Flying in Shadows (The Black Creek Series, Book 2) (11 page)

"Yes."

"I want to keep it that way."

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked.

"No. Our friendship is important is all I'm saying."

"This is right. I know you know this is right." He unlaced her shoe and took it off
as well as her sock.

He could see her focus on him while coating herself with the SPF fifty. "Are you going
to tell me what you're doing?"

He finished with her other shoe, took her feet, one at a time, and set them on his
dash. "There. No, wait." He reached back and took out the tie from her hair.

Rose took his hand. "What's gotten into you?"

"That." He pointed to her bare feet. "Your hair and those feet on my dash kept me
up half the night."

"Oh," she sounded honestly startled. "In that case, I'll take out the braid myself."

He drove with one hand and with the other he ran the backs of his fingers possessively
down her cheek. Rose closed her eyes and rested her head on the seat next to his arm.
Her lips were sealed and the corners lifted.

He felt as if a light had been turned on—one that burned away a fog. Now that he could
see, there was a desperate craving for more. More of this. More of her. It ate at
him already. He wanted to dive in and explore this side of her. Of them. I
am
an idiot, he decided, and he hated that his brother saw it before he did.

Rose.

Real, determined, natural, sensible, selfless Rose. Soft, toned, sexy Rose. He shook
his head clear. There was no way he was going there. Forcing himself to remember that
she had her first kiss less than twelve hours ago, he pulled his fingers away from
her face and instead slid them down to link with hers.

Chapter 9

Amanda tried to relax on her couch as the puppy snoozed next to her. Her feet were
bare and crossed at the ankles as they rested on Dave's lap. Their stomachs were full
of pancakes and their minds full of graduation plans.

"It's nice Rose and Andy have stayed such good friends even after his move to college.
I wonder what will happen when she takes her turn to move on," she said.

Dave sat with one arm draped across the back of the couch and the other rubbing the
ball of her foot. "Hopefully she'll get some new friends. Some
girl
friends."

She sighed in agreement. "Yes. Yes, you're right."

"When are we going to tell her?"

Reflexively, she pulled her feet from his lap and sat up.

"I don't mean to upset you."

"I know, I know." She closed her eyes and ran her hands over her face, through her
hair. Dave was an innocent in all of this. The battle in her head between protecting
her daughter and being honest with her husband was making her insane. Literally. "I'm
okay, really." She forced herself to smile at him. She knew it didn't reach her eyes.

"No one expects you to ever be okay with it, but Rose is grown now. You wanted to
tell her long before this." He reached and pulled her into him.

Dave was a smart man. He had become complacent to her consistent drop in weight and
increase in nerves, but she knew he wasn't blind. Over time, he seemed to find a balance
between worry, obsession and the fact that he simply wasn't her father.

After years of failing to find the man who'd raped her and fix whatever he could in
her life, Dave seemed to come to the point where he accepted that she was a grown
woman and merely offered her the love and support any woman would ask for... and space
when she'd needed it. Discussing the origins of Rose's conception always caused a
spike in those nerves.

She wanted desperately to tell him why. Let him take over and take care of her, take
care of it. But, she was afraid. And she was careful. Her family came first.

Family photos were stored in closed albums and off of mantles and walls. She gave
Rose's father just enough money to keep him at bay whenever he decided to show up.
The man had no idea he had a daughter, and she would do whatever it took to keep it
that way.

He murdered her grandfather. Behind closed lids, she forced back the tears. That bastard
had his hand around her throat when he forced her to listen to the details of how
he did it. She knew it was an attempt to control her, and it had worked.

All those years of defense classes were for nothing. Each time he showed up, it was
like turning back the clock nineteen years when he forced his way into her Red Cross
trailer. The smell of his sweaty body and stale tobacco breath blended with a feeling
of helplessness and pain. She wondered if Dave ever suspected her motive behind pushing
both of the girls through their defense classes. Rose appeased her, but Jessica still
fought her with continuing.

Rose's birthday cut it too close. She knew he was due; he hadn't come lurking for
over a year. Just enough time for someone to let their guard down, but not her. A
thousand dollars every now and then was a small price to pay to keep him away.

She shivered. Dave responded by pulling her closer yet. He was the most loyal person
she had ever known. He respected her when she didn't deserve it. Now, it was her turn
to respect his peace. She would keep her secret, keep Rose safe and keep Dave from
being dragged into her past or ending up like her grandfather.

"I know we need to tell her, but when is the right time? She's so happy right now.
Seems more than excited about college. Do I send her off on her own with the knowledge
of her violent beginning? With the fear of knowing first hand what's out there? What
if she tries to look for him?"

"There's no trace of a Michael Rainer anywhere." He ran his fingers over the back
of her hair. "She's grown, Amanda. She'll find out sooner or later. The longer you
wait, the more it will hurt her."

* * *

Andy knew he was right. Rose as a guest looked different. Better. She wasn't rushed
or looking like a mother watching over her kids, or trying to find something to work
on. Still, she couldn't keep from acting as tour guide.

