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"Nothing happened. I'm fine. How about I promise not to hike at night anymore and pay the camping fee? How much is it?"
He turns his attention back to his notepad. "Twenty dollars. But—"
"Twenty dollars?" I squawk. I barely remember the days when I could have pulled out a twenty and not even think about it. At the moment, twenty dollars means I won't be able to eat this week. Actually, at this point, it's possible I'll overdraft my paltry checking account. I've been a good saver, but two months of no income has rendered me practically penniless. "Twenty dollars for a ten-by-ten square of dirt in the middle of the forest? Do I get turn down service and a mint on my pillow?"
"No. What's your name and address?"
"Ima. That's I M A. Broke. Fifteen never going to pay—"
The misanthrope huffs out an exhausted sounding sigh. "Fine. You want to do this the hard way? I'll hike down and get your license plate number."
I cross my arms over my chest and glare at him, but my throat is tight and I feel like I might be having a heart attack. How did I get here? I love our national park system. They deserve my twenty bucks. They need it. I just can't afford it.
I'm sad and scared and feeling like a pathetic loser, which is why I triple down on acting like an entitled brat. "Good luck with that, buddy. I don't know who you think you are—"
"I'm a forest ranger." His brows and lips twitch like I'm pissing him off when he's the guy who didn't tell me that from the outset.
I stare at him. "I don't see a badge or a uniform or any—"
He pulls an ID from his secret pocket and flashes it at me. I have no idea how to tell if it's real or not, but it sure looks legit.
"Fine," I say. "Go ahead and hike on down that hill and get my license plate number. I'm not telling you my name."
He stares me down, and something around his eyes eases just the tiniest bit. He's got pretty eyes, hazel with sparks of emerald green. "You don't have a car down there, do you? Where'd you park?"
I imitate his earlier huff of irritation. "Like I'm going to tell you."
His smile is not friendly or comforting. In fact, he looks more like a feral wolf baring his teeth. "Guess I'll just have to stick close until you show me where it is."
Nervousness lowers to my gut and my early morning hunger turns acidic. "You're going to follow me around all day over twenty dollars?"
He shrugs. "Today's my day off. I've got nothing better to do."
I look him up and down. "Why does that not surprise me?"
He is completely unfazed. Now that he's standing so close and I'm not terrified he's a serial killer, I can appreciate that he's got more muscle than I'd first realized and some very nice forearms. Without the unattractive scowl, he might almost be good looking.
"Ugh," I growl at myself.What's next, Dani? You going to ask him to smile?
"You alright?" he asks. "Feeling sick?"
"I'm fine. I'm just going to mosey on into the woods and use the facilities."
"Not unless you have a shovel with you."
"I'm not going to take a shit in the woods." An odd urge to giggle bubbles up. "I just need to pee. Is that illegal, too?"
He crosses his arms over his chest and glares, those green flecks in his eyes darkening. "If you haven't paid for the campsite, it is."
I really do need to pee, but I'd actually been hoping to sneak off after my pee break and run home. If he won't let me pee, there is no way I'm going to win this standoff.
In fact, just thinking about not being able to pee until I'm able to lose this guy has me pressing my thighs tight together. "That can't be a real thing. Hikers pee in the woods all the time."
His jaw sets and twitches like he might be grinding his teeth. "Fine. You have to be at least one hundred feet from this campsite and you need to make noise so I know you haven't run off."
"Seriously? Y'all must really need my twenty dollars." Is this guy for real? I kneel and start rolling up my sleeping bag.
"Leave it," he says, all gruff and intimidating.
