Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“No, I called Noah, and he saved it.”
“He wouldn’t have done that if you hadn’t called. Noah’s a nice guy.”
“Do you know him?” I ask, trying to sound casual. “I’d never met him.”
“Sure, he’s good friends with Max Hull, and the rest of the Hull family, I guess. I’ve met him a few times.” She stops chewing and grins at me. “He’s hot, isn’t he?”
“Is he?” I sip my tea. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Uh huh. Sure. And I’m a coal miner’s daughter.” She leans in. “He’s single.”
“How nice for him.”
She smirks. “And you’re interested.”
“How did we get on this subject?”
“You should go see him,” she continues. “And check in on your eagle.”
I blink at her, thinking about it. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you’re an attractive, single woman, and Noah’s single and you should go flirt with him. What will it hurt?”
I frown. “I never said I wanted to flirt with him.”
“Fallon, we may not know each other well, but I know the look of a woman who’s interested in a man. And when you said Noah’s name, you got that look.”
“Okay, so he’s attractive,” I reply. Yeah, try smoking hot in all fifty states. “That doesn’t mean I need to go flirt with him.”
“Are you dating someone else?”
“No.”
A slow smile spreads over her lips and I feel myself start to give in.
“Fine. I’ll go check on the eagle. But only because I’m concerned.”
“Sure. That works. Okay, now that I’ve solved your love life issues—”
“I don’t have love life issues.”
“—let’s talk about something else just as fun. I’m starting a business in town, and I’d like to talk to you about some opportunities.”
“I have a full time gig between the Lodge and the studio downtown.”
“Well, just hear me out, and then you can give it some thought.”
I nod, and Nina continues, telling me all about the business she’s start with two of her friends from California. A business to help busy women.
“Basically, there may be times that I would call to book an in-home yoga session. We could work around your schedule, of course.”
“Interesting,” I reply with a nod. “It’s something to think about, for sure.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say. Saffron and Lindsey will be here in a couple of weeks, and we’re hoping to have things up and going next month.”
“Thank you for thinking of me,” I reply.
“You’re the best in town,” Nina says with a wink. “And we want the best. So think it over, and we can get together any time to fine tune things.”
“Thank you.”
Once I leave Nina, I make my way over to Drips & Sips for my favorite tea. I have my own lemon oil with me to flavor it, ignoring the looks I get from the women tourists waiting for their lattes, and then I climb in my Jeep and drive out to the Wild Wings bird Sanctuary.
I looked up directions this morning, before my breakfast with Nina.
Something just told me I should go say hello.
And I usually listen to that something.
The sanctuary is out of town, in the middle of nowhere. Which makes sense because the animals are wild, and they need plenty of space.
There’s a farmhouse across the pasture from the industrial buildings. And the sign over the driveway says Spread Your Wings.
This is the place.
I park and walk into an office area that’s currently deserted.
“I wonder if I should have called ahead,” I mutter out loud.
“Nah, there’s always someone bustling about.” I startle at the voice and turn to find Noah standing behind me with a grin. “Fallon, right?”
“Yeah.” I reach out to shake his hand, and feel the warmth climb all the way up to my shoulder. His hand is calloused and large, engulfing my small one. “And you’re Noah.”
“Guilty,” he says. “Did you come to check on your eagle?”
And to check you out.
“I did,” I say. “I know it probably seems weird, but—”
“Not weird at all. Follow me.”
We walk outside and down a long, paved sidewalk that meanders through several buildings.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be this big,” I say.
“That’s what she said,” he replies with a grin, and I can’t help but laugh out loud. “Sorry, couldn’t resist. We’ve grown a lot in the past few years.”
He leads me into a big building and down a row of cages, then stops and gestures.
“Well, hi there,” I croon. “How is he?”
“He has a broken wing,” Noah says with a sigh. “We can’t tell what caused it. But I think that with about six weeks of healing time, he should be good to be released back into the wild.”
“Really? That’s amazing. What if he can’t live in the wild again?”
“He’ll stay here, with us, and we’ll use him for education. He’ll have a cushy life here, but I suspect he’ll be leaving us. He’s a healthy guy.”
We’re quiet as I watch the bird. He’s looking at me, as if he recognizes me. There’s a splint on his wing.