The Forest Ranger's Rescue. Leigh Bale

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       Chapter Three

      “Ida, can you get me the rest of the receivables, please?” Jill called to the front-office manager as she closed yet another file of invoices.

      Sitting inside the shabby office at Russell Sawmill, Jill glanced up at the rustic accommodations. A main reception room with a front counter built by her father over twenty years earlier partitioned several old, metal flight desks where the clerical staff performed their daily work. Ida and another clerk occupied this domain, with Jill sitting in the far back corner. Alan had moved into Dad’s office. Frank Casewell, the new mill manager Alan had hired shortly after Dad’s death, inhabited the second office. The building also included a large conference room with a long, scarred table for meetings.

      Sunlight fought its way through the coating of grime and sawdust on the windows. Jill made a mental note to clean them tomorrow morning. The threadbare carpet needed to be replaced, too. It was a pity Alan hadn’t renovated the office when he’d decided to spend two million dollars buying new technology for the mill.

      And that was another problem. Alan had over-extended them in debt.

      Ida handed Jill several files of invoices, her brows furrowed with concern. At the age of forty-seven, Ida was a proficient worker who had been at the mill for over fifteen years. She knew the accounts receivable like the back of her hand. The payables, too. And the latest OSHA regulations from the US Department of Labor.

      “We’re too far in debt, aren’t we?” the matronly woman whispered low, for Jill’s ears alone. She cast a surreptitious glance over her plump shoulder at Karen, the pretty part-time clerk, who was busy answering phones.

      “I’m afraid so.” It did no good to pretend. Not with Ida. She was smart and capable and had long ago proven she could keep a confidence.

      Jill released a pensive sigh and pasted a smile on her face. “But we’ve been through rougher times than this.”

      At least, Jill thought they had.

      “I don’t know when,” Ida said.

      Jill’s heart plunged. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear right now. Especially from someone she trusted. Having her fears voiced out loud made her entire body quake.

      Ida patted Jill’s shoulder with reassurance. “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this.”

      That helped a teensy bit, but Jill hoped Ida was right. Until he’d died of a heart attack, Dad had always shielded his family from the careworn worries of the mill. Jill didn’t want to alarm her mother or the mill employees, for fear more gossip might spread. In this rotten economy, everyone naturally assumed the mill was struggling, but Jill didn’t want to confirm their doubts.

      Jill rifled through a packet of overdue invoices. New flexible band saws, conveyors, scanners, lasers and even a bar-coding system to track inventory. Great for output, but very expensive. The mill was bringing in just enough to meet both the payroll and their monthly bills. They sure didn’t need a timber theft accusation to top everything off.

      Two huge logging trucks lumbered past the windows. Jill whipped her head around to look. From her vantage point, she saw Alan pop up from his desk and saunter out to the front reception area.

      “It’s sure good to have you back, sis.” He leaned against the doorjamb and smiled, a jagged thatch of hair falling across his high forehead.

      Jill’s heart squeezed. No matter how old or tall he got, Alan was still her kid brother and she loved him so much. “It’s good to be home.”

      And she meant it. It felt good to help in some small way.

      “A new load just came in. Guess I better get out there to count it.” Alan gestured toward the door.

      “Don’t forget this.” Ida handed him his cell phone.

      A reminder that he was on call 24/7. Dad had refused to carry a cell, preferring a clunky black radio they called the brick. He’d resisted new technology like the plague. But even without a cell phone, he’d always been at the right place at the right time, seeming to know instinctively what everyone needed from him. And Jill missed him now more than ever.

      “Thanks.” With a quick grin, Alan tucked the phone into his pocket, scooped up his yellow hard hat, and left the office.

      Karen’s admiring gaze followed after him like a love-struck schoolgirl and Jill smiled with amusement.

      She tried to tell herself everything was going to be fine, but she was worried. The financials didn’t look good and an ugly question kept pounding her brain. Had Alan become desperate enough for money that he’d stooped to stealing timber?

      Jill had to find out the truth, and fast.

      Forty minutes later, she was waiting for her brother when he returned. She gestured toward his office and he headed that way.

      “Ida, we don’t want to be disturbed for a while,” he told the СКАЧАТЬ