or do you want me to come down?”
“I’ll come up. Let me get Smudge sorted out first. How are the eagles?”
“Good. All seems to be well.”
“Excellent. I’ll be right back.” He clicked his tongue and guided Smudge around the tree and over toward her campsite. After walking the horse around the campsite awhile, Luke dismounted.
He’d come prepared for the duration, with supplies in two bulging saddlebags. Unsaddling Smudge, he put the saddle, blanket and bags over by Naomi’s tent. “Welcome to your home away from home, Smudge.” He replaced the horse’s bridle with a halter and led him down to the stream for a drink.
His promise to “be right back” might have been overly optimistic. Returning to the campsite, he tied Smudge to a tree while he found a good grazing area near the tent. Then he pulled a ground stake out of a saddlebag, along with a mallet, and planted the stake. Finally he transferred Smudge’s lead rope from the tree to the stake.
That should take care of the horse until tonight, but he understood why Naomi chose to hike out here instead of riding. A horse was one more thing to deal with. Still, he had limited time to be with her, and even with these few chores, he’d saved valuable minutes by riding instead of hiking.
After scratching Smudge’s neck and giving him a handful of carrots from his pocket, Luke walked down the path Naomi’s hiking boots had created during her many treks. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this excited about being with a woman.
He could easily guess why that was. Her interest in wildlife indicated that she was as interested in adventure and exploration as he was. At least she was now. He cautioned himself not to make assumptions of how she’d be in the future.
But he didn’t care about the future. At this moment he had the green light to spend quality time with a woman who studied eagles. That would make everything more exciting, including the sex. He had condoms in his saddlebags and in his pocket. Life was good.
He’d look at the eagles first, because he really was interested in them, and because if he didn’t look at them first, he might never get around to it. After he’d checked out the eagles, he intended to kiss Naomi until they both couldn’t see straight. That dramatic race over here had made him feel like a conquering hero.
“Coming up!” He climbed the ladder and thought of Rapunzel. Naomi was also a blonde, but he appreciated being able to use a ladder instead of her braided hair to reach her tower.
“Hurry!” she said.
“Why?” He hoped it was because she couldn’t wait to feel his hands on her.
“Both parents are there for feeding time! It’s like a family portrait.”
Luke smiled. She really dug those eagles, and he liked that about her. Any woman who was passionate about one thing had the capacity to be passionate about other things, too. He’d sensed that about Naomi from the beginning.
Once he reached the platform, he was struck again by the spectacular view. This platform would be an awesome place to watch the sunset. He’d keep that in mind for later.
She glanced over at him, her color high. “Here.” She took off her binoculars. “Take a look.”
“Thanks.” He accepted the binoculars, but he couldn’t resist cupping the back of her head and giving her a quick kiss. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She sounded breathless.
That was good. She would be even more breathless before long. Adrenaline rushed through his veins. Eagles and a hot woman. What could be better than that?
“I think the nestlings have grown a little.” She came to stand next to him. “Tell me what you think.”
With her standing so close and radiating warmth and the tantalizing scent of arousal, he couldn’t think very well at all. But he made a valiant attempt. Lifting the binoculars, he focused on the nest.
To his surprise, he did notice a difference, even if it was slight. “They’re growing, especially the bully. Look at that little sucker, shoving the other one out of the way. C’mon, you. Let the little one have some food.”
She chuckled. “So you root for the underdog?”
“Doesn’t everybody?” Between having her right beside him and the incredible view of the eagles, he was on sensory overload.
“Humans often do. We’re at the top of the food chain, so we can afford to worry about the weak link. Wild animals don’t always have that luxury.”
“Good point.” Luke desperately wanted to slide one arm around her and pull her close, but he knew what that would lead to. Once he touched her, there would be no eagle watching going on.
“Most of the time they’re focused on survival.” Naomi sighed. “They’re so vulnerable.”
“You mean the babies?”
“And the parents.”
He focused on the sharp beaks and strong talons of the male and female eagles. “They look so powerful.”
“I know. But all it takes is a shortage of food, or a car windshield, or an electrical wire, or a gun. We nearly wiped them out.”
“Thank God we didn’t. Now people are into watching them instead of shooting them.”
“Which means I’m employed. That reminds me that I need to make some notes. Can you keep track of the feeding session and report what’s happening while I type?”
“Sure.” He missed her warmth the second she moved away to sit at her folding table, but he couldn’t forget that she had a job to do. That’s why he’d planned to stay overnight. She wouldn’t be watching the eagles once darkness fell.
He hoped she’d go along with the plan. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if he should have checked with her first. They’d been hot for each other last night, and he was still burning, but she might have cooled down since then.
Well, he’d find out soon enough. In the meantime, he’d act as her research assistant, which wasn’t a bad deal. In fact, he considered it a privilege to be involved, even a little bit, in her work.
“After they leave the nest, will you have any way of tracking what happens to them?”
The steady click of the keys stopped for a moment. “No. I won’t be banding them. It’s too invasive.”
“I agree.” He went back to describing the movements of the eagles, and she continued to type.
Then she paused again. “I take it you got the afternoon off?”
“Yes, I did. Okay, it looks like the father is getting ready to leave the nest.”
She started typing again. “When do you have to go back?” The keys clicked rhythmically.
“Tomorrow morning.”
Her typing came to an abrupt halt.
Although
