Eagle's Destiny (4 page)

I nodded, “
S
he said you were out shooting animals.”

Michael burst out laughing, “Oh Elizabeth,” he shook his head back and forth.

“What?  You don’t shoot animals and then take their picture?  Tammy distinctly asked me if I wanted to see pictures of the animals you shot.”  I said with conviction in my voice.  If Michael was a hunter that was his own business but I certainly didn’t have to condone his hobby.

“No, I mean, yes, I’m a photographer, but I don’t kill animals.  They are usually very much alive when I take their picture and they are very much alive when I leave them.  I’m a wildlife photographer.”  He continued to chuckle.

“Oh.”  I said simply.  How did this misunderstanding happen? 
G
reat, now he probably thought I was crazy.

“I’m going to have to tell Tammy to be careful in the future when she’s describing my profession.”

“Don’t you dare!”  I looked at him with a spark in my eye, “Not everyone needs to know how stupid I am.  It’s plenty with just you.”

“Okay, I promise,” he held up one hand laughing, “I won’t tell anyone.  It will be our secret.”  He grinned at me.  “Better?”

I
grinned
too, “
W
ell okay.  I guess it was funny.  I’m glad you don’t hunt though, you don’t do you?”  Oh
!  Maybe
he was a hunter too.  Did I just insult him?

“No, I promise I don’t hunt.  I just take pictures.”  Michael held up both hands as if to surrender.

We pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot.  I took my bag from the back seat. 

“
Then
, I’d like to see your pictures sometime.  I’ll see you inside
.
I’m going to change clothes.”  I mentioned as we went inside the dark restaurant and I headed for the bathroom.

The bathroom was quiet and I glad to be alone for a few minutes.  Having Michael in my car made me feel electric.  I don’t know why, I hadn’t really been attracted to any men for so long I had gotten used to not feeling anything when I was around a man. 

I changed into my jeans and top.  Looking at myself objectively in the mirror,
I was
not too bad for 38
.
I had kept my figure,
but
I didn’t know how much longer
I would be able to get away with tank tops.  Loosening my
dark auburn
hair from the braid, I shook
it
out. 
It
was wavy and cu
rly from the braid.  After pulling a brush through, I
tucked my hair behind my ears and
let it lay down on my back. 
Wrinkling
my nose
at my reflection,
I
was still all legs.  Well, all legs and boobs.

As I bent over to stuff my uniform into my bag, two women I didn’t recognize walked into the restroom, “I told you he would be at the game
,
” the first woman through the door said
.

Her companion agreed, “Oh my god, he is so hot.  He’s got a totally gorgeous butt in his uniform.”

When they saw me, they stopped speaking immediately.  There was no need for me to guess who the subject of their conversation was, I grinned and zipped up my bag.  As I left the restroom, I could hear them continue their conversation in whispers.  Michael was definitely the center of attention in our little town.

The restaurant was crowded.  Debi waved me over to their section.  I looked around for Michael and noticed him surround
ed
by women.  He caught my eye and I raised my eyebrow and smiled.  Lewis called to me from the Karaoke stand, “Hey Elizabeth, do you feel lucky?”

I laughed, and yelled back, “Yeah that’s a good one!”

Debi handed me a glass of sangria as I sat down.  She whispered in my ear, “Looks like Michael already has a fan club.”

I nodded and whispered back, “
T
wo women were in the bathroom raving about his cute butt.”

“
Y
ou know what I say, if you’ve got it, bring it out!”  Debi laughed throwing her head back.

“Why didn’t you save him a seat?”  I asked seeing our already full table.

“
S
o now you’re interested?”  She said with a glint in her eye.

I looked back over my shoulder and noticed that Michael was chatting up the women around him.  He caught me looking at him and I quickly averted my eyes.  “Well we got some things straightened out in the car on the ride over.”

“Like how I maneuvered that one?”  Debi leaned over to Don, “I think Michael needs to be rescued from that group of women.”

Don looked over at Michael and laughed, “He doesn’t look like he needs to be rescued to me.”

“I think you need to get him and have him join us.”  She pushed at him.

Don looked at me
, “I
s this your idea?”

“Don’t look at me.”  I spread my hands out in innocence.  “I think I’m being called, my number is up.”

Lewis stood up on the stage, “She’s back!  Elizabeth feels lucky tonight,
let’s
give her a big hand.”

I made my way up to the stage, “Okay, here’s Mary-Chapin Carpenter’s,
“
I Feel Lucky
”
and I think we all feel lucky tonight!”

After hamming it, I made my way back to the group.  Sure enough, Debi managed to get Michael to our table.  As I sat down in between Debi and Michael, she leaned over and whispered, “You owe me.”

Michael stood up and scooted his chair over to make room for me.  I sat down squeezed in next to him.  I shook my head in disbelief at Debi and her maneuvering. 

The next karaoke singer started
and
Michael leaned in, “
Is e
verything okay?”

I looked at him, smiled, and nodded my head.  As I reached for my sangria my shoulder brushed against his chest, our close contact sent tingles through me.

“Great song,” he mouthed.

“Thanks.”  I mouthed back.

He laid his arm over the back of my chair.  His body leaned toward me.  Close enough to me I could smell his cologne.  I took a big gulp of my wine.  It wasn’t often a man made me feel petite, and Michael made me feel that way.  We sat so close I could feel the warmth from his body, was it the wine or him that made me feel so heady?

