“Jeez, I get poison oak once, and now I’m an idiot. Of course I know not to eat random mushrooms in the woods. ”
“Just gotta make sure. ” He spotted a jagged ridge of poison oak growing along the creek, and he pointed that out, too. “There, there’s some more. Do you see it? Three leaves—”
“You can stop pointing it out to me,” she said after he’d drawn attention to it for the fifth time. “I promise you, I’ll never forget it again. ”
“Hey”—he took her shoulders and aimed her toward his favorite spot—“here we are. ” He could’ve just told her where to look, but he couldn’t resist touching her. “Look up and tell me what you see. ”
She glanced back at him over her shoulder to shoot him an impatient glare. “I see a dead tree. ”
It was skeletal, an old beech he guessed, leafless even in the heat of summer. But it wasn’t completely dead. “Look closer. ”
She fidgeted under his touch. “This is your favorite spot?”
Rather than reply, he simply hugged in closer from behind her and pointed his finger slowly up the trunk, stopping when he reached an old, rotted hole. A tiny patch of brown and white was barely visible through the cracking bark—it was feathers, from which a black beady eye watched them.
He felt the moment she saw it.
She blurted, “An owl!”
The creature flinched and its head swiveled, and that black beady eye twitched and disappeared. “Shh,” he told her, even though he was chuckling himself. “It’s a whole nest of them. A mama with her hatchlings. ”
“Not bad, Jessup. ” She looked impressed, if a bit startled.
“A forest-ranger brother is good for something. ” He shrugged, watching the spot for more movement. “He’s the one who taught me how to look. They nest in these old trees—they like the cracks and crevices. ”
“They? Are there more?” She relaxed into him—it was just the slightest bit, but he felt the impact like a Mack truck.
“Look. ” He leaned closer again, and this time she didn’t stiffen at his touch. “There and there. ” He pointed and pointed again. “I’ve counted three nests total, but there are probably more up high. ”
“There are three mama owls in this tree?”
“Nah, those other nests must be old. They were probably abandoned a while ago. ”
As she gazed up at that owl, leaning into his chest, Eddie wondered what she would do if he simply stroked down those bare arms, taking her hands in his. He risked hugging her a tiny bit closer.
As he held Laura like that, a great peace swept through him. It was an amazing life he led here in the mountains—such simplicity, but such majesty, too. Someday he’d find a woman to share it with. He knew a terrific pang of loss that it likely wouldn’t be this woman.
“You know,” he said quietly, “they’re monogamous. ”
“Huh?” Her voice was quiet, muzzy. She was as transfixed by this magical moment as he was.
Why couldn’t it be Laura? Maybe she was the woman for him. Hell, he’d been crushing on her since puberty—maybe he’d been right all along.
“Owls,” he said, hugging her just a little tighter. And then he dared even further. He did what he’d been longing to do. He swept his hands down her smooth arms, cupping her hands gently in his. “Scott told me they take only one partner for life. ”
She pulled away, looking annoyed. “Unlike some people I know. ”
Inside, he cursed. He’d gone too far. But he was sick of her ridiculous assumptions about him. “You think you know me. ”
“No, Eddie. I know I know you. ”
“Do tell. ” He tried to be nonchalant, but his voice was tight.
“You’re like every other guy. ” She shouldered past him, headed out of the trees.
He’d been having fun, letting Laura think what she liked about him, but now something had changed. Maybe it was those little lacy pink straps that’d done it, but he figured it was time to show her who he really was. “Why? Because I like a pretty girl?”
“Because you’d make a move on anything in a skirt. And on your own job site, no less. ”