Wingspan

by Karis Walsh

  Ken glanced over at Bailey. She had been quiet during the tour, watching Ken with a curious expression most of the time, but now she was staring at Vonda with her mouth open like a baby bird waiting to be fed. Ken had been caught up in her own worries about her job and her ability to design anything worthwhile, and she hadn’t been thinking how Bailey might be reacting to this discussion. Bailey, who treasured her privacy and the welfare of her birds, and whose house was now being turned into an avian three-ring circus by the woman controlling the finances. Ken flew to her rescue without stopping to think it through.

  “Those are great ideas, Vonda,” she said, interrupting Vonda’s suggestion that Bailey travel to local nursing homes and schools with a crate full of falcons. “While education and PR will certainly be part of the new center’s mission, the main function of the annex will be as a sanctuary for wild birds. Bailey and I are working together on a design that incorporates ergonomic elements with integrated raptor-friendly materials and eco-sustainable surfaces.”

  “Oh, my,” Vonda said. She looked impressed by the fabricated description, but Ken thought she saw Joe laughing into his napkin.

  “The sauce on these cabbage rolls is delicious, Vonda,” Ken said, changing the subject before Vonda could ask for more details about the phantom annex. “Do I taste juniper berries?”

  “Yes, you do. A remarkable palate and a brilliant architect. Quite a catch, isn’t she Bailey? I’ll print a copy of my recipe for you, Kendall.”

  “What are eco-sustainable surfaces?” Bailey asked once Vonda had disappeared inside the house.

  “She means dirt floors,” Joe said, laughing out loud this time.

  Bailey joined in their laughter, as relieved as Ken looked to have gotten past Vonda’s wild plans. She had been ready to start protesting, to engage in battle for her home, but Ken had handled the situation much more smoothly and tactfully. Bailey should have realized Vonda’s ideas weren’t going to happen just because she stated them—they were mostly too expensive and too ridiculous to be implemented at her small sanctuary. Ken had told Bailey she was on her side, that they’d work together to make Bailey’s vision of the annex a reality. Until now, Bailey hadn’t fully believed that Ken’s words were true. She had felt alone and helpless, fighting against change yet convinced she didn’t have any real control over her own home anymore. Now she had an ally. For the first time since they had sat down, she felt as if she might be able to at least try some of the food on her plate. Vonda came back outside with a stack of recipes for Ken, and Bailey took a bite of her cabbage roll while the other three started a discussion about cooking. Ken hadn’t been lying about the sauce, either.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ken paid for two loaves of bread and a half-dozen sticky buns in the small Poulsbo bakery before she waded through the crowd and emerged onto the sunlit street. She stood for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light after standing in line inside for over ten minutes, and then she walked away from the main street and toward the alley where she had left Bailey with her car.

  As promised, she had removed the white convertible top for the drive home. They had decided to stop at the bakery—although both had proclaimed to be too full to ever eat again after Vonda’s lunch—and Ken had been about to put the top up again while they were away from the car. Bailey had seemed happy to stay with it as guard, and Ken had left her parked in a quiet alley, away from the busy streets and looking tempting, with her head tilted back to catch the sun and her auburn hair draped over the back of the red leather seat.

  Ken felt an unaccustomed lightness. Once the stress of talking about the annex had been removed, both she and Bailey had been able to relax. Ken had enjoyed talking about her hobby with two other accomplished cooks, and she had discovered that she liked Joe as a person when she wasn’t worried about him as her boss. The food had been amazing, and Vonda’s eagle had even made a brief appearance when he flew by them with majestic, shallow wingbeats before disappearing into the woods behind the house.

  Ken climbed a steep hill leading away from Poulsbo’s waterfront. Best of all, she and Bailey had been able to be around each other for a short time without the design plans for the new clinic hanging over them. Bailey didn’t have to fight for her privacy, and Ken didn’t have to fight to keep her job. A brief truce, but a welcome one. Bailey was technically a client and, Ken reminded herself, not her type, but she was intriguing company nonetheless. Smart and fascinating, she was quick to notice details and pull them together into jokes or astute observations. She’d never be boring.

