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)
I just don’t tell her everything.
I don’t even have a bunch of baggage in my past that would cause my lack of trust in others. No one has betrayed me. Or bullied me.
It’s just my nature to hold back. To be the observer and soak everything in.
And because of that, I am sensitive to moods and emotions, and that’s exhausting.
So instead, I’ve made a habit of being a loner. It suits me fine.
But having breakfast with a new friend sounds fun, too. Maybe I’m just evolving as a person. I’m only thirty-two. A person can change.
I come around a corner and shift to the side of the trail so a runner can zoom past me. He nods in thanks and keeps going.
Nice ass, I think to myself with a grin.
I set off again, about to come over the ridge to the overlook. It’s a great place to sit and breathe, watching the lake and the boats floating on it, not to mention the gorgeous Blacktail Mountain above it.
But a rustling in the bushes catches my attention. I reach for my bear spray, just in case, but then pause and squint, trying to see what’s going on.
“It’s a bird,” I mutter, stepping closer. A white head pops up and I gasp. “A bald eagle. Hi there, sweetie. Are you hurt?”
One wing is flapping, but the other wing isn’t moving at all.
It’s hurt.
“Crap, I don’t know what to do about this. I’m not ready.”
I look up and down the trail, but there’s no one close by. The runner is long gone.
So, I pull my phone out of my pocket and call Claire.
“Did you get eaten by a tiger?” she asks.
“There are no tigers in North America, Claire. But I did find an injured eagle. I don’t know what to do?”
“Why did you call me?” she asks.
“Because I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.”
“Call animal control?”
I frown, watching as the poor thing struggles. “What are they going to do? Fine it?”
“I live in Chicago, Fallon. I don’t know. Call 911. Call the sheriff. Call anyone but me.”
“Thanks a lot.” I hang up and take a deep breath. “Who do I call for you?”
A veterinarian!
I Google vet offices in Cunningham Falls and call the first one on the list.
“I’m on the Bear Mountain trail, just outside of town, and I found an injured eagle. What do I do?”
“Oh, you’ll want to call Spread Your Wings,” the receptionist says. “They’ll come help you.”
“Thanks.” I hang up, not at all sure of what Spread Your Wings is, but a phone number comes up when I Google it, so I call.
“This is Noah.”
“Uh, hi, my name is Fallon. I just found an injured eagle.” I repeat my location.
“Don’t move,” he says briskly. “I’m coming right now. How far up the trail are you?”
“I’m maybe twenty yards from the top.”
“Of course you are,” he says. “Looks like I’m going for a hike. I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes. Can you stay there?”
“I’ll wait,” I confirm, and he hangs up. “Well, looks like help’s coming. Don’t worry, they’ll get you all fixed up.”
I’m talking to an eagle.
I sit on a stump and don’t take my eyes off the bird. He’s watching me as well.
“I’m friendly,” I say. “And I won’t hurt you. How long have you been here?”
He squaks, making me smile.
“Maybe you don’t speak English. I’ll be quiet. But I’m here with you.”
I take two long, deep breaths, trying to calm my heart. If I’m upset, the bird will be upset. I don’t know how I know that, I just do.
It’s like when you’re trying to calm an upset baby.
Not that I’ve ever had a baby.
“Now I’m being ridiculous,” I mutter.
It feels like three hours later when I hear someone hurrying up the trail.
“Fallon?”
“Over here,” I call and stand, waving my hands. “We’re over here.”
A man appears, carrying a huge animal carrier. He’s hardly winded, and I know he had to practically run up this mountain to get here so quickly.
“I’m Noah,” he says. “Where is it?”
I point to the pushes, where the eagle had finally calmed down.
“He’s there. One of his wings isn’t moving.”
Noah approaches the bird, and before I know it, he’s secured something over its eyes and managed to put it in the carrier.
“Wow, you’ve done that a time or two.”
“Or fifty,” he says with a smile. “I’ll get him down to the sanctuary and have a look. Thanks for calling it in.”
“Of course,” I reply and watch as he walks away, hurrying down the trail. “Bye.”
I look around, not sure what to do next. So I finish my hike to the overlook and watch the boats, take in the sounds of the woods around me, and then start back down to the Jeep.
What a weird day.
***
“You totally saved an eagle’s life,” Nina says before taking a bite of her pancake.