Spellbound Falls (31 page)

“Apparently those things accommodate any size man or beast,” he said, only to suddenly go perfectly still as he stared at her, his eyes so imposing she nearly dropped the condom. What in hell had she been thinking!

“Sylvia provides her guests with nothing but the best,” she muttered, ducking her head to hide her own blush. She held the distended condom out to the nearest bird, which dipped its beak inside and drank. “Hey, it’s working!”

“Then I guess you’re creative enough to find ways for us to be together,” Mac said softly. “So let’s get Inglenook’s new guests hydrated so we can get them home.”

“Guests?” Olivia repeated, moving the condom to the next bird. “You sound like you think we’re keeping them. They’re
albatrosses
, Mac. I’m pretty sure they belong
south
of the equator. When we get home I’ll call Inland Fisheries and Games and see if they can figure out what to do with them. Heck, the poor things might even be on the news already if someone else spotted them. Three albatrosses lost in Maine are definitely as newsworthy as lost campers.”

Mac caressed the injured bird as he leaned down to whisper something to it, then stepped back and closed the hatch, walked around and got in behind the wheel, and started the truck.

“Hey, how’d you get in?” she asked over her shoulder as she moved the condom back to the first bird when it started insisting on taking another sip. “The doors were all locked and I didn’t hear them unlock.”

Only she jumped in surprise before he could answer when the bird gave a loud screech and pulled the condom out of her hand and started shaking it, spraying water all over Olivia, the windows, and the carpet. And then the others joined in, the three of them sounding like a bunch of laughing loons.

“Ungrateful birds!” Olivia shouted over the cacophony as she scrambled back into her seat. She grabbed a napkin and wiped her face, wrinkling her nose at the stench. “You do know you’re never going to get the smell of dead fish out of your truck,” she said when they all suddenly quieted down. She looked over her shoulder to see that one of the albatrosses had settled down next to the injured bird, and the third was squatted with its head propped on the rear seat facing forward, the flaccid condom dangling from its beak.

“Would you consider not contacting anyone about them?” Mac asked as he lowered the rear windows to let in fresh air. He put the truck in gear and started for home again. “They could stay in the barn while the female recovers, and then we’ll let them continue on their journey.”

She blinked at him. “Are you serious?”

He nodded.

“But continue their journey to where? I’m pretty sure albatrosses belong at the opposite end of the world. And I know it’s illegal to hold wild birds without a permit, even temporarily. And besides being a freshwater lake Bottomless is frozen solid, so what are we going to feed them?”

“Ezra sells live bait that should sustain them for now. And I’ll take them down to the coast in a couple of days, after we’re sure the female has had a chance to recover.” He glanced over at her. “They can stay with Trace Huntsman until she’s strong enough to fly, and then find their way home from there.”

Good Lord, he
was
serious. “But they can’t be wild,
Mac, considering how docile they are. They must have been born in captivity and escaped from some zoo. I know Quebec has a large zoo, and it’s only a couple of hundred miles away, so they could have flown here from there. Aren’t you worried letting them go might actually be a death sentence?”

“They’re not from a zoo; none of them are banded.”

“But . . .”

He reached over and took her hand. “I would ask that you trust me, Olivia.”

“And what about Sophie, and Sam, and Eileen and John; how are you going to explain these guys to them?” She shook her head. “There’s no way Sophie can go to school and not mention something as exciting as albatrosses living in her barn.”

“Then we’ll find a place nearby to hide them for a few days.” He gave her hand a squeeze, the dash lights bright enough for her to see the concern in his eyes. “We could take them to the far end of Whisper Lake, over by the cliffs.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, curling her fingers around his. “Why are you so concerned about these three lost birds? And why are you so adamant that we not tell anyone about them?”

He pulled his hand away and brought the truck to a stop directly in front of Ezra’s store and shut off the engine. Shifting in his seat, he glanced back at the birds before looking at her. “I guess you could say I’m a man of the ocean. And our three smelly friends here,” he said with a smile, gesturing toward the rear of the truck, “are Wandering Albatrosses, a magnificent species with the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet, capable of staying airborne for weeks at a time.” He shrugged. “They are like old friends to me, Olivia, as I’ve spent many voyages with only a lone albatross keeping me company. And I would ask that you help me return the favor to these three now. Calling the authorities would put them through an ordeal, where at the least they’ll be crated up and shipped back below the equator, or at worst held in captivity.”

Olivia looked back and saw the one bird still resting its head on the seat staring at them—as if it were actually listening—as the other two sat nestled together behind it. “But one of them is injured. What if she can’t ever fly again? Maybe we should at least hand her over to someone.”

“Her mate and their friend won’t leave her behind,” he said with a shake of his head. “And all she needs is a few days to get her strength back.” He took her hand again, rubbing his thumb over her palm. “I realize what I’m asking may seem strange, but my heart tells me it’s the right thing to do. So can you not only trust me but stretch your imagination to consider that maybe we’ve just been given a gift.”

“What kind of gift?”