As they passed exhibits, she recited animal facts while he watched her face and reached
down to take her hand. Thinking. Planning. Always planning. Start with a foundation.
No. They already had that. It was solid with years of unwavering layers. They cut
through the wallaby exhibit. Similar interests, same sense of humor. And the lips.
How had he never noticed the lips? He ached to stop her and kiss her, but settled
for lifting their joined hands and brushing the back of his along her cheek. She kept
right on talking about a female that carried a joey, although when he touched her
face, her blink lasted longer than natural.

Together, they took a seat on one of the benches around the outdoor stage, waiting
for the morning's presentation. The split, treated logs were comfortable and reminded
Andy of his uncle's bridge over Black Creek. While waiting for the zookeeper, they
made pacts and plans for the summer, much like they always had. Only now they had
impatience, excitement and... anticipation. They agreed to keep their relationship
private. No one would question if they spent time together or offer any lectures if
they decided to take off for a weekend—or every weekend.

Rose said they hit the jackpot when the senior zookeeper and her assistant brought
out one of their two bald eagles. Two young brothers looked intimidated by the almost
three-foot-tall bird. The boys seemed torn between cowering and curiosity. Rose assured
Andy the bird wouldn't disappoint.

Draping his arm across her backrest, he resisted the urge to touch her. He tilted
his body enough to give the impression of watching the presenter while actually watching
Rose with his renewed sight. He never really felt the same obsession with animals
and conservation that she had, but did have great interest in the way Rose ignited
each time the subject came up.

Since Rose would already know anything the zookeeper had to say, he suspected she
was thinking of the day she would be the one with the gloved hand speaking to spectators.
Although she preferred the animals, Rose always had a way with the visitors as well.

Winking at her, the presenter explained to the small crowd that the two eagles were
both from Alaska and both permanently injured and left flightless. A gunshot maimed
the first, the other a car accident. The birds' zoo enclosure was without a roof and
sometimes attracted an occasional wild bald eagle that would hang around for days
at a time. The permanently wounded birds were able to hop along in their complicated
enclosure and could even hover for a few seconds at a time.

As she spoke, the zookeeper lifted her gloved hand and the bird spread her wings their
full eight feet, hovered above her, then set back down and enjoyed a hunk of meat
as a reward.

Rose leaned closer to him. "They're named Frick and Frack. This is Frack, the female."

"How can you tell?" Andy asked.

"The female is bigger. The crease of her beak flows back underneath her eyelids, and
she has a tiny dark feather on her head. There. See it? That's the female."

"Your wish."

"Hmm?" She turned her eyes to him and stopped. Inhaled deeply.

He watched her blink to clear her mind and couldn't understand how he had never seen
her in this light before. She was absolutely beautiful. Not artificially. Real. "Is
this still your wish?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. I want to work with animals. That end of biology. I'll see where
the four years takes me before I narrow down my doctorate options."

He turned a piece of her hair.

"Eagles are not pets," the presenter continued. "I need to be careful around her.
Even though I'm the handler and the one with the food, she'll fight me for it. Starting
as eaglets all the way through to fledging, they nip at their parents when food is
brought to them. Their instincts are not only to hunt, but to steal."

The brothers, as expected, decided on curiosity over fear and were the first to raise
their hands at the question/answer portion of the presentation. "What do they eat?"

"In the wild, bald eagles prefer mostly fish but will also hunt waterfowl, gulls and
turtles. They will, however, scavenge and eat animal carcasses like road-killed deer."

The boys responded appropriately with an "Ewww" in tandem. "They live by water?" asked
the older of the two.

"Smart question. Bald eagles are found mostly in the Great Lakes region, Chesapeake
Bay and Florida but can be found as far north as Alaska and Canada. They are not found
on any other continent and, yes, they almost exclusively live near water."

"Alaska?" the younger brother spoke up. "How do they sit on eggs in Alaska?"

The zookeeper looked to the boy. "Intuitive. Nice. They don't mind the cold. Their
feathers are well adapted for it. A mother eagle can lay her eggs on solid snow. Unlike
other species, both the male and female take turns caring for the young, including
sitting on the eggs. It's called brooding and, as many species do, eagles have special
feathers that keep eggs warm in extreme temperatures." She switched the heavy bird
from one arm to the other.

After the question and answer portion of the show, the presenter finished with a final,
dramatic show of wing span. She gave Rose a nod before taking the bird back to her
exhibit.

Lunchtime neared, so they made their last stop at the small water tank. The pool held
two sea lions and a seal. The seal rested lazily on a protruding rock in the middle
of the tank as the sea lions swam in bored circles around him. Rose had the same look
on her face as when she chased him down the edge of the lake with the snapping crawfish.
Suspicious, he followed her lead and stood on the concrete ledge in order to get a
better look at the circling animals. Leaning over, she waved at the sea lions, and
then ducked.

With lightning speed, the smaller sea lion sprinted out of the pool and splashed a
tailfin full of water, drenching him from head to waist. Rose laughed mercilessly
as he grabbed her, tossing her over his shoulder. With her like that, he walked back
to the car, soaking her as she squirmed and squealed along the way.

Walking around to the passenger door, he slid her down slowly, leaving little room
between him and metal.