwindle if we don’t do something about it.”
“I see. And that’s what you’re doing?” He tilted his head in her direction.
“Well, I’m trying to do my part.”
“So, what is your job here?”
Ruth clasped her clipboard to her chest like a barrier between them. “I’m a biologist and one of the natural history interpreters here at the seashore. But I really should be going now.”
Giving him a wide berth, she hurried around him.
“I know, you have to get back to work, right?”
Ruth heard a note of humor in the man’s voice and without understanding why, she stopped and turned back to him, so out of character for her. “Yes, actually, I do. But…I hope you enjoy your stay here at Cape Hatteras.”
The man looked out at the ocean with a thoughtful expression then he turned his gaze back to Ruth. A grin lit his handsome face. “Thank you. I believe I will.”

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