“It is beautiful.” She looked out over the layers of mountains, where the sun was hanging low. “I can’t thank you enough, both of you.” She glanced over to where her husband was already yelling at the boys to get busy and gather some firewood. “You saved my husband’s life.”

“He looked in pretty good shape, actually,” Cal commented.

“No. I was going to kill him in his sleep.” She smiled as she eased the pack from her back. “Now I won’t have to, at least for a couple of days.”

Jovial, Jim walked back to give his wife a hug. She winced as he squeezed tender muscles. “I tell you, Suze, a man can really breathe up here.”

“For the time being,” Susie murmured.

“Not like Philadelphia, bless it. Why don’t you two stay for supper? Nothing like eating under the sky.”

“You’re very welcome to,” Susie added. “On tonight’s menu are the ever-popular beans, with the addition of hot dogs if the cold pack worked, and for dessert some delicious dehydrated apricots.”

“Sounds great.” And part of him was tempted to stay, just to sit and listen. He thought the Rankin family as entertaining as any daytime drama. “But we’ve got to get back.”

Libby offered her hand to Susie and added a sympathetic pat. “If you follow the trail to the right it’ll take you back to Big Vista. It’s a long hike, but a pretty one.” And one that would take them in the opposite direction from the ship.

“Can’t thank you enough.” Jim dug into his backpack and pulled out a business card. The gesture had Libby smothering a chuckle. You could take a boy out of the smog, but . . . “Give me a ring when you get back, Hornblower. I’m sales manager at Bison Motors. Cut you and the little woman a good deal, new or used.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” They climbed back into the Land Rover, offered a wave, then left the Rankins behind. “New or used what?” Cal asked Libby.

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Cal thought quite a bit about the Rankins. He had asked Libby if they were an average American family. Her response had been amused. If there was such a phenomenon, she’d told him, they probably fit it.

They interested him perhaps because he saw several parallels between them and his own family. His father, though no one would ever have confused him with big, beaming Jim Rankin, had always had a love of nature, unspoiled land and family trips. Like the other boys, Cal and Jacob had spent a good deal of time sulking, whining and rolling their eyes. And when the chips were down and the limit was reached, it had always been Cal’s mother who had laid down the law.

Families, it seemed, were consistent over time. It was a comforting thought.