While the waitress passed by in between singers, we ordered tapas, salads, and
p
aella.  It had been quite a while since lunch.  I needed to eat now or I would end up collapsing and that would not be pretty.  Our food came out quickly.  All of us dug into the appetizers.  The couple who owned the restaurant made every effort to be as authentic as possible.  The tapas were all so flavorful, the cheeses, tortillas, olives, sausages, chicken, and br
ead were all delicious.
 

Michael matched our healthy appetites and complimented the food.  He mentioned that he had lived in Spain for several months working at the Rock of Gibraltar
’s
monkey sanctuary.  Debi, Angel, and I shared our memories of our girl’s trip to Spain. 
Our trip had been
shortly
before my marriage to Kevin eight years ago.  Kevin had been furious I had gone without him.  Just thinking about that made me smile again.

After the karaoke, Mr. Sanchez, the owner of the restaurant started playing flamenco guitar.  The sangria, the music, the food, and the company were making an incredible evening for us all.  We sighed heavily when we realized it was late and needed to make our way home.  None of us wanted the evening to end.

We walked out to our cars.  I did not wait for Michael to ask, I giggled, shaking the keys at him, “Can I give you a lift home?”

“Thanks I appreciate it.  I don’t want the wrath of Tammy if I interrupt her date.”  Michael had already picked up my bag in the restaurant and tossed it in the back seat.  “Would you like me to drive?”

“Why Michael,” I giggled again, “
d
o you think I’ve had too much Sangria?” 

The moment
I finished my sentence, Don walked up behind me and kissed me on the cheek, “Yes darling girl, the last thing we need is to have my
d
ad pull you over, we’d never hear the end of it.”  He took my car keys
out of my hand and tossed them to Michael.  “Get her home safely for me.”

Both Don and Michael chuckled together as they tucked me into the passenger seat.  They offered to help me with my seat belt, but I slapped their hands away. 

“Okay, I’m not that tipsy boys, I think I can buckle my own seat belt.”

Don waved goodnight to us, and I could see Angel and Debi waving at me from their car
s
as Michael backed out my car. 

“
T
hat was a fun evening,” I sighed and stretched on the seat. 

Stealing a glance over at him through my eyelashes, I almost stopped breathing again.  He was so big
and masculine
sitting in the driver’s seat next to me.

Michael took the road back through town.  We were both quiet as he drove. 
As
the highway
turned curvy
,
I held
tightly
to the
car
door handle. 

“Michael,
could you
slow down
?
  I think I’m going to be sick.” 

Dinner, drink, everything was at the back of my throat ready to make an appearance.
I rolled the window down
to
let the cool air hit my face.

He
looked over at me with concern, “Really?”  He
immediately
pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car.

  “Now I know why I drive home, and I don’t drink.  Yuck.” 

I opened the door
quickly
, and
hurried
away from the car.  Michael opened his door and he was next to me instantly. 

I put out my hand toward him to stop his approach, “Michael, I’m going to puke my guts up.  I don’t think you want to be around me.”

He didn’t answer. 
He
simply reached down and held my hair back for me.  Afterwards, he disappeared briefly and when he returned, he handed a bottle of water and a paper towel to me.  I was grateful to rinse my mouth
,
glad that he had water in his bag.  When I finished,
he
put his arm around me.  Leading me back
to the car
, he helped me into the seat. 

I leaned back
.  “I’m sorry.  This is so embarrassing.  You hardly know me.”

Michael looked at me closely, “
W
hy are you embarrassed?  You had a little too much fun tonight.  Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I sighed weakly, “drive slowly, okay?”

A few minutes later
he
pulled up
behind
his house and parked the car.  “You are coming in and I’m going to make you some tea.  It will quiet your stomach.”

There was no argument from me.  He helped me out of the car and we went into his house through the backdoor.  When I heard the piano playing, I guessed that Katy was home.  Michael showed me the guest bathroom and gave me a washcloth and towel.  I was impressed most men I knew did not have two towels that matched.  After splashing cool water on my face, I looked at myself in the mirror.  I was white in the face.  Oh boy, what a
beauty I was! 

I wanted to go home and crawl into bed with my
dogs
.  Michael was trying to be kind though and I would tough it out.  After about
ten
minutes there was a soft knock on the door, I was surprised when I heard Katy’s anxious voice on the other side of the door.  “Do you need some help Elizabeth?”

I cracked the door open slowly, “No,” I whispered, “I’m okay.”

She took my hand, and led me into the living room.  Katy had turned off most of the lights to the room and just one small lamp glowed by the couch.  “Dad’s making your tea,” she patted a couch pillow, “sit down, and get comfy. 
He
is good at making sour tummies feel better.”

I smiled halfheartedly up at her as I sank into the massive black leather couch.  Leaning my head back, the smell of leather enveloped me.  I closed my eyes.

Katy spoke again with a soft voice, “I’m going to take the dogs upstairs and go to bed.  Hope you feel better.”

I nodded and murmured a quiet, “Thanks.”

A short time later, Michael pad
ded
into
the
room with silent footsteps.  He had taken his shoes off and changed into jeans and a black t-shirt.  As sick as I felt, watching him cross the room made me feel warm.  He wore his jeans low on his hips and the bottom of his t-shirt barely reached the top of his
pants
so that when he walked a hint of skin showed.  Sitting down next to me, he handed me a steaming mug of tea.  I breathed it in deeply.  I could smell peppermint, and another ingredient that I did not recognize.  He lifted my legs up and put them on the couch.  Any other time I would have protested, but I knew Michael was trying to
help
.  He sat at the other end of the couch and put his legs up on the coffee table. 
Looking
at me with concern on his face
, he
didn’t speak a word.