Step Into the Wind

by Bev Prescott

  Alex hung her head and fought for slow, deep breaths. The day she’d been waiting for had finally arrived. She’d expected that if she ever got the nerve to speak the truth to her father, she’d be free from the pain. It only hurt worse, though. He had it coming, but the inside of her mouth tasted vile.

  Cold resolve settled over her. She sat back down to write Zoe a letter. The better part of her wanted to go find Zoe to say good-bye in person. She deserved that much. Unfortunately, her better self was silenced by the mean, cowardly person hell-bent on running away. Besides, if her leaving bruised Zoe, she didn’t want to witness it.

  Under her breath, she said, “I wish things could be different.”

  Thinking about Zoe made her ache. In such a short time, her heart had begun to feel things for her. Did Zoe feel the same? She tapped the pen on the paper and finally set it down on the desk. She’d write the letter later this afternoon. Even though she couldn’t say good-bye to Zoe in person, she did want to see her one last time to apologize for the way she’d acted on the boat.

  After she went upstairs and packed her belongings, she dropped them off in the staff quarters. There was an available room a couple of doors down from Zoe’s. She left her things, locked the door behind her, and knocked on Zoe’s door. Of course, she wasn’t there. It was late afternoon, and she was probably out on the lake studying the eagles.

  Alex went to the boathouse and launched her kayak. As she neared the island, the tip of a green kayak edged out from behind it.

  Zoe waved. “Hey. I’m glad to see you. I’ve been worried sick since I last saw you.” She picked up the pace of her strokes and slid her boat next to Alex’s. “You okay?”

  Alex thawed at the sight of Zoe, who wore the outdoors in her fresh, smiling face. Her green eyes were the color of the ocean. Her short, wavy hair fell free like a wild river, not messy, but not contained either. Zoe reminded her of everything she loved about the woods, rivers, mountains, and lakes of Maine. “I’m fine. I’m really sorry for melting down like that. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It’s a good thing you were there.”

  “I’m glad I was too. Please, stop being sorry, though. I don’t know what’s behind all that’s happened to you, and if you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But I wish you wouldn’t push me away. I’d like to help if I can,” Zoe paused. “I… I want you to know that I care about you. I’m glad we’re getting to be friends.”

  Alex wanted nothing more than to let “Spider-Woman” save her from this thing she was too tired to battle anymore, but only she could save herself. The only way to do that was to flee. She refused to hurt Zoe any further by letting her get closer.

  “I’m glad we got to be friends too.” She tore her gaze from Zoe’s and turned it toward the nest in the tree. Two dark birds stood at the edge. The smaller of the two peeped. “Hello, little one. They’re getting so big.” One of the parents swooped in from a nearby tree perch and landed in the nest. “One of the eaglets is bigger than his mom. And the other isn’t too far away. How can that be? They’re still babies.”

  “They’re not really bigger,” Zoe said. “They just look that way because their feathers are different from their parents’. They’ve been losing their down feathers, which are replaced by the dark ones. They’ll need those to learn how to fly. Down isn’t too aerodynamic.”

  “When will their tail and head feathers turn white?”

  “Not until they’re around five years old.” Zoe slipped her notebook into the dry-bag clipped to the bow of her kayak. “I’m finishing up here. You interested in getting some dinner with me?”

  “I’m sorry. I have some things to do this evening.” Alex felt like a jerk. The next thing Zoe would get from her would be a good-bye letter. She hoped this would be the best way to hurt her least. Every second they spent together brought them closer, so this had to be the last time they saw each other. “Thank you for everything. I’m really happy I met you. I hope you know how special you are.” She took a couple of strokes away before Zoe saw the tears welling in her eyes.

  “Wait,” Zoe said. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. I only wanted you to know that. I’d better go.” Alex continued to paddle away before her feelings for Zoe made her change her mind about leaving.

  Chapter 19

  Zoe tossed and turned in and out of sleep, still angry over the letter that Alex had left under her door. Her brain kept rewinding a particular passage.

  “Even though we’ll probably never see each other again, meeting you is something I’ll always treasure. You’re more special to me than you know.”

