by Bev Prescott
“I saw the news coverage this morning.” Alex felt the need to protect Zoe after seeing what she’d gone through. “Before we turn the kids loose on her, we should make sure she’s interested in talking with them first. She might be quite busy with her work. Please tell her I’ll be right there.”
“Sure.”
Alex shut the door and scanned the metal rack on the wall next to it. Several protruding hooks held an assortment of keys to the camp’s various locks and equipment, including her father’s boats. After the conversation with him, if it could even be called that, she craved going someplace quiet to be alone with her thoughts. She’d need a boat to get where she planned to find some solitude.
She found a key attached to a piece of Styrofoam with the number 2 written on it. It was her father’s way of marking the boats for camp counselors and ensuring that if they dropped a key in the water, it would float instead of sink into the depths of the lake. Once she got Zoe settled, she planned to disappear for a while.
Alex called out to Daniel, “I’m going out on the lake after I see to Zoe.”
He didn’t answer. It was just as well. At least she couldn’t be blamed for not letting him know she’d taken a boat.
She headed out the door and across the street to the camp’s main building where she noticed Zoe leaning against the sugar maple dominating the small front lawn. The more-than-a-century-old tree had been there before the camp was built.
Zoe held a cell phone to her ear. Alex heard her say, “I really don’t see why it’s necessary for me to talk to the news people. Have Rob do it. He was there too.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Yeah, it’s fine.” She held up her bandaged palm. “No, I didn’t need any stitches. When can I expect my truck and boat to arrive? I want to get to work. The eaglets aren’t going to wait for me while I take it easy.” She rubbed her temple. “Fine, if I’m not going to see my stuff until later this afternoon, I guess I’ll be forced to take a day off, won’t I? I can hardly wait to spend a whole day trapped here at this camp waiting for a bazillion rug rats to show up.”
Alex decided now would be a good time to make her presence known. Bad enough eavesdropping for as long as she had, but she wanted to spare Zoe any embarrassment of saying something she might regret if she knew someone was present who adored those “rug rats.” She cleared her throat.
Zoe turned and stepped away from the tree. “I have to go.” She pushed the call End button and slipped the phone into her pocket. “Hi, sorry I’m late.”
“Looks like you have a good excuse.” Alex smiled.
“Sorry for my appearance. The day started a little dirtier than I would’ve expected.” Zoe brushed at the soot and dirt that covered her pant legs.
“I heard. You were the big news on television this morning. How’s the eaglet?” Alex asked.
“It’s going to be fine. Unfortunately, the firefighters couldn’t save the tree after we got the eaglet out of it. Its home is destroyed, and who knows where its parents have flown off to.”
“What will happen to it?”
“It’ll have to cultivate its wildness from humans at the rehab facility if it intends to fly free someday,” Zoe said.
“That sounds a little hard to fathom.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Shouldn’t it be the other way around? I can’t imagine an eagle, of all things, learning to be wild from a human. I’m guessing that we’re the tamest of all Mother Nature’s creatures.”
Zoe crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. “I can’t argue with that. But trust me, we all have some wild in us. We lose sight of it in all the stuff we surround ourselves with like computers, televisions, and cell phones.” Something caught her attention behind Alex. “Damn it, speaking of television, I can’t believe they’re already looking for me. I just got off the phone with them two minutes ago.” She glanced up into the maple tree. “I wish there was somewhere I could hide for a while until the excitement over the eaglet dies down.”
Alex turned to see a WKBZ television truck crawl by with a passenger craning his head in the direction of the camp. She sympathized with Zoe. She knew what it was like to be harassed by news people when she only wanted to be left alone. Reporters had hounded her family morning and night in the days after Jake’s body was found.
She grabbed Zoe’s hand and pulled her around the tree to hide her from view. She briefly brushed up against Zoe when she did. Despite the soot on Zoe’s clothes, she could smell the outdoors on her skin. The peaceful sweetness of Maine’s North Woods came to mind. She breathed in deep and took a step back, surprised by the little flutter that came from being so close to Zoe.
