a bald eagle.”
“Evan?” Gunnar repeated.
“He’s the older boy.”
Katy had gone as still as a stone, not a smile or gleam in sight. What was that about? “Did Evan say the eagle was responsible for his sister falling in the water?” she whispered, clearly disturbed by the notion.
Jake shook his head. “No. Evan said he and his little brother were over by the park trail leading up to the viewing platform when he heard a loud screech and a large bird swooped down out of nowhere at him. He didn’t get that welt on his shoulder from scraping a rock in the water; he got it when one of the bird’s talons snagged his shirt.” Jake’s gaze slid to Gunnar, then back to Katy, and he shook his head again. “Evan said he thinks that, instead of attacking him, the eagle had been trying to get his attention. He told me the bird continued flying toward the pool, then dove into the water and latched on to something just below the surface.”
“Ohmigod, it was the girl,” Katy murmured, the firelight illuminating her distress.
Jake nodded. “If she screamed when she fell in, Evan wouldn’t have heard it because of the noise of the falls. He said the bird flapped its wings, trying to fly off with what he finally realized was his sister, but she was too heavy. Evan started running, calling back to his little brother to get help, and jumped in the water.” Jake took a sip from his cup, his expression sobering. “Evan told me the bird looked like it was trying to drag Clara—that’s his sister; she’s seven—toward him, but the current kept pulling the three of them toward Bottomless.”
Gunnar couldn’t quite stifle a snort. “Really?” he said. “Either Evan or you are aspiring fiction writers. That eagle was dragging its meal to shore.”
Katy turned startled eyes on him. “Are you saying that, with all you’ve seen and done in your lifetime, you don’t believe the eagle was trying to save Clara?”
“Yes, do tell us, Wolfe,” Jake drawled, “just some of what you’ve seen and done.”
Gunnar shot the bastard a glare, finally remembering why he never was the bigger man. “So, did Evan have to fight off the eagle when he reached his sister?”
Jake eyed him for several seconds then shrugged. “He said the bird let go of Clara the moment he got to her and then flew up to a nearby tree.”
Katy gasped. “That’s why he kept looking toward the falls. I thought he was embarrassed by all the people watching on the bridge, but he was looking for the eagle. I wonder if it stayed around long enough to see that Clara regained consciousness.”
Okay, Gunnar was back to worrying he’d just spent the last four months obsessing over a dunce. Katy might not be all that naive about men, but anyone with half a brain knew better than to believe a wild bird of prey would try to save a drowning child.
And what was up with all that talk about his former life, anyway? Exactly what did she think he’d seen and done in it?
“Oh, the popcorn!” she said, pivoting on her stump. “We can’t have a campfire without snacks.”
Jake blatantly ogled her, watching Katy’s backside dancing in the firelight as she bent over a large canvas bag.
Hell, Gunnar figured he also might as well enjoy the view. And he did until he saw Katy surreptitiously pour her entire cup of cocoa onto the ground behind the stump. Odd. So the woman didn’t care for . . . what? Chocolate in general or just hot cocoa?
Or maybe she’d taken a sip and discovered the idiot really had brought her a hot toddy.
She stood, suddenly. “Even better, I just remembered I have some candy I bought in Ida—in Colorado in my truck.”
“It’s getting late,” Gunnar said. “Why don’t you save it for your next campfire?” He shot her his most killer grin. “With more advanced notice, I’m sure you’ll get a bigger crowd.”
“If that candy’s still in my truck in the morning,” she said with a laugh, heading around the pit, “there won’t be any left for the next campfire.” She stopped at the edge of the parking lot and looked back. “Jake? Did you tell Niall what Evan told you about the eagle?”
“Just as soon as I returned from the hospital,” Jake said with a nod.
“And what was his reaction?” she asked with a sidelong glance at Gunnar.
Jake also glanced at Gunnar, then cocked his head