  Really? Zoe was furious and hurt that Alex would leave without saying good-bye in person. They’d seen each other only hours ago. She punched her pillow and willed herself to stay asleep.

  She sensed she was on the edge of sleep in a dream. She kept her eyes closed, squeezed the pillow, and laid her head on the massive American chestnut tree as she leaned against it. It was an ally that kept her standing upright, a partner in crime stealing the same glance at the exquisite woman who emerged naked from the lake. The woman sauntered onto the sand of the beach and moved toward her, coming to a stop within a foot of her.

  The full moon’s glow illuminated her milky skin. A soft summer night breeze transported the sweet scent of wildflowers growing in the meadow behind her. The fragrance moved on the wind, wafting to Zoe’s brain and making her dizzy with pleasure.

  A loon called to its mate across the lake. Zoe wanted to call the same song to the woman, but she couldn’t muster a sound. The vision of the woman, the feel of the warm night on her skin, and the perfume of the flowers stirred Zoe’s senses. Until this moment, she’d never believed she’d ever see anything else quite as beautiful as a sunrise atop a mountain.

  The woman’s thick, dark hair fell across her shoulders, framing her lovely breasts. Drops of water slid along her skin. She moved to within inches of Zoe.

  Tears fell from the eyes of the heartbreakingly sad woman. Zoe desperately wanted to wipe them away, but her arms stayed rigid at her sides and refused to budge.

  The woman closed her eyes and leaned in to kiss her. Zoe smelled lavender and felt the woman’s breath. She’d have given anything for her kiss to ease the woman’s grief. She wondered if she’d died in her sleep and gone to heaven and been given this chance at somehow making the woman happy.

  The piercing sound of a gunshot cut through the night when their lips touched. The woman backed away and covered her ears with her hands. Terror lived in her eyes. Zoe reached for her, but a second shot caused the woman to disappear before she could touch her. An eagle screeched.

  Zoe’s eyes flew open. It was dark. She felt her surroundings with her hands. She wasn’t in the meadow with the chestnut tree and the woman; she was in her bed at the camp. “Only a dream,” she whispered, disappointed. Eagles screeched somewhere out on the lake. She blinked away sleep to focus on reality. “That wasn’t part of a dream.”

  She scrambled out of bed and went to the window. Firecrackers and some other types of fireworks blasted away in the dark night. The eagles continued to cry and call to each other. The sounds they made left no doubt that something was terribly wrong. She listened more carefully. Two parents and one eaglet cried for each other. She listened for the second eaglet, but nothing came.

  “Damn it.” Zoe struggled into a pair of shorts, sports bra, and a T-shirt, and stuffed a dry-bag with some extra clothes, a blanket, and her cell phone. She stumbled out of her room into the darkened hallway, crashing into a soft body when she turned the corner. The scent of lavender clued her in as to whose embrace kept her from falling. Alex was the woman in the dream. “What the hell are you doing here? I thought you left.” She was glad for the low light, worried that Alex would see the remnants of her flushed skin caused by the dream.

  “My flight leaves this morning,” Alex replied. “I had a fight with my father about it, so I slept here in the staff quarters.”

&nbs
p; Between the dream, the screeching eagles, and Alex standing with her arms around her, Zoe’s patience shattered. “What the hell, Alex? You say good-bye to me in a letter, yet you’re sleeping down the hall. You didn’t have the courtesy to stop by while I was here?” A loud boom rattled the windows. She pushed out of Alex’s embrace. “What the hell is that?”

  “Someone must have potent fireworks on the island.”

  “That has to be illegal.”

  “It is. Unfortunately, the authorities look the other way as long as people fire them away from houses. That’s why a lot of people do it from the island.”

  “Yeah, but this time it’s posted against trespassing.” Zoe’s anger rose. “Jackasses!”

  Every time a boom went off, she got angrier at whoever was on the island and at Alex’s cowardly written good-bye. She couldn’t do anything about Alex, but she could protect the eagles. “I’m going out there in my kayak. I’m afraid something’s happened to one of the eaglets. I only hear one of them calling to the parents.” She rushed past Alex.