  Ken turned into the alley and came to an abrupt halt. Bailey was out of the car, frowning as she talked to a tall blond guy. Did everyone in this town look like a Nordic demigod? Ken shifted her bakery bag into her left hand. Her legs felt as if they’d turned to steel, with no ability to bend or move, but she forced them to propel her forward out of sheer will. She felt her heartbeat quicken and her eyes scanned the area for a weapon. She didn’t see anything useful, but she couldn’t stop moving. She had to get to Bailey.

  As if hearing her name in Ken’s thoughts, Bailey turned toward her and her face brightened into an easy smile. She didn’t appear to be scared or in danger, but Ken wasn’t taking any chances. She’d beat the guy to death with sticky buns if she had to—anything to protect Bailey.

  “She’s the owner, so she’d be able to answer you,” Bailey said to the Thor lookalike. “Hey, Ken, he was asking about your car, but aside from knowing it’s a Corvette, I couldn’t answer any…are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Ken said, feeling her tension ease slightly once she was able to position herself between Bailey and the stranger.

  “Hi, I’m Todd,” the kid said with an easy smile. He reached out his hand and Ken shook it, keeping her stance low so he couldn’t pull her off balance.

  “I’m Ken,” she answered, her own voice sounding far away because of the rushing sound in her ears.

  “Your car’s a beauty. What’ve you got in her?” Todd was wearing an open denim jacket and he held the bottom edges against his body as he leaned over to check out the dashboard.

  Ken exhaled a little more easily. A car guy. She did the same thing out of habit whenever she was near someone else’s vehicle, keeping any loose clothing from touching the car and possibly damaging a paint job. “A three twenty-seven with a six-pack,” she said. She reached behind him to pop the hood, still keeping herself between Bailey and any possible threat.

  “Nice,” he said, drawing out the word for several beats. “What’s that give you, three hundred ponies?”

  “Very good,” Ken said. “You know your engines.”

  “My dad has a fifty-eight, but he kept it stock with the original two eighty-three. If I could afford one, I’d modify it like you did.”

  Bailey stood back and listened to the two speak in what might as well have been a foreign language for all she understood of it. Ken was saying something about Rochester carbs, but Bailey didn’t think she meant pasta. She was mostly relieved to see Ken’s expression losing some of its vigilante edge. Ken had approached them with a lethal look in her eyes, probably thinking Todd was going to touch her car, but he seemed respectful of it and Ken was looking more at ease.

  Once they had finished their tour of the car’s engine, Ken waited until Bailey was in the car before she climbed in and started the engine.

  “Nice!” Todd said again, giving Ken a thumbs-up sign before he walked away from them. Ken drove slowly in the opposite direction, occasionally checking her rearview mirror until they were out of the alley.

  “He seemed like a good kid,” Bailey said as Ken accelerated onto the highway. “This car must attract plenty of attention wherever you go.”

  “Yeah,” Ken said. “I kept it in a garage when I lived in Seattle. Didn’t need to drive it much.”

  Bailey still didn’t recognize Ken’s voice. She spoke as if her teeth were clenched so tightly she had a hard time opening her mouth. Bailey
had wanted to touch Ken since they had stopped holding hands on the way to Poulsbo, but she hadn’t been able to come up with a reason. Reasons be damned now. Ken looked like she needed touch, and that was all Bailey needed to know. She twisted in her seat and rubbed her thumb along Ken’s tense jawline.

  “He didn’t touch your car, even when you weren’t there. I wouldn’t have let him.”

  “What?” Ken turned her head to stare incredulously at Bailey before she looked back at the road. “That’s not what…I didn’t care about that.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  Ken veered sharply off the highway and onto one of the small residential roads intersecting it. She pulled to the side of the road and stopped the car. Bailey was away from danger, for the moment. The adrenaline dump hit Ken hard, and she felt as if she had no choice but to lean over and kiss Bailey. To make sure she was alive and safe. Ken twisted her fingers in Bailey’s thick hair, keeping the pressure from her lips steady until she felt Bailey’s surprised response ease. The gentle touch of Bailey’s tongue against her mouth changed the kiss from one of desperation and reassurance to something softer and even more frightening.