“You interested in escaping with me for a little while?” She held up the key with the Styrofoam key chain.
Zoe glanced in the direction of the bunkhouses lined behind the main office. A flurry of people wearing matching T-shirts with the camp’s name across the back bustled around the buildings. “Kids are arriving today, right?”
“They’ll start showing up around noon.” Alex noticed Zoe’s furrowed brow and suspected that being around so many kids might be a shock to her system. Part of her wanted to protect Zoe from it, the other part wanted to stay in her company. “Things get a little crazy in the hours after a group of kids shows up. It takes them a little time to get settled in before they calm down. If you go with me, maybe by the time we get back, it’ll be a little less hectic. If you prefer, you could take a quick shower and I can find you a pair of shorts and a T-shirt to borrow. I overheard that your clothes and equipment won’t be here until this afternoon.”
Zoe put a hand on the maple tree’s trunk. “Hmm. The shower and clean clothes are awfully tempting. As for escaping, I’d already put together a plan. A girl could get lost up there.”
Alex followed Zoe’s line of sight up into the tree’s canopy of branches and new spring leaves. “You were thinking of climbing the maple?”
“Yeah, it would be perfect.” Zoe pointed into the reaches of the tree. “All I’d have to do is throw a rope up over that main branch, and I’d be up in the cradle in no time. There’s even plenty of room to tie in for a nap. No one would ever think to look for me there.”
“Do you spend a lot of time up in trees?”
“Every chance I get, especially when I need a little peace and quiet.” A group of giggling camp counselors came from the main building. “Which might be often while I’m here.”
“Not into kids and camping?”
“Camping, yes. Kids, not so much, I’m afraid.”
“I guess that means if you turn up missing, I’ll know where to look.”
“I hope you’ll keep my secret.”
The word secret conjured the restless skeletons inside Alex. They rippled through her, foretelling of the fright they could bring. The moment of reprieve Zoe had brought from the things that haunted her ended. She felt anxiety’s hand at her throat.
She said, “I know what it means to need to have a place to hide. I wouldn’t dream of giving yours up. I have a few of my own. Come on, I’ll show you to your room before we go.” Alex breathed in deep, trying to push back the anxiety that came for no good reason at all sometimes, and always when it damned well felt like it.
She hoped Zoe hadn’t noticed the panic skittering over her like a sneaky spider.
Chapter 9
Zoe stole another glance at Alex. Rob was right. This was turning out to be a sweet deal.
She’d been at the camp less than two hours, and she and the lovely Alex Marcotte were already escaping on a field trip together. And she was wearing Alex’s clothes to boot. Her skin tingled with attraction beneath the borrowed T-shirt.
Yet something about Alex nagged at her. She seemed to carry a dark weight around her. Despite that observation, Zoe couldn’t help being drawn to the glimmers of light that managed to find their way to the surface.
Alex stood at the wheel while she operated the motorboat across the wide expan
se of the lake. Her profile revealed her slight nose, smooth skin, and feminine jawline. Thick lashes framed her dark eyes. The long braid of her black hair hung down between her slender shoulders.
Her last name suggested a French Canadian heritage, and she looked the part. She had a ruggedness about her that melted into a softness Zoe found compelling. This paradox about some women made them utterly attractive and reminded her of one of Maine’s most gorgeous wildflowers, the lupine. It could withstand the harshest Maine winter, only to bloom into heart-stopping beauty by late spring.
Alex turned her head. Hoping not to be caught staring, Zoe pretended to watch a flock of ducks fishing near shore. “Where are you from?” Alex asked.
“Hmm?”
“You don’t sound like you’re from New England. I was wondering where you’re from.”
“I’m from the Midwest. I grew up in Iowa on a soybean farm.”