  Alex grabbed hold of her sleeve. “Why don’t we call the warden’s office instead? It’s dark and the water’s too choppy.” Her strangled voice went an octave higher.

  “You call. I’m not waiting around for them to get to the island. If one of the eaglets fell from the nest, it may be injured, or worse, injured and in the water.”

  Alex tugged harder on her sleeve. Her voice rose. “You can’t take a kayak out there now.”

  “Well, I’m not going to swim.” Zoe yanked her arm free. “I’m wasting time. Call the warden, okay? Tell them to meet me out there.”

  “I’m going with you,” Alex said. “We’ll take one of the camp’s boats. It’ll be faster, and they’re equipped with lights. My father keeps a set of spare keys to all the boats hidden in the boathouse. We can go now.”

  “You’re not going anywhere with me, not after what happened in the boat the other day when it was daylight out.” Zoe felt the fear vibrating off Alex’s body. “I can’t run the risk of having to worry about you while I’m trying to take care of a frightened or injured eaglet in the dark.”

  “And I can’t stand the thought of you out there all alone near the deepest part of the lake in a kayak with no lights.”

  “Why on earth would you want to go out there under these conditions? I don’t understand what frightened you out on the lake. How can I be sure it won’t happen again? The lake is still choppy, and it’s pitch-black to boot.”

  “We can’t get into this right now. You said we’re wasting time. Trust me. I have to go with you. Worrying about you and not being able to help would be much worse.” Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Please. Let me go with you.”

  Too much time was being wasted arguing. Zoe could use the help anyway and taking the powerboat would be a lot faster. Saying “no” to people had always come easily to her until meeting Alex. Even though her brain told her it was a bad idea to let Alex go with her, she couldn’t help wanting to be with her in the little time remaining before she left Maine. “Fine, but I insist you wear a life jacket. You make zero sense to me.” She took Alex’s hand.

  Together, they raced out of the bunkhouse and down toward the boat they’d taken out the previous day. Alex disappeared into the boathouse and returned several seconds later with a set of keys. She pulled a life jacket from where it was stowed in the aft bench seat, put it on, and pushed the boat off the sand into the water. Zoe climbed in over the bow.

  Zoe fished her cell phone out of the dry-bag to call the warden’s office and Rob while Alex navigated the boat toward the island. If Zoe’s instincts were right and one of the eaglets had fallen from the nest, and they were lucky enough to find it still alive, they would have to get it to a veterinarian at the raptor rehab facility right away.

  Alex stood rigid and gripped the steering wheel as the boat cut through the choppy waves. Whoever was on the island with the fireworks must have noticed them coming. A boat engine roared to life behind the island. Within seconds, its lights receded into the inky darkness as it raced away, causing even more chop.

  “Cowardly bastards,” Zoe said. “Can’t they read? They probably can, but they don’t give a damn about anything but themselves.”

  Alex didn’t respond. She remained focused on keeping the boat steady.

  What was racing through Alex’s mind? Zoe put a hand on one of Alex’s. It felt cold despite the warm night. “Slow down here. I want to check the water.” She flipped on the spotlight and shined it over the upset, frothy surface of the lake. The boat bobbed and dipped in the rises and troughs of the waves while the eagles continued to cry into the night for their lost offspring.

  “Zoe, I saw something. Over there near the rocks.” Alex pointed.

  Zoe shined the light in that direction. “This is bad.” The eaglet was in the water, thrashing near the rocks. Waves pushed it under as it struggled to reach shore. “We can’t get the boat near enough for me to grab it.” She bent down to undo her sandal straps.

  “What are you doing?” Alex asked.

  “I’m going in after it. There’s no other way. If I don’t, it’ll drown.”

  Alex looked from her to the struggling eaglet, flapping its wings in vain. She put her hands to her face. “You’ll be smashed against the rocks by the waves.”

  Zoe grabbed Alex’s wrists and moved her hands away from her face to look her in the eyes. “You said you’d be all right. Now you have to be. I need you to keep this boat steady so I can get that eaglet and bring it back on board.” She kicked off her sandals and let go of Alex.

