Wild Ice (10 page)

Lauren looked around the patio with a frown. “It’s a shame you don’t have any bird feeders
out here. You’d have birds galore. Marsh likes to sit in the window and watch them eat birdseed. It’s kind of like kitty television for him.”

She looked out at the wetlands and JD watched as her lips curved into a smile.
She really loved this place, didn’t she?

“You must sit out here every night and
watch the sun go down,” she said, her voice full of wonder. “I know I would. The view from the cottage is obstructed by the trees.”

JD followed her gaze and saw
the sprawling mudflats dotted by trees. In fact, this was the first time he’d sat out here on the patio. In all the months he’d lived here he hadn’t once sat outside and appreciated the view. He was too preoccupied with dwelling on the past and reliving it inside his own head to notice the landscape around him.

“
When I moved in I thought the cottage was empty,” he said.

Mel chewed loudly on the bone and Lauren reached down and patted his head.
“My great Aunt Cora passed away and left it to me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah. She was a neat lady. Her death came as a surprise. All of a sudden I inherited a cottage in the middle of nowhere along with a temperamental kitty cat, so I decided to come out and spend the summer here. It seemed like a good place to escape South Oakdale and figure out my next move.”

Lauren let her mind wander and imagined
Aunt Cora standing out here with Howard. Minus the deceit and heartbreak, it must have been an incredibly romantic time. It was easy to envision two people falling in love surrounded by such a beautiful backdrop.

She looked over at JD and he was looking
at her, waiting for her to answer a question she hadn’t heard. She shook the fantasy from her head. “I’m sorry. I zoned out for a minute there.”

He shrugged.
“I just asked if you were from the South Oakdale in Oregon.”

“Yeah.
Have you been there?”

He shrugged
again. “I used to travel a lot.”

“
You know, my aunt knew the man who built this house.”

He didn’t say anything and she wasn’t bothered by it. She was already getting used to his silent contribution to the conversation
.

“I know it couldn’t
be in a better location,” she told him.

“Why’s that?”

“Don’t you know? It borders the wildlife refuge.”

When he heard the word ‘refuge’ all he could think of was the women’s refuge that Darla had volunteered at.

When he looked at her blankly, Lauren looked back at him like he had a third eye.

“It’s only the biggest fly
way for migrating birds in the world.”

“Oh.
Yeah,” He forced a thin smile. “I remember my Realtor mentioning something about it.”

Lauren leaned back and took in the view.
“It must be incredible to be here full time and watch the seasons change. I’ve only ever spent a couple of weeks here at a time, usually in the summer.”

“I don’t spend a lot of time out
side.”

Once again, he noticed a look of surprise mixed with pity cross her face.

“What about you?” she asked. “What brings you out to the middle of nowhere?”

JD let out a breath.
She asked so many damn questions. Or maybe she didn’t. She just asked the ones that were hardest to answer. Mel sure seemed to like her, though. Probably too much. Then again, she didn’t ask Mel questions that he was too afraid to answer.

“It’s a long story
,” he said after a long moment.” It was just as much the truth as it was an evasive answer.

She nodded, reading his guarded body language loud and clear.
“Well,” she let out a breath. “Speaking of Marsh, I probably should get home to feed him.”

JD wanted to ask her to stay
, to just continue to sit there with him and ramble on about the birds. He liked hearing her talk about them like they were friends of hers instead of just noisy specks flying overhead. It had been a long time since he’d heard someone be excited about something. Until now, he hadn’t realized how long.

H
e didn’t say anything and watched as she walked away.

Chapter Twelve

Duck, Duck, Coot

Sitting on the patio with Lauren had been…pleasant. No, not
pleasant
. It had been comfortable, yet awkward and nice, yet distressing all at the same time. Her presence brought up things he didn’t want to deal with. Brought up feelings he shouldn’t be feeling. Above all, her visit gave him a feeling of hope despite the despair. Hope that there might be a life beyond grief and life beyond golf tournaments broadcasted on TV and old sit-com reruns. Life beyond the walls of Teal Manor.

She hadn’t been touched by tragedy and if she had, she hadn’t let it destroy her like he had.

He still couldn’t believe she brought him homemade cobbler. Sure, she’d forgotten to add the main ingredient, but the gesture was a welcome surprise. Darla never cooked or baked. She was too busy working to make something you could just buy at the store or have catered.

He should have gone over to the cottage to check on Lauren after she hurt her ankle. He would have, but s
eeing Sloan had sent his emotions into a tailspin. Feelings he’d buried months ago were trudged up again and left him feeling raw. He should be happy for Sloan, but he wasn’t. He was too busy being jealous that she got to pick up and move on with her life while he remained in the same place—geographically
and
mentally.