  Even as Ken opened her mouth and welcomed the rough feel of Bailey’s tongue, her mind still reeled from the brush with danger. Bailey was okay…this time. But she was too quick to trust, too naïve to understand how dangerous life was. Todd had seemed like a nice guy who was interested in cars, but the next person to come along might not be so friendly. And Ken might not be there to protect her.

  Ken reached under Bailey’s shirt and pressed her palm against Bailey’s chest. Yes, she felt Bailey’s nipple stiffen under her touch, and yes, she wanted her mouth and teeth on it, but mainly she needed the comfort of a strong heartbeat in her hand. She pulled away from Bailey’s lips and trailed kisses along those exposed tan lines on Bailey’s neck and arms.

  Ken had been able to protect Bailey twice today. Once when Vonda was taking control of her annex, and again when she had been alone with Todd. Neither had been a true test of Ken’s ability to rescue her. The change of subject with Vonda was only a stopgap—Ken didn’t have any real design ideas to back up her nonsense words. And Todd had been a nice kid looking at a car, not a real threat. Bailey’s skin felt fragile, precious under Ken’s mouth. She didn’t trust that she’d be able to protect Bailey when it counted.

  Bailey felt Ken pull away before her lips had lost contact with skin. She was prepared for the feeling of loss when Ken sat up in her seat and looked at Bailey with the closed expression she had come to recognize. She wasn’t sure what had brought on Ken’s surge of passion, but she recognized when it was over.

  “I’m sorry.” Ken reached over and grasped Bailey’s hand for a moment, giving her a squeeze before letting go.

  “Heatstroke?” Bailey asked with a forced smile. “Drunk on juniper berries?”

  “Maybe both,” Ken said with a smile that looked as unnatural as Bailey’s felt. “You’re beautiful, Bailey, and I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. But I shouldn’t have…we work together…”

  “You’ll still work with me?” Bailey asked. “We can still hike to the meadow?”

  “You still want me to go with you?” Ken stared at her with something Bailey recognized as a deep weariness.

  “Of course,” she said. She had expected Ken to leave her eventually, once the osprey was healed and the annex designed. A kiss along the way had been a pleasant bonus. “We don’t need to cancel plans just because of a small…lapse in judgment.”

  “Then we’ll go hiking,” Ken said. Her face relaxed into an easier smile. “For the birds.”

  “For the birds,” Bailey repeated.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Bailey stood on the edge of the bluff and stared at the water below. Far below. A well-used trail of roots and rocks showed where Ken must make her way from here to and from the beach below. Sand, sky, strait. Blending together in shades of grays and blues, as if all forms of matter were linked by the common factor of dampness. Bailey ran her fingers through her hair, loosening the wet tangles. No rain, but the swirling mist saturated her hair and clothes. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle, hugging the quilted flannel shirt closer to her body.

  She turned her back to the sea and surveyed the acre of land. She easily pictured Ken standing here, as windblown and romantic as Heathcliff on his moors. The property wasn’t the prettiest or most tamable Bailey had ever seen. It was rough and beautiful and wild. Private. Perfect for Ken.

  Bailey sighed and started back toward her car. She had felt restless after her kiss with Ken. Aroused and hurt. She recognized the inevitable path they would take. Ken obviously shared her attraction but was prepared to fight it, and everything in Bailey agreed it was the prudent course of action. Ignore the kiss, the heat between them. They were too different, too set on other goals than each other. Their relationship would end once the annex was designed. Still, the lingering effects of Ken’s touch and tongue would take a long time to disappear. Bailey had come to this piece of land because she needed to clear her head, get a handle on her emotions. Ken had dropped her off at her house a few hours earlier, refusing to come in and check on the osprey because she wanted to get back to her apartment, so Bailey had known the property would be vacant, a place for her to get away in private and sort through her fantasies and confusion. But if she’d really wanted to exorcise Ken from her thoughts, she shouldn’t have chosen a place that reminded her of Ken in every rock and blade of grass.