  “Okay.” Alex breathed in deep and let out her breath slowly.

  “Keep your head. I need you, and so does that eaglet.” Zoe pulled off her T-shirt. Clad in only shorts and a sports bra, she dove into the dark water.

  The water was chilly at first, but because of so many recent hot days, the lake was fairly warm. The current around the island from the chopping waves pulled at her. She took in a lungful of air, dove underneath the waves, and swam hard in the eaglet’s direction.

  She wasn’t sure what was more dangerous, climbing a burning tree or diving into a wild and deep lake in pitch-blackness with the only person who could help her on the verge of an anxiety attack.

  When she surfaced, she looked toward the boat. It bobbed up and down in the waves, but it held a steady position with the bow pointed in her direction. She squinted into the sudden brightness of the spotlight. Alex was managing to keep the boat in position while illuminating the area with the light.

  Zoe lifted a hand and gave her a thumbs-up. “Good girl, Alex,” she said under her breath.

  Between waves, Zoe scanned the water near the rocks. She finally saw the eaglet in the trough of a wave that must have pushed it under. The young bird had lost most of its fight. It floated, gasping for breath, its feathers splayed at odd angles.

  She swam to it. When she reached it, a wave slammed her into the rocks. The skin of her right shoulder scraped against rough granite. The burn of the water against raw flesh was instantaneous. She had to get away from these rocks soon, or she’d put herself and Alex in harm’s way. She suspected that despite Alex’s fear, she’d try to save her.

  Zoe reached for the eaglet and secured its wings against its body to keep it from struggling. She tucked the eaglet under an arm and rolled over onto her back. She kicked and pulled with her free arm toward the boat, using every ounce of energy she had against the waves.

  Alex’s hands trembled. Her knuckles went white with the death grip she kept on the boat’s controls. Breathe. She closed her eyes, and forced them open just as quickly. Don’t lose sight of her.

  Zoe made slow progress. Alex had to stay focused on the position of the boat. She had to keep her breathing even. She needed to illuminate Zoe’s path. These actions kept her mind occupied. She couldn’t allow any room for fear. Not for a second. She was not going to let her anxiety hurt Zoe. She’d give into it after Zoe w
as safe. Eventually, it would wear her down. It always did. But not yet.

  Waves continued to wash over Zoe and the eaglet. Her struggle against the unrelenting water slowed.

  “Come on, Zoe.” Alex squeezed the wheel tighter. Irrational thoughts tried to force their way into her thinking. You could jump in after her. “That would be stupid.”

  A tall, rolling wave pushed the boat sideways. Alex gave the throttle some gas. She maneuvered the boat so Zoe would reach the stern first. The small ladder would be easier to use. She fought to aim the floodlight at Zoe the entire time. Seeing her coming closer and closer helped Alex hang on to her fragile rationality.

  When Zoe was only a couple of feet from the boat, Alex cut the engine. She left the wheel to shine the light on the ladder. “Hurry, Zoe,” she shouted.

  Without power, the back end of the boat started to drift around. Alex leaned over the side as far as she could to reach Zoe’s outstretched hand. Finally, their fingers made contact.

  Zoe yelled something. A wave splashed over her. Its force pulled her away from the boat. Alex nearly lost her.

  “No.” Alex leaned farther out, and her weight shifted too far over the side. With one hand grasping the boat’s gunwale, she lunged. The fingers of her other hand closed around Zoe’s wrist. She yanked her hard toward the boat. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She had spent most of her adult life doped up on the stuff. At least now it might be useful.

  “Put your feet on the ladder. I’ll pull you up!” Alex yelled. She took a quick peek over her shoulder at the direction of the boat’s drift. They were headed toward the rocks. “Now!”

  Zoe coughed and breathed hard. “Pull me in. I’m ready.” She adjusted her grip on the eaglet.

  Using both hands, Alex easily hoisted Zoe up the steps and over the edge of the boat. Although Zoe was small, her body was pure muscle and bone. She had expected that getting her into the boat would take more effort. Adrenaline really did give a person super strength.