JD
needed to get out of the house. When the TV wasn’t on, the only sound in the empty house was the repetitive ticking of clocks and he couldn’t stand it anymore. The grandfather clock in the living room synchronized with the clock in the kitchen and the clock in the foyer cheerily ticked in unison with the other two. They all ticked and tocked until JD was on the brink of going batty. Just thinking about going outside made him feel better already.

Maybe he could catch Lauren on her way back from her walk. She must have set out
at the crack of dawn because Mel hadn’t even been up early enough to join her.

So, with th
e inkling of hope of seeing Lauren in the back of his mind, JD went outside and started brushing Mel’s blonde coat. Just as he was finishing up Mel’s hindquarters, the dog started to squirm. Before JD could stop him, Mel bounded off.

In the distance, JD
saw a hat bob above the grass.

Lauren.

What was so special out there that had her returning day after day? He’d seen flocks of geese fly overhead plenty of times, but there wasn’t anything special about a goose or a duck. Was there? Lauren obviously thought so.

The only time JD gave a second thought to the winged creatures was when one crapped on his car. They weren’t just a hobby to her either. She had made a career out of
them. Her “life’s work” as she had put it. Well, good for her. At least someone around here was living up to their potential.

When he thought of a
“birder,” images of wrinkled and retired old women with khaki pants and safari vests came to mind. Lauren was nothing like that. She was young and fresh-faced with infectious enthusiasm and natural beauty that didn’t come from a tube or a bottle.

She walked toward him with a spring in her step and a bright smile on her face.

Between the binoculars and the big floppy hat, Lauren looked like she was on safari in his backyard. Her walks in the sun were starting to tan her skin and lighten her hair. Her clothes blended in with the nature around her. She wore green shorts that showed off her slender legs and a brown tank top that clung to her subtle curves. Freckles dotted her nose and he was glad she didn’t try to cover them up with makeup. Now why would such an odd thought occur to him?

“Hey,” she
greeted warmly, her smile illuminating her eyes.

She smiled so easily and for him it was still
such a struggle.

“Hi.”

“The birds will love this for making their nests.” She picked up a clump of Mel’s hair from the concrete and let it sift through her fingers. “Weavers in particular.”

JD watched as the hair was
carried away in the breeze. “How was your walk?” he asked.

“
Fantastic. I got a shot of your mourning dove so you could see what he looks like,” she answered.

She handed him her camera and he looked at the display.
Hmm. There it was. The photo was slightly blurry and the bird looked stunned at having his picture taken. How did such a mournful sound could come from such a dull looking bird?

When he was finished,
Lauren took the camera from him and played with the strap. “I’d love to show you the nest I found. The weavers’, I mean.”

She sounded so hopeful that
JD didn’t want to let her down. Declining would be easy. It was what he’d defaulted to doing this past year. “No thanks,” “I’m good,” “That’s okay.” The words would be easy to say. After all, they were his go-to phrases. For some reason, though, he didn’t want to use one of his go-to phrases on Lauren. If he was going to live out here on the border of the wetlands, shouldn’t he as least be familiar with the area?

Anyway, w
hat harm could it do? Walking down a trail with Lauren to go look at some birds? If nothing else, he could at least be there in case a tree root reached up and tripped her again. Yeah, that’s why he’d go. Because she was nice and he didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

“Yeah.”

She looked surprised when he accepted. Maybe she’d been expecting a “No thanks,” “I’m good,” or “That’s okay.”

The smile that spread across her face told him he’d chosen the right answer.

“Great. We can meet out here in the morning and I’ll give you a tour of the trail. Mornings are the best time for bird activity.”

“The early bird gets the worm, right?”

Smiling, she looked at him, surprised to hear him crack a joke. “That’s right.”

They agreed on a time and JD felt the corners of his lips tug into a smile of his own.

* * *

Once again, Lauren returned to the Red Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center between the hours listed on the sign on the door. She was on a personal mission to solve the mystery of its closed doors and determined to prove that the other day was just a fluke.

She marched up to the door and when she pulled on the handle, it still wouldn’t open. She tapped her toe on the ground. The
manager must be ill or on vacation with no one to cover for them. That was the only explanation.

When she called the phone number listed on the brochure, she reached a recording that told her the same erroneous visiting hours as the faded sign on the door.

Lauren saw a man on a riding lawn mower on the other side of the parking lot and her pulse sped up. Maybe he knew what was going on around here. She flagged him down and asked him about the office closure.

“I’m just a
gardener, hired on under the new management.”

New management?
That could explain why the refuge had been closed to the public.

“Do you know who that is?” Lauren asked.
She really wanted to inquire about a job, but that was becoming impossible when there was never anyone around to ask.