“Really?” Alex shifted her gaze ahead. “How did you end up so far from home, climbing trees for Wildlife and Fisheries in Maine?” She slowed the boat as it paralleled a heavily wooded shoreline.
“Maine’s always been and always will be my home,” Zoe said. “Iowa just happens to be where I grew up.”
“I’ve never known anyone who didn’t consider the place where they grew up as home at some point in their life. What’s your definition of home, then?” Alex turned the boat toward shore.
“I’m not sure I can give a definition. It’s more a feeling or need to be in a certain place. Sort of like migrating birds. They just know where they’re supposed to be. Some of the science suggests they can tell north from south by a magnetic attraction to the earth’s poles. They’re also masters at catching winds that will carry them where they need to go.” Zoe gazed at the shoreline. “It’s how I felt about Maine after the first time I came here. It pulled at me, drawing me into it like a magnet. I wouldn’t have been able to stay put anyplace else but Maine.”
“That’s such a nice sentiment. I guess Maine’s siren call got the better of you,” Alex said. “When was the first time you came here?”
“We visited here when I was a kid. My family’s soybean farm isn’t too far from Dubuque, but the only thing between the farm and the city is miles of fields. You hardly ever see a tree. I guess I became obsessed with them because of their scarceness.
“When my oldest brother was getting ready to leave for basic training in the Army, my mom and dad brought all four of us kids to Acadia National Park for our first and only family vacation. I fell in love with everything about Maine that summer, including its trees. I made a vow that, one way or the other, once I graduated from high school I would find a way to go to college at the University of Maine.”
“Since you’re here, I’m assuming you were able to make that happen. How did you do it?”
“I lucked out and got a gymnastics scholarship. I guess I was meant to climb trees.”
Alex looked Zoe up and down. “You look like a gymnast.”
“Really, why do you say that?”
“You’re compact and muscular.” Alex grinned. “You’re put together very nicely.”
Zoe felt her face flush. “Thanks.” She searched for something clever to say but her words were jumbled in a mess of nervous attraction. “After I graduated, I got a job at Wildlife and Fisheries, and I’ve worked there since.”
“Do you ever miss Iowa?”
“I miss my family sometimes. But, like I said, Maine is home.” Zoe raised her palms. “Here I am, and here I’ll stay. When I’m an old lady, you’ll find me enjoying the quiet of winter when snow covers the cedars, the sound of waves crashing on the rocky shore during a storm, a foggy morning, and fields of purple lupines. Oh, and as much lobster and crab as I can eat.”
Alex laughed. “I’m not sure I’ve ever met anyone as passionate about Maine as you. Not even the most dyed-in-the-wool Mainer who’s been here her whole life. I’ve visited a lot of places around the country, and Maine is still the most beautiful one to me. I can see why you love it as much as you do.”
“What about you?” Zoe asked. “Where do you consider home to be?”
Sadness crept into Alex’s expression. “No place, really,” she answered and looked away. She steered the boat in the direction of a wooden dock, the only human-made structure in the vicinity of the shoreline. She slowed the engine to a crawl. “I’m going to pull up next to that dock. When I do, would you mind hopping out and grabbing the rope at the bow so we can tie off?”
“Sure, no problem,” Zoe said as the boat glided next to the dock’s weathered planks. Because she spent so much time with animals, she was well schooled in the art of reading body language. Alex’s suggested that their conversation had entered into a place that made her uncomfortable.
She let Alex’s answer about home drift untouched while she stepped out of the boat and onto the dock. “Ready.” She caught the end of the rope that Alex tossed her and looped it snugly over the dock cleat.
Alex took the key out of the ignition and stepped across the deck toward the dock. When a wave rolled under the boat, she moved with the fluidity of a woman who had spent a good part of her life on the water, as though she and the boat were an extension of the lake. She took Zoe’s outstretched hand and held it firmly as she stepped over the bow and onto the dock.