  And in the car parking behind her own. Damn. Ken. Bailey pushed away the small part of her mind that had been hoping to see her and concentrated on the negative side of her presence here. She was trespassing on private property. And worse, she was revealing her feelings too much. Showing Ken she had been affected by the kiss, that she had been seeking her out. Her only way out was to lie until her pants started to smolder.

  Ken took her time getting out of her car. She’d recognized Bailey’s beat-up Honda immediately, but even if she hadn’t had the car as a clue, she’d have known the shape and movements of Bailey where she stood near the cliff. Her olive drab shirt combined with the slate colors of water and sky, blending everything but Bailey’s auburn hair into a wash of neutrals. And even at a distance, Bailey’s face—pale and wide-eyed—was a splash of life on the rough, empty land.

  Ken had needed time to decompress after her scare in Poulsbo. She’d had the experience before, the fear of danger, the need to protect, but it had never been as strong and intense as it had been with Bailey. Ken had to get out here, where the wind and salt air would wash her clean, but she hadn’t been expecting to see anyone else, let alone Bailey. What the hell was she doing here? How could Ken get her to leave?

  She got her small cooler off the passenger seat and walked toward Bailey. They met in the middle of the acre.

  “What are you—” Ken started to speak once they were within earshot.

  “I was just—” Bailey spoke at the same time.

  Ken motioned for Bailey to continue. “I was doing some grocery shopping in town,” Bailey continued. “I thought I’d stop by and see if I could spot signs of an osprey nest. To see if your osprey had been settling here.”

  Ken had been prepared to be angry with Bailey for being here, mainly because now she’d never be able to look at the bluff without seeing Bailey’s slender and tousled form standing near it, but the mention of her osprey made her indignation drop away.

  “Did you find a nest? That’d be great, to have ospreys here every year. They do return to the same place to mate and have babies, don’t they?” Ken scanned the treetops around the edge of her property. She’d looked for a nest, of course, but maybe Bailey’s trained eye saw something she couldn’t.

  Bailey looked around as well. “Well, no, I don’t—didn’t see anything. Still, it seems like a lovely place to release him, when he’s ready to go. I’m sorry I bothered you, but I thought you were going to be in Sequim. I’d n
ever have come if—”

  Ken waved off her apology. She’d wanted to be left alone, but Bailey was already here. She attributed her relief at having company—at having Bailey for company—to a residual weakness from the afternoon. She was too tired to fight.

  “I was going to have a quick dinner here before it gets dark. Want to join me?”

  “I really should be going.” Bailey backed toward her car. “I’ve left Dani alone long enough today.”

  “Stay.” Ken put her hand on Bailey’s forearm, feeling a hint of warmth under the damp fabric. Let her go. Ken ignored her common sense. She really had been weakened by today’s experience in the alley. Maybe it would help her to stay with Bailey for a short time. Reassure herself that no harm had come to her. “I just brought a sandwich, but I’m still too full from lunch today to eat all of it.”

  “Well, okay. For a few minutes.” Bailey stepped away from Ken’s touch but stayed just within reach.

  Ken walked toward an empty chair sitting in the center of the property. She sat on the ground next to it before Bailey could protest. The dampness of the grass seeped through her jeans, only adding to the wetness she knew was already there because of Bailey’s closeness. She opened the cooler and brought out a plastic container. This would be a good test of her discipline. Stay close to Bailey without touching or kissing her. Resist any attraction she might feel because it was too dangerous to care about someone who seemed as much a part of nature as she was of humanity.

  “I’m surprised you left Dani alone again, after being away this afternoon.” Once Bailey had sat down with seeming reluctance, Ken handed her half the sandwich.