The man
tipped back his straw hat and wiped his brow on his sleeve and pulled the hat back down over his eyes. “All I know is that the property switched hands a few months back. I was hired to maintain the place for when it gets opened back up again.”

“Do you know when that will be?”

His lips spread into a smirk and she was suddenly embarrassed for asking so many questions.

“No ma’am. Like I said, I’m just hired help.”

“Well, thank you,” she said and headed back to the cottage.

Who had purchased the refuge?
Why would someone buy the land and pay to keep it maintained, but not open the refuge to the public?

Lauren relaxed the muscles in her face. All of these unanswered questions were going to give her wrinkles.

* * *

When JD met up with Lauren in the field the next morning, she looked as well-rested and excited as Mel. JD, on the other hand, was groggy and cranky—even after a workout and two cups of coffee.

When he looked closer, though,
JD could tell that Lauren was hiding something beneath the cheery hello. He hoped he was better at masking his feelings than she was. The way she nibbled on her bottom lip and how her brows furrowed together were a clear giveaway that something was gnawing at her.

“What’s on your mind?”
he asked.

She looked over and blinked away a faraway look.
“Oh, nothing. I just found out that someone purchased the refuge.” She looked at him, her eyes curious and hopeful. “You didn’t…?”

He blew out a puff of air. “
No
. What the hell would I want with a swamp full of birds?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he winced. The birds might have been just a nuisance to him, but they meant a helluva lot more to her.

She cast her eyes to the ground. “I just wondered…”

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Why would someone buy it and just sit on the land?”

“
I don’t know.” After a few seconds, she asked, “You don’t think they would try and do something else with the land, do you? It used to be federally protected when the county owned it, but…” She let her voice trail off while images of condominiums and asphalt parking lots flashed through her mind.

How could Aunt Cora
have let this happen? Lauren frowned, wondering where that thought had come from. Cora was active in the birding community and preservation programs, but she would have stopped this from happening if she could. Maybe she hadn’t even known about it.

JD wanted to reassure
Lauren that nothing would happen to her precious birds, but what the hell did he know? Shit happened.

She shrugged, determined not to let her worries ruin their walk.
“Come on,” she told him. “I’ll show you this place is more than just a swamp full of birds.”

* * *

The only reason
JD had agreed to go on a walk with Lauren was because he needed to get out of the house. At least that’s what he told himself. It wasn’t because he liked when she was around. It certainly wasn’t because her enthusiasm chased away the loneliness. And it wasn’t because Mel perked up like a puppy when she was around.

It was peaceful out here, walking on the trail with Lauren. Maybe this was what drew her here every day—this feeling of tranquility. No matter what was going on out in the real world, things here happened at their own pace and were untouched by humans.

Mel trotted up ahead—or more like
pranced
—and everything seemed right with the world. When something made a noise in the trees or the surrounding bushes, Mel stopped and looked back at Lauren instead of bounding off to explore on his own. He looked to her for direction and JD felt a tug of pride at how courteous his dog acted around her. Mel was really good at this birding thing.

“Each time you go out, you never know what you’re going to find
,” she rattled on while expertly dodging tree branches that jutted out into the path. “A few days in a row you might see nothing but coots and then BAM! out of the blue the next day there’s a long-billed curlew. You have to be in the right place at the right time. It’s all about luck. And if you aren’t looking, you might miss something spectacular and not even know it.”

“
Kind of like a treasure hunt.”

“Yeah,” she said, excited and relieved that he understood.
Back in South Oakdale, few people shared or even understood Lauren’s fascination with the winged creatures and she was glad to share her discoveries with JD.

When
most people saw a duck, they thought it was just a duck, Lauren thought. But that wasn’t even
close
to the truth. There were fifty species of ducks, geese and swans in California alone. It could be a northern shoveler with its large spatulate bill and iridescent dark green head or an American wigeon with its mask of green feathers around its eyes and white patch running from its bill to its crown. How could anyone lump them all together when they were so individually unique?

“Look, there’s an alligator lizard!”
she exclaimed.

JD
looked over in time to see a scaly tail disappear under a fallen branch.

Walking with Lauren was pretty fun, JD thought. She knew all the names of the plants, trees, butterflies and birds. She was
his own personal tour guide, pointing out notable things along the way. She didn’t come across as a know-it-all; she was just knowledgeable about them and excited to share the info.

JD
could tell a crow from a sparrow and that was about it. It wasn’t like he ever needed to know the difference in everyday life or anything. But Lauren knew everything about each of them and had dedicated her life to these birds and he admired her for it.

“What made you become interested in birds anyway?”
he asked as they rounded an elderberry bush.