“Since the beginning of mankind, whenever an animal showed up where it didn’t belong, people have considered it an omen. Animals are usually messengers, Olivia, and that
you and I
are the ones who found three albatrosses walking down a road in Maine is not a coincidence. Do not send them away without hearing what they’ve come here to tell you, as it may be something you’ve been waiting a very long time to hear.”

“But I don’t speak albatross,” she said with a smile. “Do you?”

He lifted her hand and kissed her open palm, then folded her fingers closed. “Some languages are universal,
marita
,” he said, just as the bird resting its head on the backseat made a snorting noise.

Olivia laughed, and just because she could, she patted Mac’s big broad chest. “Okay, you big sentimental softy, I won’t call anyone. But I’m not—”

He pulled her to him, catching her gasp to slowly and quite thoroughly kiss her.

Their feathered audience started chattering loud enough to wake the dead.

Mac turned to them. “Enough!”

All three birds immediately went silent.

He gave her a crooked smile. “It appears they understand English,” he said, just before kissing her again. Except
that he stopped the moment she wrapped her arms around his neck, his eyes serious. “So can I assume this means you trust me?”

“I’m pretty sure I trusted you last night with a lot more than just keeping a few birds a secret,” she whispered. She batted her eyelashes. “Isn’t there some syndrome where captives become enamored with their big, strong, sexy captors?”

“And have I captured you, Olivia?”

She pulled away with a laugh, grabbing her door handle. “If you haven’t, then your stupid truck sure has,” she said, giving the handle a yank to show him she was locked in, only to have the door pop open.

She immediately jumped out and started backing away.

Because really, this was getting downright eerie.

Mac walked around the front of the truck and gently closed her door before heading toward her.

“I swear that stupid door was
locked
. I pushed every button I could find and it still wouldn’t open.” She bumped into Ezra’s store and slowly lifted her gaze to Mac. “I’m not kidding; I think your truck is possessed. And… and I think it doesn’t like me.”

“I like you,” he said, taking her hand and leading her around the side of the building in a hurry. “What time does Ezra usually open up?”

Olivia heard the vehicle approaching just as they rounded the corner of the store, and recognized Vanetta’s pickup crossing the bridge. She pulled Mac behind the rack of propane tanks. “He opens at eight but comes in around seven. That’s Vanetta. She owns the Drunken Moose, which opens at six on Sundays. No, she’s still on winter hours, which means she opens at seven.”

Vanetta drove past and pulled into the narrow lane between the Drunken Moose and the Grange hall, and shut off her truck. “It’s what… around six?” Olivia whispered. “She’s probably in early to start making the best cinnamon buns this side of the Canadian border,” she told Mac, smiling up at him. “They’re the biggest, gooiest, most decadent
buns you’d ever hope to taste. Maybe we could get the birds settled and bring Carolina and Henry and Sophie back for breakfast.”

“Stay focused,” he said, pulling her toward the back of the building. “Do you have any suggestions as to how we can get inside?”

“Why don’t we just wait for Ezra?”

He stopped to raise a brow at her. “And just how do you plan to explain your sudden need for several dozen baitfish?”

Olivia gaped at him. “You intend to break in and
steal
them?”

“We’ll leave cash,” he said, reaching for the handle on the door next to the loading dock. And some strange reason, Olivia wasn’t the least bit surprised when it opened the moment he touched it.

Rather like she had last night.

“Wow, do you know how to show a girl a good time or what?” she said, following him inside. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve for our next date.”

“Is there a reason that instead of appearing happy and sated this morning you’re so tense the forest is about to go up in flames around us?” Carolina asked just as Mac helped her across a brook in the overgrown road. She stopped, her sharp green eyes searching his. “Oh, Mackie, please tell me you didn’t blow it last night. You knew Olivia hadn’t been with another man since her husband, so where in hell was your legendary patience?”

Mac continued walking toward the cliffs at the end of Whisper Lake. “Olivia certainly gave it a good workout, but my patience prevailed.”

“Then what’s got you so uptight this morning?”

“I need to visit the Trees of Life, but I can’t because Father has made that impossible. And without being able to access their knowledge, I have no hope of figuring out how to proceed with Olivia.” He gestured at nothing. “Something in her past has been keeping her hiding out here, and I suspect her inability to move on with her life involves more than just her marriage to Keith Baldwin.” He stopped walking. “Olivia has been a true orphan since age four, and all that she faced growing up has led her to believe she has
little or no value.” He folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Have you ever tried making love to a shadow, Caro? I vow I spent more time last night working to keep Olivia in the present moment than I did pleasuring her. It appeared as if she kept having conversations with herself in an attempt to create a distraction from all the conflicted emotions she was feeling. Only I swear she ended up persuading herself that she should be anyplace but where she was.” He shook his head again. “Can you image Olivia believes
she
doesn’t deserve
me
?”

“Personally, I’d be more worried by how much you deserve
each other
,” Caro said with a cheeky grin as she started down the path his truck tires had made earlier. She took his hand when he fell into step beside her. “And I also think your not being able to access the knowledge might actually be a good thing in this instance.”