The difference in their heights mocked Zoe when Alex stood inches from her. She hesitated, held in place by a force similar to what she’d described as attracting her to Maine. She felt her cheeks flush. A world of difference existed between Maine and Alex: One she could have. The other, she could only dream of. Like she’d told Rob, women like Alex didn’t recognize twerps like her.
“Thank you for the hand,” Alex said.
“You’re welcome.” Zoe let go and stepped back while Alex finished securing the boat. Being in Alex’s presence reminded Zoe of interacting with wildlife. In some ways, Alex was like them. She was graceful, beautiful, mysterious, and untouchable.
Alex reached under the boat’s seat and retrieved a backpack. “I thought we might be out for a bit so I brought us some lunch.” She slung the backpack over a shoulder and patted it. “I have lots of bug spray too. Since you’ve been here awhile, you already know the black flies in springtime will carry you off if you’re not careful. Let me know if you need some. You’re so tiny, I’d hate for them to fly away with you.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” Zoe said, disappointed that Alex had made a point of recognizing her small stature.
Alex hesitated. “I hope I didn’t offend you by saying that.”
“To be honest, I’m a little sensitive about my height.”
“You shouldn’t be.” Alex tilted her head. “Just ask all those people who saw you on television this morning. You’re a larger than life presence wrapped up in an adorable little package.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, you couldn’t be cuter.”
Zoe sighed. “Always resigned to cuteness. I suppose I should be grateful.”
“What’s wrong with being cute?” Alex asked.
“Every now and then, a girl wants to be something more than just cute.”
“Really? Like what?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Sexy, maybe.” Zoe ran a hand through her unruly, light-brown mop of hair and thought about her usual attire. “Short legs, messy hair, and work clothes habitually covered in dirt and pine pitch don’t make for sexy, I suppose.”
“I don’t know about that.” Alex laughed. “Come on, there’s something special I want to show you.” She turned and headed toward a break in the trees.
Zoe followed Alex along the narrow path through the woods, wondering why she could talk to Alex as if they’d known each other for years rather than minutes. Not to mention that Alex’s comments undid her in a good way, like looking down from the dizzying heights of Maine’s tallest pine trees. “Tell me what you want to show me.”
“No, I want to see your expression when you first lay eyes on
it. If I tell you now, it might take away some of the surprise.” Those glimmers of light inside Alex shined a little brighter as she picked up the pace.
“I’m curious. You don’t even know me, and yet you’re pretty sure I’ll be happy with whatever it is you plan to show me. Why is that?” Zoe asked.
The path rounded a row of birches that bordered a meadow filled with lupines not yet in bloom. When the path opened up into the meadow, it became immediately clear what special thing Alex meant to show her.
Zoe stood dumbfounded. “Un-freaking-believable!”
Alex grinned. “I thought you might appreciate it. I wasn’t wrong. Was I?” She gestured toward a giant tree standing alone, surrounded by grasses and budding wildflowers.
Zoe jogged toward the massive, rare, American chestnut. “No. It’s magnificent.”
Without any self-consciousness, she wrapped her arms around the chestnut to feel its energy vibrate against her. She pressed her chest to the tree and could swear she felt its life force thrum. How could she not? This enormous and exceptional tree was very much alive. “Do you have any idea how rare this is? This tree has to be at least two hundred years old.”
“It’s one of only a handful left in New England. My family owns this woodlot. My father has always liked to keep this tree’s existence a secret. He says it’s too valuable for others to know about.”
“He’s right about that.” Zoe put her hands on her hips and marveled. “Wow, I cannot believe I’m actually standing in the presence of a mature American chestnut. I knew there were still a few around. I never guessed I’d get the chance to see one so old and so perfect.”
“My grandfather used to tell me that when his parents were kids, chestnuts were everywhere. But then the blight started killing them off in the early 1900s. I’ve always wondered how these few managed to live through something that pretty much killed off their kind.” Alex laid a hand on the trunk. “What was it that made this tree so indestructible?”