BY MIDNIGHT THE storm had blown itself out, but left a chill in the air more like early April than mid-May. Seth lit the fire. He kept several changes of clothes in the loft, so he didn’t have to wear his damp ones. Emma borrowed one of his sweatshirts that hung to her knees. She laid their damp clothes over a couple of rocking chairs in front of the fire. They’d be dry by morning.
They microwaved a couple of potatoes while Seth pan-broiled the two steaks. Emma set up a picnic in front of the fire.
“You do know this was a crazy thing to do,” Emma said. “Whatever possessed you?”
“You possessed me,” he said and slid his fingers down her back. “You ought to realize by now that I don’t handle frustration well. But you’d just walked out of another relationship, and I didn’t want to take advantage while you were vulnerable.”
“Shoot, getting fired was worse than discovering Trip’s infidelity. I’m usually smarter than that.” She took their empty plates to the sink, rinsed them and stacked them in the dishwasher. She walked over to the window wall. “Look, Seth. After all that rain and wind, the clouds are gone. We’ve got most of a moon.”
He joined her, wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back against him with her hands clasped across his arms to hold him close. “You can kidnap me anytime,” she whispered.
* * *
IN THE MORNING, he dropped her at the clinic to pick up her car, then followed her home. The babies were snuggled together in a corner of the playpen, but tried to climb out when they saw Emma and Seth. Emma filled their food and water dishes in the kennel and Seth helped her return everyone there. The ground was wet, but their elevated nest box was almost dry. The minute they were set back inside, they began patrolling to see if anything had changed.
“I have to dress and get back to the clinic,” Emma said.
“I’m going to be late for work if I don’t do the same.” He took her in his arms and kissed her—the mind-blowing variety. “If I take you into town for dinner, can we have a sleepover at your house tonight?”
“Don’t bother to bring your jammies,” she said, and sent him off.
Barbara was the soul of discretion. She didn’t ask for an explanation of Emma’s sudden disappearance. Emma didn’t give her one. She did, however, find herself singing a love song to a bloodhound that came in for his rabies shot. Until the bloodhound decided to join her in song. The whole waiting room broke into laughter, then applause. Emma blushed to the roots of her hair.
It was her day to bring lunch. In Barbara’s office she laid out bowls of gazpacho, which didn’t have to be heated, added ham-and-cheese baguettes. As they sat down, Barbara said, “Pleasant evening?”
“Very, thank you.” She glanced out Barbara’s window. “Look!” In the wading pool in the backyard Mabel paddled proudly ahead of six fat goslings.
“I always said Mabel had the morals of a goose,” Barbara said. “Come on.” They pulled on their Wellington boots and slipped out the back door.
Mabel squawked, hopped out of the pool and led the goslings back to her nest box, where they burrowed under her.
“Oh, shoot, we’ll have to lock them up at night,” Barbara said. “Or the coyotes will get them sure as this world. She can’t protect them all. All right, old lady, we’ll look after your babies.” She tossed a handful of corn into the feeder. Mabel attempted to keep her goslings under control while she scarfed up the food. “I wonder who the daddy is,” Barbara said. “Got to watch out for those traveling men. Get you in trouble every time.”
“I thought geese mated for life,” Emma said.
“He may come back. Or he may be in somebody’s freezer.”
“Barbara! Bite your tongue.”
“That’s why we do what we do to protect the little ones. When are you planning to release yours?”
“Seth says in a couple of days. I’m going to worry myself to death.”
“They can protect themselves better than most.”
“I wish I knew what I was doing,” Emma said. “I want to learn. You don’t have time to teach, and I don’t know any of the other rehabilitators.”
“Take the classes.”
“What if I go back home before I’m finished?”
“Then finish at home. There are classes at the zoo among other places. Plenty of things you can do. Even specialized things like working with raptors—although that’s a whole other licensing process.”
“Where do I find classes locally?”
“The fish and game people run classes at Saint Andrews Church parish hall in Williamston. Go to an orientation. See if you like it. While you’re working here and deciding what you want to do, I think you’ll find it interesting. Somewhere on my desk I have a schedule of classes. Seth and Earl often teach at least the first couple of nights, although I don’t think it’s fair for you to seduce the instructor to improve your grade.”
“I would never seduce Earl.”
“Janeen will be thrilled to hear that. But there’s another instructor.”
“He’s fair game.”
That evening Emma took a chair out to the yard to sit beside the skunks. She had so few moments left with them. They already paid very little attention to her, but they made no threatening moves. After all, she was still delivering their food. While she was enjoying them, she called home. This time Catherine answered. “Emma! When are you coming home? We haven’t seen you for ages.”
“A couple of weeks isn’t ages. How are you and Patrick?”
“He’s driving me crazy. He’s got a dozen girls calling him every night. And they all want me to tell him how wonderful they are. OMG! The girls are supposed to get the beauty in the family. All I got is brains. He’s got brains and beauty.”
“You’re beautiful.”
“I’m not popular. You know what that’s like.”
“You are popular.”
“I play chess. I’m a geek. You weren’t popular either. Oh, sorry…”
Emma laughed. “I wasn’t popular in high school, but I caught up in college. Don’t sweat it, baby sister. As to when I’m coming home, who knows? Maybe never. I really, really like it here. I like the people and the informality and not having to dress up all the time. I have not put on a pair of panty hose since I got here.”
“I’ll bet there’s a guy, isn’t there? Who is he, Emma? What does he do? Is he big and gorgeous? You and I are too tall to mess with short guys.”
“Yes, there is a guy. He’s my neighbor across the street. Yes, he is big and gorgeous. He’s a game warden.”
“A what? You’re not serious. Daddy will have kittens. He is such a snob.”
“It’s not serious. Yet. Maybe never. Remember, Daddy endorsed Trip the first time I brought him to dinner. Some track record he’s got.”
“Trip tried to hit on me once.”
“Catherine, are you sure that’s what it was?”
“Of course I am. Not hard. Big-time flirty. I’m almost sixteen and taller than you. I shut him down.”
“Don’t tell Daddy. He’ll kill him.”
“Duh. Can Patrick and I come up in a couple of weeks when school is out?”
“One of you will have to sleep on the couch or bring a sleeping bag. Besides, I may be back home by then. For a visit anyway.”
“For real? Oh, I got a call on the other line.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “It’s a boy. Bye.”
Emma clicked off the phone. Had she made an error confiding in her sister about Seth? Catherine tended to tell Andrea everything. What Andrea knew, Daddy knew.
David French didn’t realize he was a snob, but everyone else did. Well, he could just suck it up. Seth was a truly fine man—smart, kind, compassionate. He did what he liked and was good at it. About time her father started recommending guys based on merit rather than Dun & Bradstreet ratings.