Page 30 of Trapped with the Forest Ranger (Angel’s Peak #5)

His arms encircle me, his chin resting on my shoulder as we gaze together at the panorama before us. "I wanted to mark this year properly. Everything changed when you showed up at my door."

"For the better?" I lean into his embrace, still occasionally needing reassurance that this settled life hasn't diminished him as my traveling one hasn't diminished me.

"Beyond better." His hand splays protectively over our growing child. "I never imagined adding a third ranger to our station quite so soon."

"Ranger?" I twist to see his face. "I thought we were raising a wildlife photographer."

"Clearly both." The compromise comes easily, part of our ongoing playful negotiation about our child's future. "A photographing ranger. Or a ranging photographer."

"We have time to figure it out." I settle against him, contentment seeping through me like the warm spring sunshine. "Though we should probably figure out an actual name before 'Junior' sticks permanently."

"I've been thinking about that." His voice carries the careful consideration he brings to all important matters. "What about Aspen for a girl? Or River for a boy?"

"Nature names." I smile, unsurprised by his preference. "I like them."

"And Kim or James as middle names." He offers this more hesitantly. "After your father and..."

"After two people who loved this wilderness and taught us to see it clearly." I cover his hand with mine, deeply touched by the suggestion. "Perfect."

A shadow passes overhead—large, distinctive in its soaring pattern. We both look up, recognizing the golden eagle that has become so familiar over the past year, its territory encompassing the ridge where we sit.

"Still here." Pride colors Caleb's voice. "The anti-poaching initiatives are working."

"The educational programs help too." I raise my camera instinctively, capturing the magnificent bird against the limitless blue. "Hard to harm what you've learned to love."

We've both found what we needed in this unexpected partnership—for me, a home that doesn't constrain but anchors, allowing my work to gain depth through sustained observation; for Caleb, connection that enhances rather than threatens his devotion to this wilderness, his purpose expanded by sharing it with others.

"I've been thinking." I lower my camera, turning to face him fully. "After the baby comes, once we're settled into a routine... what would you think about expanding the documentation project?"

His eyebrow raises in silent question.

"The Yellowstone ecosystem faces similar pressures.

They're looking for a comprehensive visual record combined with community education.

" Excitement builds as I outline the idea that's been forming for months.

"Three weeks there, maybe four times a year.

You could develop conservation workshops for their rangers, and I could extend the documentation methodology we've created here.

We could take the baby, start their education early. "

Rather than hesitation, his face shows thoughtful consideration. "Family field research."

"Exactly." I watch his expression, seeing not reluctance but practical assessment. "We'd maintain a home base here, but expand our impact."

"Our next adventure." His smile confirms what I already knew—that the man who once feared connection now embraces it as strengthening rather than limiting. "I like it."

As the sun descends toward distant peaks, we gather our things, preparing for the return journey.

Caleb carefully repacks the precious book, helping me rise from our stone seat with gentle hands.

The trail ahead leads back to our expanded cabin, the nursery awaiting its occupant, and the life we've built from storm and circumstance.

At the overlook's edge, we pause for one final look at the wilderness that brought us together—not through random chance, as I once believed, but through parallel devotion to something larger than ourselves.

The golden eagle circles once more before disappearing beyond the ridge, returning to its mate and growing young.

"Ready?" Caleb's hand finds mine, warm and solid and real.

"Ready." I lace my fingers through his, certainty flowing through me.

Tomorrow brings a doctor's appointment in town, then a school presentation, and then continued work on documentation that may help preserve this landscape beyond our lifetimes.

Next month brings our child, and next year, perhaps new territories to explore together.

The path ahead holds challenges alongside joy, compromise alongside adventure.

Standing at the threshold between wilderness and home, between past and future, our child moves between us—a decisive kick that makes us both laugh. Caleb's arms wrap around me as our child kicks between us.

After a lifetime of capturing moments, I've finally found the one I want to live in forever.

Love the heat in Angel’s Peak?

If you’re enjoying all the steamy, small-town instalove stories this mountain town has to offer, you’re going to fall hard for Snowbound with the Vineyard Owner .

This next swoon-worthy romance serves up spice, sweetness, and a hero who knows exactly what he wants— her .

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When a blizzard traps a high-powered sommelier with a brooding mountain winemaker, sparks fly hotter than mulled wine by the fire

Elena Santiago's career is hanging by a thread after her ex stole credit for her work.

Her last chance? Securing exclusive rights to Colorado's most elusive vineyard.

But when a snowstorm sends her car sliding off a mountain road, she finds herself stranded with Dominic Mercer—the reclusive vintner she came to woo.

Dominic has spent five years hiding on his mountain, crafting extraordinary wines while nursing wounds from a tragic fire that destroyed everything.

The last thing he needs is a sharp-tongued California critic invading his sanctuary...

especially one whose midnight-dark eyes see straight through his carefully constructed walls.

Trapped together in his remote vineyard, professional boundaries blur as fast as the snow falls.

Elena's expertise challenges everything Dominic thought he knew about wine, while his passionate intensity awakens desires she's kept buried beneath ambition.

But with only one bed and three days until rescue, their enemies-to-lovers dance becomes impossible to resist.

When the roads clear, will Elena choose the career that's betrayed her... or the mountain man who's stolen her heart?