Parker was taken aback by the intensity in Emma’s face.

So much was going on inside her and she’d revealed so little. She could talk about Mike and Ruby and the resort in detail, but he knew nothing about how she spent her days. He knew nothing about her deceased husband except his name.

“Are you ready? I thought I’d move the birds to a separate part of the nature center now,” he said.

Emma’s face brightened. “Let me get my camera out.”

“A real camera,” Parker teased.

“Absolutely.” Emma shrugged off her backpack and dug inside. “Phones are fine, but I like the real thing, too, especially since I’m creating my slideshow for the open-house weekend.”

“You can wait here and I’ll get the cart. I can move both birds together.”

The walk to the boardwalk gave him a chance to settle down—his thinking, anyway. His heart wasn’t listening to logic. Earlier, seeing Emma walking toward him, the early-morning sun shining behind her, his heart had skittered.